by Raine Thomas
Thinking of Lily, Sydney took a couple of centering breaths and lifted her head. Her focus needed to be on her friend.
The sound of shouting drew her attention. Glancing out the window, she saw the press lined up along the metal barricades leading to the bus. They were snapping photos and shouting questions at The Void as they approached. Leading the way were Archer and Lily. He had his arm over her shoulders in a familiar way Sydney had seen many times over the past couple weeks. They looked happy and natural, even though Sydney knew Lily was hating every moment of being in the spotlight.
Nikki, Sydney couldn’t help but notice, was the exact opposite. She ran up to Keith and threw her arms around him. Unlike some of the other scenes Sydney had witnessed between them, Nikki stopped short of stuffing her tongue down Keith’s throat. Somehow, though, the sight of Nikki wrapping her arm around Keith’s waist and leaning into him with an adoring expression on her face was even more painful to watch.
Pulling her attention from the window, Sydney closed the notebook she had brought with her to make notes during her session with Nikki and got up to place it in her hobo purse. She was still standing as Lily and the band all boarded. She made a conscious effort to push her negative feelings aside and greeted Lily with a smile.
“How did it go?” she asked as Lily reached her.
“Pretty well, I think,” Lily said. “It should help keep people guessing about whether or not I’m a villain in The Void’s story.”
“Well you did steal Archer’s heart,” Sydney teased.
She saw Keith roll his eyes over that as he passed them in the aisle and strolled back towards the bunks. She rather expected the reaction from him. She had learned early on that he wasn’t a romantic type.
At the same time, she observed that Nikki wasn’t with him. She glanced around the band’s huge rhythm guitarist, Xander Phillips, as he also headed down the aisle, and saw through the window that Nikki was standing outside talking on her phone. There were still flashes going off from the nearby cameras. It seemed a little coincidental to Sydney that Nikki just happened to get a call that kept her in front of the press a little longer.
“That’s what I said,” Lily laughed, giving Sydney’s shoulder an appreciative shove. “They seemed to eat it up.”
“We’ll have to feed them more than that soon,” Archer said, turning from the conversation he was having with Christopher a few feet away. “You know how the press is.”
Lily’s amusement faded. “Yeah. I actually wanted to chat with everyone about that.”
The band’s drummer, Noelle Foxx, exchanged looks with Sage Strickland, The Void’s remix and turntable specialist, as they walked past Lily and Sydney. Sage reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He removed a five dollar bill and handed it to Noelle, who blew him a kiss.
“They bet you wouldn’t wait until after lunch to pow-wow,” Archer explained to Lily when she gave them a confused look.
Lily couldn’t seem to decide whether to be affronted or amused. “I know you’re all going to sleep on the drive to San Diego,” she said loud enough for everyone to hear. “It makes sense to talk now during lunch. Don’t you dare get into that bunk, Keith Michael.”
Keith paused halfway into his climb up to his bunk and looked back at Lily with raised eyebrows. Xander, who was standing beside him, winced.
“Damn,” Xander rumbled in his deep voice. “The middle name call-out.”
“Guess she’s serious,” Keith replied, returning to the ground. “Where are we meeting, Your Highness?”
Sydney supposed the words would have seemed scornful or mocking if one didn’t know how much Keith and the other band members cared for Lily. They were like one big family, only more functional than most actual relatives.
Lily grinned at him. “The back of the bus.” As everyone headed that way, she looked again at Sydney. “We’re not leaving until Barney gets back with Aria. She texted and said they were about twenty minutes out. Why don’t you join us for lunch? Trey’s bringing sandwiches.”
Sydney kept her reluctance to herself. “Sure.”
Ten minutes later, they were gathered in the bus’s rear seating area. It wasn’t big enough for all of them even with Noelle and Sage sitting on the floor, so Sydney sat on the edge of Noelle’s bunk, which butted up to it. Nikki had returned to the bus when Archer’s bodyguard, Trey, climbed on with the band’s lunch. Sydney had been sure Nikki would insist on sitting with Keith, but after the couple exchanged a few words, Nikki had settled in the front of the bus watching TV. Sydney sensed her bitterness even from a distance.
“We’ve discussed the need for more compelling footage to make House of Archer successful,” Lily said from her position in the middle of the seating area. “And we all know that Elijah wants the footage sooner rather than later so he can get some episodes together quickly. So I’ve come up with some ideas.”
Sage glanced around. “Should we be talking about this with the cameras on?”
Lily waved that away with the carrot stick she was holding. “They’re not on right now. I told Elijah he really wasn’t going to want this recorded.”
Sydney had wondered why there weren’t any House of Archer camera operators on the bus. Lily had told her that the bus had cameras in the common areas, so Sydney had thought maybe the operators were taking a break. Apparently, however, the show’s production manager had taken Lily at her word and decided against recording for the duration of this meeting.
“Anyway,” Lily continued, dipping her carrot into some ranch dressing, “I spent some time last night typing up some story ideas. I’d like all of you to read through them and let me know your thoughts. I want to tweak them so everyone is comfortable.”
Sydney’s gaze moved to Keith, who was sitting on the end of the curved seat almost directly diagonally from her. His expression had darkened.
“How can it be reality TV if it’s planned out?” he asked.
“I’m not planning it out,” Lily explained. “I’m just throwing some ideas out there for future content. You saw how the editors manipulated the footage they gathered organically from the past couple weeks. Imagine what they could do if we introduced some genuinely interesting content of our own.”
“I’m not going to be scripted,” Keith argued, shoving his unfinished sandwich back into the bag next to him.
Sydney set her own sandwich down, too. His annoyance was obvious. She knew a blow-up was coming.
“I think we need this, Keith,” Christopher said in his pragmatic way. “We don’t have to be scripted, but we need some direction. We all know things have been floundering. If the producers hadn’t gotten enough content featuring Lily to throw together a good teaser, House of Archer might well have been pulled already. It wouldn’t hurt for you to give Lily’s ideas a quick scan.”
Sydney sighed. She couldn’t understand how no one had realized what she had only days after joining the tour.
“Then let’s just hash them out now,” Keith said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Lily gave Archer a look that conveyed her uncertainty over Keith’s abrasive reaction. “I haven’t printed them out. I don’t remember them all off the top of my head. Besides, we’d probably be here for another hour going over all of them, and I know you guys want to rest.”
“Yes,” Noelle said, raising a hand. “I vote for sleep over talking.”
“Me, too,” Sage echoed around a bite of his BLT.
“And we really need to discuss the L.A. leg of our trip,” Christopher added. “I’ve managed to schedule some studio time so we can lay down ‘Not Mine.’ Can we make more progress on the songs Archer wrote to cut the entire album while we’re in the city?”
Sydney saw that Keith was about to argue further about Lily’s story ideas. She just couldn’t sit there and watch him flounder anymore. She caught his eye with a quick wave of her hand. Since everyone else was now focused on discussing the songs, dates, and timing, she used ASL to communica
te with Keith.
I’ll help you, she signed.
He frowned and shook his head as though he didn’t understand.
With reading, she clarified.
She wasn’t at all surprised by the flicker of shock that crossed his features, nor was she surprised to see the emotional wall that immediately slammed into place, leaving his gaze frosted and hostile.
She may have expected both reactions, but having them directed at her as he rose and stepped closer made her swallow hard. He stopped less than a foot from her, prompting her to rise. His broad shoulders seemed to fill the space, blocking her from view of anyone in the seating area.
What are you talking about? he signed.
You know, she replied, keeping her expression contained and praying he couldn’t see her heart attempting to bash through her chest.
You think I can’t read?
She gave him a knowing look that had his frown darkening further. I’m a teacher, she reminded him. I’m trained to notice.
God, could he look any more threatening? She felt her knees wobble and locked her stance.
Who have you told? he asked.
No one, she assured him. And no one needs to know. I can meet with you privately.
Just keep your mouth shut and mind your own business.
Geez. He could even freeze the blood with sign language.
Unwilling to let it go, she signed, Don’t you want to help the band succeed?
His eyebrows drew together. I don’t need scripts to do that.
She sensed the hesitation behind the words, though. Much as she had suspected, Keith’s biggest strength—loyalty to those he cared about—was also his weakness.
What about Lex? she persisted.
His gaze moved from her hands to her eyes. She immediately regretted bringing up his sister. He moved so close to her that she couldn’t move her hands without touching him.
“What about her?” he asked in such a soft voice that it raised the hairs on the back of her neck.
“Don’t you want to set a positive example for her?” she whispered back. Then, guessing he wouldn’t appreciate learning about her relationship with his sister, she added, “Lily has told me how much she looks up to you.”
Keith’s strong jaw flexed as he considered her words. Eventually, he nodded once, so subtly that Sydney wasn’t sure she saw it.
“Is everything all right?”
Sydney jumped when Nikki spoke from over her shoulder. Her hand brushed against Keith’s midsection, making contact with his taught ab muscles. She took a guilty step back, nearly colliding with Nikki.
“It’s fine,” Keith said, still looking at Sydney. “Just got up to wash my hands.”
“Well, then you can spare a moment for me,” Nikki responded, pushing past Sydney to pull Keith down for a kiss.
With nowhere else to go, Sydney stood there and watched them, wondering what in the world she had against her heart that she would sentence it to such a tortuous end.
If you enjoyed Imperfect Harmony, click below to check out Raine’s other Contemporary New Adult Romance books.
For Everly
Meant For Her
View all of Raine’s books at her Author Page on Amazon.
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Read on for a special preview of Bethany Lopez’s Too Tempting.
Too Tempting (The Lewis Cousins, book 1) by Bethany Lopez
Chapter One ~ Gabe
I took a deep breath as I walked out of my cabin and onto the wooden deck overlooking the lake and forty wooded acres of my camp.
I’d built Camp Gabriel Lewis over three years ago, after I’d retired from the NFL and decided to make my dream of working with teens a reality. My camp was not just a football camp, and not just your traditional sleepaway camp; it was a combination of both. It was the culmination of a vision I had when I was a young kid, and the only things I gave a damn about in life were football and my annual camping trip with my cousins.
“Son of a bitch, it’s good to be back here!” I grinned over my ceramic coffee mug at my cousin, Reardon, who’d just pulled in.
Crazy tall, blond, and charismatic, he was the person I’d been closest to growing up. My best friend. Now he was a lawyer in the small town he grew up in.
“Happy to get away from the hustle and bustle of Cherry Springs?” I asked with a chuckle.
“No, man, things there are quiet as usual,” Reardon responded as he pulled his duffle bag from the trunk of his Mercedes. “I’m just looking forward to kicking your ass at family sports day this year.”
“You wish, cupcake,” I responded wryly, feeling ridiculously happy to see him again.
“Hey, I’ve been working out,” he countered with a grin.
When he reached the top we came together in a quick hug, each giving the other a sharp clap on the back before pulling apart.
“C’mon, I’ll walk you down to your cabin so you can get settled in. Jasmine and Dillon are en route. They’ll probably get in tonight. Serena had to work today, but said she should be in first thing in the morning.”
“Sounds good.”
I followed him back down the steps and onto the trail, which led to the row of cabins. The counselors stay in the cabins when camp is in session, but my family always lived in them when we came down for our annual trip the week before opening.
“This is you, as usual,” I said, jogging up the steps to open the door, since his hands were full. “So, what have you been doing since Easter?” I asked as he tossed the bag effortlessly onto the bed.
“Had a couple cases, nothing really exciting,” he replied, opening the drawers to the dresser so he could unpack.
“Things still good with Brenda … or was it Bonnie?” I asked, honestly unable to remember the name of the girl he’d brought for Easter dinner.
“It’s Becca, and no, we broke up.”
When I looked at him pointedly, asking him what happened without saying the words, he shrugged.
“She liked the idea of being with a lawyer, but not living in a small town. She kept trying to convince me to move to the city … kept leaving brochures around and shit. I finally told her that leaving was not an option for me, and she bailed.”
“That sucks, Rear, I’m sorry things didn’t work out,” I said sincerely. Neither of us had ever been married. In our twenties, we’d enjoyed playing the field, but we’d recently agreed that we were ready to stop all the bullshit and settle down.
Unfortunately, the kind of women we seemed to attract weren’t the kind that we wanted to marry. Now we were older, and set in our ways, we were finding that women our age were set in theirs too, so it was difficult to find someone who wanted the same things we did.
“It’s for the best,” he replied, rolling his bag up and shoving it in the closet. “It’s better to find out now, than when I proposed, right?”
“Was it that serious?”
“I don’t know … It could have been.”
I looked my cousin over, determined he didn’t look heartbroken or anything, and figured he was better off. He’d find the right woman soon enough, but for now, it was time to enjoy a week with our favorite people.
“I was just about to take a look around, see if anything needs to be fixed,” I said, tilting my head toward the door. “You wanna head out?”
“Yeah, sounds good. Let me just hit the head real quick and we can take off on foot.”
I went back out onto the porch to let him take a piss in peace. These cabins had their own bathrooms, and were usually shared by two counselors of the same sex. Once you got to the part of camp where the campers stayed, there were communal bathrooms and showers. Each of those cabins had five bunk beds, and a twin bed for the junior counselors.
“All right, let’s do this,” Reardon said as he rushed outside, the screen door slapping as it closed.
We took off at a brisk pace as we walked. I was prob
ably three inches shorter than Reardon, but even though I was retired, I still kept myself in pretty good shape. My cousin was no slouch by any means, but he did spend a lot of time behind a desk. Even though he knew I was faster than him, and almost always came out on top in any competition, Reardon was still the most competitive person I knew. That was why, after less than a half mile of him trying to walk faster than me, he took off at a sprint, his laughter floating behind him.
“Really?” I shouted. “You’re starting this shit already?”
Then I was off, running at full speed and gaining on him within moments. Right before we reached the break in the trees to the center of main camp, I gave it an extra push and passed him with a whoop.
I stopped at the flagpole, hands on my knees as I looked up at him, laughing at his red-faced scowl.
“When you gonna give it up?” I asked good-naturedly. A big part of our relationship included giving each other a hard time.
“Never,” he vowed, like he always did, then held his side. “I think I caught a cramp.”
“Serves you right, cupcake.”
Reardon shook his head as he looked around.
“The place looks great.”
“I had a team come in about a month ago. Did general landscaping and maintenance. Made sure everything was on point for opening day. I’ve used them before, so I knew they’d do the job I hired ‘em to do, but a lot can go wrong in a month. I want to make sure that at some point this week we put eyes on every facility. Make sure nothing broke, fell, or got eaten by a wild animal since they left.”
