Page 8 of Love You Like This

“Hopefully.” I smooth my skirt down. “A woman in Atlanta is claiming to have had Xander’s baby.”

“Really?” Her eyes go comically wide. “Is it his?”

“He is sure it can’t be, but who knows? These boys act like animals most of the time.” I smile at her. “Stone stopped sleeping with anyone with a pulse once he got sober. The other two are a different story.”

“Really? I haven’t seen Xander with many groupies.”

“He’s more discrete than Tobias.”

“A pink elephant is more discrete than Tobias,” she says with a chuckle.

The joke cuts the tension from my shoulders, and we settle down to get a little bit of work done for her social media content. Having a degree in marketing led me down the public relations pathway, especially when one of my social media channels took off while I was in college. I’m lucky to have a good eye for trends and understanding of how to appeal to the masses. Using those skills to further Hazel’s reach as an author has been so rewarding. She’s tried to pay me, but I make more than enough from my job with the band. I believe in her and her work, so it’s an honor to help her flourish.

Bass vibrates from the stage floor up my legs, settling in my belly as the guys rehearse to start the back half of the tour. They had a short break to recover, do a charity event, and start recording a couple songs for the new album. Stone, the frontman and guitarist, turns to watch as Tobias enters into one of his drum solos.

Xander taps his toe and rocks his body in sync with the beat. The muscles of his back ripple under his tight, white tee. He’s always been magnetic to watch while he plays music. Both he and Stone are absurdly talented and classically trained with multiple instruments. The music these three make together is pure magic.

Xander glances backstage and catches me watching him. I immediately force my eyes away but not before catching the smirk on his face.

“I sent one of our lawyers to Atlanta to oversee the paternity test,” Darren says as he comes to stand beside me.

“Good. I’ll wait to release a statement then, even if her people get an interview with someone.”

“Do you think it’s his?” He looks down at me. “I mean, you know Xan the best.”

“I don’t know him the best. Our parents were only married a short time.”

“Yeah, but still. You spent your senior year of high school together. There’s history there.”

History I wish I could forget.

I sigh. “I honestly don’t know. Even if he’s not lying about always wearing a condom, they’re not one hundred percent effective.”

“I think he’s right.”

Of course he does. If Darren and I were to play good cop bad cop with the guys, I’m bad cop every single time. It’s worked for us, though. Our well-established relationship has provided a solid foundation for the band as they continue to reach new heights.

“Maybe.” I check the time on my phone. “I’m going to head out. There’s a late-night pole class I want to try to catch.”

“Have fun. Take one of the cars.”

“It’s just down the street from the hotel.”

“Take. A. Car.” He scowls at me. It takes him a bit to warm up, but once he does, he’s as protective as it gets.

“Fine, Dad,” I add extra sass just because we can’t make life easy for men. It won’t hurt any of the guys around me to work a bit harder, it’s good for them. Even though I am a sucker for a protective man. That’s probably my personal daddy issues at play.

My biological father left Mom the day they brought me home from the hospital. He said he was running an errand and never came back. I think that’s why I’ve always been so patient with her because that was unimaginably shitty of him to do.

I slip into one of the SUVs waiting outside the arena and tell the driver where to take me. Rain rolls down the windows as the Pacific Northwest does what it does best. The windshield wipers slide across the glass rhythmically.

My phone vibrates inside my tote, so I pull it out to see the group chat with my friends lighting up. Amber, one of my college roommates, is texting updates about her date.

Amber

He has been ignoring the check for fifteen minutes

Amber