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“I’ll live,” she said with a smirk. “Thanks for the muscle, by the way.”
Emmie shrugged. “These idiots have no use running a festival this size if they can’t shell out the manpower for proper security.” Her phone buzzed, and she glanced down at the screen. She typed one-handedly even as she turned her gaze on the rockers standing beside us. “Ladies, remember what we talked about. The rest of the day is your own once the meet-and-greet is over. But no walking around on your own. Either stay together or get Bruce to escort you around. These drunk fucks are just itching to get one of you alone.”
“We’ll be fine,” Aubree told her dismissively.
The look Emmie gave her had both Riley and me shivering. “Look, I realize I’m not your usual handler out here. Natalie had some last-minute issues with her daughter that kept her at home. Otherwise, she would be right here, and she could have dealt with your asses. That doesn’t mean you dismiss my cautions because you think you know better. Trust me, little girl, I’ve been doing this shit a hell of a long time longer than you. So if I’m telling you to be aware of your surroundings at all times and to travel in a group or with the muscle, then I have plenty of reasons to do so. Stay in fucking groups or with Bruce. If I see you walking around here by yourself, I’m not going to be happy. Clear?”
The drummer exhaled dramatically. “Yeah, Mom. I hear you loud and clear.”
Emmie’s lips twitched, but her face blanked over before the grin had a chance to make an appearance. Her huge green eyes sparkled with amusement though as she turned back to us.
That gaze landed on our wrists, taking in the bracelets. “Good gods, you’re the winners of the contest?”
“That would be us,” Riley confirmed. “I guess we get to hang out more later.”
“I was supposed to meet your shuttle earlier. But the damn thing never showed. Did you have issues?”
“It broke down on the way here,” I informed her, pushing down my nervousness and excitement at seeing this woman in the flesh and speaking for the first time now that my hearing was finally returning to normal. “It was too hot and too long a time to wait for a replacement, so we took an Uber.”
“Well, I’m glad you two made it.” She extended her hand, and we each shook it. I caught sight of the huge rock on her ring finger. The engagement and wedding bands both sparkled in the overhead sunlight, nearly blinding me. “Actually, if you want, these four can keep you company throughout the day. It might keep them out of trouble.”
“If you had given us ten seconds, we were going to ask them to hang out with us,” London grumbled, but she gave us a wink. “And they look more like trouble than we do.”
Emmie’s eyes scanned us from head to toe, and I suddenly felt like she could see every one of my secrets and imperfections. Less than a second passed before she was grinning freely. “You might be right. Keep an eye on that one,” she advised, nodding right at me. “I like her, but she’s the troublemaker.”
I laughed, taking her observation as a compliment.
Riley snorted. “You’re not wrong.”
“I rarely am,” Emmie muttered half under her breath. “I have shit to do, but you girls have fun. Your bracelets were activated the minute you were scanned through security. I actually added a little more than the usual merchandise funds to your accounts. Drinks and food are on me anywhere they take festival credit.”
Turning, she walked away without a backward glance, her phone pressed to her ear. Tearing my eyes off my idol’s retreating back, I focused on the four Bombshells. “We really don’t want to bother you. You don’t have to waste your time hanging out with us.”
Genesis linked her arm through mine, pulling me toward the stairs. “Girl, we want to hang out with you two. You look like fun, and you heard the fire-breather. We have to stay in groups. That means you two as well. You can’t piss off the redhead. The flames that come out of her mouth will sear the flesh from your bones.”
Riley stepped off behind me with London at her side. “I thought managers were supposed to bend over backward and kiss their clients’ asses and get them whatever they want the minute they open their mouths.”
Aubree, walking with Roanna beside her, laughed out loud. “I’ve seen some managers do that. And it was actually what we had in mind when we first formed the band. It was the dream. Having someone wait on us hand and foot. Making sure we only had blue M&Ms in our dressing rooms, fanning us, and feeding us grapes once we got offstage. Ah, the good life.”
“But she seems more like your boss than your manager,” Riley observed.
“That’s because Emmie knows what she’s doing. She’s a hard-ass, sure. But that’s because she has to be to deal with everyone’s drama and get stuff done. Her bossing us around is out of love more than bitchiness—but yeah, she’s a major bitch.” London and Genesis nodded adamantly in agreement. “Still, she does it to ensure we don’t let the fame go to our heads. And that we remember what’s really important. The bands she manages are some of the hottest sounds on the radio at any given time, but how often do you hear of some scandal they’re involved with? She forces us to keep our noses clean, busting our metaphorical balls if we so much as think about stepping into the kind of situation that can ruin our entire careers. In the end, that’s what we all really need. Not another kiss-ass.”
“Okay, no more talk about the fire-breather,” London commanded. “We have to be over at the signing tent in thirty. Let’s get something to drink and relax a little before we have to go do that.”
To get anything alcoholic to drink, we first had to go to the VIP tent and get bracelets that verified we were over twenty-one. Riley, already twenty-one, handed over her ID, and I gave my fake one. The guy behind the counter didn’t notice a single thing wrong with it. Lindsey had some mad skills when it came to making forgeries of any kind. She hadn’t charged me for mine, though. But I seriously rather would have shelled out the five hundred dollars she normally charged for her work instead of having to run interference for her parents for a month which she had taken as payment instead.
After we had our bracelets, we went over to the bar in the middle of the massive tent and London ordered us all a round of shots. The tequila warmed my stomach, and I ordered a margarita, not wanting to lose the burn.
“Make that six,” Genesis told the bartender, tossing him a few bills before I could attempt to pay for Riley’s and my drinks.
The six plastic cups were set in front of us, and we each snatched one as London and Roanna led the way out of the tent. I noticed how shy the band’s lead singer was now that she was offstage. During their set, Roanna had been magnetic, keeping our gazes locked on her as her voice hypnotized not only us but the entire crowd. Now, she was completely quiet, seemingly trapped in her head rather than actually being present. The other three Bombshells were always close by, as if on guard to protect her from any unforeseen danger.
“Are the guys here yet?” London asked Aubree as we walked by another smaller stage that had a crowd already lining up for the next performance.
“A few of them,” the drummer informed her. “I think Gray and Jace flew in last night, but the others came earlier. Their family is in Bristol, so they flew in there and are driving down.”
“And we know this, how?” Genesis’s voice was teasing as she glanced at Roanna.
