Bo squeezed his hands then ducked from the room. Harvey headed back to the table and dropped into his seat. He picked up the bourbon and threw it back.
“Everything okay?” Rafe asked.
Harvey groaned. “Not really. Rav’s packing. He wants to go back home.”
“I’m so sorry, Harvey,” Rafe said. “That’s tough. I know you were looking forward to spending the time together.”
“I’m going to try to talk him into staying, but if he really wants to leave then there’s nothing I can do. I can’t hold him here against his will.”
Damn, why do things have to be so difficult?But maybe it was best if Rav left? Harvey’d be following in a matter of days and they could sort things out then. His heart was heavy—he’d wanted to share the highlight of the trip, the Rocktoberfest performance, with his guys and it looked like that wouldn’t be happening.
Chapter Twenty-Two
HarveyandBohadtried to talk him out of it, of course they had, but Rav was having none of it. The last straw had been the press skulking around the Reno concert after party. All it would take would be one simple slip up—standing too close, a hand in the wrong place, an unguarded expression—and they’d be making headlines again. Harvey didn’t deserve the negative publicity, not when he should be basking in the awesomeness that was Rocktoberfest. And Bo was an all-time fan, and this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for him. They didn’t need either the negative publicity or to be surrounded by his shitty mood. Instead of enjoying their holiday, he’d become crippled with anxiety and self-doubt had reared its ugly head again.
He stared at his luggage, the big, wheeled suitcase standing next to his smaller roller carry-on, both of them near the door and ready to go. His head throbbed, most likely due to the lack of sleep from the night before. After arguing about Rav going back to Australia, they’d eventually given up trying to convince him and spent the rest of the evening pretending everything was okay. That only made Rav feel worse as Bo and Harvey both focused on trying to makehimfeel better. Bo had even offered to travel with him and miss the concert—as if Rav would let that happen! So, he’d spent a sleepless night, tossing and turning.
But despite everything, both of them had hugged him tight and said how much they’d miss him when they’d left a couple of hours ago. He didn’t think it would hurt as much as it had when the door closed on their retreating backs.
Rav checked the time. He still had half an hour before he needed to leave for the airport to catch his flight back to LA. From there it was another fifteen hours back to Sydney, then a final leg of five hours and he’d be back in Perth to face his parents. The international travel time was horrendous, but on the other hand, it gave him countless hours to think about what to say to his parents to make them understand.
He was pulled from his musings by a knock on the hotel room door, unexpected because he hadn’t arranged a porter. He opened it. “What are you doing here?”
Parker shrugged. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
Rav stepped back and held open the door giving Parker room to pass. He followed Parker to the lounge where Parker dropped onto the couch as if this was a casual social visit—which it was anything but given Parker was supposed to be on his way to Rocktoberfest.
“What’s going on? Why are you here? Is Rafe okay?”
“He’s fine,” Parker said.
“Then why aren’t you with him? The bus left a couple of hours ago. You both should be on your way to the venue by now.”
“I could ask you the same thing. Why aren’tyouon the bus, Rav?”
“You know why.”
“I’m not sure I do,” Parker said. “Why don’t you stop pacing, sit down, and explain it to me.”
Ravi ran a hand through his hair and dropped onto the couch opposite Parker. “It’s better this way.”
“Better for who?”
Rav frowned. “Everyone.”
“Not everyone,” Parker said. “Harvey was upset, and Bo was devastated that you’re missing the concert, an experience he wanted to share with you.”
“But I’m doing this for them. I’m removing a complication—”
“Are you doing it for them or for you?” Parker leaned forwards, elbows on his knees.
“I’m doing it for them. For us.”I am, aren’t I?His headache pinched in a tight band across his forehead.“Things were getting way too complicated, and the press were snooping around. Poor Bo was being framed as the other guy, and it’s a publicity disaster for Harvey.”
“Oh, I see,” Parker said drily. “So you all decided that it was best for you to leave?”
Rav wrung his hands. “Well, no. Not exactly.”
“They wanted you to stay?” Parker raised his brows in question. Rav couldn’t hold his gaze and looked away. But it turned out Parker didn’t need an answer. “Then why are you running?” he asked.
