until they all calm down enough for him to continue.
“These three all did an amazing job tonight. But,” Tim pauses, holding up a finger, “there can only be one winner. So, let’s get to it.” He smiles. “And the winner of the first ever, Monsoon’s Songwriter is… Joey Delaney!”
My jaw hits the floor. So fast and so far that I have to bring my hand up to make sure that I don’t have drool dripping down my chin. My body feels numb and yet alive all at the same time. Butterflies flap in my stomach and my breath grows rapid. I can’t believe I won. Part of me wants to ask Tim if this is a joke, but by the sounds of the uproar coming from the crowd, I know it’s real. I hear my other half over the deafening noise of the crowd yell my name followed by a string of expletives, instantly bringing tears to drip from my eyes and a huge smile to spread across my face.
Holy shit. Holy shitballs. I did it. I fucking did it. I won. I did it!
Chapter Four
“Oh , my God! Joey! You did it! I told you that you could!” Eve shouts as she throws herself on me, hugging me so tight I can barely breathe. “You left us all speechless,” she says as she pulls away and smiles at me. “Why have you never played that for me before? It’s so beautiful and… raw.”
“It was a work in progress . I just finished it a few days ago.” I shrug as I turn toward the table she was occupying. Two similar looking guys take up two of the four seats. My eyes rake over them, taking them in. They both have dark black hair. The one next to my seat has longer hair that barely reaches his brows with a slight curl at the ends. The one sitting next to Eve has his hair cut so short that you can’t even run your fingers through and he has a set of near black eyes. They’re brown but so dark that they appear almost black, whereas the other man has chocolate brown. Both have square face shapes with a wide set jaw and nose with a set of full lips. Their skin is bronzed as if they tan on a regular basis, yet they have an olive undertone to it. Besides the hair and eyes, they could pass for twins. There’s no mistaking that these hotties are brothers.
Eve’s voluptuous laughter pulls me from my thoughts, making me realize that I’ve been obvious in my attempts of checking them out.
“I’m sorry.” I laugh as I take the empty seat. “You two must be brothers. You look nearly identical.”
“That we are,” the man next to me offers with a panty- dropping smile. “I’m Vinny, and this is my younger brother Tony,” he says, with a nod of his head toward the man sitting next to him.
“Aren’t they sexy?” Eve asks dreamily.
“God, Eve! Can you be any more obvious?” I laugh as I roll my eyes at her.
“It’s okay,” Tony beams, “happens quite a lot , actually.”
“Great. Sexy and a big ego. Great combo,” I quip with a smile , so he takes it as a joke. I’m dead serious when I say it, but I’d rather not deal with the tension or awkwardness.
Vinny laughs . “I think we’re going to get along just fine. I love your spunkiness. By the way, I think congratulations are in order. You blew that competition out of the water.” He winks as he brings his elbows to rest on the high bar-top table. “Your song was very moving. You should be proud of the talent you possess.”
I could feel the blush creeping on my face. Looking down and clearing my throat, I manage to mumble, “ Thank you.”
“So,” Eve chirps in, “since the contest is over , and it’s our birthday, can we please get the hell outta here and celebrate now?” Lights dance in her eyes at her obvious excitement at the shenanigans of what the night has in store.
“What are your plans for the remainder of the evening, ladies?” Tony asks seductively as he eye fucks Eve. I can’t help but roll my eyes at him. I mean, really? Do classy guys even exist?
“We’re going to blow this joint and head to the nearest bar and party our legal asses off,”