by Raine Thomas
“That’s none of your—”
“Wait a minute,” Keith interrupted this time. “When I started things with Nikki, you insisted that we talk about it as a group, Arch. You made me sit and listen to everything that could possibly go wrong if things got too serious and then skewed sideways. That’s nothing compared to you and Lily hooking up. Hell, she’s like everyone’s kid sister. What the hell is going on?”
Archer silently cursed himself. When Keith first slept with Nikki, Archer hadn’t thought anything about it. Nikki was hardly the first groupie to end up in one of the band members’ beds. But when things got more serious and Keith decided to try an exclusive relationship with her, Archer had worried about what it might do to the band, especially if things ended badly. If any one of them was off-kilter due to personal reasons, it impacted them all. So he had decided that they should all have a say in it.
Having that same philosophy applied to him didn’t sit quite so nicely.
Pacing in front of the sofa, Archer waved a hand and said, “Okay, look. Nothing is happening between me and Lily. But it is something I discussed with her today.”
“Discussed what exactly?” Sage asked. “You two getting romantically involved? I thought she was already seeing someone.”
“Yeah,” Noelle chimed in. “Isn’t she engaged or something?”
Archer saw Christopher glance over at Elijah and pinch the bridge of his nose. Archer winced. He’d forgotten about the cameras. He knew by Elijah’s smile that this footage was everything the show’s producer wanted. Archer also knew it painted him in the worst possible light. He could all but see his reputation circling the drain.
Part of him wondered if he should just abandon his pursuit of Lily. Maybe her friendship should just be enough. Was a more intimate relationship with her really worth risking a potential hit to his career?
One memory of the taste he’d had of her answered the question for him.
Hell, yes, she was worth it.
“Look,” Archer said, “I know this sounds bad. But Lily told me that her relationship with Johnathan is a mistake.”
“Oh, Lord.” Xander tossed his hands up as though Archer was hopeless.
Seeing that everyone shared Xander’s reaction, Archer pressed, “Seriously, guys. She’s ending things with him. She probably has already. I’m not poaching here.”
“Archer, are you sure you’re not doing this because you’re scared that Lily’s relationship with this other guy will affect your friendship with her?” Sage asked.
Is that what everyone was going to think? Archer wondered. “No,” he said out loud. “I’ve given this a lot of thought over the past couple of days. Seeing her again after all this time finally opened my eyes to what I’ve been overlooking.”
The room went silent as everyone considered his response. Archer forced himself to look at his band mates and not the cameras. They exchanged glances, speaking without words in a way he understood all too well. Since he was as in-tune with them as they were with each other, he read enough in their expressions to relax a fraction.
“Well you could do a lot worse than Lily Montgomery,” Noelle said at last.
“What do you mean could?” Xander countered. “He sure has over the years.”
Everyone laughed, even Archer. “Thanks, guys,” he said.
“Don’t thank us yet,” Keith said, pushing to his feet and walking over to clap Archer rather forcefully on the shoulder. “Because if you do anything to hurt Lily, you’ll have to deal with all of us.”
* * *
By the time Archer finally returned to the hotel, it was well after midnight. He had finally gotten his phone back from Christopher and had texted Lily to let her know he was on his way to the hotel, hoping she would suggest that they meet up. She still hadn’t replied to him as he rode with Trey in the elevator up to the floor of his room.
He figured she was asleep. That didn’t keep him from being disappointed. He hated to remind himself that this was what their relationship would probably be like. Once again, he asked himself how fair he was being to her.
His thoughts cleared as he neared his room and spotted Lily sitting cross-legged in front of the door. She was typing on her laptop, her glasses reflecting the glow of the screen. A wide smile spread across his face. Just seeing her again had his spirit lifting and his heart racing, erasing all of his doubts.
She looked up at him and smiled, closing her laptop. “There you are,” she said in a quiet voice that still carried down the silent hallway.
He walked over to her and reached down to lift her to her feet. “Look at you, waiting up for me.”
“Well I have some exciting news I couldn’t wait to share with you.”
Realizing that she must have talked to Johnathan, he wanted to perform a victory dance right there in the hall. “Sure,” he said as nonchalantly as he could manage.
He waited for Trey to wave them into the room after he had given it a quick check and then escorted Lily inside. As he passed Trey, Archer gave him a subtle nod requesting privacy, so the bodyguard quietly stepped back out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” Archer asked Lily as he walked over to the small bar in the room.
“No, that’s okay. It’s late and we have an early morning.”
Ignoring the bar, he turned to smile at her. “Just want to get right to it then?”
“What? Oh, yeah. My news.” She grinned and clutched her laptop to her chest. “Guess who Christopher asked to be The Void’s new social media manager?”
Completely thrown off by the question, Archer just stared at her for a minute. Eventually, he said, “Social media what?”
Her smile faltered over his reaction. “Manager. Um, the person who writes the band’s social media content.”
“I see.” Noting her expression, he forced himself to regroup. “I’m guessing he asked you?”
She smiled again and hopped a little. “Yes! And I’m gathering from your reaction that you didn’t put him up to it.”
“Of course I didn’t.”
“I had to ask. Now I’m sure. Isn’t this exciting?”
He battled between disappointment that she wasn’t discussing breaking things off with Johnathan and guilt for feeling that way. This was obviously a big deal for her. He needed to be supportive. And the fact was, this role meant they would be spending more time together.
“It’s very exciting,” he agreed, pulling her into a congratulatory hug. “And even though you said you didn’t want a drink, we’re having one to celebrate.”
“Oh, all right,” she relented. “Hey, maybe you could help me with some content for my first day on the job. Let me shoot a little video of you doing a welcome toast or something.”
Her words hit him as he reached for the mini bottles of liquor. Video.
Shit. He hadn’t told her about House of Archer yet.
How was she going to react once she realized that she was going to be part of a reality show? That, in fact, there was likely a camera and microphone in the living area of his hotel suite even then? It was the complete opposite of how she preferred to live her life. It was only right to be honest with her about the amount of exposure she was about to get by entering into a relationship with him.
But what if the show made Lily decide to stay engaged to Johnathan rather than try a relationship with him?
He tried to convince himself that it didn’t matter...that he would be willing to sacrifice a chance with Lily to make sure she was happy. She would learn about the show one way or another. He would reduce the potential damage by telling her himself. And, hey, there was still a chance she would pick him despite the show.
Sure, he could do this.
By the time he turned around with two shots of tequila, he had almost succeeded. Then he saw her beautiful smile and kicked his conscience viciously to the side.
Now was not the time to throw himself on his sword. If he wanted a fig
hting chance with Lily, he had to convince her that he was worth pushing past her reservations and adapting to his lifestyle. And since she was apparently still engaged, he had to do it without relying on his sexual prowess...a first for him.
She was holding her cell phone up horizontally and aiming it at him. Determining by her silent thumbs up that she was shooting a video, he gave the camera his famous smile and handed one of the shot glasses to Lily as though giving it to the viewer.
Lifting his own shot glass, he said, “I’d like to offer a toast to The Void’s new social media manager, Lily Montgomery. Lily’s an amazing writer and she’s going to give you all the inside scoop like you’ve never seen. So let’s drink to new beginnings.”
He tossed back the shot. Lily waited until he had done so and then tapped the record button on her phone so it turned off before she did her own shot. He laughed at the face she made when she swallowed.
“You really need salt and lemon with those,” she said with a raspy cough. “Thanks for the toast though.”
“Anything for you, Lily Momilly.”
She held his gaze. He knew she was sensing everything he didn’t say. She almost leaned towards him and then stopped herself.
“I haven’t heard from Johnathan,” she whispered. “I really need to talk to him first. I’m sorry. I wish...”
He lifted a hand and placed his finger gently over her lips. “It’s okay, Lily,” he said. “Trust me, you’re worth waiting for.”
Chapter Seventeen
There was a break in the tour schedule over the next two days. That didn’t mean the participating bands weren’t busy. Lily got some firsthand experience at everything popular musicians had to do besides perform at concerts as she went along to gather some good social media content.
They started the day in the studio of one of the city’s most popular morning radio shows. Christopher had arranged for The Void to participate in an in-studio acoustic session with twenty lucky fans in attendance. Lily barely fit into the small studio with the fans and the other camera person who stood off to one side. She had seen the camera person several times over the past few days and figured Christopher had hired him to document the tour. She made a mental note to ask Christopher what was going to be done with the footage. His answer would determine how firm she would be about being in any of the scenes.
She wasn’t oblivious to the fact that she’d have to loosen up about being on camera if she entered into a relationship with Dane. It was a huge compromise she had to be willing to make. She just hoped to get some momentum on her writing career before her connection to Dane and The Void was made public knowledge.
The brief toast by Dane introducing her as the new social media manager had been a positive start. She had uploaded it to the band’s social media sites before going to bed the night before, being sure to include a number of the hashtags she had been instructed to use. By the time she had woken up that morning, it had over a thousand likes and shares across all of the platforms and it was still going strong.
It was a relief to Lily that most of the comments were positive and supportive. There were a few “who gives a shit” or “who in the world is Lily Montgomery” type comments mixed in but those didn’t bother her. She had learned a long time ago that there was no pleasing everyone, especially when it came to writing and other creative efforts.
She hoped to get more written posts uploaded soon. The video clips were essential, of course. People wanted to see the members of The Void. Videos didn’t give her much chance to share her writing, though, so she had to figure out how to balance her writing with the videos.
The radio session went well. Dane and the other Void members were all in good spirits and had fun with it. Lily made sure to get footage of the fans as well as the band. She knew that most people wanted to have their fifteen minutes of fame. As long as she got their permission—which she intended to do with the forms Christopher had given her —she could feature these fans in her posts. That would help win them over and hopefully get other fans excited about possible future features of themselves.
Since she had yet to hear back from Johnathan, she texted him during a break in the radio show. It was unusual for him to go so long without contacting her. Her first instinct once she realized what a colossal mistake she had made by accepting his proposal was to tell him the moment he answered his phone. After having a little time to think about it though, she realized how awful it would be to break up with him over the phone. Even Dane had agreed with her when she said as much to him the night before.
Still, she needed to let Johnathan know she wanted to see him when the tour stopped in Los Angeles. That was twelve days away. Hopefully the time would allow her to figure out what she wanted to say to him.
It would also feel like an eternity trying to keep from jumping Dane, especially when he looked as hot as he did today.
She had to stop herself from biting her lip as she took videos and photos of him. He had on a plain dark gray T-shirt and black jeans with a pair of gray and black sneakers. The simplicity of the outfit highlighted his colorful tattoos. His deep caramel-colored hair was styled in an artful tousle that managed to look carefree but had probably taken some time to perfect. The stubble lining his jaw gave him so much sex appeal it was a wonder all of the female fans didn’t flash to cinder in their seats, particularly when he paired it with a smoldering look or dimpled smile.
Lily was a little surprised that it didn’t bother her when she watched him charm the female fans. She realized that there was a subtle difference in how he spoke with and interacted with them versus how he treated her. That realization was astonishingly freeing.
It also once again made her doubt she would last twelve more days before talking to Johnathan.
“What are you thinking about?” Dane asked her in a low voice as the show wrapped up and the fans dispersed.
“How hot you look,” she replied.
His eyebrows shot up. Then one corner of his mouth lifted. The look in his eyes had her heart throttling into overdrive.
“Well don’t let me stop you,” he said with a suggestive smile.
They didn’t have time for more banter. Christopher soon had them all piling into their various vehicles to head to a brunch meeting with Tyson Wilde, the head of the band’s record label.
Lily’s expectation that it would be an intimate gathering with just The Void was soon dashed as she followed Dane into the restaurant and saw at least twenty other people already seated in the section they were led to. She assumed the additional guests were either other clients on the label or Wilde’s entourage. Seeing them made her glad she had decided to wear a dress and take the time to style her hair and apply makeup that morning.
Christopher walked up to the tall, fit male sitting at one end of the long banquet-style table. With his perfectly-groomed dark hair, striking golden eyes, and tailored navy blue suit, the man looked like a politician running for office. Lily had met Tyson Wilde once when Dane was considering whether or not to work with him. She had conducted as thorough an investigative review of the man and his label as she knew how at the time and had helped Dane come to the conclusion that signing with him was a good move. So far, that had proven true.
“Good to see you, Donahue,” Wilde said in a smooth, cultured voice, clasping Christopher’s hand and giving him a hearty pat on the back. “Boys.”
Lily watched as Wilde, who was no more than ten years older than the “boys” of The Void, gave them all similar greetings. He then turned to her and Noelle. Lily gave him credit for not making her feel unwanted at the meeting even though she was tagging along at the last minute.
“Wonderful to see you again, Ms. Foxx,” he said, taking Noelle’s hand and covering it briefly with both of his. He then turned to Lily and said, “And Ms. Montgomery, what a delightful surprise to see you again.”
“Thanks,” she said, giving him a smile and accepting his offered hand. “Nice to see you again, too, Mr. Wilde.”
She held back a grin when he waved at Dane. “Sure.”
“What brings you here today?” Wilde asked.
“I’m filling in as the band’s social media manager over the summer,” she explained. “Hopefully I’ll figure out a way to gain a lot more new followers for them.”
He glanced at Christopher and then back at her. “I see. Well, welcome to the team. Please enjoy your brunch.”
She smiled again, but part of her wondered about the look he had exchanged with Christopher. What had that been about?
“Thanks,” she replied.
He had already turned to walk back to his seat. Oh, well. At least she could enjoy her meal and talk to Dane.
“Archer, I’ve saved you a seat,” Wilde said then. “Please join me down here so we can catch up on things.”
Damn, Lily thought as she joined the rest of the band at the other end of the table. Dane gave her an apologetic look but she just shrugged. This was another thing she both knew and had to accept about his life. They were all going to dinner that evening anyway and she could always talk to him then.
“Welcome to the Dark Side of the table,” Sage said as he pulled out a chair and offered it to Lily.
She laughed and took the seat. “Thanks. I hope you have cookies here.”
“We’ll see what we can do.”
* * *
Before Lily knew it, it was time for dinner that evening. She was more than ready to eat again. The veggie omelet and whole wheat toast she had eaten for brunch was long gone.
Aria and Sydney got ready before her since they knew she would be cutting it close on time after the band’s last appointment of the day with a local afternoon talk show. Aria had helped adjust Lily’s makeup to a more appropriate evening look and had piled her hair into a pretty up-do. After that, Aria and Sydney decided to stay out of her way and went down to the hotel lobby bar to wait for Lily to finish getting ready.