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Chapter Thirty
Andrea
Although she andDeclan had spent a few weeks mostly horizontal, Andrea kept waiting for the shoe to drop and for a wrongness to settle in once they emerged into the real world. And when it didn’t, Andrea hadn’t known what to do. They’d been a couple for months now and everything was going as well as it could.
Rhys was the only one struggling to deal with the fact his best friend and his sister were now a couple and kept himself away from any situation that wasn’t band-related. Every time Andrea tried to talk to him, Rhys had blown her off and asked her to give him space to make sense of it. And so, she did, confused still because Declan told her that Rhys had been pushing him to be upfront with her and now, now Rhys could barely stand to be in the same room as them.
Andrea pushed the pain down, knowing she would deal with her brother in time but today was all about the band and her gorgeous rock god as they got to play the Reading and Leeds festival. The band were hyped and lots of family and friends were there to help them celebrate. Andrea stood off to the side of the stage as the band tuned their instruments, with Charlie and Noah keeping her company.
Despite the rocky start she and Noah had gotten off to, he was actually much less of a tight ass than she thought and he could banter as good as she could. Charlie too seemed to be blissfully happy that her fiancé and her best friend were getting on.
“She’s missing Luke being here,” Noah said suddenly, inclining his head to where Luna had her eyes closed, her hands resting on the necklace of music notes that Luke had bought her for their twenty-first birthday. Noah kissed Charlie’s cheek, then strode over and had a few words with Luna, then hugged her as the girl shed a few tears before she composed herself and Noah left her to get in the zone.
“You know, I was wrong about him. He’s got a kind heart underneath all the boy racerness.”
Charlie laughed and linked her arm with Andrea’s. “I could say the same for the rock god. if you had told me a year ago that we would be back in Ireland, both of us with the boys who we loved, I would have laughed at you. but I wouldn’t change anything, Andi. If Noah hadn’t of broken my heart and Declan hadn’t been an utter fool, then we might never have crossed paths and I’d never have found my soul sister.”
A lump appeared in Andrea’s throat as her eyes blurred. “Fuckin hell, Charlie, you’re gonna have me bawling.” Then she nudged her friend’s shoulder as Noah came back with bottles of water for them all and told them Luna was okay, she just needed a minute to remember that Luke was here with her even if he wasn’t physically.
The band had a rapturous set, made even more so when Oli Scott strode out with a cockiness that made Andrea grin, her old friend’s public persona making him a lot of money even if she knew that deep down, he was a gentle soul, but as the band rocked out to Never Back Down and Oli unleashed his trademark scream, the crowd lost it and from the reaction, you would swear that the band were headliners.
Oli fist-bumped the band, bowing and raising his middle fingers to the sky before he exited to get ready for his own headline set later in the evening, and in the blink of an eye, Heartache Melody finished their set and Declan all but rushed off stage to take her in his arms and kiss her heard, sweating like a maniac.
The band went off to have their after-performance ritual and although Declan invited her, she left them to it because as much of a part of Declan and Rhys’s life that she was, this was their moment and theirs alone, and from the way Declan looked at her, they would have plenty of time to celebrate the first steps at Heartache Melody taking over the world.
Noah and Charlie, along with Declan’s brothers kept her company until the band rejoined them and they went to watch Oli’s set from the VIP area. Night had fallen around them as the lights dipped, they flared as Oli strutted across the stage like a prince of night, egging the crowd on with the playful wriggle of his fingers, and then he screamed, “Fuck,” into the microphone and the pit came alive.
Her feet ached from all the standing and dancing until Oli hushed the crowd. “This song goes out to my friends in Heartache Melody who absolutely killed it today and I can’t wait to have them on my new tour. I’m going to Ireland next month to work on me new album and then I’ll be back to see all you fuckers again! But thanks a mill lads for letting me steal your girl for the final song of the night.”
The stage went black and Andrea heard the first few drumbeats of Oli’s best-known song, then a spotlight illuminated and Andrea sucked in a breath as Luna went full-on rock princess and the crowd loved it as she gave a Dave Grohl worthy performance and fitted in with the band.
She must have looked worried because Declan swept her hair from her face. “One-time deal. Oli knows we’d fight him to keep her. But she needed this.”
They partied until the early hours and later, as they lay in bed in their rented camper van, Andrea traced her fingers up and down Declan’s arm as he slept, the pressure and exhaustion of the day wearing him out so much that he had fallen asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
Andrea made to get out of bed, unable to sleep so she made herself a cup of tea and sat looking out the window, unable to believe just how happy she was. After the success of Heartache Melody, the job offers were pouring in and Andrea had been tempted by a few but in the end, she knew that any job that took her too far from Declan and the band wasn’t worth it.
The weekend passed in a blur and then they were home, with Noah and Charlie heading off back for a new race and Andrea was looking at some offices for Rebel PR’s Cork office. Every night she came home to Declan and she was surprised at how blissfully happy the normality of it made her feel.
They’d even had both families over for dinner, with her dad taking Declan outside to have a word, and she rolled her eyes when they both came back in, like deals were made and that was that.
Of course, Rhys was the only one absent, and it hurt her but the band was taking a few weeks off before they put the finishing touches to their album so hopefully, she could persuade her brother to give her an hour to hash things out.
Declan came over and wrapped his arms around her from behind. “You good?”
Andrea turned in his arms and cupped the back of his neck. “I am. I really am?”
Declan bent to kiss her and his brother's cat called at them but Declan flipped them off without taking his gaze from hers. “Any intentions to run?”
“None at all. Unless you want to chase me?” Andrea said the second part in a private whisper as Declan’s gaze turned molten.
“I’ve booked us a holiday. We need a week away from Cork and the media just to be us, Declan and Andi. Plus, I’m getting hard just thinking about you in that tiny bikini I just bought you.”
Andrea slapped him hard on the chest and Declan just grinned, stealing another kiss from her as well as the last piece of her heart that had held her back. Their love story had been one of out-of-tune timing and badly written song lyrics that had suddenly become classical and lyrical and the perfect blend of melody and rhyme.
Winking, Andrea crooked her finger at Declan and when he leaned in, she whispered. “Maybe I’ll just go swimming naked. I’ve always wanted to skinny dip.”
Declan growled before he kissed her again, telling her that he loved her with his lips and when they broke apart, Andrea placed a hand where Declan’s heart was and told him, with no hint of restraint or uncertainty that she loved him too.
“I could change the flights and we could leave tonight. You’ll be naked for most of it so it’s not like you’ll need to pack. A week of no interruptions, no work, and a naked Andi at my mercy. Sounds like fucking heaven.”
Andrea’s heart was fit to burst and she realized that just like Charlie had said, no matter how much hurt there had been, she wouldn’t change the start of their story at all because here and now, life was pretty perfect and she was looking forward to seeing what the future had in store for them.
Her running shoes were officially retired once and for all.
