I didn’t stare at her as she walked because that bobbing always made me feel vaguely motion sick. Finally, a door closed, and she huffed out a breath. “I didn’t expect you to call so quickly.”
“Mic and equipment checks are in an hour,” I told her. “So I won’t be free for long. What’s up?”
“You know, it’s a little weird when I remember you’re like a rock star and shit.”
I snorted. “I’m not a rock star, I’m just a singer and part of a duo. We happen to have a great time. What’s up?”
“Still sounds like a rock star to me. So—” She elongated the word. “Is your tour bringing you to Boston at any point?”
“Not this time, as far as I can remember. We actually added some European dates and a few in Canada, though.” That was weird enough.
“Damn. What about somewhere within driving distance to Boston?”
“Chloe,” I said, firming my tone. If I wasn’t careful, she would wander all around the point for a half hour before she got to it. The last couple of years, she’d gotten awful about coming out with what she wanted sideways.
Asking if we were busy before asking what she wanted. It almost felt like verbal traps, and I felt bad for calling her on it the first time. The second time? Not so much. By the third time, I’d figured it out.
I loved her. But I would only indulge her so far. Apparently, the method worked because Dad and Kelly asked me to keep it up.
“There’s a boy, and he loves your music. He thinks you’re hot, which is weird, but my friends all told him you’re my sister.” She wrinkled her nose. “He asked if I could get us tickets to see you.”
Oh. Fuck.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “We don’t have any shows on the upper east coast.” If she really wanted, I could fly her down to see one of our shows, but I wasn’t bringing her whole friend group and a boy.
“It’s stupid, I know. He’s cute, and I like him—but I thought if I could prove you really are my sister…”
“Sweetheart, you have pictures of us. If that’s not enough for him, it’s not about proving I’m your sister, it’s about what you can do for him.” Which made him a dick. “That’s not okay.”
The heaviness in her sigh tugged at me. “I kind of knew that,” she admitted. “I was hoping you wouldn’t agree…”
“Oh, sweetheart.” Leaning forward, I studied her on the phone’s tiny screen. “You deserve so much better than that. Tell me you know that.”
Chloe flung herself down on a bed. “I do. Maggie said he’s an arrogant ass who knows how pretty he is. But that’s the problem—he is pretty.”
“Well, if he isn’t pretty on the inside, then I don’t care what he looks like on the outside.” I still couldn’t believe he told her I was hot. Who did that? “Want me to ask Jake to drive up?” Or I could call Alec.
Though the adult thing to do would be to call Kelly and Dad and let them know. I was on the fence, though…
“No, I’ll handle it. Because you’re right, and so is Maggie.” Another sigh. “When are you coming up to see us?”
“We’ll be home for Thanksgiving,” I promised. “Then Ian and I are taking a longer break. We may have to do a handful of shows as makeups in the spring, but we’ll be home for the rest of winter.”
“Frankie, it’s May.”
“I know. We agreed to a longer tour schedule this time with a lot of breaks. Ian’s music is taking off, and we’re going to open for a few bands in the fall. So—ask Dad and Kelly when would be a good time for me to fly you guys out to meet us somewhere. Then you can come to a show.”
“Oh my god! You are the best!” The squeal hit an uncomfortable decibel level, but by the time Ian got back, Chloe and I were off the phone and I was back to stalking Coop’s text messages to see if he’d even opened them yet.
The scent of bacon hit me and my stomach growled. Bouncing up, I threw my arms around him, and Ian picked me right up as he kicked the door closed behind him.
“What’s the matter, Angel?”
“Nothing, I’m just glad that when you guys were dicks it was never about using me to get to someone else.”
His eyes narrowed. “Someone making life hard for Chloe?”
“Someone is gonna regret it,” I told him as he set me down. He’d gotten us BLTs and fries. There were bottles of water too. As much as I liked soda, we had a couple of long sets, and we needed all the hydration possible.
After I filled Ian in on the little punk who thought I was hawt and his challenge to Chloe, Ian looked thoughtful. “Yeah, you’re right. Definitely a punk. Feels weird to be thinking about kicking a sophomore’s ass, though.”
I laughed. “It feels weird to think about high school at all.” Three years after college, seven years after high school. Sometimes, it felt like an entirely different life. “Still, Craig is his age, I could sic him on the guy, but Dad and Kelly would probably prefer a more peaceful resolution.”
After stuffing another French fry in my mouth, I jumped when my phone buzzed. I wiped my fingers off on my jeans and then grabbed my phone.
Message from Coop. Yes!
Ian sat forward as I swiped it open. The message was short and to the point, but I raised my fists and gave a whoop.
“He did it!!”
Laughing, Ian snapped a photo of me as I did a happy dance. He’d been presenting his Master’s thesis today. Granted, it wasn’t the doctoral, but it was the final component he needed to graduate with honors. Then he would be taking the state licensing test.
Our boy was going to be a psychologist.
I blew a kiss at the phone as Ian held it up, an indulgent look on his face. Yes, he was recording me. No, I didn't care.
“I am so proud of you,” I said to the phone screen. “You kicked ass. You’re going to be the best Dr. Standish-Brennen ever, and when I get home, you get anything you want from me as your reward.”
“Hey,” Ian said. “Why don’t I get that deal?”
I grinned at him because he was just playing. “You get me every night on the road. You gotta leave them something.”
“This is true,” he said with a wink. Then he turned the camera to face him. “Frankie’s right, man. This is excellent. Save the celebration dinner for us, and we’ll be home in thirty-six hours.”
Wrapping my arms around Ian’s neck from behind, I stared into the camera. “I miss you guys, and I love you.”
Ian ended the video and sent it, then dragged me around to sit in his lap. “You know we can change this tour—”
“No,” I said with a shake of my head. “We talked about this. All of us. I do miss them. I hate being on the road without them, but I also love being on the road with you. You guys want me to give up the IUD in a couple of years, so this may be the last time we really have the time to just go and do it. We put enough breaks in.”
The IUD conversation happened the past Christmas. Jake asked, then it led to a discussion. Coop still needed to get his licensing, and he wanted time to settle into his career. Ian and I were nearly done with the new album. This was the perfect transition year, particularly when we’d been planning a shorter tour, to begin with.