Chapter 25
Xander
Wembley Stadium
London, England
10 days later
Harper was avoiding me.
Call me paranoid, but I was pretty sure she’d been ducking me since Dublin. She made excuses about being busy with her new duties as our tour manager, but that’d been true in Ireland, and she had still found time for me. For us.
In Edinburgh, she’d claimed there were issues with our gear and shipping. Then in Liverpool she gave me the tired excuse of being on her period. Like there weren’t plenty of other things we could do. Hell, I enjoyed just hanging out with her. Kissing her. Touching any part of her. I didn’t have to be naked and inside her to have quality time with her. Hadn’t I proved that already?
A large part of me was worried that I’d come on too strong with my jealousy over her and Tyler in Dublin. Spooked her and now she was running.
Fuck.
So I might’ve been a little prickly when I stumbled across Noah and Tyler having a secret meeting in our private greenroom before our first show in London. Noah was sitting on a sofa with Tyler standing above him. Judging by their expressions and body language, they were having an intense conversation.
Without any other bandmember present.
“What the hell?” I threw my hands up in exasperation. “If it’s this goddamn important, don’t you think all of us should be in on the conversation?”
Tyler turned his glare my way, but I wasn’t cowed. “Can’t you see we’re having a private conversation?”
“Can’t you see you’re in a public place? There weren’t any bouncers at the door. Not my problem.”
Tyler huffed. “Could you give us a minute then? Go find your girlfriend and play kissy face or something.”
Noah let out this cackle that I’d never heard from him before. “They’re not really a couple.”
“What?” Tyler turned and stared incredulously at Noah giving me the same look. “Seriously?”
Noah made that ugly laugh again. “It was totally fake. This one—” He jabbed his thumb at me. “Needed a cover to take the Kelly heat off. And Harper needed a boyfriend because of shit Wes’ wife was accusing them of.”
Tyler cocked his head. “Wait, so she’s really with Wes? And that’s why he’s getting divorced?”
“They were never together.” Noah scoffed. “His wife is just an insecure bitch. Harper has a thing for you.”
Tyler blinked a few times. “Wait, what?”
“Yeah.” Noah’s lips curved, but his eyes looked flat and dead. “I guess she’s had a thing for you for a while. Said something about how you don’t see her that way. Always treated her like a servant. I told her it was just your douche-y way.”
Tyler’s head went back like he’d been slapped. “Wow. Nice to know what you really think of me.”
“It’s not like it’s a surprise.” Noah stood up and slapped Tyler’s shoulder. “We’ve all said it at least once. It’s why you’re such a good manager. I gotta piss.”
I could only watch as he swaggered to the bathroom. I think I was shellshocked. That was so much fucked up shit in such a short amount of time.
“What the fuck is his problem?” I asked at the same time that Tyler asked me, “Do you mind if I ask Harper out?”
“What?” we both asked the other.
Tyler shrugged. “It seems like the heat is off you and Kelly. I saw the spread in the Babbler this morning. Apparently Kelly is pregnant. Sounds like the press isn’t shipping you two anymore.”
“I seriously doubt that.” I hadn’t seen the news. I’d stopped paying attention a long time ago. “Kelly’s so into her career, I can’t imagine she’d pause to have a baby.”
“Working women do it all the time.” Tyler folded his arms over his chest. “Are you and Harper serious? Would you mind if I asked her out? I’ve always thought she was gorgeous. I just never made a move because I didn’t get any signals back from her. But she’s a cool chick.”
I minded. Fuck yeah, I did.
Marisol came barreling into the room. She paused and pressed a button on her headset. “I only have eyes on Xander.”
A flush came from the bathroom and a second later Noah waddled into the room, wiping his nose on his sleeve. Charming.
“Belay that. I have eyes on Xander and Noah,” Marisol spoke into her headset. She dropped her arm to her side and asked, “Have either of you seen the other two? You guys have sound check in five.”
I shook my head and Noah shrugged.
“I’m not their fucking keeper.”
I swung around to stare at Noah. That didn’t sound like him. He was always the one cracking jokes and being a big, bouncy kid. Though I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him smile, let alone pal around. I’d been so twisted up with Harper and Kelly bullshit lately.
But then Chase and Jesse shoved into the greenroom, literally shoving each other as they argued over who got the better room in our rented house. Harper had booked us a gorgeous Georgian house steps from Wembley with ornate ceilings and bay windows and even a private garden. It’d been a little haven in the middle of the bustling city. Or would’ve been if I got to spend any time in it with my girl. She’d managed to come to bed after me and leave before me this morning. Again. The only reason I knew she’d been there was her opened luggage in the closet and the indentation in the pillow next to mine.
“My room has a walkout into the garden,” Jesse said, waving his hand. “What more do you want?”
Chase scoffed. “So what? I have a balcony and can literally see the lake from my bed. And there’s one of those ceiling rose doohickeys above my bed. It’s so much better than yours.”
Jesse laughed. “I really doubt you’re looking at the fucking lake or the ceiling when you have your wife in your bed.”
“I wish. She’s been so busy working with Ramsay fucking Pearce I haven’t seen her in forever.”
“Ahhh.” Jesse raised his eyebrows. “I get it now.”
“Get what?”
“Why you’re being such an ass. You got like this when you were in groveling mode. What did ya do?”
I rolled my eyes as the two continued to go back and forth. I couldn’t care less what was going on in their uber happy lives while I was down in the trenches of mine.
“Guys? Guys!” Marisol hollered. “We need you onstage for soundcheck. Follow me.”
“She says it like we haven’t been in this exact stadium before,” Noah sneered as he shoved off the wall he’d been leaning against, then he stomped off ahead of Marisol to the stage.
No jokes. No bouncing gait. No funny faces.
What the fuck was going on with him?
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed because Tyler stared after him with the same concerned gaze. I took a step toward him when Marisol got in my face.
“No time for chitchat. We’re already running behind. We need you to the stage.”
I gave Tyler a searching look that he completely avoided like a guilty dog who’d been counter surfing. Dread pooled in my gut. Something was up and Tyler was in the fucking middle of it. But was it about Harper or Noah? After sending him one more glare, I turned and followed the guys through the twisty tunnels to the stage. The whole time tension bubbled under the surface. Something was wrong and no one was talking.
When I reached the stage, I took my instrument from Ollie and looked around the stadium for a particular face. And found her.
Harper stood in the sound booth on the opposite end of the floor, talking to the sound techs. While I stared at her like a lovesick fool, she laughed and touched the skinny shoulder of Bud, the ancient sound engineer.
You know shit was fucked up when I was jealous of Bud. I’d heard he’d worked with Queen back in the day.
Marisol stood in front of the stage with her clipboard in front of her, checking things off and chatting with someone through her headset. Probably Harper.
I ran my fingers over the string of my guitar and tried to get warmed up but everything just felt off. The skin between my shoulder blades itched and my guitar strap made my guitar hang off balance.
“What’s up with you?” Chase asked me from my side.
I hadn’t even noticed he’d come up to me. “You ever feel like everything’s hanging by a thread? That weird weight of impending doom?”
“I’d say you need to get laid, but we all know you’re with Harper, so that can’t be it.” Chase rubbed a thumb over the scruff on his jaw. “Is something going on that we need to talk out?”
I tossed a look over my shoulder at Noah but he was lost in the zone, wailing the solo of ‘ Corruption’ and not missing a beat. I shook my head. “Just feel off I guess. I thought this new schedule would be better, but I’m still all fucked up from all the traveling.”
It was a weak excuse, but it was the only one I could come up with. No way was I spilling my guts about my insecurity over Harper—Chase didn’t even know we’d started by fake-dating. And I wasn’t ready to say anything about my suspicions about Noah. Because that was all it was at this point—a suspicion.
Everything was so fucked.
“Well, we have a whole day off tomorrow after the show tonight. No media, no performing. Maybe you and your girl can escape somewhere fun.”
I tossed Chase a small smile. “Yeah. Maybe.” I ran through the chords of Corruption in rhythm with Noah without even thinking about it. “Things going okay with Shay? Is she still working at Ramsay Pearce’s restaurant?”
“Tonight’s her last shift. And I’m fucking relieved. Can’t wait to not see that asshole ever again.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Aren’t we supposed to play his daughter’s birthday party next month when we circle back to play here again?”
“Fuck.” Chase’s jaw flexed as he literally chewed on the reminder of his promise to the world renowned chef in exchange for hooking up his wife with a position in his restaurant. “I just can’t shake the feeling that the fucker is after more with Shay. He’s so fucking touchy feely with her. And he calls and texts too. It’s bugging the shit out of me.”
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“What are you talking about? He got divorced last year, remember? It was in all the gossip rags. His wife ran off with that actor—what’s his name… Alfie Swinton! And Ramsay has been all over the tabs, slutting it up.”
“But Shay won’t be.”
Chase jerked—his whole body flinching at my words. Then he squared up on me with a glare that would’ve melted plastic.
I raised my palms in my defense. “All I’m saying is that woman loves you. Everyone sees it. Hell, everyone can feel it when they’re in the same room as you two. Ramsay Pearce can’t say or do anything that’ll change that. Trust your woman.”
Chase lifted his chin at me, then we both swung around as Marisol hollered, “Let’s get started! Sound wants to hear ‘ Can’t Tell Her .’”
I snorted with laughter. That was fucking fitting.
Chase shoved me before he stalked off back to his spot at the front of the stage. The grin on my face slowly fell off as we played the love ballad Chase had written for his wife when he’d first met her.
He was a lucky son of a bitch. He might be acting like a jealous fool at the moment, but he knew exactly where he stood with his girl. He’d put a ring on it.
Meanwhile I didn’t have a clue.
All I knew was that Harper was pulling back.
And too many people were keeping secrets.
It felt like the beginning of the end.