Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
LUCA
“Will you quit pacing?”
I stopped, turning my glare on Silas. “Sorry, am I not allowed to move now?”
“There’s moving, and then there’s wearing a path in the floor,” Silas drawled.
His long legs were sprawled in front of him, his blond hair artfully arranged in a carefree way that had probably taken him hours.
With his lean physique and bright-blue eyes, he looked like he should be wielding a surfboard instead of a bass guitar.
“Sit down before you scare the guy off.”
“Who died and made you king?” I retorted.
“Back off,” Kai shot back. I’d never been attracted to any of my bandmates, but even I could concede that Kai was one of the most beautiful male specimens to grace the planet.
With his flawless dark skin, chiselled jawline, and soulful brown eyes, he was the whole package.
He merely had to walk through a club to have men falling at his feet.
Shame the only guy he wanted was the one who’d never see him that way.
“Don’t take it out on Silas because someone pissed in your cornflakes this morning. ”
I debated continuing the argument just to work out some of my tension, but with the way Kai was now glaring at me, it wasn’t worth it. Dropping into my seat, I gave Silas a half-smile. “Sorry, man.”
“No harm, no foul.” Our perpetually easygoing bassist spread his hands. “Just saying, if your guy walks in to see you about to go off like a loose cannon, he’ll run in the other direction.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “He’s not my guy.”
“So you’ve said.” Silas grinned. “But, come on, you’ve not looked at another person since you met this Ollie fella. And all the trouble you’ve gone to to make sure he—”
“Silas,” I said warningly. We might be alone in the room, but who knew who might be listening in from outside.
Even worse, if Ollie walked in and heard the wrong thing, my whole plan would be fucked before it even got started.
I may have crossed several lines, interfering in his life the way I had.
It hadn’t stopped me though. Not when I knew how much happier Ollie was due to my… meddling.
“Fine.” Silas winked, leaning back in his chair. “But he’s gonna work it out. He’d have to be a prize fool to not realise how you feel about him.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Kai wince. Sympathy twisted in my gut as he shoved back from the table and busied himself with the coffee machine in the corner.
“Mind you,” Silas continued, oblivious to what had just happened, “he’d have to be a fool to get involved with you in the first place.”
“Haha,” I said dryly. I checked the time on my phone for the thousandth time. “Why isn’t he here yet?”
“He will be,” Kai said, his voice rich and deep as he slid a coffee in front of Silas before returning to his chair. His expression was still hard, but when Silas grinned happily at him in thanks, it softened.
Silas sipped his drink and hummed contentedly.
Kai watched him for a beat longer, the bleak yearning clear in his eyes.
He seemed to sense me watching him, turning his gaze to me and shaking his head slightly.
I bit back a sigh but didn’t say anything.
I’d learned a long time ago to not interfere with those two.
I checked my phone again, and Kai spoke. “Relax. We’re early. Arlo isn’t even here yet.”
Like his words had summoned him, the door slammed open and our drummer stormed in.
Ignoring us all, he made a beeline for the coffee station.
Once he’d made himself a drink and piled a heap of pastries onto a plate, he returned to the table.
Only then did he acknowledge us. “Where’s your grumpy security guard today? ”
His question could’ve been aimed at any of us. Even if he hadn’t passed Silas’s and Kai’s guards in the hall, we would’ve known it was me he was speaking to. “Jack’s downstairs with Kevin, waiting to greet Ollie.”
Arlo grunted, tearing a danish in two. “Lucky Ollie.”
I exchanged a look with Kai. “You know, if you want to switch back, we can discuss it with Kevin.”
“Nope.” Arlo’s response was curt as he scowled down at the pastry like it’d done something to offend him. “Like I said before, there’s no point. Jack doesn’t want to be around me, and the feeling’s…mutual.”
Well, that was a load of bullshit. Before I could push the issue further, the door opened again. I was on my feet in a second, my heart pounding.
Kevin entered first, speaking over his shoulder to someone. I bounced on my toes, impatient to get a glimpse of the man I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about.
This was it. The moment I’d been waiting for. Either I was going to see him and realise I’d been building it all up in my head. That I’d imagined the intense connection between us. Or I was about to turn my whole life upside down if that was what it took to get him to take a chance on me.
Kevin stepped to the side, and he was there.
His blond hair was shorter than that day in the lift. If I wasn’t mistaken, he’d packed on some more muscle since then too. God, I ached to strip him down to see him in all his glory. Dressed in a sharp blue suit that brought out the colour of his eyes, there wasn’t a coffee stain in sight.
He was everything I remembered…but yet so much more. I wanted to get closer to breathe him in. To sniff him to see if he wore the same cologne. To stroke my hand over his jaw just to see if he’d shiver like he had that day in the lift.
I did none of those things. Obviously. That sort of behaviour led to a restraining order.
“Caffeine Daydreams, this is Ollie Winters from Identity. Ollie, this is the band.”
My bandmates gazes slid to mine, even Arlo’s. Waiting for me to speak. To take advantage of this moment they knew I’d been waiting for.
But I was frozen. I couldn’t do anything other than gawp at Ollie.
There was an awkward pause before Silas got up from his chair, the others scrambling to follow.
Ollie’s smile was strained as they introduced themselves and made small talk. It was nothing like the one I remembered him giving me in the lift. This one was tight, barely there. His gaze shuttered and his tone clipped.
I couldn’t stand it. That was what got my feet moving, shoving my bandmates aside until there was nothing between Ollie and me except ten inches of air and a boatload of tension. “Hello again, Ollie.”
That fake smile slipped from his face. He sucked in a shaky breath, rocking onto his heels like he was fighting to not take a step.
I had no idea if that step would’ve been forwards or backwards. Ollie shook himself, and I could almost see him transform into another person before my eyes. “Mr Weston, lovely to see you.”
I eyed the hand he held out. “Mr Weston?”
That’s how you wanna play this?
“Yes. I’m very grateful for this posting, and I intend on doing the best possible job I can.”
His eyes were hard, his unspoken message clear. Ollie was setting professional boundaries.
Too bad for him that I’d never been good at respecting those. I couldn’t challenge him on it, not with Kevin looking on. If our manager even got the slightest whiff of the real reason I insisted on Ollie being here, he’d fire him like a shot.
Taking his hand with mine, I made sure to rub my thumb over his skin. Ollie’s lips parted slightly, and I smirked in response. “Good. I look forward to us spending many hours together.”
Ollie blanched, pulling his hand from mine and taking a step back.
“I’m sure that won’t be necessary. I know tours can be taxing, and I want to give you the space you all need to relax.
My methods won’t be invasive. I’ll be able to gather all the necessary material without you even realising I’m there. ”
“Nonsense,” Kevin boomed, his arm slipping around Ollie’s shoulders. “For the next six weeks, you’re a part of the family. Besides, if they know you’re watching, they won’t be able to get up to their usual mischief.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Silas scoff. We hadn’t behaved brilliantly in our youth, but we were in our mid-thirties now. Our partying days were behind us.
Well, apart from Arlo, that is. Even if he wasn’t a couple of years younger than us, that fucker didn’t appear to be growing up any time soon.
Kevin was still wittering on, but I’d stopped paying attention.
My eyes were narrowed on where his arm was still slung around Ollie’s shoulders.
The longer he held on to him, the more I focused on how Ollie’s demeanour changed.
How his smile grew pained. The way he shuffled on his feet like he wanted to remove himself from Kevin’s grip without offending him.
I, on the other hand, had no qualms about offending him. Temper licking at my bones, I took a step forward. “Kevin, you need to—”
Jack slid between us so fast I hadn’t even seen him approach. “Luca’s right. We need to get moving. There’s press outside, and we need to be at the airport in thirty minutes. Kevin, you go with Arlo, Kai, and their guards. The rest of us will accompany Ollie, Luca, and Silas.”
There was a bustle of movement as everyone began to file out in the order Jack instructed. I didn’t move until Kevin dropped his arm and stepped away from Ollie. The man in question gave an imperceptible shudder before lifting his chin and wiping the expression from his face.
I was so busy studying him, wondering how he could flick his emotions off so easily, that when Jack whispered in my ear, the sound made me jump. “Hold it together. Lose it in front of Kevin, and he’ll make it so you won’t see Ollie ever again.”
My head snapped around. In all our years working together, Jack had never cautioned me to behave in one way or another. Nor had he ever said anything negative about Kevin. “What do you mean?”
Jack glanced over my shoulder for a second before dipping back to me. “Just trust me. Don’t let Kevin know how you feel.”