“And now?” he asked. “Do you still object to my presence?”
“I suppose I can tolerate you.”
“Faint praise.”
“That’s high praise,” I corrected. “I didn’t want anyone else joining my band, ever. The fact that you’re here says a lot about your talent.”
“Better quit talking me up or I’m going to get a swelled head.”
“Isn’t it a bit too late for that?”
“At least I can keep my ego in check most of the time, unlike your brother.”
“He’s gotten better. Thank god. There’s enough egomaniacs in Cherry Lips already.”
“Yourself included?”
“I’m aware of my faults.”
“Do you think—” Liam paused, hesitating, then started again. “How do you think Gael will react when he finds out?”
“About us?” I raised an eyebrow. “He’ll try to punch you in the face.”
“Why do I have the feeling you’re speaking from experience?”
“There’s an overprotective-brother cliché because it’s true.”
“So you’re saying we shouldn’t tell him? Or the guys?”
“Not yet,” I said. “Not until the tour is over, at least. They’ll all get their panties in a twist about dating within the band and what if we break up and blah blah blah.” I shook my head ruefully. “We don’t need that distraction.”
“So when the tour is over, we come clean?”
“You make it sound like we’re keeping a dirty little secret. We’re keeping our relationship to ourselves to prevent unnecessary drama.”
“Sounds fair,” Liam said. “When the tour is over, I’ll be out of the band and their objections won’t matter any more.”
Out of the band.
After the tour, Liam was going to leave.
He wasn’t going to leaveme, but my band made up a huge part of my life. With the time I put into recording and rehearsing and touring, how easy would it be to maintain a normal relationship? I’d never had to worry about that before.
A small part of me wondered if, maybe, Liam staying in the band wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
Then I remembered how Liam reacted the two previous times the idea was brought up. He'd went cold and tensed up.
What was so wrong with the idea of him joining Cherry Lips?
"I have to admit,” Liam said, “I was worried when I first started. Being thrust into an already established group is hard. But your guys are cool. I like them."
"And what about me?" I teased. "Do you like me?"
His eyes darkened. His hands squeezed my hips. "I fucking adore you."
My heart squeezed tightly, before floating up and out of my chest. It sounded like he really meant it.
"I guess you're okay, too," I said in response, a smile playing on my lips.
