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Chapter Four
Andrea
“Take your hand off me,Declan Walsh or I swear I’ll deck ya.” Andrea hissed as she jerked her hand out of Declan’s grasp like he had burned her. Her heart was racing, the fact that Declan was glowering at her excited her more than she cared to admit but there was no doubt to anyone in the room that whatever was going on between them was combustible.
Rhys waited until Declan had removed his hand then he stepped between the two of them, forcing each of them to take a step back. Andrea shook her head with a frustrated sigh but it was Rhys who spoke to try and diffuse the situation.
“I think everyone needs to stall on for a second and calm down. If I knew that me pitching the idea of having Andi as our manager was going to be this bad, I’d have kept my mouth shut.”
“There’s no issue, Rhys,” Declan growled, scrubbing a hand down his beard and stubble. “I just need to have a few words with Andi. Alone.”
Rhys looked at her and Andi smiled. “It’s all good, Rhys. I have a few things I need to sort with Declan before I get stuck into making you guys the biggest names in Irish rock.”
She offered a quick goodbye to the rest of the band, taking Luna’s details with the promise she would call her to arrange a girl’s night. Rhys passed by her, his pierced eyebrow raised as if to question whether or not Andrea was cool with being left alone with Declan.
“I’ll see you at home tonight. Mam has ordered me to dinner 'cause I work too hard and don’t eat enough home-cooked meals.”
Rhys laughed, shaking his head, holding out his fist to bump Declan’s before he left, closing the door behind him and leaving her alone with Declan.
Gone was the boy with the stubble and the killer smile and now, standing before her, was the rock god the Irish media had started to call him. A thick beard covered his face and framed his full lips, the dark brown strands of his hair falling into his eyes, eyes that were dark and intelligent and entirely focused on her.
“I’m sure we can find a way to work amicably with one another. We can keep things professional.” Andrea said, folding her arms across her chest, and damn if it didn’t send a thrill through her at the way his eyes dipped for a split second before returning to her face.
“Sure we can. Just depends if you are gonna cut and run on us like you did years ago.”
Andrea felt the rage simmering in her veins so she closed her eyes and counted to five before she lifted her lashes. “This is strictly business. If you succeed, then Rebel PR succeeds. I have a vested interest in making sure that you go global. We may not like one another, Declan, but I am a consummate professional who hates to fail. I don’t intend to let out childish, petty differences get in the way of making us a hell of a lot of money.”
A muscle in Declan’s jaw ticked as he folded his arms across his broad chest to mimic her own stance, holding her gaze. He opened his mouth to retort then closed it, then opened it again.
“We need to sit down and discuss where you intend to take the band. We need to see if your vision lines up with what we have in mind.”
Andrea felt her shoulders relax as the tension eased because this was a safe topic for them to discuss. “That sounds like a plan. I’ll be spending some time in Cork before I have to return for a few events in Manchester that only I can handle. I would love to sit down with the band and go through ideas I have. I want to get you guys more exposure. More eyes and ears because the moment the right song clicks, that’s it, Heartache Melody will be on everyone’s playlist.”
She heard the excitement in her own voice, and saw the surprise in Declan’s eyes as he regarded her. “You and me can meet next week and go through the plan. Then, if our ideas line up, we can bring them to the rest of the band.”
Andrea was so taken aback by his suggestion that she barked out a laugh. “I’d rather spend the afternoon working with the band and getting a head start on things. I’ll come by the studio in the next few days and we can all hash out ideas.”
“Afraid to be alone with me, Andi?” Declan’s lips curved into a smug smile but Andrea was quick to give as good as Declan was giving her.
“Time is money, Declan. No point wasting time with just you when I have the whole band to manage. Heartache Melody is not just you.”
Heat flared in his gaze as Declan shook his head and went to collect his guitar. It was the same one that he’d had as a teenager, the old acoustic like a comfort blanket that Declan carried everywhere with him even though he had a collection of guitars in his studio.
“Make sure to stop by and visit me ma while you’re here. She would knife me if she knew you were back in Cork and hadn’t called in for a cuppa.”
There had been so much animosity between them over the years that Andrea was surprised at the warmth in Declan’s tone. Just like he had spent hours in her house, both Andrea and Rhys had spent a considerable amount of time in Declan’s family home, and Andrea had even tried to babysit the terror triplets with Declan.
Andrea smiled, knowing that Mrs. Walsh would indeed chastise her eldest son if he didn’t make her go round one of the days she was here. “I’ll pop round someday. Check to make sure the triplets are keeping out of trouble.”
Declan snorted as he zipped up his guitar case. “Chance would be a fine thing.” Then the warmth left his tone as he straightened. “We will be at the studio all next week putting some melody behind lyrics to see if a song works. Come by and we can get started.”
Andrea shifted back into business mode. “Absolutely. I want to get to grips with what we need to do before I head back to Manchester just before Christmas. I have a few things to sort and then I should be in Ireland for the most part once January comes.”
“Won’t the movie star care that his arm candy is in another country?” Declan tossed at her, a growl in his tone.
Andrea brushed her hair off her shoulder. “Not that it’s any of your business but JJ is just a friend. Men and women can be friends without there being anything going on.” Andrea let her lips kick up into a grin. “Besides, his private jet can pick me up whenever he needs me.”
“Don’t make yourself sound cheap, Andi.”
