Driving Tempo

by Thomas, Raine

  The wiggle of his eyebrows made her laugh. “It varies. Beth’s family has a cabin in Lake Tahoe, so we’ve done a couple of trips out there. We’ve done beach trips and rented a condo so we don’t have to impose on anyone. This year we’ve scaled it down. Since most of us are in serious relationships, we’ve opened it up to include significant others. Makes it tougher to arrange something that everyone can attend, so we’re just doing an escape room and karaoke.”

  A stray thought crossed her mind after making the statement. Something must have reflected on her face.

  “What is it?” Sage asked.

  “It’s just...I just realized that I’ll be the only one there without a date this year.” She expected to feel embarrassed by revealing that but she just felt sad. “Totally lame, huh?”

  “Hey, we’ll be back home in September. I’ll go with you.”

  Her eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Sure. I’ve kept the month open to recover from touring. I’ve always wanted to do an escape room. Count me in.”

  So much gratitude filled her that it was a wonder it didn’t shoot from her eyes like beams of light. “Thank you, Sage.”

  “Sure. That’s what friends are for, right?”

  It was when her heart keened in sharp objection to the word “friends” that Rosemary realized she would never get through this without getting her heart trampled. It was already Sage’s to do with what he would. All she could do was brace herself for the inevitable fall.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The next week passed in a blur of public appearances, media interviews, filming more cuts for the “Not Mine” video, and, of course, a series of concerts. Archer and the rest of the band were now in Arlington, Texas, though if Archer had been asked which city they were in he probably couldn’t have answered. It was hot and most of the people had a sharp southern twang in their accents, which helped him at least recall in which area of the country he was.

  In the midst of everything else, Archer had been communicating with his attorney, Shelly Custer, about the pending lawsuit by Lily’s ex. They had both issued affidavits and thoroughly documented their position on the suit. It felt as though things were moving well there.

  He had also asked Shelley to review Lily’s contract with Rolling Stone. Fortunately the attorney said that she didn’t see anything concerning. Archer knew Lily would have fought him if he’d told her to refuse to sign the agreement without amending it. Instead she had signed it and returned it within the hour after receiving the go-ahead by Shelley. Her happiness was simply radiant.

  He was beyond excited for her. The publication of her first articles under the name Anne L. Archer was a step in a positive direction not only for Lily’s career but for their relationship. Now neither of them would have to worry that she couldn’t succeed on her own writing merits.

  Not that he would tell Lily, but he would give David Fallon and Rolling Stone anything they wanted in thanks for giving her this chance.

  She was even now writing a new article in their hotel suite during some rare down-time for the band. Archer was working on polishing a couple of new songs he had written. These weren’t The Void’s typical style, but there were a couple of artists he would approach about them when he was ready.

  His phone rang just as he was considering jotting down a few lines to another song running through his head. Seeing Peter’s name on the readout, he smiled and swiped to accept the call. On the other side of the room, Ryan reached for the remote and politely lowered the volume of the ballgame he and Trey were watching.

  “Hey, man,” he greeted his friend.

  “Hey, Arch. How’s it hangin’?”

  Archer smiled over the dated greeting. “Can’t complain. You caught me at a good time.”

  “Not interrupting any crazy monkey sex with the fiancée?”

  “Sadly, no.”

  “Bummer. Maybe next time.”

  “Hope springs eternal. So what’s happening on your end?”

  “Oh, you know. Performing night after night. Fending off the advances of eager horny fans. Making millions. The use.”

  The last word sounded like “youzh.” Archer grinned. “I think you’re mixing us up again.”

  “Oh, right. Then absolutely nothing. Please have pity on me and entertain me with tales of your life.”

  Snorting on a laugh, Archer said, “I think you about summed it up. We’re making progress on the wedding plans, but I don’t want to bore you with—”

  “Seriously, dude. Bore me. I’m dyin’ over here. I’ve been to two miserable failures of auditions this week and I’m close to eating my weight in Doritos.”

  “Yikes. Okay then. We decided on a venue.”

  “No shit? What’d you pick?”

  “The Iben Conservatory.”

  “Really? That’s...”

  Knowing his friend’s usual style, Archer battled his amusement. “Go on. Just say it.”

  “Boring,” Peter blurted. “Sorry, man. A conservatory? You’re king of the fuckin’ world right now. You could get married on top of the Eiffel Tower or rent out a huge yacht and get hitched in the middle of the Mediterranean.”

  “I could, but that isn’t our style.”

  Peter made a huffing sound. “Don’t you mean it isn’t Lily’s style?”

  “No,” Archer patiently replied, used to his friend’s penchant for drama. “I mean it isn’t our style. You know I’ve never been as splashy as you. The conservatory has historical significance and lots of windows and natural light. It has a kind of reverence without being a stuffy church. The gardens are phenomenal, so we can have the ceremony inside or outside depending on the weather.”

  There was a sigh on the other end of the line. “Fine. So you’re getting married in some old conservatory. What else have you decided?”

  Unfazed by his friend’s snark, Archer shared a few more details, glossing over the things that he knew wouldn’t truly interest Peter. He wasn’t a guy who spent time thinking about marriage or weddings. Indeed, Archer was curious why Peter showed any interest now. It didn’t take long for him to reason out why his friend had really called.

  “So I found this bachelor party idea,” Peter began.

  “Didn’t I tell you that Keith is planning the bachelor party?”

  “Yeah, but the dude stopped taking my calls. He doesn’t want to listen to any of my ideas.”

  Archer winced. Keith had little patience for people he thought were wasting his time. Peter had probably been blowing up his phone with his many bachelor party ideas. It said a lot that Keith hadn’t complained about Peter to Archer.

  That was just one reason why Keith was his best man.

  “What did you find?” Archer asked, knowing Peter was dying to share it with someone.

  “Okay, so hear me out. There’s this kickass mansion in Beverly Hills that you can rent out. They have strippers and escorts, which we all know means high-quality hookers.”

  “Peter—”

  “No, wait. They all dress up like Playboy bunnies. It’s totally hot, dude. It’s a kickass way to rock out your last days as a single man.”

  Knowing his friend wouldn’t be deterred, Archer said, “I’ll run it by Keith.” He knew Keith would have no trouble telling Peter no.

  “Awesome. Can’t wait, man.”

  “You sound more excited about the bachelor party than the wedding,” Archer joked.

  Peter laughed. “You know me well. Nah, I’m just playin’ with you. You know I’m happy for you, right?”

  “I do.” Archer looked up at the sound of a knock on the door. Trey went to answer it. “And I appreciate you calling to catch up.” Seeing Keith on the other side of the door, he said, “I’ve got to go. I’ll run that idea by Keith, okay?”

  “You’d better. Chat at ya later.”

  Keith entered and approached the sofa where Archer sat. “Run what idea by me?”

  “Don’t worry about it. Just pretend I ran another bachelor party
idea by you and you vetoed it.”

  Lifting a shoulder, Keith said, “Sure.” He caught sight of the loose papers covering the coffee table in front of Archer. “You getting some writing in?”

  “A bit. What are you up to?”

  “Sydney’s on a call with the school about her new job so I thought I’d see if you want to hit the arcade.”

  Sydney had recently been offered a new teaching position at the school where Keith’s younger sister, Lex, attended. It had come on the heels of Sydney losing her previous job due to appearing on House of Archer. Knowing that Sydney would be working at Lex’s school had come as a huge relief to everyone in the band.

  “Let’s do it,” Archer said, pushing to his feet. “Let me give Lily a heads up.”

  He walked to the bedroom area where Lily was using the desk to get her article together. When he opened the door, he saw her studiously plugging away at the keys on her laptop. She looked so focused that he hated to interrupt her.

  “What’s up?” she asked, not looking over at him.

  He moved over to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Keith came by and asked if I wanted to go down to the arcade. I’m at a stopping point with my writing so I’m going to head down.”

  She typed one last word and then stopped, tipping her head back to look up at him through her sexy nerd glasses. “Okay. Have fun.”

  He bent down and gave her a kiss, taking care to be thorough about it. Then he had to kiss her a second time when he saw how distracted she had gotten. She looked utterly bemused by the time he finally headed out with Keith. It put a wide smile on his face.

  Duff fell into step behind him and Keith as they exited the room with Trey in their wake. The House of Archer camera operator had been standing out in the hallway for hours. Archer figured he had to be desperate for some footage. Although Archer wasn’t sure what good the arcade footage would do for the show, he wasn’t about to tell the crew how to do their jobs.

  “Should we see if the guys want to come?” Archer asked.

  The “guys” meant everyone in the band, even Noelle. Keith shook his head.

  “Nah. We don’t get to hang out much these days. Catch me up on the big plans.”

  Unlike Peter, Keith was sincerely interested in hearing about the wedding. Archer knew this because Keith had asked, and Keith didn’t do anything he didn’t want to do.

  So they talked wedding plans as they headed down to the hotel’s grand lobby. Though Keith didn’t have much to say, he nodded and made sounds of approval that meant more than flowing praise from most people. Lily wanted to keep things timeless and elegant without a lot of excess, and Archer was doing his best to support that vision. If Rosemary presented them with ideas that Lily thought were too expensive but Archer agreed would work well for the wedding, he approved them.

  Lily would have a dream wedding and that was that.

  “Sounds like you guys have everything under control,” Keith said as they made their way across the lobby.

  “Rosemary has everything under control. I don’t know what we’d do without her.” Glancing at his friend, he said, “As for the bachelor party, I’m sorry Pete’s harassing you.”

  “I was thinking we’d hit the raceway,” Keith said, dodging the opening to verbally bash Archer’s friend.

  “The what?”

  “The raceway. You know, one of those race car driving experiences.”

  The idea of it produced another big smile. “That’s exactly what we should do.”

  “Mr. Connors?”

  Archer and Keith turned at the sound of the female voice. It wasn’t uncommon for them to get stopped by women in hotel lobbies. At times like these when they just wanted some downtime, it was more annoying than flattering. That didn’t keep them from stopping and facing the woman who had called out to them.

  Seeing that the blonde woman was likely in her early fifties and wore a modest dress with a cardigan, Archer immediately deduced that she wasn’t a Void fan. She looked vaguely familiar, however.

  “Yeah,” Keith replied.

  The woman’s nose wrinkled as though she found Keith’s response offensive. Her frost-tipped blue gaze swept over him, ignoring Archer altogether. It was clear she didn’t approve of Keith’s short-sleeved black button-down shirt, ripped jeans, heavy black boots, and double wallet chain. Her eyes touched briefly on the tattoos lining Keith’s arms before she seemed to steel herself and look back at his face.

  “My name is Suzanne Ward.”

  Archer saw Keith stiffen, though his expression remained unreadable. The woman’s identity still didn’t register in Archer’s brain until she reached up and grasped the small gold cross pendant she wore around her neck in what appeared to be a habitual manner.

  Holy shit. Sydney’s mother.

  “Hi, Mrs. Ward,” Archer said when Keith just stood there staring at the woman. “My name is—”

  “I know who you are, Mr. Archer. You’re the one who started the show that has ruined my daughter’s life.”

  He lowered the hand he had started to extend. “Uh, maybe we should move this conversation to somewhere more private.”

  “It seems to me that nothing in your life or the lives of anyone who knows you is a private matter these days,” Sydney’s mother said, looking pointedly at Duff and his filming camera. “And if you dare to air a single image of me or a word I utter, I will sue you and your show for every dollar I possibly can.”

  Duff wisely lowered his camera. It didn’t seem to occur to Mrs. Ward that there was a large number of cell phone cameras currently in use around the lobby, nearly all of them aimed in their direction. Archer turned and gave Trey a subtle signal, sending the bodyguard on a circuit around the lobby to deter the more flagrant Lookie Lous.

  “I’m not here to talk to you, Mr. Archer,” Sydney’s mother said, her gaze on Keith. “I’m here to ask Mr. Connors how he can live with himself.”

  “Hey,” Archer began.

  “No,” Sydney’s mother said, holding up a hand and not breaking eye contact with Keith. “I’ve come a long way to speak my mind and I’m going to do so. The footage I have seen about you with my daughter is simply horrifying. I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing. My Sydney is a good girl, despite what that show appears to indicate. She isn’t one of the cheap women you musicians like to pass around like candy. She’s a hard worker and has a bright future. She was saving herself for the right man, and that isn’t you. My little girl deserves so much better.” She paused and took a wavering breath, fighting obvious emotion. “So I want to know, Mr. Connors, how you can live with yourself.”

  She practically vibrated...with outrage, with fear, Archer couldn’t tell. But every inch of her approximately five-foot-five frame was drawn up as though braced for battle.

  Keith didn’t seem inclined to participate. He stood silently, meeting Sydney’s mother stare for stare. The heavy silence felt as though it went on forever.

  Just as Archer started to say something to defend his friend, Keith finally spoke.

  “You’re right, Mrs. Ward,” he said. “Sydney isn’t like other women. She’s perfect. She does deserve the best. You’re also right that I don’t deserve her and she could do a hell of a lot better than me.”

  With every word, Sydney’s mother seemed more and more perplexed. Her lips trembled on words she never voiced. The cross turned around and around in her fingers as she held Keith’s gaze.

  “I tried to stay away from her for all of the reasons you just stated,” Keith continued. “But love does crazy things to people.”

  Confusion eased into consideration. “You’re saying you love Sydney?” she asked.

  “That’s what I said.”

  She resumed her necklace twisting but it wasn’t nearly as frantic now. “Have you ever been in love before?”

  “No.”

  “How can you be sure what you feel for Sydney is truly love?”

  “How do you know you love your husband?”
>
  Archer’s eyebrows lifted over the turn of the conversation. His eyes moved between them like participants in a table tennis match.

  Sydney’s mother didn’t seem to like Keith’s response, though she seemed to know he’d made his point. “Do you honestly intend to spend the rest of your life with her?”

  “Yep.”

  His instant response had her blinking. The righteous anger seemed to drain from her, releasing her rigid posture and the frown she had worn throughout the conversation. Archer thought she looked a decade younger without the lines worrying her face.

  “Do you belong to a church?” she asked.

  “Just the church of life.”

  That had her making a clucking sound. “A man needs God’s guidance.”

  “Your daughter certainly seems determined to provide all the guidance she thinks I need.”

  Much to Archer’s amazement, Sydney’s mother chuckled. “Of course she does.”

  After another pause during which the staring match continued, Keith said, “You’ve raised a real gem of a daughter, Mrs. Ward. I promise to take care of her.”

  “That isn’t the impression I’ve gotten from watching you with her on that reality show.”

  “Please don’t use the show as a gauge,” Archer said when he saw Keith’s shuttered expression. “It’s creatively edited to introduce drama. He and Sydney are very happy together.”

  Sydney’s mother gave them both a no-nonsense look. “They had better be. If I find out otherwise, I might just have to break the sixth commandment.”

  Archer exchanged puzzled looks with Keith. From behind them, Trey spoke up.

  “Thou shalt not kill,” he intoned.

  Keith’s lips twitched. Archer knew then that things would be fine between his friend and Sydney’s mom.

  “So noted,” Keith said. “So, do you want to join us at the arcade or go find Sydney?”

  Mrs. Ward’s eyes warmed to a twinkle. “Do you think they have Ms. Pac-Man?”

  “Why don’t we find out?”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Let’s talk. When PST r u free?