Page 56 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

Emerson glanced up at her, catching her gaze with his, and a slow, knowing smirk curled his lips.

I’m so fucked.

Nohen frowned at the burly manager as he barked orders into his phone before slamming it down on the table. The table, which was pulled from the floor to bisect the space between the couches. Nifty.

“Not as satisfying with a smart phone, is it?” he asked.

Henry arched a brow at him. “How would you know?”

Nohen shrugged off the backhanded compliment. He looked young, sure, but he had earned every bit of his twenty-seven years. “My grandmother was weird. She loved collecting phones.”

“Phones?” Lyric asked from the couch across from them, finally putting down her tablet and setting her attention on him.

“Phones,” he echoed with a nod. “Rotary phones, landlines, the old, giant cell phones. Going over to her house was like visiting some kind of museum. I loved the sound it made when you hung up a rotary phone. The metallic thunk.”

“I remember that sound. Haven’t heard it in forever though,” Henry admitted. He glared at his cell phone. “It’s just not the same.”

“What happened?” he asked at the same time Lyric inquired, “Is something wrong?”

Henry shook his head. “Nothing you guys need to worry about.”

Lyric narrowed her eyes at the alpha, but after a single, sharp nod, she turned back to her tablet.

Her fingers were flying across the screen, and he wished he could see what she’d been working on.

“We’ll be at the venue in about thirty to forty-five minutes. We’re on our own for dinner. I can order in, or you guys can explore the city and find dinner before the show.”

“Oh, let’s explore!” Lyric suggested and sat up. “Please?”

Henry arched a brow at her, then glanced to him. “Fine. After sound check. But don’t let Nohen set the schedule. I want you backstage at seven forty-five sharp. Show starts at eight thirty.”

Nohen placed a palm to his chest, affronted. “Excuse me?”

“I heard what Lyric said this morning,” Henry warned. “If being late is your trademark, find a new one.”

The growl in his voice paired with the snarky demand made Nohen’s dick twitch, and he narrowed his eyes. With a glance at Lyric, he confirmed he wasn’t the only one affected by the alpha’s presence. Though if he hadn’t been spending the better part of each day of the last two weeks with her, he wouldn’t have noticed the way her nostrils flared just the slightest bit, the lines around her eyes tightening for a split second before a visage of indifference took over.

“We’ll be back in time,” she replied softly. “No press tonight, right?”

He nodded sharply, picking up his phone again, fingers flying over the screen with an accuracy Nohen wouldn’t have imagined for someone with such big hands.

“Nor tomorrow. On the third day though, expect an—”

“Interview and quick photo shoot,” Lyric finished.

Nohen’s cheeks flushed as he glanced from alpha to omega, the challenge laid down by Lyric accepted with a wry smile.

Was Desi seeing—

No, Desi wasn’t seeing anything but the screen of her phone and whatever her stupidly cute girlfriend had sent her. The grin on her face said she was miles away from the challenge laid down in front of them.

“Exactly,” Henry said, approval stamped on his face.

Lyric narrowed her eyes at the alpha and went back to her tablet.

God damn. Did bossy alphas get under Lyric’s skin the same way they did Nohen’s?

If he was expected to put up with their tension all tour, he was going to be taking a lot of showers.