Page 21 of Fractured Frets

Grinning, Flint cleared his throat. “But here goes. The moment you met Mads, there was no denying you were into each other. You insisted you were nothing more than friends. Here I was thinking you were insane but totally honorable in respecting our old dibs rule. When you finally told us you were together, I was hurt that you didn’t tell us you’d been seeing each other sooner. But then ...I’m grateful because we had a lot of shit going on in the band at the time.” His tone softened. “Never hide anything from us again because I can truly see how much you love her. Together, you’ll survive anything. So here’s to you and Maddy. I hope you have a long and happy life. Cheers.”

“Thank you. We will. I promise.” I raised my champagne, but doubt jolted through my skull in rough waves. If everyone stayed out of our business, we’d be okay.

“To being a crazy motherfucker.” Blake raised his flute. “Congratulations.”

Blake was a brilliant manager. When we started playing, he’d gotten us gigs, sponsors, and our first record deal. He made sure we turned up to every show and got us to the next. His rules were simple: Don’t miss a performance. No matter how drunk or high, or whatever the personal crap you’re going through, suck it up and get out on that stage. Make every person in the audience feel like they have a chance of getting in your pants. Smile and be nice in front of the cameras. Love the fans.

The guys and I had never let him down . . . well . . . maybe we had once or twice.

Sometimes I didn’t know how we’d make it through a show, but we always did. We wanted to be in this business a long time, so we’d toned down many of our wild antics...on this tour, anyway. The previous two? Not so much. Everything was different without Phil. Most nights after our shows, the guys and I just hung out together to wind down. Blake rarely had to pull us into line, even when we had big after-parties. He knew we were serious about music and ambitious, so we didn’t need fathering. We were on an incredible ride. Nothing would fuck that up...except maybe me.

My head and heart had been in two places for months. They were here...but in Vancouver too. I didn’t know how to focus on being present.

After a huge feed and a couple of drinks, April and Blake excused themselves to return to their rooms. Charlotte had fallen asleep, curled up on the chair with her head resting on Cole’s lap. The rest of us sat around, drinking, laughing, and getting excited about the next few months of touring. Just before twelve, I called it a night. As I stood, Harper said she would turn in too.

“You want me to take Charlotte?” she asked Cole.

“No. I got her.” He stroked Charlotte’s blonde curls. “You go. Night.”

Great. But I couldn’t put this off any longer. We needed to talk.

With Harper by my side, I walked out of the restaurant and strolled over to the far corner of the foyer where a fountain of water cascaded down a slate wall into a black pond full of huge Koi fish.

I tucked my hands into the pockets of my hoodie and stared at the glistening surface. “So, how’ve you liked your first week of looking after Charlotte?”

“It’s been great.” She ruffled her fingers through her short blonde bob. It was like she was a completely different person without a head full of long dreads. “Charlotte’s adorable. So is Josh, Ava’s son. I can’t wait to have them join us in the summer.”

“I’m glad you’re here. For Cole. He needs you.”

“Yeah.” She stubbed her cherry-red Doc Marten boot against the pond wall. “It was a hard decision to come home...because of you.”

I grimaced and slumped my shoulders. “It shouldn’t have been.”

“I can’t believe you’re married. After all the times we hooked up.”

Nausea flooded my gut. I didn’t want old memories and mistakes to resurface. “Drop it. That’s in the past.”

Harper stared at the waterfall. “Does Maddy know we used to be together?”

Guilt scraped through my veins in slow strides. Like Maddy had kept the full details about Noah from me, I’d done the same about many of my past relationships—especially the mess surrounding Harper. “Yes. She knows.”

Harper gave me a sideways glance and raised a skeptical eyebrow. “So she knows you’ve never stayed out of my bed?”

Shit no. “Harper. Stop. I don’t want to upset or hurt you. But that won’t be happening ever again.”

“Okay.” Her quiet tone carried a coating of disappointment. That wasn’t good. “I’m thirty, for goodness sake. I’m not about to throw myself at you or pine over you. I’m not like that. But I know you, Slip. You always come back.”

What the fuck? “Not anymore. This isn’t a game.” And Harper often played them. She was like me and the guys. A shit stirrer. Liked her fun. But I didn’t want her to cause any issues between me and Maddy. “I’m married. So, if you fuck with me and cause problems, I’ll get Cole to kick your ass back to teaching kids in Kathmandu. I don’t want to have to do that.”

“It’s okay. He won’t have to.” She shook her head and lowered her chin. “It’s just hard. No matter how many times I’ve tried to move on, my feelings for you have never died.”

Was she being serious? Harper was never serious. But something hovering low in her tone was different and prickled my skin. “Are you fucking with me?”

“No.”

Shit. “I’m sorry.” Why did fun have to turn into a nightmare? “I’ve never felt that way about you, Harps. You know that.”

She tilted her head toward me. “You really love this chick, Maddy?”

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