“Fine. Set it up,” he said. “Just make sure Kenna understands this isn’t an invitation to anyone else.”
“She gets it, Max,” Niall said. “She’s the best in the business.”
“Bloody hell, the shite’s gonna hit the fan.”
Niall chuckled and dialed their publicist’s room. “Hey, Kenna. You still have the number for that local reporter? Aye. We’ll do the interview. But no one else. Aye.” Niall laughed. “Of course.”
Max had a feeling Kenna was saying something uncomplimentary about him, and was glad Niall was the one calling her. Everyone adored Niall.
“Yeah, tomorrow’s fine. Thanks. ’Bye.” Niall hung up.
“And how’s Kenna today?” Max droned.
“She’s good. But you may want to be nicer to her from now on,” Niall said.
“Why? Because her brother bound the princess?”
“No, but that wouldn’t be a bad reason.”
“You’re forgetting my best friend’s the spare.” Max pulled on his coat. “And your best friend’s been bound by the third in line. Fiona’s fourth, not to mention illegitimate, so she’s all the way at the bottom.”
“You’ve given this some thought, I see.” Niall’s phone buzzed. “Number three,” he said, and answered the call. “Hey, Brodie. No, nothing major. We’re just heading out to dinner.” Niall grinned. “Aye. Of course I can. Alaska’s the last show for a couple of weeks, then D.C., then home. Aye. Just keep me posted. Okay, thanks. ’Bye.”
Max raised an eyebrow. “That was cryptic.”
“Brodie’s planning a secret wedding for Payton,” Niall explained.
“What’s that got to do with the price of fish?”
“Nothing really.” Niall laughed. “Brodie wants me to be there, because he knows Payton will want me there.”
“We don’t do weddings.”
“I know we don’t,” Niall said. “But Payton loved Samantha’s. She enjoys the human custom, so Brodie wants to do this for her.”
Max slipped his wallet into his back pocket. “He’s going to all that trouble?”
“Of course he is. He’d do anything for her,” Niall said.
“Just seems over the top.” Max rolled his eyes. “Ready?”
Niall nodded. “Would now be a good time to point out that you’re doing an interview in order to get the attention of your mate?”
“I plan to find her, bind her, and bring her home where she belongs. Once she’s settled, things will go back to normal.” Max held the door open and motioned Niall out.
His brother let out a guffaw as he left the suite. “Oh, this is going to be bloody brilliant.”
* * *
The next afternoon, Max, Niall, Oliver Bardsley, Fallen Crown’s bass player, and Henry Keys, strangely enough, their keyboardist, all sat in producer’s chairs facing Christine Beach, the pretty blonde reporter from KRTV. Cameras and lights had been strategically placed around Kenna’s suite, and she went over the last-minute list of questions with Max and Niall as the band was mic’d up.
Max hated interviews. In all honestly, he’d rather have his teeth pulled, so when Kenna told the rest of the band he’d agreed to an interview, they suspected he was up to something. Which he was. Just not what they thought.
Before Max could dwell on whether or not this was a good idea, the director counted down from three and the camera’s red light popped on.
“Fallen Crown. Welcome. I must say, this is a rare treat,” Christine said. “I understand you’ve only done one interview in the last six years and that was in London. Thank you for taking some time out from your busy tour to meet with me.”
“It’s our pleasure, Christine,” Max said. “Thank you for having us.”
He saw his brother grin at him out of the corner of his eye. In the rare times Fallen Crown had done an interview, Max let Niall or one of the other guys speak. He would sit, silent, sunglasses on, and brood. According to the media, it added to the mystery surrounding the band and led to six-figure offers for an exclusive. “So, how do you like Portland?” She glanced at her notepad and then at Niall. “I understand you’ve never played here before.”
“We’re loving Portland, Christine,” Niall said. “And it’s true, we’ve never been here. The closest we’ve played is Seattle.”
“That’s right. In fact, your last American tour was almost a decade ago. What made you wait so long to come back?”
“We’ve been recording and focusing on shows in Europe,” Niall explained. “We just never made it back.”
“Well, gentlemen, the city’s abuzz with your arrival. What made you choose Portland this time around? I understand you canceled your Seattle show not long ago.”
Niall chuckled and Max forced himself to keep a blank expression on his face.
“We did, Christine,” Niall confirmed. “We decided to spend a little extra time here after meeting a family from Vancouver at our last show.”
“The other Vancouver.” Christine giggled. “But in all seriousness, there are quite a few Washingtonians who claim to be from Portland, you know. But who wouldn’t? We take great pride in our city.”
Max and Niall shared a familiar look which the outside world probably wouldn’t be able to translate. Even Niall, as nice as he was, didn’t like pretension on anyone, and Christine Beach was full of it.
“So,” Christine continued, “you’ve had to add another date to your tour schedule. Friday’s show sold out in three minutes, which is unheard of here. You’re playing the Rose Garden Saturday as well, correct?”
“Aye,” Niall said. “We’re looking forward to it.”
“Any plans to reschedule Seattle?”
“Not at this time,” Max said. “But we would like to take this opportunity to invite Grace, Spencer, and Maggie Wilson to one of the shows this weekend. We’ve got backstage passes for them.”
“So, which one of them made such a huge impression on you?”
Kenna cleared her throat and shook her head at Christine. This question was off-limits.
Christine took a deep breath and then smiled. “Right. So, I understand that you, Max and Niall, were knighted by the queen several years ago…”
Now that he’d let the Portland Metro area know that he wanted Grace to come to the show, Max was confident she wouldn’t be able to resist him. His job was done. He let the guys finish the rest of the interview and then went back to his room for a drink.
* * *
If you liked the sneak peek of Bound by Song, you can purchase it HERE:
Piper Davenport is the alter-ego of New York Times Bestselling Author, Tracey Jane Jackson. She writes from a place of passion and intrigue, combining elements of romance and suspense with strong modern-day heroes and heroines.
She currently resides in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two kids.
Like Piper’s FB page and get to know her!
(www.facebook.com/piperdavenport)
Twitter: @piper_davenport
Sign up for her mailing list!
Bound by Secrets (Cauld Ane Series Book 3) Page 30
