Cole rolls his eyes good-humouredly. “I’ll arrange a taxi to collect me. And the Vespa.”
Twenty-ThreeCruise Location – TaorminaNext Port – RomeTime of Arrival – 10:00 (GMT+1)
Despite it being dark, Rome is surprisingly well-lit. Gus puts his cap on forwards and takes my hand as he guides us back towards Cole’s villa, navigating the picturesque streets, stopping to point out the ruins of an old bathhouse or a temple to one of the gods.
“Sorry about Grace,” Gus mumbles as we turn another corner, the clip of my heels on the pavement.
“Why are you sorry?”
“She gatecrashed.”
“She’s ok. I think she just worries about you.”
He sighs raggedly, running his spare hand down his nose. “I wish I could’ve protected her from it all. I was too late to warn her about what this world does to people, and by the time I knew, she had already been flung into the spotlight. And to make matters worse, it was my fault.”
“What do you mean?”
“We were on this gameshow in our early years of fame. It was a teen show where you basically dunk each other in gunk. Honestly, it was stupid. And, anyway, they asked us if we wanted to bring family members on to twist it up a little.Grace was my family member. She’s the only sister in the band and, I guess, there were tons of teenage girls out there who wanted to know what life was like being my sister.”
“But she embraced it, right?”
He shrugs. “That’s what I can never work out. I wasn’t close enough to her back then. I was so busy. And then…” He swallows slowly, trying to decide on his next words. “And then I wasn’t sober for a while.”
“You couldn’t protect her,” I say. “Because you also needed protecting.”
“What I’m trying to say, is she means well. And I guess I understand what you mean when you say you feel like your sisters begrudge you. I know the feeling. I’ll live with the guilt of what the media did to her forever. The body image stuff, the time she was papped running away from an ex in tears, the gunk show… I hate myself for it.”
“She loves you,” I say, because I think that’s what he needs to hear. “She wanted to make sure I wasn’t using you.” When he gives me a worried look, I add, “She didn’t ask directly, but she was watching me. You can tell she knows how to spot red flags.”
He laughs. “Well, she hasn’t warned me off you.”
I drop my gaze. “CanIwarn you off me?”
“You can try.”
I chew on my lip, a thrill rushing down my spine.
I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you.
“What’s it like?” I ask, changing the subject. “Being famous?”
Gus grins like he’s onto me changing the subject, then shrugs as we begin to walk again.
“It’s just my life now. I don’t give it much thought. And part of me thinks that because it happened when I was still a kid, that I don’t really know what normal life is like anymore. Actually, I’ve really enjoyed spending these past few days with you. You’ve treated me like an average bloke.”
“You’rewelcome,” I quip. “And for what it’s worth, Popstar, youarea normal bloke to me.”
He squeezes my hand. “The thing is, I’m not worried about anyone seeingme. I’m used to that. By this point, I’ve had enough adventure that if my team insist on coming to get me, it won’t be the end of the world. It’s more that social media has made it harder for me to hide away, to escape the attention. Everyone’s a reporter these days.” He glances over his shoulder as if to make his point. “I’m very aware about dragging you into drama.”
“And what drama is that specifically?”
“It’salldrama. Constantly. If there’s no drama, someone will make up a narrative. I do nothing and still get hauled into things.” He huffs out a breath. “I, personally, would be thrilled to be seen with you.”
“Oh really?”
He smiles softly. “Yes.”
“But?”
