“No, and maybe that’s the problem. I’ve rebuffed her advances. I just want to keep things professional and earn our way to the top.”
“Yeah, well, I think Sam is making it very clear that the way to the top is by shagging her.” JD says as he drops the cards on the floor.
Liam starts picking up the vases and moving them into the corner. He stacks them on top of each other, breaking the flowers underneath. JD and I follow and soon enough we have a minimal amount of space to sit down.
“I’ll take care of it.” That’s the last thing Liam says before we start going over the set list.
We’ve been down this path before in the early stages, just after we signed with Moreno Entertainment. Liam and I were so new to this side of the industry we didn’t know what to expect. JD said his dad was a total diva when it came to his dressing room, but never to this extreme.
Who does that? Oh right, Sam does because she’s completely unhinged.
“Katelyn is your friend and you know her better than I do, but what happened back there, you can’t let her see that type of anger. She has no clue what she’s done wrong. She’s learning the ropes here. We hired her without any experience so-”
“I’ll take care of it.”
The last time Liam said that, Sam got worse.
I kiss Quinn on the forehead and ruffle Noah’s hair. Elle looks up at me with her big brown eyes identical to her mother’s, and smiles. Since her nightmare, she’s followed me around. I’m not complaining. Any man would love to have a gorgeous brunette on his tail all the time. I wish it was her mother, but I’m not picky. I’m not sure what to do with Elle. Kissing her on the forehead is out of the question and ruffling her hair is a boy thing, but from her expression, she’s expecting something. I step forward and kneel down in front of her.
“Are you going to watch the show?”
“Uh huh, on the big TV.” Elle points the TV that the boys are playing on. I hope that Quinn and Noah turn the game off for just a bit so the girls can watch the concert.
“When I throw my drumstick in the air, that will be the sign that I’m thinking about you, okay? I don’t want to mess up your pretty hair like I did with Noah.”
“Don’t you want to give me a kiss, here?” She taps her forehead. I nod and lean in placing a quick kiss where her finger is. She giggles, which reverberates right through my heart.
“What about me?” Peyton asks.
I place my index finger of my upper lip and pretend to think. “When I bang my sticks together – that’s when I’m thinking about you.”
“Whatever,” she says as she gets up. Both Elle and I watch her as she sits down next to Noah, who moves slightly closer to her. She’s lucky she has Noah because right now, I think he and Liam are her favorite people.
“She’s so mean,” Elle whispers.
“She’s just upset, sweetie. It will get better.”
I stand and leave the kids’ room. I don’t worry so much about Quinn, but the others aren’t used to hanging out in a room for a few hours by themselves. I know Josie and Katelyn, plus our security staff, will check on them, but Peyton concerns me. If Noah isn’t paying attention to her, who’s to say she’ll stay where’s she’s supposed to?
The crowd is loud, chanting West. Liam and JD are standing at the stage opening, waiting for me. I’m always the last to arrive – never wanting to leave Quinn before I have to. I stand behind them while we watch our road crew tune our instruments, making sure everything is perfect. This is the best part, the anticipation. The crowd is getting wild because they know it’s time.
I find an opening in the curtain and peek out. This venue is small; an old coliseum left standing when a bigger one was built for larger capacity crowds, but perfect for small shows like ours.
I thought when Liam moved to Beaumont that band life was going to be different and honestly, I didn’t want that. Yes, I wanted a more normal life for Quinn, but I wasn’t willing to give up my passion. Thankfully, Liam felt the same way. I strive for this. I need this.
She’s behind me. I can feel her. If I lean back, we’ll be touching. I wonder if she realizes how close she is to me. I’m tempted to let my hand fall to my side and seek out her fingers, if anything, just to brush ours together to give me enough of a jolt to last me though my set.
The lights go down and that’s our cue. I’m to go out first, but I’m not budging. I don’t want to leave the shared space with Katelyn. Liam puts his head back and rolls his neck. He’s ready. I know I must move.