He laughed, and even the sound through the phone caused her skin to tingle with delight. “If you need me at all today, just call.”
“I will. I’ll see you this afternoon at class.”
“You still want to do that? These people will follow you everywhere.”
The thought of strangers tracking her every move gave her the creeps. “I don’t want to let the kids down.” A knocking sounded at her front door. “The girls are here. I’ll talk to you later.”
She hung up and ran to the door, opening it a crack to make sure it wasn’t a reporter. When she saw her friends, she opened the door a little wider so she could hide behind it but enough for them to squeeze through. Once they hurried into the house, she quickly shut and locked the door.
Lauren held a bag of muffins, Ava had coffees, and they both had identical shocked expressions on their faces.
Ava was the first to break the silence. “Nathan fucking Harvey! What the hell? One minute you’re eyeballing your music teacher, and the next you land the lead singer of one of the coolest rock bands!” She set the tray holding the takeaway cups on the coffee table and slammed her hands on her hips. “I don’t think I know who you are anymore.” Ava’s lips trembled, and her eyes misted.
“Oh crap, I’m sorry, Ava. This is all a big misunderstanding. Please don’t cry.” Her friend, who she’d never seen cry in the whole time they’d known each other, now cried at the drop of a hat.
“These bloody hormones are making me crazy.” She sniffed.
Lauren’s bag of muffins joined the coffees. “What a coincidence both men are musicians. Have a thing for guitar players, do you?”
Jade dropped onto the couch. “It looks that way.”
Her friends sat opposite Jade and waited for her to explain. Finally she’d be able to tell them the secret she’d been keeping, and relief lifted from her shoulders. “Nate Miller and Nathan Harvey are the same person.”
Two blank faces stared back at her.
She waved a hand in front of them. “Hello. Did you hear what I said?”
They blinked a couple of times, then Lauren said, “But…but…how?”
“Nate Miller uses a disguise when he goes on stage, because he doesn’t want the fame and everything that goes with it to intrude on having a normal life.”
“I can understand that.” Lauren nodded. Her husband, Jack Henderson, was a famous ex-football player, and even after retiring years ago from the sport, he still attracted media attention. It had taken her friend some time to get used to it. “Someone as big as Nathan Harvey would get people following him everywhere. But if he didn’t want the attention, why go into the music industry?”
“His dad was also a famous musician with a huge following.”
“Cold Revenge.” Ava’s eyes lit up. “I’ve heard of them.”
“Yes, you’re right. His dad died when he was young, and he wanted to keep his memory alive.”
“That’s so sweet,” Lauren said.
“The guy you’re truly, madly, crazily in lust with is Nathan Harvey. This is so freaking awesome. I can’t wait to tell Nick,” Ava announced.
“No!” Jade cried. “This can never get out. He’s gone to a lot of trouble keeping this a secret. You can’t even tell your husbands. Promise me.”
After a bit of grumbling, mostly from Ava, they both agreed.
Lauren opened the bag of muffins, handed one to each of them, and passed them the coffees. “So how do you know this big secret?”
“Remember when I took Liz to a concert?” When they both nodded, she continued. “It was Nate’s band, and Liz got us backstage.”
“You never told us you went backstage.” Ava glared. “I’ve always had a thing for the drummer. Is he even hotter in person?”
“I didn’t get to meet him. Liz and I got separated, and when I went looking for her, I got lost and found Nathan instead. He wasn’t with the party. He got a little too close, my finger got tangled in his wig, and I accidentally pulled it off.”
Again, her friends stared at her with frozen expressions. Ava broke the connection and reached for another muffin. “I need more chocolate to hear the rest of this story. This is freaking incredible.”
“There’s not much more to tell. He threatened to sue if I told anyone.”
