Page 16 of Rebooting Conor Flynn

“You can be problematic, as long as you’re cooperative.” Rubbing my hands together, I said, “I need cooperation—from both of you—to keep this tour on track and get everyone hyped to attend.”

“Then maybe you’d better talk to your other...charge.” He popped the remnant of a chocolate croissant in his mouth. “She’s the one who needs an image overhaul, and her actions today prove she’s not serious about it. I’m not going to do all the heavy lifting for Ashley—on or off the stage.”

“You’re right.” I nodded so hard I gave myself a headache. “I absolutely will have a talk with her...or Orlando.”

“Chicken.” He patted his lips with a napkin, missing a fleck of chocolate in the corner.

My tongue darted from my mouth as I imagined his sweet lips made sweeter by the chocolate. Talk about chicken. I should grab his face in my hands and lick off that chocolate.

“What?” His eyebrows shot up to the lock of blond hair curling over his forehead. “You look like you’re ready to attack. Go ahead and talk to Orlando first. I don’t want you tangling with Ashley. She’d kick your arse.”

“She could probably kick your arse, if it came to it.”

“Hey—” he pounded his fist against his solid chest “—I’ve packed on some muscle since the last time you...saw me.”

I swallowed as my eyes trailed down his body. He wasn’t lying. He left a skinny boy and came back...a man. “Well, you could definitely beat her in a singing contest, but you’re playing nice from now on, right?”

Holding up his fingers in a peace sign, he said, “I’ll be on my best behavior...for you.”

“For moi?” I tapped my chin. “It’s your show, Conor. Yours and Ashley’s and Ji-yoon’s. You three will kill it.”

“But you’re the one who needs this tour to be a hit so you can climb that ladder of success. I want that for you.” Turning away, he crumpled his napkin and tossed it in the trash. “Always did want the best for you, Noelle.”

Then why’d you run away to Australia without a backward glance?

While he still had his back to me, I swiped my hand across my stinging nose, avoiding a sniffle.

The door to the green room swung open, and we both jumped.

The PA, her blonde ponytail swinging behind her jabbed a finger at me. “You’re the PR rep for Ashley Bennett, right?”

“Yes, and I’ll get her to do an interview with Haley if that’s what Haley wants. Things were a little chaotic this morning.”

“Things are still a little chaotic...” the PA jerked her thumb over her shoulder “...and Ashley’s doing her own interview—without Hayley.”

I exchanged a wild-eyed look with Conor and grabbed my bag. “What do you mean? Where is she?”

“She’s in the parking lot surrounded by press, holding court out there. Looks like they’re hanging on her every word waiting for a bomb to drop.” The PA tapped the side of her head. “She’s a loose cannon, that one.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” I jerked my head toward Conor. “You coming?”

He squared his shoulders like he was entering battle for king and country. “I’m not letting you enter the lion’s den on your own.”

I thanked the PA as I rushed out the door, Conor hot on my heels. As we rounded the corner of the building, Ashley’s low, flirtatious laugh floated through the air.

At least she wasn’t screaming.

She spotted us and shoved her sunglasses into her hair. I could see the glint in her eye from here—and I didn’t like it.

I murmured under my breath to Conor. “Uh oh.”

He hooked his pinky finger with mine for a brief second and said, “Don’t worry. I got this, Nollaig.”

Then he strode toward the swarm of reporters circling Ashley—pulsing in the middle like entering the eye of the storm—and spread his arms wide. “There she is. That’s my girl.”

The press made room for Conor, and my mouth dropped when he grabbed Ashley in a clinch worthy of Tom Holland rescuing Zendaya from the paparazzi.

Ashley’s eyes widened for a second and then she melted into Conor’s arms.