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Chapter Seven
Andrea
Andrea had arrivedat Charlie’s armed with enough beer and vodka to drink themselves into a stupor and found Charlie pacing the house in her underwear trying to decide what to wear. So, with two beers, Andrea nudged her upstairs and helped her pick out an outfit that made Charlie feel comfortable and less anxious.
When Charlie was suitably dressed in jeans and a blouse, her friend looked at Andrea’s outfit and she teased. “The rock god will think you’re a rock princess.”
Andrea gave Charlie her trademark look that had made an intern or two cry. She hadn’t made a conscious decision to dress up too much but a tiny part of her wanted to make Declan look twice at her and see what he had missed out on. Her skin-tight leather leggings clung to her lean legs and she wore a simple black vest that exposed her midriff. She had completed the rock-inspired look with a leather jacket gifted to her by JJ after she’d attended an award ceremony with him.
That man knew how to shop, bless him.
Andrea made sure that Charlie was laughing by the time Quinn knocked on the front door and Charlie made introductions. Quinn Murphy was petite and beautiful, her features marred by a seriousness and a darkness in her eyes that told Andrea that the girl racer had lived a hard life. Andrea could almost feel the tension rolling off the girl and knew there and then she had made the right choice with her new race manager Oskar. He would be a calm, steady presence by her side and something told Andrea that Quinn needed that.
They joked about keeping Noah waiting in the car, Quinn rolling her eyes as Charlie remarked. “Hell no! the last thing we need is a resurgence of moody, broody, teen Noah for keeping him waiting.”
They downed their drinks, then headed out to see Mr. Broody in full glower, and his mood didn’t improve as he received a call from his estranged mother. Andrea felt sorry for Noah as she heard the woman ask for more money and Noah basically told her to get lost and that he wasn’t a cashpoint.
Andrea watched Charlie after Noah hung up and saw her friend try to make Noah feel better. She had not seen the two of them together, but watching the glint in Charlie’s eyes when she teased Noah, Andrea could see just how much her friend still cared for him. When Charlie tugged on Noah’s ear, teasing him about music, and then jerked back, Andrea could see the turmoil all over her face.
They arrived at Sullivan’s bar, and Andrea and Quinn got out to give Charlie and Noah a few seconds of privacy. Andrea felt her heart begin to race as she pushed open the door to the pub and strode in, watching as Luna darted over to give Quinn a hug and it made Andrea smile to know that the girl had a friend in Luke’s sister. It looked like Charlie’s dad had made an excellent choice taking Quinn under his wing because it gave the young woman a circle of friends that Andrea herself had not known until she had met Charlie.
Declan lifted his blue eyes toward her and his frown deepened as he gaze raked over her and it immediately made Andrea feel like she was seventeen again and totally delusional for even thinking that Declan Walsh could be interested in lanky, unremarkable Andrea Collins.
The contact was broken when the band came up to her and welcomed her, asking her what she was drinking, and soon she was laughing, chatting back as if Declan was not trying to bore a hole in her with his stare.
Charlie came into the bar next and it was Rhys who spotted her first, her brother grinning from his seat as he yelled. “Charlie, darling, come sit on my lap!”
While Charlie laughed at Rhys, Andrea strode over, slapped her brother up side his head, Rhys not bothered in the slightest as he winked at Charlie He then introduced Charlie to Jameson Kent, Luna Sullivan, and last but not least, the rock god himself, Declan Walsh.
Andrea watched as Charlie gave him a warm smile as her best friend assessed the man who had caused Andrea all her heartache. Declan curved his lips into a smile that threatened to suck the air from Andrea’s lungs before she remembered that Declan hated her, his glare as he excused himself to go over to where Noah was sitting at the bar punctuating that point.
Glancing away, Andrea saw the heated exchange between Noah and Charlie, knew that whatever was between them was as electrifying as ever but Andrea wanted to help her friend. She nudged Charlie’s shoulder, dragging her gaze away from Noah as Andrea announced. “I’m gasping!”
When Andrea forgot that she was in the same room as Declan, which was fucking hard to do, she felt an easy kinship with the other members of the band, enjoyed flirting with Luke and Jameson and even more so when Charlie did, earning her a darkened look from Noah.
Andrea sipped on her bottle of beer as she chatted to Luna about getting her some interviews just for her because having a female drummer who could actually drum just as well as, if not better than some of the men in bands made Luke’s twin beam. She rambled on for ages about trying to get the boys to do more social media stuff and Andrea promised to help her drag them into the new age instead of the stone age.
They drank and danced, Charlie’s carefree laugh warming Andrea’s bones as Noah continued to glance in her friend’s direction when he thought no one was watching, and Andrea waited until Declan punched Noah in the arm with a grin, then Declan walked between Jameson and Andrea as they danced, pushing his bandmate so that he went off balance, Jameson just laughing.
Then Andrea took her chance and strode toward Noah Donovan as he nursed his drink at the bar. “I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot.”
Noah quirked his brow, shifting in his seat so he faced her, and Andrea perched herself on the seat Declan had vacated and blocked Charlie from view.
“We may never be besties,” she began, tapping he fingers on her thigh. “But we should clear the air for Charlie’s sake. I know you are important to her, so we have to get along.”
“I’m not important to Charlie anymore.” Noah snorted before calling for another drink and Andrea gave Noah her best ballbusting look
“If you think that, then you really are a fucking dumbass.” Andrea shot back at him, rolling her eyes. “Charlie has this big heart. Once she lets you in there, she doesn’t let you out. She would murder me for saying it, but we never missed a race. We never not celebrated a win for the team, for you. Whatever reason you two fell out, now’s your chance to make amends. Fuck it up, Noah, and she will be snapped up by someone who deserves that heart of hers.”
The race car driver looked shocked that Andrea was being so brutally honest with him and she could see the moment Noah began to respect her. “Why help me? Why tell me all this?”
“Because when two people look at each other like you two do, it can only end in love or hate. And I don’t think Charlie has hate in her.”
That made Noah sit up ramrod straight before he offered her his own advice as he glanced over her shoulder to where Declan was no doubt watching the exchange. “Maybe you should take your own advice, Andi.”
Andrea let loose a bark of laughter, felt eyes on her as she shook her head. “I don’t do romance. And I don’t date musicians. So, sort your own shit out and I’ll worry about mine.”
She slipped off the barstool, her mission complete even if Charlie might not appreciate her meddling but Andrea had a knack for reading people and it was totally obvious to anyone that Charlie and Noah had a lot of residual feelings and things that needed to be resolved. She might not be able to come to terms with her car crash of a romantic life but she could help her Charlie.
She meant what she said when she told Noah she didn’t do romance. She’d had a few one-night stands, even dated a footballer for a while, but she never had the connection like Charlie and Noah had, unless you count the one she thought she’d had with Declan.
Andrea chastised herself for heading down that road again, called for the music be turned up, earning a whoop from everyone but Noah and Declan, as a familiar song came on and Andrea forced Charlie to dance with her a little more.
