Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
LIAM
I ’m not sure I’ve ever been this nervous in my life, and I’ve tattooed some of the most famous people in the world. We arrived a half an hour late to the Nine Waves concert so we weren’t able to see Keelan beforehand, but that means I got two and a half uninterrupted hours to dance with my girl and listen to some amazing music before potentially ruining the only real friendship I have.
Lark doesn’t seem half as nervous as me, which I’m hoping is a good sign. Keelan is her twin so she would be more nervous if she thought he was going to react poorly…right? Or maybe she just knows that because they’re twins he could never actually cut her out of his life like he could with me.
Jesus, Liam. Get a grip.
Keelan left backstage passes for us at will-call, so Lark and I are waiting for him just off to the left of the stage. They’re finishing up their last encore now, so they should be heading back here any minute.
Lark is talking to someone she knows from the crew when a sketchy-looking guy sidles up to her with a smarmy look on his scruffy face. I watch as she smiles politely at him before shaking her head and turning back to the woman next to her, but before she can the guy reaches out to grab her upper arm and I. See. Red.
Storming over, I grip his puny hand in my fist and squeeze. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I bark, my tone menacing.
He holds his free hand up in surrender, eyes wide and terrified. This guy is a good head shorter than me, so he has to look up to meet my eyes. “N-nothin’, man! I was just asking the groupie if she wanted to have a bit of fun.”
Every muscle in my body goes taut. “Wanna say that again?” The words are gravel dragged from my throat.
He finally manages to rub two brain cells together long enough to shake his head, so I let his hand go and shove him back. “Touch my girl again and I’ll break your fucking hand, got it?”
He nods frantically before scurrying away. Whirling around, I carefully grab Lark’s arm so I can inspect it. There are red marks where he grabbed her, but it doesn’t look like it was hard enough to bruise. My eyes flash to hers in concern, only to find her watching me with amusement shining in those powder-blue depths.
Scowling, I slide my hands up to carefully cup her jaw. “Don’t look at me like that, Red. He touched you.”
She bites her lip to hide a smirk but nods. “I know. And I had it handled, but thank you for coming to my rescue,” she whispers. Then, a little bit louder. “My very own green knight.”
I raise a brow in question. “Green knight?”
“Yeah, you know. Plant boy, Jolly Green Giant. Green seemed more fitting than white.”
Shaking my head in exasperation, I pull her in for a scorching kiss, relief pulsing through my veins now that I know she’s okay.
“Well, this is a completely unsurprising turn of events,” a masculine voice behind us chimes in.
Lark and I break apart with wide eyes, both of our gazes flying to Keelan’s. He’s shirtless and drenched in sweat, holding a water bottle in one hand and a guitar pick in the other, smirking at us like he’s… proud ?
“Keely!” Lark squeals, diving into his arms. Apparently she doesn’t care that he looks like he just spent two hours in a sauna. I’m too stunned by the situation to move. Catching me kissing his twin sister was not how I wanted him to find out about my feelings for her.
When Lark finally lets him go, she’s all smiles as she moves back to my side. My arm automatically winds around her shoulders to pull her into me when someone passes a little too close carrying heavy equipment.
Keelan watches us with rapt fascination, his smirk slowly transforming into a genuine smile as he turns to me. “What? No hug from you, big guy?”
I laugh, surprised, and step forward to hug him. Because what else am I supposed to do right now?
Keelan’s only a few inches shorter than me, so I don’t have to bend down to hug him like I do his twin. “I’ve been waiting for this for years,” he mutters next to my ear. When I pull back in surprise, he winks. “Why do you think I tried so hard to get you two to meet the first couple of years we were friends?”
Looking back, I don’t think there was a single conversation we had back then where he didn’t bring up his amazing twin sister. I honestly think that’s how I knew so much about her before ever meeting her.
He nods, grinning proudly. “But then she got with that asshole ex of hers and it didn’t feel right trying to set you two up all the time, so I backed off. But I knew. As soon as I saw she was staying in your house, I had a feeling. And then when you FaceTimed me with this?” He says, flicking the red streak in my hair that matches Lark’s. “I knew your big ass was head over heels for my baby sister.”
My mouth parts in surprise. “And you’re…okay with that?”
Snorting, he gives me a droll look. “Are you kidding? This is all I’ve wanted for both of you. I knew as soon as I met you you’d be perfect for each other. Just took you both a while to get there on your own. And I didn’t even have to do anything! See? Fate wanted you two together as much as I do.”
He’s throwing so much information at me right now I don’t even know what to do, so I just turn to Lark, who’s chatting happily with one of the other band members and showing off pictures of Fish.
My smile is instant when I see how happy she is, and Keelan sidles up next to me, slapping me on the back and resting his head on my shoulder with an exhausted sigh. “Treat her well and love her like she deserves to be loved, Liam. I honestly couldn’t imagine anyone better for her or for you.”
He doesn’t give me a chance to respond as he makes a beeline for Lark, who’s now gathered a small crowd of people ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the puppy, but he doesn’t need to. If she’ll have me, I plan on making the rest of Lark’s life as happy as I possibly can, and I have no doubt she’ll do the same for me.