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His mam had laughed, pleased to have fed him as she walked him to the door, handing him a bag of food. Rhys took it, then opened the door, and when he did his heart sank and his stomach flip-flopped.
Andi and Declan were standing on the other side of the door, and they both looked as surprised as Rhys felt when they spotted Rhys at the door.
“Oh,” Andi started, her eyes darting from Declan to Rhys. “We were out for a drive and said we’d pop in. I got some cheesecake from that bakery you like, ma.”
Rhys wasn’t sure exactly what to do now, because this was the first time he and Declan had seen each other since he had left the retreat and Rhys felt himself bristle as Declan took stock of him. The calmness that Rhys had basked in lately evaporated like a puff of smoke as he bent to kiss his ma on the cheek.
“I was just leaving.”
Both Andi and Declan stepped back to let him out of the house, Rhys only stopping when Andi reached for him. “We still on for lunch this week? Or dinner if that suits you better?”
Rhys flashed his sister a grin. “Looking forward to it. Let me know when you can fit me in.”
Andi studied him, as if she wanted to make sure that he meant it, her eyes brightened when she realized that he did. Rhys inclined his head to Declan as he walked down the garden path, his heart hammering inside in his chest.
Holy awkwardness, Batman.
“Rhys?”
Angling his body slightly, Rhys turned back to see Declan halfway down the path, and Rhys wasn’t sure he could handle another confrontation today, especially in front of his sister and his mam.
“You need a lift? I can drop ya back to yours.”
Rhys understood that Declan was trying to open the lines of communication, trying to re-establish their friendship and even though Rhys hadn’t been sure how to go about approaching Declan to find out if he was still in the band or not, or even if somehow, their friendship was salvageable, Rhys knew he wasn’t ready just yet to find out.
Rhys held up the bag of food. “Nah, I’m good. Gotta walk off the dinner. Helps clear my head.”
Declan frowned, looked like he wanted to say something more, thought better of it, and he just nodded in reply before heading back up the path. It was the most civil conversation they had had in months and yet still it felt like the chasm between them was growing bigger.
“Dec,” Rhys called out, pain in his chest as Declan slowly turned to face him again. “Thanks for the offer, man. I appreciate it.”
There was no hiding the utter shock and disbelief in Declan’s features as Rhys waved to his mam and sister, and headed down the road, pulling his headphones from his jeans pocket and popping them into his ears, letting the music wash over him as he walked.
His chest ached so much that he wondered if he was having a panic attack. He made it to the end of the road, then Rhys rounded the corner, leaning against the concrete wall as he tried to steady the irregular rhythm in his heartbeat. His fingers twitched, playing the keys of a song until Rhys felt like he could breathe once more.
A car drove past and he could see the passengers turning as if they recognised Rhys, so he pushed off the wall and pulled up his hood, not feeling able to deal with the pretence of being Rhys Collins, member of Heartache Melody. He just wanted to be Rhys...if only for a little while.
Shay doesn’t just see you as a rockstar....
The voice inside his head made him smile as he thought of the extremely sexy tattoo shop manager who didn’t even realize that Rhys existed. There was no way Shay would even consider him in any way other than friendship, and maybe that made it so easy to talk to her...
But Rhys noticed just how drop-dead gorgeous Shay was, how self-assured she was and that made Rhys feel more attracted to her. And yet, it was safer for him to admire her in secret because Shay wasn’t the kind of woman who would settle for a sort of reformed manwhore with more issues thanVogue.
He’d have more chance of making amends with Declan than trying to charm Shay Gleeson.
And to Rhys, neither option sounded at all enticing.
ChapterEleven
Shay
Shay wasa hair’s breadth away from committing murder.
She could probably argue justifiable homicide, considering the three stooges had been driving her up the walls all morning, and messing about, and even Cathal, who’d laughed at the start was beginning to have his patience exasperated.
What had started out as a morning where all four of them had gathered to showcase their ideas for their portion of the wall, had resulted in Darren whipping off his shirt and using the bloody paint to outline his design on himself. Then Isaac had started to paint like he was twelve and draw a dick on Darren’s back.
They were nowhere near finalizing things and the entire shop was being gutted tomorrow as well as the upstairs living spaces. Shay had asked Cathal if he had settled on what extra living space he wanted. But Cathal had sighed and told Shay he didn’t know what to do because he didn’t need any more space.
