They just had to keep on track and stay focused.
…
The scent of tofu burgers assaulted Daisy as she pushed into the house, glad to be done with her last recycling run. It’d been hotter than hell today and she just wanted to collapse in front of a fan and drink twenty gallons of ice water. She took the wadded-up newspaper article from her pocket and tossed it in the trash. The one Emma had left taped to the outside of her locker. A “last day of school send-off,” she was sure. It’d been a copy of the original story from last autumn when Trevin had ditched her.
The whole school year had been like that. Bullies leaving her stupid notes and pictures and clippings of that horrible night. A constant reminder she couldn’t leave behind. There’d even been videos posted to her social media pages, which she deleted, but they kept getting reposted. Daisy thought things would blow over after a couple of weeks—that everyone would find something else to talk about, but in her small town she continued to be the biggest news.
One of the jocks had even given her the nickname “Dump,” which caught on like a wildfire in a drought. But, thank God, it was summer. Maybe things would finally die down over vacation.
“Hey sweetie,” her mom’s voice sounded from the deck.
“Okay, what have you done with my mom?” Daisy yelled from inside.
Her mom’s laugh rang through the house. “What do you mean by that?”
“Um—you never cook, so what’s the special occasion?” Daisy kicked off her flip-flops and tromped out onto the deck where her mom stood manning the grill.
Mom’s face lit up and she tossed the burgers onto a plate. “Can’t I make you dinner without you getting suspicious?” She’d totally avoided answering the question. Her eyes darted around the backyard, focusing on anything but Daisy.
“Seriously, what’s going on?” She followed her mom back into the dining room.
Mom set the food on the table. “You like Dr. Bradley, right?”
“Yeah, I guess, but you’ve only been dating him for a few months so I don’t know him that well—”
Mom squealed, hopping up and down like a drunk on a pogo stick.
“Oh, God, you’re not engaged, are you?” Daisy’s mouth went dry. It’d been just the two of them for so long. Not that she didn’t like Dr. Bradley—he was nice, if not kinda nerdy—but she already had one dad who didn’t come around. She didn’t need another.
“No. It’s just, well, he—he asked if I’d go to Italy with him for a few weeks to meet his parents. But I can tell him no.”
“Wait, you mean just the two of you?”
Mom’s face fell. “It’s not that he doesn’t like you—he does—we just thought it’d be a nice way for us to get to know each other better. We’ve had some really great dates. But if you don’t want me to go…”
Great. Daisy knew her mother never put herself first. And it wasn’t like she’d dated much since her parents divorced all those years ago. How could she be mad about her going away? With a sigh, Daisy rushed forward and hugged her. “That’s great. I mean, what an amazing opportunity. I can ask if Lena’s parents will let me stay with them. Or maybe I can just stay here on my own and have Ms. Bennett from next door check in on me.”
Mom’s smile faltered and she sat down. “About that…”
Oh. No. Daisy knew that look. Whatever Mom was about to say, she wasn’t going to like it.
“I called your dad today. And, well, he said he’d love to take you for the summer.”
“What? You never talk to Dad. Besides, I thought he had some bodyguard gig.”
“H-he does. But he already got permission for you to tag along. I think you’ll have a lot of fun.”
“Who exactly is he working for?” Her heart hammered in her chest. This wasn’t happening. All her summer plans to work on her recycling program in town went out the window in a single earth-shattering moment.
“Actually…” She rubbed her neck, looking uncomfortable. “He’s traveling with Seconds to Juliet.”
“Are you serious?” Daisy stared at her, waiting for the punch line.
“Yes. I know it might seem like a bad idea, but you need to build a relationship with your father.”
A bad idea? Hell no, it wasn’t. Her dad was working for Seconds to Juliet—which meant he had access to Trevin Jacobs. The Trevin Jacobs, who’d stood her up and made a fool of her. Who’d caused her a year’s worth of humiliation and teasing from her classmates. She’d been dreaming of her revenge for months, but she’d had no way to act on anything.
Until now.
Daisy smiled. “Mom, it’s fine, really. And you’re right; I need to spend more time with Dad. Everything will be great. You should definitely go with Dr. Bradley—in fact, I can call Dad myself to let him know I love this idea and to get all the details.”
“Really?” Her mouth dropped open in surprise. “You’re not upset?”
“No—trust me, there’s no place I’d rather be this summer.” And she meant it. This had to be the world’s way of making things right. Good old karma. Now all she had to do was call her BFF Lena and start making a real plan.
Daisy sank lower in her seat, shoving her sunglasses back into place. A pop song came on the radio and she groaned. Did the station really have to keep playing “Kiss This”? She couldn’t wait to meet the idiots who wrote this piece of crap, so she could give them something to kiss. Daisy turned the dial, searching for anything else to get rid of this annoying song.
Mom glanced at her, staring at the sign for the Ford International Airport. “I thought you liked boy bands.”
“Ha-ha. Funny. After what happened with Trevin Jacobs, I’m so over them. In fact, the only good boy band that ever existed was The Beatles. And they weren’t even a true boy band.”
“Don’t be so cynical. All music has its place, even these modern pop songs,” Mom said, imitating Daisy’s late grandpa’s words. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay hanging out with them all summer?”
“Just because I don’t like their music doesn’t mean I won’t have fun. Besides, this is about Dad and me, remember?” She swiped her auburn hair back into a rubber band. God, it was hard lying to her mom, pretending to be cool with the whole “father-daughter bonding” thing.
Soon they pulled into the parking lot, parked the car, and her mom helped her get her suitcase and ticket out.
“Call me if you need me.”
“I’ll be fine. Stop worrying.”
Mom waited with her until she got through security, as if scared she’d change her mind. And after two connecting flights and a stomach filled with butterflies she landed in Atlanta.
Daisy trudged into the main lobby to search for her dad. Instead, all she saw were strangers milling about, chatting on phones, hollering to their loved ones.
Daisy waited. And waited. Then waited some more.
She glanced at the clock. Shit. Did he forget what time she was coming in? Not that it should surprise her; he wasn’t exactly Father of the Year. Hell, he barely remembered to call her on her birthday. She expected him to let her down, to not show. But why now? Did he have to start out her summer like this? Panic coursed through her. What if he forgot her altogether and she was stranded in Atlanta by herself?
She bit back the tears that threatened to spill. Okay. She just had to keep it together. No need to have a breakdown. It’s not like this was the first time he’d done something like this.
At last, she watched a tall, red-haired man dressed in black—her dad—rushing toward her.
“Daisy! Sorry I’m late, kiddo. Got caught in traffic.” He grinned, holding his arms open to her. “Wow, you’ve really grown up.”
“Yeah, I’m not fourteen anymore,” she said. Fourteen, the last time he’d seen her. He’d sworn then he would be better about coming around, but Daisy learned early on not to believe the empty promises.
He chuckled, ruffling her hair. “Nope, definitely not fourteen. Come on, let’s get out of here.�
��
“So where are we going?”
“Well, for the next couple days we’ll be here in Atlanta, then after that Florida… I’m so excited for you to meet the guys. But we’ll have to lay some ground rules.”
“Great, can’t wait.”
“Hopefully this will make up for me missing Christmas with you last year, and…well, the year before, too.”
“Sure, whatever.” Daisy shrugged, pretending that it didn’t matter. But even she couldn’t forget the tears she’d cried when he didn’t show up for his visitations with her. The times she’d stood waiting at the door for him to show. Every forgotten birthday and holiday. She swallowed hard, trying not to focus on the bad memories. Last thing she needed to do was start crying. Again.
They made their way out to a black Suburban with tinted windows. Her dad placed her luggage in the backseat, then climbed in. They drove across town and pulled into a back lot.
“You ready to go meet the band?”
“Uh, sure.” Daisy’s stomach clenched. She was about to come face to face with the guy who’d totally ruined her year. She attempted to count to ten in her head for a distraction. Just because he’d screwed her over didn’t mean she wasn’t curious to see him in person.
Daisy traipsed after her dad, who led her behind the stadium. There, staring back at her like a teen girl’s wet dream, were the tour buses with S2J’s shirtless pictures on them—and front and center was the front man, Trevin Jacobs.
His almond-shaped brown eyes looked even bigger and sexier in the large picture. Totally kissable lips. And holy shit, he had some nice abs. Her gaze slid over the yin and yang tattoo on his shoulder. Damn, she’d forgotten how hot he was. Her mouth went dry. Okay, no reason to panic. She could do this. It wasn’t like she hadn’t spent most nights imagining his demise.
“You’ll be living every girl’s dream this summer.” Her dad’s smile widened. “You know they don’t normally let girls on their tour buses, so you should feel special that I got permission from Lester Pearl.”
Well, obviously he didn’t know her fantasy, because it definitely didn’t include these jerk-offs. She stood there for long moments, trying to comprehend the travesty that would be her summer. Two whole months stuck with the one guy she loathed more than anyone in the world. But she had to remember that it was her one chance to get even. No backing out now. Not to mention she’d gone along with this idea for a reason. And after all the teasing and humiliation she’d faced at school, she was ready to make him pay.
She’d insert herself on their tour. Wreak havoc. Then leave.
“Don’t be nervous; they’re regular guys.” He grabbed Daisy’s arm and half dragged her toward the tour bus.
Her dad knocked on the door, then opened it and tugged her up the stairs behind him. “We’re here,” he hollered.
Five pairs of eyes glanced at her. Conceit seemed to pour from them like a spilled bottle of name-brand cologne.
Daisy’s gaze moved to Trevin. Whoa. He was definitely hotter in person. All six feet of him towered above her. She tilted her head upward. His almond-shaped brown eyes reminded her of freshly brewed coffee. His dark hair was messy as if he’d just gotten out of bed. The T-shirt he wore stretched across his chest, hiding the ripped body she’d seen in the picture on the side of the bus.
Okay, she needed to stop checking him out. After all, this was the asshole who’d stood her up. She searched for any sort of recognition on his face. If he apologized now, she might forgive him…but he just gave her a quick up and down, like he couldn’t be bothered to remember the girl he’d totally shamed in front of hundreds, if not thousands, of people.
Fuming, she shifted her eyes to the others, her arms crossed on her chest. Nathan, the youngest, blushed and glanced at the floor, Miles ran a hand through his blond hair, then grabbed a T-shirt and slid it over his head as if thinking she might try checking him out or something. Will leaned against the back wall next to Trevin, observing everyone.
Ryder grinned. “Well, she’s definitely hotter than I thought she’d be, right, Trevin? Might be up your alley.”
“Damn it, I thought we already had this talk.” Her dad shielded her from view. “She’s off limits.”
“We know, Ryder was just teasing.” Trevin stepped between them.
“Don’t worry, Dad. I’m not into boy bands,” she snapped, her voice cold and collected.
Trevin raised an eyebrow, his eyes penetrating hers. “You don’t like boy bands?”
Daisy stood taller. “Nope. So don’t expect me to scream and faint or ask you to sign my body.”
“You don’t like boy bands?” he repeated, as if he hadn’t heard her the first time.
“Is this one deaf?” Daisy glanced at her dad.
Miles chuckled. “No, I think you’ve shocked him. Trevin’s not used to girls who don’t hand over their knickers.”
“Miles!” Dad’s face turned a mean shade of red.
“Sorry.” He held up his hands.
“Well, get used to it. I’m not a swooner, especially for guys who spend more money on their shoes than my mom makes in a week. Not to mention your tour buses are polluting the air with all those diesel fumes.” Daisy glowered.
Trevin frowned. “We’re not like that, you know.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Well, maybe you should hang out with me tomorrow and you’ll see for yourself that you’ve got it all wrong,” Trevin said. His mouth turned up at the corners in a cocky grin. A grin that revealed perfect, sparkly celebrity teeth; a smile that made her heart charge right into her esophagus. “Besides, I don’t think it’s fair that you judge us without getting to know us first. We do lots of charitable things.”
Daisy stiffened. “I don’t think so. I’ve read enough tabloid stuff on you guys.”
Something sparked in his eyes, something like a challenge. But she didn’t care. This was the world’s way of making things right. After the shitty year she’d had from the fallout of being stood up, Daisy finally had an opportunity to get back at Trevin. She was on tour with him—the boy who’d broken her heart was going down…and she had an all-access pass to do so.
Chapter Two
“Who knew someone so big and ugly could have a daughter who looks like that?” Ryder whispered after Beau and Daisy left. “You honestly should go for it.”
Trevin’s eyes narrowed. “More like I’d better stay away from her, unless I want Beau to use my face for target practice.”
Ryder laughed, leaning back against the couch with his arms above his head. “Wouldn’t that be a conflict of interest—since he’s supposed to be protecting us?”
“I don’t really want to find out.”
“You sure? You normally like a good challenge.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“Not interested,” Trevin said. “Anyway, you heard her. She doesn’t like boy bands.”
“And that bothers you, doesn’t it?” Miles winked. “You know she’ll be here all summer.”
Trevin sighed. “Fine, I’ll admit she’s beautiful, but that’s it. So don’t get any ideas. Just because you two have girlfriends doesn’t mean the rest of us want them.”
Then why couldn’t he stop wondering about her, her long auburn hair and gorgeous brown eyes? She was short, adorable, and colder than a glacier. He didn’t like the fact that she was judging him when she didn’t even know him. Not that any of it mattered. He didn’t need a girlfriend or to lose focus—but he didn’t want her thinking he was some stuck-up rich kid, either. His parents were farmers, for shit-sake. It wasn’t like he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He’d worked his butt off to get into S2J. And why did it seem her attitude was directed only at him?
Lester “LJ” Pearl, their manager, waddled up the tour bus stairs, the overhead lights glinting off his bald spot. “You boys need to get to your dressing rooms. Chop-chop.” He clapped his hands. He must not have any PR stuff to wrangle today.
The others grumbled but hurried o
ut the door. Trevin started to follow after them, but LJ caught his shoulder. He stiffened. He already knew what was coming.
“So, how are the guys doing? You really need to keep them in line. We can’t afford another incident like Albuquerque.”
Trevin nodded. Albuquerque, one of their first ever tour stops, was where Ryder had gotten drunk and Miles had gotten into a fight with some guy who’d been messing with Nathan. “Everyone’s fine. The guys have been doing great.”
LJ toyed with the cuff on his dress shirt. “Glad to hear. So let me ask you this, do you think Will has been acting strange lately?”
“Not really,” Trevin lied. They’d all noticed Will’s reserved exterior melt away almost overnight. But it wasn’t any of his business. Maybe Will was just sick of being known as the “shy guy.”
“And you’re sure Ryder is keeping out of trouble?” He pinned Trevin with his gaze. “When I signed you on, I told you that as the oldest, you’d have to watch out for these guys. You know they don’t always do what they’re supposed to. And since I can’t be with you twenty-four seven, I need you to be my eyes.” He patted his arm. “Miles and Ryder have already done enough on this tour, breaking our rules. So I really need you to step up.”
“I told you, everyone is good.” Trevin took a step back. He didn’t need this pressure. LJ was constantly riding his ass.
“Fine. I’m expecting you to keep things together. The guys look up to you like a big brother. They trust you.”
Didn’t he know it? Anytime anything happened, LJ came to him, urging Trevin to patch up fights or arguments—he’d made it clear early on that their band’s success was on Trevin’s shoulders. That he had to keep everyone together. Lately LJ had been pissing off the guys, which meant they didn’t want to listen to him. So that made Trevin his go-to guy to help keep everyone on the straight and narrow.
“I know. And like I said last week, we’re doing fine.”
“Well, let me know if anything comes up.”
Daisy and the Front Man (Entangled Crush) (Backstage Pass) Page 2