Page 77 of Love You Like This

I laugh. “I’m glad.”

“Darren was freaking out this morning about Xander.” His blue eyes lock on mine with an unspoken question.

“I know. Woke me up with his texts about it.” I sip my latte. “Do you know if he tracked him down?”

He shrugs. “Not my circus.”

“Speaking of circuses, where’s your security?” I look around realizing he snuck down here alone. “They should always be with you on tour.”

“Oops.” The way his eyes twinkle with mirth. “I forgot to tell him. Good thing Tour Mommy is down here with me.”

I roll my eyes at the nickname he gave me. Not that it isn’t kind of accurate. Helping corral the guys has been part of my unofficial job description, especially on tour. I shoot off a text to his bodyguard to let him know he’s down here.

“Excited for the meet and greet tonight?” I ask, setting down my phone.

“Yeah, I live for meeting the fans.” His leg bounces under the table. “Maybe I’ll bring a couple back to the room tonight.”

His bodyguard walks into the cafe, a scowl on his face as he drops into a chair at a nearby table. Tobias looks over his shoulder and then slides his eyes over to me.

“You told on me.” He smirks and twirls his lip ring. “Mean Tour Mommy.”

“Gotta keep you safe.”

He rolls his eyes. “I’ve been taking care of myself for years.”

“It’s different now.”

“Right.”

We both look up when Stone, Hazel, and Xander walk in with their bodyguards trailing them. Tobias reaches over and pulls a table up to the one we’re sitting at. Xander skips ordering, an energy drink in hand already, and drops down into the chair beside Tobias. Stone stands beside Hazel, his arm wrapped around her waist while they order.

After they order, Hazel drops down beside me. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” I bump my shoulder against hers. “Did Sierra make it in last night?”

“Yeah, she’s getting ready now. We’ll leave for the signing when she gets down here.”

“Mind if I tag along?” I could use the space. Especially when Xander’s eyes haven’t left my face since he sat down.

“Not at all. I love having you both with me for these. Especially when it’s at a big store.”

She’s come out of her shell over the past few months, but when there’s a big sold out crowd, she still gets anxious. I’ve been talking to her about looking into hiring a personal assistant. Just so when the tour is over she can go back to focusing fully on writing the next book and not worrying about all the admin stuff. Stone brings their drinks over and grabs a chair, turning it to sit backwards at the end of the table.

“Morning,” he says in greeting to everyone. “Did everyone have a good night?”

“I did,” Xander answers without looking away from me. “Best night I’ve had in years.”

Tobias glances back and forth between us, suspicion in his eyes. “Glad someone did. I couldn’t sleep for shit.”

“Why?” Stone’s forehead creases in concern.

Tobias shrugs. “Too much energy, I assume.”

I see the way both Xander and Stone stiffen. Tobias has several diagnoses that affect his mental health. He’s also been known to mix his prescriptions with street drugs. It doesn’t bother Stone from an addiction recovery standpoint, but I know both he and Xander are worried. We all are.

Xander and Stone share a look, and Tobias shoots to his feet. His chair scrapes loudly across the tile.

“Christ, you guys are annoying as shit.” He pushes the chair in and looks at Hazel and me. “Have a good time at your signing.”