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“What's wrong with her face?”
“A face like hers says 'I'm gonna break your heart'. Believe me, I know.”
“Yeah, and look at Bryn. He has a face that says 'I'm gonna break your arms if you touch my sister',” adds Will. The brothers high five each other at their shining wit. Yeah, funny, and probably true.
“Just forget it,” I mutter and turn my back on Tegan.
“Is she visiting Bryn tonight?” asks Will. “Or is she joining the tour?”
“No idea. Can we change the subject?”
“Aw,” says Will with a pout. “Poor Jax, another girl he wants and can’t have.”
Nate shoves me in the shoulder. “Drink up and let's go. What was that club called? The one where they told us, if we went to the place, free drinks all night. Remember how many girls camped outside the airport? You were one of the reasons why. And, hey, I’m trying some of the local delicacies, you should too.” He slings me a sly smile. “You won’t even need to tell them who you are. Man of the moment, Jax Lewis will be surrounded by a selection of pussy. I'm sure you'll soon forget about her.”
I make a noise of agreement and down half my beer in one go.
The slender girl with the body I’d kill to get my hands on remains at the bar with her brother, no longer looking in my direction.
Forget about her? Hell, no.
Not without a lot of distraction. “Good idea. Come on.”
3
TEGAN
Who needs bodyguards when Bryn and a coerced Liam flank me as I approach the club? The Blue Phoenix bassist grumbles at Bryn as we approach the crowd. The press caught wind of where the band members intend to go tonight and when we arrive atNova, Lisbon’s most exclusive venue, a barrage of questions and camera flashes await.
Housed in an old building in the old docks at the edge of the city,Novaoverlooks the river, the setting drab compared to the beauty of Lisbon’s historic buildings. Tomorrow I’ll explore the city, use my spare time doing something other than trail around after the band, or waste the day in a hotel room. One of the reasons I came on tour was to explore the places we stay, not just the bars.
Ignoring the press, I lift my chin and stride through the cordoned-off area toward the venue entrance, until I catch a question thrown at me from the shadows.
“Does Bryn Hughes have a new girl? What happened to the other one?”
I halt, make a hundred eighty degree turn, and move so I’m practically nose to nose with a girl around my age, short brown hair and a sly smile on her face. On the other side of the rope, her phone is at the ready, waiting to record my response. Journalist.
“I’m his sister, you moron!”
Bryn appears and grips my elbow. “Jesus, Tegan. You can’t talk to these people! Especially not like that!” With a sharp look, he pulls me toward the open doors of the club.
“I don’t want people thinking we’re together!” I retort and drag my arm from his. “Too many of the tour crew already think I’m your girlfriend, thanks to you.”
The volume of the crowd around rises and I glance back at the other members of our party heading from the car park. The reason for the commotion, Jax, pauses for photos, signing posters and books waved in his direction, and poses with girls who enthusiastically take selfies with him on their phones. I watch with a mixture of amusement and disdain. The girls clamour for his attention and I cringe. Why do girls embarrass themselves over famous guys?
When Jax moves away from the girls, he saunters in our direction with a smug look on his face; and for the first time, there’s a hint to why Bryn is warning me off him.
We haven’t spoken since the awkward moment with Bryn in the hotel bar. Following a few minutes of exchanging glances, Jax switched his full attention back to Will and Nate and were joined by a couple of roadies who blocked my view of him anyway. When the entourage left the hotel to catch taxis to the club, no word or look was shared between us.
“Hey,” Jax says, barely registering me as he reaches us. “Are the other guys coming tonight?”
“Liam, he’s inside already,” replies Bryn.
“Right. Will and Nate inside?”
“Yeah.”
Jax’s behaviour around Bryn has calmed since earlier, more confident and less terrified of recrimination.
