"I won’t have anything to do."
He thought about that. "What if I break my foot? I’ll need a nurse?"
"Are you offering to break your foot so you’ll need a nurse?" she asked. Of all his bad ideas so far, that one was the worst. Just like Tetanus Guy.
"No, I’m just saying that if I break my foot, then I’ll need medical attention. If that happens, it’s a good thing I have a nurse on staff. Your purpose has been established." He actually patted himself on the back. Right there in the pool.
"When you break your foot, we can have that discussion."
"What if Tanner breaks his foot?" he asked. "That would be more comfortable for me and he sits the whole concert, anyway. No one would even know." He winked.
And this was fun, actually. This conversation wasn’t awful.
"You won't have to do anything disgusting." He paused. Thought on that. "Unless you’re into that."
She chucked him on the biceps. "No."
"The point isn’t what you do, it’s that you see how great it can be to have fun."
"Lucky for both of you, I may have a solution," Hans said from the side of the pool, loud enough to break through their discussion.
Darla and Mach turned their heads in tandem.
Hans and Courtney stood beside the pool. Hans in a suit, Courtney in black shorts and a Dimefront T-shirt. She waved. "In addition to being Bax’s wife and Linx’s sister, I’m the band's publicist. Great to see you again, Darla."
Courtney seemed nice enough, but the title of publicist made Darla leery. One date with Mach was enough publicity for a lifetime.
"How long have you been listening?" Mach sort of asked, sort of growled.
This was a pertinent question.
"Long enough," Hans replied matter-of-factly.
"You two are adorable." Courtney slid off her flip-flops, sitting at the edge of the pool with her legs dangling in the water. Hans didn’t sit. He dangled nothing.
"Darla, you are becoming quite the sensation." Courtney pointed between the two of them. "But I guess you already know that."
"What’s this solution?" Mach asked, glancing between Hans and Courtney before moving his gaze to Darla in what looked to be reassurance.
"Welp." Courtney clapped her hands. "I got a call."
"Do tell," Mach said, but he now had a don’t-bullshit-me expression that Darla seriously got off on.
"The producers for Gumdrop Productions called. They want you two as guests on theLately, Later Show. The one that films in Burbank."
"For real?" Darla asked. Not only because she always watched it. Only partly because she always watched it.
Courtney nodded. "Yes." She flexed her toes under the water. "Anyhoo, they want the band to come do the show, and they want you two to come on and do the banter bit like you did with Bax."
"Why?" Mach asked.
"Because Darla is becoming very popular on social media as of this afternoon. Everyone is talking about you." Courtney paused, apparently to let that sink in. "Everyone wants you to meet your Mr. Perfect, and no one really expects to see you with Mach again. That’s the hook."
"Oh," Darla said, unsure of what else to say.
"Hans and I think it’s good for the band if you do the show." Courtney slipped her gaze to Hans. He nodded once.
Darla opened her mouth to explain that—
