I nodded, fighting the urge to let my eyes run down his lean body.
“Hungry, love?” His gaze darkened.
“Go.” I grabbed a pillow and stuffed it over my face, but he pulled it away.
“See you soon.” He winked, and then took off down the bus. I heard him talk to Letty, their voices a low rumble. But one word stood out.
Riley.
“It’s Molly,” Letty handed me my cell phone. “You might want to take it.” She winked.
“Mol?”
“Hey, babe. How’s things in tourlandia?”
“Things are surprisingly good.”
“Well, yeah they are. You get to perform every night with one of the world’s hottest bands right now. And then you get to rub yourself all over their bassist.”
“Did you really just say that?”
She let out a groan. “This dry spell is killin’ me. I hate to say it...” Her hesitation was palpable. “But Hudson effin’ Ryker has ruined me for all other guys.”
I let out a quiet laugh. “He really got under your skin, huh?”
“You can never tell him. I mean it, Eva.”
“Maybe you should tell him?”
“What?” She gasped. “Have you lost your freakin’ mind? It’s Hudson effin’ Ryker.”
“Yeah, yeah, you just said that, but—”
“No buts, Eva. Me and Hudson are destined to be nothin’ more than a shootin’ star. Burnin’ bright and pretty to look at, but if you blink, you’ll miss it.”
“Nice visual, Mol,” I said.
“Anyway, he is not the reason I called. My mom is takin’ the twins to visit my grams next weekend, so I spoke to Letty and guess who will be comin’ to your show in Louisville?” She sang the words.
“For real?”
“Real, aaand it won’t be a fly by visit this time. I’m comin’ for the entire weekend.”
I let out a shriek of approval. “I’m so excited.”
“Letty checked the schedule and you guys have a day off, so I was thinkin’ we could hit up the city and do the whole tourist thing.”
“Yes, yes, yes.” Excitement blossomed in my chest. Leaving Molly and my parents behind was definitely the downside of touring.
“Have the guys said what they’ll be doin’ to celebrate Damon’s birthday?”
“It’s his birthday?” No one had said a thing. “How do you possibly know that?”
“It’s called Google.” She chuckled. “You should try Googling yourself, it’s quite entertainin’.”
“Please, don’t.” I covered my face with my hand, which was ridiculous given she couldn’t see me.
“You should be so proud of yourself, babe. I saw the video of you singin’ with Rafe and Levi. It has like a gazillion views.”
Letty had told me it had been a hit, but I’d avoided it, like I tried to avoid everything else splashed all over the media. Even if it was a hit, I knew that for every compliment there would be a cruel comment.
“Okay, I got to go, the twins are—shit, the little brats are up to no good again. I’ll text you soon.”
“Bye.” We hung up.
“Everything okay?” Letty reappeared.
“Thank you.” I smiled, clutching my cell to my chest.
“Oh, it was nothing.”
“What was nothing?” Phoebe breezed into the room, her hands full of coffee.
“Letty arranged for my best friend to come visit over the weekend.”
“Awesome. Has Damon said what he wants to do to celebrate yet?”
I gawked at her. “Seriously, you know this stuff too?” Her and Molly were going to have no problem getting along.
“Well, yeah. Even before I joined the label, I knew... and that’s totally weird.”
“Don’t let Hudson know you’re that kind of fan, he’ll never let you live it down.”
Just then, Riley entered the room. “I need you to go over these.” She thrust the papers at Letty.
“Hello to you too.”
Riley’s eyes cut to mine, but I pretended to be reading my phone.
“I think I’d be cranky too after spending a whole night on the bus with the band.” Phoebe’s tone was saccharine sweet.
I smothered a snicker with my hand. Letty was less obvious, coughing away her laughter.
“Actually, the guys all made me feel right at home.” She spun around and marched out the room.
“I bet they did,” Letty mumbled after her. “Is it me or is she becoming more and more hostile?”
“Oh, it’s not you,” I let out a weary sigh.
“Maybe Alistair finally put her in her place?” Letty said.
“Put who in their place?” The guys filed into the room. Hudson took a running leap, throwing himself over the couch, landing with a thud.
“Nothing,” Letty answered. “What’s in the bag?”
“Breakfast hoagies.” He shook it. “We had security go out and buy us some.”
“Ooh, gimme.”
“For the ladies.” Damon held out a bag and Letty snatched it up, opening it, and sticking her head inside.
“So. Good.”
“Hey, Hud,” I said. “Guess who’s comin’ to visit over the weekend?”
His smile fell. “Oh, hell no.” He dropped his head back, running a hand over his face.
“Molly wants to know what your birthday plans are?” I rose a brow at Damon.
“I prefer not to celebrate.”
“But you’re twenty-one,” Phoebe added. “You have to celebrate.”
“Yeah, come on, Dame. We should do something. We have the day off Saturday.” Hudson waggled his brows. “We could hit the clubs. Maybe check out a strip club—”
“Nice, real nice.” Letty rolled her eyes.
“No strippers,” Damon said. “Or clubs. But I wouldn’t be totally against doing something low key and normal.”
“But you’re open to ideas?” I said around a smile. “It’s your birthday, we have to celebrate.”
“Fine, fine.” He held up his hands. “But nothing illegal, or public, or risky.” His glare snapped to Hudson. “I mean it, bro.”
“Spoilsport.”
Levi strolled into the room the exact moment I squeaked with approval. “What’s got you so excited?”
“Damon’s birthday,” I said. “He says we can celebrate.”
“For real?” Levi frowned at his bandmate. “But you never want to celebrate.”
“What can I say? Eva’s a bad influence; it’s impossible to say no to her.”
My heart swelled.
Molly and Letty were right. I was a part of this band. Somehow, some way, I had earned the friendship and trust of these four broken boys. And unlike Riley, the Die Hearts, or the label, it was something I would never take for granted.
Rafe
* * *
“Hey, can we talk?” I asked Levi as he walked off stage. We’d just finished sound check and had a couple hours to ourselves.