Imperfect Harmony (House of Archer #1)

by Raine Thomas

  As the rest of the band went into their green room, Archer veered off and headed to Lily’s. He knew she wouldn’t be there yet because she had watched the concert from the audience, but he didn’t mind waiting for her. He needed his best friend.

  Trey opened the door to the green room and gave the inside a quick check before leaving Archer alone and standing guard outside. Lingering frustration had Archer pacing the room while he waited, replaying the concert and reliving the disastrous missteps over and over again. The only minor blessing was that most of the audience wouldn’t have noticed the problems. That hardly excused them though.

  A few minutes into his wait, there was a knock at the door. Archer stopped his pacing and smiled, anticipating Lily’s arrival. His smile faded when Trey opened the door and carried in a large vase full of red roses. Archer knew that Lily found red roses incredibly clichéd, so he figured they couldn’t be for her.

  “What’s that?” Archer asked as Trey placed the roses next to the pink plumeria on the dressing room vanity.

  “A delivery for Miss Lily.”

  “What?”

  Archer didn’t pause for a moment to consider Lily’s privacy. He strode over to the elaborate arrangement and yanked the card off the plastic stick. It read, Here’s to launching your career, Montgomery. I love you and I hope you’ll say yes. XOXO, Wingerson.

  By the time Archer read the rather girly XOXO sign-off, his upper lip was curled in disdain. It was all he could do to jam the card back on the stick rather than crumpling it up and tossing it into the trash.

  He hadn’t considered the fact that Johnathan might do something romantic for Lily. What was up with using their last names in his message? It had to be some kind of inside joke or pet name. Archer didn’t like how that made him feel...like an outsider on the fringe of Lily’s life.

  And what did Johnathan mean about Lily saying yes? Yes to what?

  The unanswered question gave his already foul mood another punch to the face. Trey paused before going back out the door. He cleared his throat as if uncertain whether to speak. Archer waved at him to spit it out.

  “Mr. Donovan asked when you intend to return to your green room, sir.”

  Archer figured Christopher wanted to rehash the performance problems they’d had that evening. Not wanting to deal with it, he gave Trey a shrug. “Let him know I’ll get there once I’ve seen Lily.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Trey gave him and the flowers a knowing look before stepping back out of the room. Archer followed his gaze to the roses and felt irrational anger building in his gut. He shook his head at himself and resumed his pacing. Why did the flowers piss him off so much?

  You know why, he thought.

  He knew it made him selfish, but he wanted Lily’s attention focused on him, damn it. He wasn’t prepared for serious competition for her affection. It hadn’t ever been an issue before. Encountering it now was throwing off his game.

  He had to do something to get her attention, and he had to do it now.

  The sound of laughter and voices reached him from the other side of the door. His heart started beating faster and he turned towards the door as it swung open. At least ten different greetings ran through his mind as he tried to decide what to say to Lily.

  She walked in and her entire face brightened when she spotted him. All of the greetings faded from his thoughts. In their place rose a demanding need he’d never felt before, especially for Lily.

  He met her halfway into the room and, as naturally as if they’d done it a hundred times, he pulled her against him and captured her mouth in a passionate kiss.

  * * *

  The moment Dane’s lips touched hers, Lily realized that she had never been kissed before.

  Well, she’d kissed other guys. She’d even enjoyed it most of the time. But those encounters hadn’t felt anything like this.

  It never even occurred to her that she shouldn’t kiss him. He had walked up to her with such intensity and purpose that any objections were obliterated before they could form. Instead, she simply succumbed.

  At first their lips pressed together like opposite magnets. The undiluted urgency of the kiss was sexier than anything she’d ever experienced. It was as though Dane hadn’t been able to go another minute without having this intimate connection with her. Her body melded to his as his mouth seared hotly against hers.

  Then, nearly as quickly, the kiss changed. The pressure between them eased, the connection of their mouths transitioning to more of an erotic caress. Dane gently tugged her lower lip between his teeth. She felt the thrill of that all the way to the soles of her feet. She expected him to deepen the kiss more, wanted to taste him more than she wanted to breathe, but he held back.

  A moan issued from her throat. Her body was reacting in ways that actually frightened her. She wanted Dane’s hands on her and she didn’t care who else was in the room.

  “Wow.”

  The single word, issued in a breathless whisper by Sydney, finally brought Lily back to reality. Her eyes opened as Dane ended the kiss. They stood there looking into each other’s eyes for a long moment as they fought for some control.

  Lily realized that Dane hadn’t had time to change after the show. His shirt was still damp with sweat where she currently gripped it. Normally thinking of making out with a sweaty guy made her feel mildly ill. Now, she found herself wanting to strip him down and do wild things to him with her tongue.

  His mouth curved up as though he could read her thoughts. “I’m sorry I sprang that on you, Lily. I swear I only came in here to talk to you. But I know now that it isn’t the right time.”

  Words were her friends. She never had trouble speaking her mind. But they failed her now. All she could do was nod.

  “Thanks for the note, by the way,” he said, brushing his fingers along her cheek. “I read it earlier at just the right time. We’ll discuss it—this—later, okay? I’ll catch up with you at the party.”

  Again, she managed a nod. He kissed her again, this time on the palm of her hand after he pried it from his shirt, then grinned at her and left.

  The moment they were alone, Aria and Sydney rushed over to Lily. Aria pulled the vanity’s chair over and Sydney eased Lily into it before her knees gave out on her. If Lily hadn’t been so stupefied over what had just happened, she would have thanked them. As it was, she stared straight ahead without blinking for a couple of minutes.

  Had that really just happened?

  “What the hell was that all about?” Aria demanded.

  “Wow,” Sydney repeated, fanning herself. “Wow, Lily.”

  Lily pressed her hands against her cheeks. They felt tingly and flushed, like she had just come into the warmth after being out in a snow storm. Her gaze moved to the door where Dane had departed.

  “I don’t know,” she said at last.

  Aria clucked her tongue. “Well you’d better find out.”

  “Oh, I intend to.”

  Her friends seemed surprised by her adamant declaration. She couldn’t blame them. She’d always been so vocal about avoiding the insanity of Dane’s lifestyle and insisting that they were friends and nothing more. For the first time in her life, Lily didn’t care about the potential consequences of entering into a relationship with a famous rock star. All she knew was that she wanted to pursue whatever it was Dane had just ignited within her.

  “What did he mean by ‘Thanks for the note’?” Sydney asked.

  Lily smiled. “I wrote him a note earlier and stuck it in his pocket. He usually only puts his hands in his pockets when he’s trying not to use them...as in trying not to punch Brandon. I reminded him that Brandon isn’t worth his time or anger and that if he punched him he’d only give Brandon free publicity that he doesn’t deserve. I guess it helped calm him down when he needed it.”

  “You certainly know him well,” Aria murmured as she moved over to the snack table and twisted the top off a bottle of water.

  Unsure what to make of her
neutral tone, Lily just replied, “Yeah.”

  “That was really thoughtful,” Sydney said, patting Lily’s shoulder. “You’re a great friend.”

  Lily gave Sydney a grateful smile and then stood with the thought of getting something to drink. The smell of roses struck her then, prompting her to glance towards the source of the scent. Her eyes widened when they fell on the large arrangement next to the pink plumeria. The bright red roses stood out violently under the vanity’s lights.

  She knew instantly who had sent them.

  Her heart flipped around in her chest as guilt stabbed at her. She lifted a hand to press on her stomach when she was hit by a wave of nausea. Her feet moved like they were weighted down as she approached the vanity and lifted the card from among the flowers.

  She scanned the message. Even though it was typed rather than handwritten, the words felt deeply personal. Her gaze couldn’t seem to move away from, “I hope you’ll say yes.”

  Unexpected tears clogged her throat. Her hand curled around the card, folding it in half. She pressed it against her chest and fought another bout of nausea. It was obvious that she not only had to talk to Dane about what was happening between them, she had to talk to Johnathan as soon as possible. If her head and her heart could so easily be turned by a single kiss, there were clearly problems in their relationship. It was just plain wrong to keep stringing him along.

  So why was the thought of ending things with him hitting her so hard?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Her inner turmoil stuck with Lily as she got ready for that night’s after-party with Sydney and Aria. They had each brought a change of clothing with them, having learned after their last experience that it was better to be comfortable during the concert and dressier at the party. Barney had retrieved their party outfits from the car and placed them in the green room while they were at the concert.

  It didn’t take long for Lily to change out of her Void T-shirt and jeans and slip on the sapphire blue dress she’d brought along. The body-contouring dress was another item she had bought on her shopping spree. It ended inches above her knees, giving her the illusion of height. Her three-inch platform heels in the same bold blue also helped with that. The back of the halter-style dress was completely open, dipping down to her lower back. She couldn’t help but feel exposed.

  Once again, she questioned herself. She had bought this sexy dress with the sole intent of wearing it during this tour. There was only one reason she would have done that, even if it hadn’t consciously occurred to her at the time. She wanted to catch Dane’s attention.

  How could she do this to Johnathan?

  “Stop beating yourself up,” Aria said as she applied Lily’s makeup. “You know you and Johnathan were never going to stay together for the long haul. You’re too young to settle down. Live it up a little.”

  Lily didn’t respond. Her gaze moved from one bouquet on the vanity to the next as Aria finished touching up her lip color. The flowers served as reflections of Lily’s conflict...the roses overtly romantic and symbolic of abiding love, and the pink plumeria showing more intimate knowledge of her personality and preferences. Both were appealing for different reasons, much like the two men currently weighing on her mind.

  “I just think you should be careful, Lily,” Sydney said from her position on the sofa where she was fastening the straps on the silver high heels that matched her dress. “Make sure you know what you’re doing. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  Ugh. Sydney and Aria were like the good and bad angels sitting on Lily’s shoulders trying to convince her to listen to them. They just confused her even more.

  How had this happened? She always scoffed at females in books and movies who waffled between two love interests. It always seemed so clear to her who the female should choose. How could it be that when faced with that very problem, she couldn’t make up her own mind?

  Because the answer wasn’t so clear, she mused. Johnathan was sweet, loving, and attentive. Lily had a lot in common with him, at least professionally. She knew he wasn’t the type to live on the edge or do anything that would bring major conflict into her typically roller-coaster life. If she was being honest about it, he was actually a little boring. But living a safe and level lifestyle was a plus in Lily’s mind.

  Of course, he didn’t know the full truth about her family and the drama that came with them. While she suspected that Johnathan’s feelings towards her wouldn’t change when he learned those details, there was something to be said about her hesitation to share such personal things with him.

  She just didn’t feel as deeply about him as he did about her. Not yet, anyway.

  Dane, on the other hand, knew every ugly truth about her and loved her just the same. He’d helped support her through every rise and fall in her life since the day they met. There was no one she relied on more.

  And he was so very, very sexy.

  But his career was his life. She hardly ever saw him and when she did he was usually focused on four different things at once. His life was always in the spotlight. Not only would getting involved with him pull her into the spotlight, too, it would cause the entertainment world to dig into her life and uproot things she’d rather keep buried. While Dane’s reputation could probably withstand the trash that would inevitably be slung in his direction, Lily didn’t want to put it to the test.

  The decision seemed impossible. She supposed some people would roll their eyes over her dilemma, telling her what a sad situation it was when a woman had to choose between two great guys.

  Those people didn’t have to choose whose heart to break, though.

  She carried her uncertainty with her into the after-party. This time the party’s location more closely resembled a night club than a comfortable lounge. There was a DJ playing music, high-top tables covered in black linens, and a number of comfortable white sofas and easy chairs scattered throughout the large space. The overhead lighting had been extinguished. Event lighting lit up the space instead, casting colorful luminescent cones along each wall and swirling like floating globes over the dance floor. The logos of all of the tour’s performers were projected onto the walls.

  It took only a quick scan of the room for Lily to find Dane. He was off to the right of the door standing at a table with a woman dressed too nicely to be a party-goer. Her tailored plum-colored suit stood out among the surrounding party guests. Lily spotted a recorder in the other woman’s hand and quickly identified her as a reporter or writer.

  Moving closer to the table, she realized the female was Camilla Ramsey, a star on the freelance entertainment beat. Her work appeared in nearly all of the most well-known magazines and newspapers around the country. Lily had admired her work for years. She also harbored more than a little jealousy over the other writer, who was almost the same age as she was.

  Camilla’s lustrous merlot-colored hair was unmistakable, even when worn in a slick, business-like up-do like it was now. Her penetrating gray-blue eyes were focused intently on Dane as he responded to her questions, her perfectly manicured brows drawn together in a way that conveyed attention and interest in whatever he was saying. The soft smile on her striking face told Lily why celebrities were so forthcoming with her. She managed to look both powerful and innocuous at the same time.

  Lily tugged uncomfortably at the short hem of her party dress. Camilla’s polished look made her feel trashy. It also reminded her that while Camilla was hard at work furthering her writing career, Lily was goofing around at an after-party with no plans to interview anyone at all.

  Shame had Lily shirking away from Dane and following Aria and Sydney further into the room. She was grateful that the music was at a tolerable volume. Her head was starting to function at a heavy throb behind her eyes.

  “Do you want to hit the bar?” Aria asked.

  Lily nodded. Aria led the way through the gathering crowd with her model-perfect stride, her height making it easier to navigate the room. The colored lights shimmered on her i
vory sheath dress, catching the sparkling strands in the stretchy fabric. Heads turned to follow her progress, most gazes ultimately falling on her amazing long legs that ended in strappy white sandals wrapped all the way up to where her skirt ended on her thighs.

  They hardly needed Aria’s height to find the bar, though. It was constructed of frosted acrylic and had colored LED lights built into it. It shined like a beacon in the darkened room.

  As they neared it, Lily spotted Nikki talking to a group of people with notepads, recorders, and cameras. She shook her head over yet another reminder of her failure to approach this party as an opportunity to gather story content. She felt more and more ridiculous for making an effort to turn Dane’s head and forgetting why she had come along on the tour.

  The camera-wielding crowd seemed to be hanging onto Nikki’s every word. Surprisingly, Noelle stood next to Nikki wearing a big smile. Lily knew The Void’s drummer wasn’t exactly chummy with Keith’s love interest.

  “I wonder what’s up with that,” Lily said as they got in line at the bar.

  “Nikki found Bubbles’ lucky drumsticks,” Sage answered, turning from the bar with a frothy drink in-hand. “I guess they were in the wrong equipment trunk. The entertainment beat seems to find that fascinating.”

  He rolled his light brown eyes, making Lily stifle a laugh. Bubbles was Noelle’s nickname. She had earned it from the rest of the band due to her effervescent personality and boundless energy.

  Lily looked again at Nikki and the cameras. Lou had mentioned the missing drumsticks earlier while Lily was with him backstage. She had known the band—especially Dane—would stress over the loss of the lucky symbols and had pitched in to try and find them without success. Now she wondered if Nikki had somehow stumbled upon the drumsticks while getting high backstage.

  She supposed it didn’t much matter. The important thing was that Noelle had her drumsticks.

  “Must be a slow news day,” Xander intoned from behind Lily.

  Slow or not, Lily knew that the recovery of the drumsticks was still news that she wasn’t covering. She managed a half-smile for Xander’s behalf and focused on shuffling ahead in the bar line.