by Raine Thomas
They all nodded. Keith was grateful to have the fans to concentrate on. He put on his game face and shook the first hand held towards him.
The next thirty minutes went by in a series of signing, posing, and chatting with fans. Most of the fans wanted to see Archer, of course. In fact, unless Keith was mistaken, there were even more females around him than usual. It seemed Archer had somehow gotten even more desirable now that he was in a relationship with Lily.
Keith would never understand females.
“Hi, Keith,” the next fan said as she stepped up to the table. “I’m sure you hear this all the time, but I’m a huge fan.”
There was no mistaking the purr in her voice. He gave her a cursory scan, noting she was in her early twenties at most. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was liberally streaked with purple. Her outfit of a tight black dress over torn black stockings was right in line with what most of the other females in the room were wearing. She had paired the outfit with a metal spike through her eyebrow and gauges in her ears.
“Thanks,” Keith said as he accepted the CD case she wanted signed and the silver Sharpie she held. “Are you enjoying the event so far?”
“Oh, yeah. The concert was great. Would you sign it ‘To Emily?’”
He experienced the usual twinge of discomfort that came from writing anything, but he’d long ago made it a habit to have fans spell their names. He signed the case as she spelled it and handed it back to her.
“Is it true that you’re single now?” she asked.
She wasn’t the first fan to ask him. “Yeah,” he said. “Would you like a photo?”
“Absolutely.”
She handed her phone to the event staff person who was assisting with the fan pics. Keith moved around the table to pose with her, placing a hand on the shoulder closest to him.
“Am I allowed to touch you?” she asked.
There was so much innuendo in her tone that a few of the fans turned to look at her.
“No,” he replied. “House rules.”
She didn’t argue. They took the photo and the staff person handed Emily’s phone back to her.
“I’ve got a place not far from here if you want to have a little fun after this,” she said before Keith stepped away from her.
“Thanks, but I can’t.”
He turned his back on her pout and moved on to the next fan. He had turned down countless other offers like Emily’s. He wasn’t sure why none of them held any interest to him. He just knew the idea of dealing with any of the women even for a single night made him feel more weary than enthusiastic.
When it came time for the band to mingle, he took one of the bottles of water that had been set on the tables for them and twisted it open to take a drink. Once again, his gaze moved around the room.
Just to decide where to start mingling. No other reason.
He saw Nikki standing next to O’Dell across the room where Suddenly Something was still collected. Her hand was around O’Dell’s hips, tucked into one of the back pockets of his tight jeans. She was gazing at him with a tender smile while he spoke with a couple of fans. One of the House of Archer cameras circled them.
Keith waited for some spark of anger or jealousy and felt nothing. Considering his usual temper, that spoke volumes.
His scan of the room moved on. He saw Lily talking to some fans and using her phone to capture social media content. Aria was already on the dance floor, one of only a handful of people to hop on it so far. There were close to a hundred other people in the room eating, drinking, and conversing over the music.
But no blondes in vintage dresses.
Get her out of your head, for Christ’s sake.
He stopped himself short of looking in the corners of the room where Sydney tended to stand. Christopher was watching him and he needed to make the rounds. There were several important media representatives there tonight. He would keep himself occupied and make sure his head stayed where it needed to.
He lasted another hour.
Then, despite telling himself he truly didn’t care, he approached Lily. She had moved off to the side of the room to upload a video to social media.
“How’s it going?” he asked her.
“Good,” she said. “Terrible reception in here, though. My videos are taking forever to load.”
“Is it any better outside this room?”
“Nope. I’ll have to try and hold onto my patience. What are you up to?”
“Just making the rounds,” he replied. “Checking out what’s going on. You know how it is.”
“Yep.”
Not seeing any smooth way to segue into it, he said, “So I noticed you’re one roommate short this evening.”
She looked confused for a moment. “You mean Sydney?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh. I figured she told you yesterday since you two were together. She isn’t going to be participating in the tour anymore. She wants to stay in L.A.”
His first thought was, I’m never going to see her again.
His second was, That’s what you wanted.
“Are you okay?” Lily asked.
“Yeah. Why?”
“You’re pressing your hand on your stomach.”
He followed her gaze and quickly moved his hand. “I’m fine. I don’t think that diner meal I had earlier is sitting well.”
Her eyes searched his face. “Yeah...I’ve been there.”
He knew she wasn’t talking about food. “Well, I’d better get back to it.”
“Sure.”
He felt her watching him as he stepped away and rejoined the milling crowd. The knowing look he had seen on her face had his mood faltering. He wasn’t sure what Lily thought she knew, but it was off-target.
It had to be.
Seeing Christopher’s warning look from across the room, he did his best to put on a professional face for the fans. He found Sage and Xander and stuck with them as they maneuvered around the room, finding it easier to feed off their energy. They kept at it for another hour until the media reps left and the true party really got going.
Keith eventually planted himself in a corner, left alone by even the most ambitious fans. They took one look at his expression and departed. He nursed a watered down Coke and kept one eye on his phone’s clock, waiting for the night to end. He was sure he just needed some time to himself to get over the mood that had settled over him.
Fate wasn’t quite so kind.
Nikki and O’Dell approached his table, all smiles. He didn’t return them.
“Why are you hiding out over here all by yourself, Keith?” Nikki asked, her arm around O’Dell’s waist. One of the House of Archer cameras was right behind her capturing everything. “The other night it sure looked like you had moved on from me as quickly as I moved on from you. Little Miss Perfect didn’t prove as entertaining to you as you’d hoped, did she?”
He took another sip of his drink and ignored her.
“I guess if I’d only ever had sex one time, I might not advertise that, either,” Nikki said to O’Dell. They both laughed. “I’m sure that wouldn’t go over well with someone with Keith’s particular tastes.”
Keith grew still. How the hell had Nikki learned such a personal thing about Sydney?
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“Trying to pretend like you never told Nikki?” O’Dell said, gesturing with the beer in his hand. “You said you’d never be with someone who’s practically a virgin. Who could blame you, man? Give me an experienced woman any day.”
Keith couldn’t believe what he was hearing. How could they possibly know such things? He didn’t wear a mic at home or have any cameras at his apartment. He had definitely never told Nikki anything.
All he knew was they were trying to get a rise out of him and he sure as hell wasn’t going to give them one.
“Well you’ve certainly got a woman with plenty of experience,” he said, turning his gaze to Nikki.
Her nostrils flare
d. “You sure didn’t seem to mind when you were fucking me. Now you’re sitting here all alone. I’m sure it’s hard to admit when you’ve made a mistake.”
“Not at all,” Keith said calmly, finishing his drink and setting the glass down. “My biggest mistake was ever getting involved with a lying, manipulative bitch like you.”
O’Dell choked on his drink. Nikki opened her mouth. Only a strangled sound emerged. Keith ignored both of them.
As he stepped away from the table, he looked hard at the camera filming them, not caring that it would ruin the shot. Let them try and say something to him. He had a few choice words for the show’s producers anyway.
Somehow, the secrets Sydney had revealed to him in confidence had made it to the public ear. He needed to find out where the leak was and plug it. Sydney deserved better than having her past treated like a joke and paraded in front of the world.
Just as she deserved much better than him.
Chapter Twenty
Dane invited the band over to his house the next day for lunch and the premiere of the second House of Archer trailer. Lily was grateful for the distraction of helping his housekeeper, Barbara, get ready for the meal. They set out platters and bowls of food and tubs of iced-down drinks on the massive kitchen island so everyone could help themselves to whatever they wanted.
They were now gathered in the family room, eating and waiting for the trailer to come on the television. Lily was a nervous wreck. She had no idea what to expect after the last one. She could only guess the House of Archer team was going to continue promoting her questionable role.
After all, the first trailer had gotten an amazing response. It had also boosted record sales and fan interest for both The Void and Suddenly Something, and had skyrocketed the number of Lily’s followers on social media. Because of the way the first trailer had represented her, however, she wasn’t only receiving fan mail, she was also getting an increasing amount of hate mail.
That was really no more or less than she had expected. Void fans were protective of Dane and the rest of the band. If they thought Lily was going to drive them into the ground, it was understandable they’d lash out at her.
Dane was growing more and more concerned about her. He had overheard Christopher talking to her about some of the threatening comments from angry fans. Dane had mentioned the idea of hiring her additional security and even a PR person to help counter some of the damage being done by the show.
It had taken her a while to convince him he was overreacting. None of the fans at the in-person events had ever treated her poorly. In fact, many of them had become her strongest supporters on social media. A PR person would surely interfere with the show’s success, either by trying to keep Lily from appearing in any compromising footage or by scheduling positive PR events that contradicted the show. She couldn’t imagine going through all of this effort to make the show succeed just to have some PR person ruin it.
“Oh—oh!” Noelle said, pointing at the television. “Here we go!”
Mandy laughed and placed her finger over Noelle’s lips. Noelle kissed her fingertip and then pretended to bite it.
Their playful interaction helped calm Lily a little. She reached beside her on the couch and took Dane’s hand. He gave her hand a squeeze as the same intro from the first trailer ran through.
When it finished, Lily braced herself.
The first clip showed The Void sitting in a group interview. “The most important thing when you’re touring is being present and focused on every performance,” Archer said. “We have to leave the distractions off the stage.”
It shifted to an interview with Suddenly Something. Brandon laughed and said, “That’s hilarious. Hell...Archer brought along his own distraction. Her name is Lily Montgomery.”
Lily figured the show’s producers had told each of the bands what the other was saying so they could get some of this back-and-forth commentary. That didn’t make her any less uncomfortable or irritated over being labeled a distraction by Brandon Evans.
The footage flipped to a clip of her standing at an after-party with Aria and Sydney. Dane stared at her from a distance. The females beside him followed his gaze. Their reactions ranged from wistful to angry.
A driving drumbeat gave the clip more intensity than it really warranted. Lily’s eyebrows drew together as she tried to place the song.
“He has no idea what he’s in for,” Brandon’s voice said as the camera at the after-party zoomed in on Lily just as she turned and gave Dane what looked like a seductive wink.
Lily finally placed the song when she heard Pat Benatar’s distinctive vocals: “Heartbreaker.”
The song played over the next series of clips. The first was one of her interacting with Johnathan in the hotel room when he came back to try and beg her to reconsider their breakup. Lily’s lips pressed together in dismay. Elijah must have had the House of Archer crew place cameras and microphones in her hotel room while she was participating in her first round of interviews. She hadn’t known they had acted so quickly.
Dane’s grip tightened on her hand as he watched Johnathan grab her and kiss her. Lily wished she could keep Dane from seeing how terrified she had been as she managed to shove herself free. At least there wasn’t any audio in the teaser since the song was playing over it.
The song lowered in volume as Jonathan appeared in an interview clip. Lily’s eyes went wide. She hadn’t known they had interviewed him.
“Can’t blame a guy for trying, even though I knew she’d break my heart,” he said with red-rimmed eyes. “I can’t compete with Archer’s money and the fame he can bring her.”
Lily gasped. Had he actually just said that?
The music soared again. The next clip was one of her kissing Dane, making it look like she had hopped right from guy to guy...which she supposed she had. It had also been edited in a way that gave Johnathan’s words more merit.
Next came a clip of the heated conversation between her and Dane at the restaurant. Once again, the song theatrically drowned out their dialogue, but the tension between them was clear. Lily actually smiled a little over that. Her scene had made the cut.
The next clip showed Dane flirting with a female fan while Lily glared at them in the background, yet another staged scene.
The footage of the fan grabbing her and kissing her came next. Her less than graceful fall to the ground coincided perfectly with a cymbal crash in the song.
How lovely, she thought with a mental eye roll.
The last scene showed her surrounded by the paparazzi outside the restaurant. She lifted a hand to ward them off, blinking against the many popping flashes. The clip was slowed down to make it more dramatic and time it better with the music.
As the last guitar riff and drum sequence rolled, the trailer ended with the same “Will. She. Be. The. Fall. Of. The. House. Of. Archer?” The song had been edited to end just as the last word flashed.
After a pause in which they all exchanged glances, Xander said, “Well that was...dramatic.”
Lily let out a long breath. “I see they stuck pretty close to you and me this time,” she said to Dane, rubbing her thumb over the back of his hand. “They must be saving everything else they’ve got for the actual episodes.”
“Yeah.” His expression was stony.
“That Johnathan asshole has a lot of nerve,” Noelle said from her spot on the floor leaning against Mandy’s legs. “I’m surprised you didn’t knock his teeth out, Arch.”
“If I ever see the guy again, you can bet I’ll do worse than that.”
Lily hadn’t considered how it must have felt for Dane to see the scene with Johnathan. She had been so angry with Johnathan over the interview commentary that the scene in her hotel room had paled in her mind.
She reached up and brushed her fingers along Dane’s jaw. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I didn’t know they had installed the cameras and mics in the room so quickly or I would have mentioned the possibility they’d air it.”
“Of course they aired it,” Dane said bitterly, shoving to his feet. “They have no filter. The guy attacked you, for God’s sake. Then he has the balls to cop an interview and say you’re after me for my money and the fame? Give me a fucking break.”
Lily also rose, her stomach jittering. “Dane, please don’t let the show get to you like this. We all knew I was going to be cast in this light after the first trailer. How the producers do it shouldn’t really matter.”
“It damn well does matter. He hurt you. ” He ran his hands violently through his hair. “The way he—you looked so—God, I want to kill him.”
Lily hadn’t ever seen the potent rage in his eyes that she saw now. She cast a desperate look around at the others and caught Keith’s eye. He sighed and stepped forward.
“Write it out, man,” he said, clapping a hand on Dane’s shoulder. “Funnel that energy and kill him in a song.”
“Yeah,” Sage added. “Then you won’t end up in prison.”
Dane’s fists opened and closed as he looked at his bandmates and regained some of his control. “That won’t be nearly as satisfying,” he grumbled at last. “But I guess it’s a start. Do you guys want to help me knock it around for a few?”
Lily’s anxiety eased as everyone immediately chimed in and agreed. She met Keith’s gaze and mouthed Thank you. He nodded once and then walked over to grab Dane’s acoustic guitar from its stand on the other side of the room. Everyone else busied themselves prepping for the impromptu songwriting session. Mandy refilled her plate and made herself comfortable on the sofa to watch.
Lily decided to work on her social media and writing tasks in the library while they did their thing. She needed to post a Lily’s Quickie in response to the trailer anyway. Depending on how the jam session went, she might also record some of it for future social media content.
Dane grabbed her before she could leave the room. He pulled her against him and ran his hand over her hair.
“I love you, Lily Momilly,” he said.