“Hey,” he said. “What’re you reading?”
She hesitated a moment then lifted it up for him to see the cover. “It’s a book about Eleanor Roosevelt.”
Okay, he definitely wasn’t expecting that. He thought maybe she’d be reading some romance book or young adult novel. “And you’re reading this for fun, not for school?” he teased.
She frowned. “School’s out for the summer, but reading non-fiction is kind of my hobby. You, know, books about real stuff—getting smarter, that whole thing.”
“Sorry, that came out wrong. As does half of the stuff I try to say around you.” Trevin sighed. You’d think he’d have learned by now. He’d just gotten on her good side yesterday and here he was blowing it again. Jeez, why did he care so much what she thought of him or if he offended her?
“Don’t tell me I make you nervous.” She cocked her head to the side and studied him. “You’re supposed to be great at interviews, talking, and all the stuff that comes along with being famous.”
“Tell that to my mouth,” Trevin muttered. He stood in his sweats, staring at her for a moment. He shook off the nerves and cleared his throat. “So, do you want to maybe go get a coffee or something?”
Daisy toyed with a bracelet dangling on her wrist. “You mean going out in public?”
“Actually, I thought maybe we could grab one in the café across from the main lobby.”
Daisy glanced at her dad, then back to Trevin. “Sure—I just need to let Dad know where I’ll be.”
Great, Beau had given him the stink eye last night after having her in his room. Which he didn’t understand—all they’d done was talk for a couple minutes. Besides, Beau should know Trevin well enough by now. He’d been assigned to the band right after the reality TV show had ended, and had only taken a short break to guard some actor for a couple months last year, but came back to S2J soon after. Now if Trevin were Ryder or, say, Miles, he would’ve had more reason to be worried.
Daisy shut her book and went over to talk to Beau, who turned to glance at Trevin. The bodyguard’s gaze traveled up and down him, and he crossed his arms at his chest.
“Trevin, come here a minute,” he said.
Trevin sighed, wondering if he was gonna get throttled. “What’s up?”
“Daisy told me you wanted to get coffee with her?”
“Yeah—I’ve got a couple hours before I need to get ready and thought she and I could hang out for a while.”
“If she goes back to yours and Miles’s room, I want you in the living room area—is that understood? And I will be checking in on you.”
His biceps flexed against his black T-shirt, a gentle reminder that he could easily tear Trevin in half if he did something Beau didn’t like.
“Yep, got it.” Trevin smiled, acting like he wasn’t scared of the bodyguard.
“Ugh, seriously Dad, can you drop the overprotective act?” Daisy grabbed Trevin’s arm and tugged him toward the door.
When they were out of earshot, Trevin chuckled. “Well, I have to say these last couple days have definitely let me see another side to Beau. Is he always like this with you?”
Daisy shrugged. “Don’t know, I rarely see him. You guys know my dad better than I do.”
Trevin twisted his head so his eyes met hers. “So why did your parents get divorced?”
“I don’t know. Mom doesn’t like to talk about it—all I know is he’d been overseas when he was in the army and when he came back home, he and Mom split up. She’s the one who’s pretty much raised me. My dad calls every few months. This is actually the first time I’ve seen him in like three years.”
The scent of coffee hung in the air as they pushed into the café. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up—it must be hard for you.”
She hugged her book tight to her chest and nodded. “It sucks. He makes promises that he never keeps but, well, I’m totally over it.”
But it didn’t sound like she was over it. Trevin understood now, why she might have trust issues. It was hard to believe, though, that Beau would act like that. Up until Daisy got there, Trevin had been pretty close to Beau. His bodyguard would joke around with him, include him in a game of cards during bus trips; not to mention, he’d acted like more of a proud father than his own dad did when they’d received a music award this past winter. Of course, maybe there was more to the story. Trevin had no right to judge Beau, but he felt bad for Daisy. He hated seeing the hurt radiating in her eyes whenever they talked about her dad.
“Maybe this summer will make him realize everything he’s been missing out on.” Trevin touched her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Her skin felt warm beneath his fingertips. His pulse jumped and he quickly stepped back.
“Yeah, maybe.”
She didn’t sound convinced. And he admitted he felt a tiny twinge of guilt about the bet. Maybe he should let Ryder know this wasn’t such a great idea. But then he thought about missing out on the collaboration. Damn. Things were about to get complicated. Why did he have to have a conscience?
…
Daisy sat next to Trevin in the café, sipping her cappuccino, staring out the window as people hurried past. Her stomach twisted in knots. Why the hell had she told him personal things about herself? She normally saved those talks for Lena. Plus, when she’d brought up her dad’s lack of parenting, he actually acted like he felt bad for her. Not that she wanted or needed his sympathy.
She didn’t understand how he could pull this nice guy crap now, when nine months ago he’d left her hanging. Maybe her dad put him up to being nice to her. But as far as she knew, Dad didn’t have any idea about the contest stuff. He’d been working for some foreign actress while she was in the U.S. last fall. And her parents never talked, so there’s no way he’d find out from her mom.
“So do you know what you want to do when you finish high school?” Trevin broke the silence.
“I thought about doing something with environmental science. Back home I started a huge recycling program in our city.” Daisy watched him, waiting to see if it triggered his memory.
“Our band has partnered with a few organizations to help with things like that,” Trevin said.
No shit, Daisy thought. She’d won one of their contests. A part of her wanted to tell him everything about it, to remind him about ditching her. But more than anything, she wished he’d remember it on his own, show her she was wrong about him. She pinched her leg and counted to ten in her head.
You will not reach across this table and smack him upside the head. You will not smack him. Just put on a smile or you’ll blow your whole plan to get back at him.
Daisy took a deep breath and said, “That’s awesome. It’s great to see you guys getting involved. Although, I think you could all do more on your tours. Like recycle your water bottles, try to get more ecofriendly transportation…”
“Maybe while you’re here this summer, we could come up with some more ideas. I mean, if there are any causes you’d like to see us promote, I’d be glad to help.” Trevin took a swig of his coffee.
Her head snapped up. “You’d back a program I suggest?”
“Yeah. It’s good publicity for us and it helps others in the process.”
Right. The publicity. She should’ve known that’d be his real motivation.
“Okay, you’re giving me that look again. What’d I do?”
Daisy met his gaze. “So the only reason you’d help out is to get good PR?”
His eyes widened. “No, no—I swear that’s not what I meant. God, why do I keep doing this? You must think I’m a real asshole. I don’t do charity stuff just for PR.”
Daisy noticed the blush creep up his cheeks. Either he was being genuine or she was a shitty judge of character.
“Listen, why don’t we talk about something else,” she said.
“Hey, Trevin,” Miles called from the doorway. “LJ wants to meet with us for a few minutes. He’s in a bloody good mood today, which means he’s probably booked us
another venue.”
Trevin groaned and turned to Daisy. “Can I get a rain check?”
“Sure, I’ve got to get my suitcase packed for tonight anyway.” She pushed her chair back and climbed to her feet. “Thanks for the cappuccino.”
“Anytime.” He stood too. “W-will you be on The One with us for a while tonight? Or is your dad sending you straight to the Hanging On bus?”
“I thought no one but band members and bodyguards were allowed on your bus.”
“I’m sure we can make an exception,” Trevin teased. “Besides, we might need someone to take Ryder’s spot in Call of Duty Black Ops. And your dad will be with us for a while, so I’m assuming you’ll be tagging along.”
Daisy laughed. “Um—you might want to rescind that invitation.”
“Why? You don’t like gaming?”
“Actually, I’m pretty kick-ass when it comes to video games. I play them all the time with my friend Lena’s younger brother.”
Trevin walked with her out of the coffee shop. “You know, you should do that more often.”
“Do what?” Daisy’s pulse quickened when his hand brushed against hers.
“Laugh. Your smile really lights up your face.” With that, he gave a quick wave and hurried after Miles.
Daisy groaned. No way. She wasn’t going to fall for his lines. She had a plan and she needed to stick to it. However, even she couldn’t deny the tiny flutters spiraling out of control.
She hurried upstairs to pack her suitcase. She was only a couple days into her stay and she realized she was already in big trouble. Trevin Jacobs was going to be a huge challenge for her. But she was determined to see her plan through to the end.
Chapter Six
“All right boys, let’s get loaded up.” Beau ushered them out a tunnel to the back of the stadium.
“We’re actually getting out ahead of the crowd tonight,” Will said. “I just want to hop on the bus and change out of these jeans.”
“Yeah, tell me about it, I think my balls have lost circulation.” Ryder groaned.
Trevin snorted and glanced back to see Daisy close behind him. He reached back and grabbed hold of her jacket sleeve. At first she tried to tug away, until he said, “Sorry, just trying to help you keep up with us. Trust me, you don’t want to get stuck in the middle of a mob of screaming girls. If our port-a-john incident isn’t proof enough.”
She stopped fighting and let him lead her into the parking lot. When they neared the bus, he released her and rushed onto the tour bus behind Miles and the others. At least they hadn’t had to perform their song “WET” tonight, so they didn’t have drenched clothing to worry about. LJ decided they’d only perform the song at certain shows, so the fans wouldn’t have any idea when they might do it—in other words, it meant more tickets sold. Plus, not all the venues they played had the capability onstage for the amounts of water they used during that set.
“Hot damn, another show done,” Will said, stripping off his shirt. “I’m calling dibs on first shower.” And just like that his usual shyness was gone.
“You definitely sweated the most.” Miles fanned the air around him.
Will snapped his T-shirt at him. “You’re right, because I’m the hottest.”
“Not sure about that, mate. I’m the one dubbed heartthrob.” Miles grinned.
“Before you start stripping down, let me bring Daisy to the front of the bus,” Beau said. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her toward the passenger seat next to the driver and shut the door.
Before the bus pulled away, a knock sounded from outside and Beau headed toward the stairs.
“Hey, sorry I’m late, LJ said I could hang out with Ryder for a while tonight,” Mia said, her cheeks red. She still had on the tight black leather pants and blue tank top from the show, holding a pair of black boots in her hand. She was definitely edgier than she was when they’d first met her.
Ryder hurried to her side, wrapping an arm around her waist as he bent down to give her a quick kiss before swiping strands of dark hair from her face.
“Speaking of LJ, he wanted me to tell you guys we’ve got an autograph session at the mall in Tampa tomorrow,” Beau said.
“Hopefully they have more security guards than the last one,” Nathan said.
Ryder chuckled. “You mean you didn’t like getting accosted by that sixty-year-old grandma?”
“Don’t remind me.” Nathan’s face lit up like a pyrotechnic show. “You didn’t have her shoving her big white bra in your face trying to get it signed.”
“That’s because I’m older. She wanted me to sign what went into those giant double-D cups.” Ryder flashed a quick smile then went back toward the bathroom, cutting off Will, who’d been en route.
“Ryder, don’t be sick.” Mia slapped his shoulder.
“I’m kidding.” He nuzzled her neck. “I’ll be back in a second. I need to get cleaned up.”
“He always has to take it a step too far,” Trevin said.
When they got back to their bunk room, Trevin stripped out of his stage clothes and tossed them in the hamper. He opted for a pair of basketball shorts and T-shirt. He’d wait to take a shower until after Daisy left for the night—he planned on hanging out with her as much as he could. He wanted to let her see the real him and hope she’d warm up. Not that he was trying to date her or anything—but if he was going to make her fall for him, he needed to put in more effort.
So far, during their tours, he’d danced with a few girls at clubs or flirted with waitresses when they went out to eat, but it was nothing serious. Unfortunately, he wasn’t like Ryder or Miles who didn’t mind going out on dates, or at least they had prior to getting girlfriends. He didn’t want that type of image, but those two said it was fun to date around. Since their summer tour had begun, LJ had relaxed some on his “no girls” rule, if Daisy and Mia being allowed to ride on their bus was any indication.
Once everyone was changed, Trevin went to the front of the bus. “Daisy, hey, we’re all decent now; you can come hang out with us.”
She glanced up from her phone, where she’d been texting someone. “Be right there.”
“Oh, and we have pizza.” He pointed at the table behind the couch. One of their tour managers bought it for them once a week. It usually happened when they had to rush out of some place and wouldn’t have time to stop or didn’t want to get mobbed trying to pull off somewhere nearby.
Daisy followed him out into the main living area. Trevin handed her a paper plate, then grabbed them both a couple slices of pepperoni pizza. He went over to the fridge and pulled out some bottles of water. “Anyone else need something to drink?”
“Nope, I’m good.” Ryder held up a Mountain Dew.
“Can you toss me an iced tea?” Miles said in between bites of food.
“Anyone else? Mia?”
“I’m fine,” she said.
“I’ll pass,” Will said.
Trevin sat down on the couch next to Miles then patted the spot beside him. “Daisy, you can sit here and use the coffee table if you want.”
“Sure.”
“So what do you think of the tour so far?” Miles popped open the top on his drink.
“Loud and busy,” Daisy said, picking off her pepperonis and eating them one at a time.
“That about sums it up.” Trevin set his plate down. “So did you see our new dance routine tonight?”
“You mean the one where you missed a step?” Daisy glanced at him.
Ryder laughed. “Yep, that’d be the one. Don’t worry, our boy here isn’t usually that clumsy. I think a certain redhead watching backstage distracted him. Actually…Trevin gets distracted by girls all the time.”
“No I don’t,” Trevin said, his face growing hot. Shit. Ryder was trying to ruin the progress he’d made. “I’m not much of a dancer—but I did better than you did on our new dance in rehearsal this morning.” He tossed his bottle cap at Ryder’s head and missed.
“That’s beca
use Moses was shoving the damn moves down my throat.”
“Sure, that’s the reason,” Miles said.
“So, who’s ready to play Black Ops now?” Trevin changed the subject before Ryder and Miles started fighting again. Or before Ryder opened his mouth about something else to push Daisy away from him. He couldn’t believe he was playing dirty. Or maybe he could. He rubbed the back of his neck, casting a sideways glance at Daisy. He could feel the heat radiating off her body as she readjusted herself on the couch.
“I’ll give it a go,” Miles said. “Aimee went to bed already, so I can’t message her.”
“I’m just gonna lie here and relax.” Will tossed a pillow on the floor and spread out.
“Ryder can play,” Nathan said. “I’m trying to get caught up on Doctor Who.”
“You watch Doctor Who, too?” Daisy sat up straighter. “Oh my gosh, I love that show—I think David Tennant or Matt Smith were my favorites.”
“Being the token Brit of the group, I introduced him to it.” Miles stood and threw away his plate.
“And he hasn’t let me forget it.” Nathan rolled his eyes.
Trevin listened to Daisy and Nathan talk Doctor Who for several minutes. His jaw clenched as he put the video game disk into the console. Okay, they were just talking, no need to freak out. But why was it she could open up to Nathan and not him? Maybe she felt more comfortable with him because he was younger than her. There was no way she liked him, was there? Shit. He’d definitely have to break out the big guns. Even from here, he saw Ryder smirking. Son of a bitch. He wasn’t going to let him win this.
“If I have to play, then Mia does too,” Ryder said, patting his lap for her to come sit with him.
“Seriously?” She cocked an eyebrow at him.
“Yes.”
“How about you ask me nicely,” she said.
He bent forward and let his lips brush against her neck. “Please?”
Mia blushed. “Fine, but only because you said please.” She grabbed the extra handle and settled in with Ryder.
“Everyone cool with zombie mode?” he asked, his eyes finding Daisy.
Daisy and the Front Man (Entangled Crush) (Backstage Pass) Page 6