Emma was wrong. Kate hadn’t fanciedme. She may have been attracted to the character I played all those years ago. She may have thought she was meeting with the version of Charles Downing or Freddy Finks in her head. Not me. It soured my mood instantly.
“I still think she was into you,” Emma said. “You could have probably gotten her number.”
“Again. Boyfriend.”
“That didn’t used to matter. With all the TF groupies.”
I winced. Another wave of shame over the action of my young self who loved the fame and attention. Thirsty birds threw themselves at me. I was done with all that.
“Not for a long time,” I mumbled. The heat under my collar grew.
“That’s good. That never suited you.”
I shrugged, willing Harrison to hurry. “Wait. What does that mean?”
“The whole player vibe. You’re way too much a romantic.”
I scoffed. “Hardly.”
“Please. Of all of us …” She hesitated. “I know you struggle the most with life after the show. You’re sensitive and romantic. You’ll never admit it, but you loved that world as much as the fans.”
Damn Emma. I ground my jaw.
“I was just tired of worrying about becoming a baby daddy,” I said.
She rolled her eyes. “Okay, we will go with that.”
“What’d I miss?” Harrison asked, plopping down next to me.
“We’re discussing our dismal love lives,” Emma said, thankfully not mentioning the Kate nonsense.
“Then I’m just in time,” Harrison said. “Hey, speaking of. What happened with the American girl you were talking to?”
I winced, hoping they’d forgotten about that.
I shrugged and suddenly wished I had a drink. I took a long pull of the fizzy drink. “She got a boyfriend. It didn’t work out.”
“Oh, sorry, mate,” Harrison said.
Emma was looking so close at me now I felt my skin itching.
“I don’t understand why the media is so obsessed with our love life. Even after all these years,” I grumbled.
Emma scoffed. “Trust me, as the girl who has been dealing with it since we were ten. It’s disgusting.”
Harrison and I exchanged a look but didn’t comment. It probably was worse for her but that only ever made us feel like shite. Like we should have protected her more when we were all younger.
“We’re barely thirty,” Harrison said. “There are plenty of people single at our age. There’s nothing wrong with us.”
I clinked my mug against his. “Exactly.”
“I don’t know that I’ll ever get married. It’s too hard to get close to people when you’re this famous.” Harrison’s honesty surprised me. I thought he loved everything about his fame.
“It is a bit weird that none of us have ever been in a serious relationship,” Emma hedged.
I thought again of Kate. Not that we were in a relationship. Obviously. But it was the longest I’d talked to any single person outside these two.
“Maybe that’s the exchange,” I said softly.
