Page 39 of Four More The Merrier

"Give it up for Quinn Dupree!" Beau's voice booms through the speakers.

The cheering gets even louder. I'm still trying to catch my breath when strong arms wrap around my waist from behind, lifting me off my feet. Lyle spins me around, both of us laughing.

"That was fucking incredible!" He sets me down but keeps his arms around me, his face inches from mine. His eyes are brightwith excitement, and something else I can't quite read. "You just saved our asses and brought down the house."

"I can't believe that just happened." My voice comes out breathless, adrenaline still coursing through my veins.

"Believe it." His hand comes up to brush a strand of hair from my face, fingertips lingering on my cheek. "You were meant for this, Quinn."

For a moment, we just stand there, the world narrowing to just us despite the chaos around us. Then Beau clears his throat nearby, breaking the spell.

"Hey superstars, we've still got an encore to do."

20

JARRON

My stomach churns as I lay sprawled across the tour bus couch, a cold compress on my forehead. The bus door swings open and my bandmates tumble in, their energy electric.

"Dude, you missed it!" Lyle shoves his phone in my face. "Look at this shit!"

The screen shows Quinn on our stage, belting out our latest single. Her voice soars through the chorus, hitting notes I sometimes struggle with. The crowd's going absolutely wild.

"Damn," I mutter, pushing myself to sit up. "She actually killed it."

"'Actually?'" Beau snorts. "You might need to go back to shoveling cow shit."

"Hey, I'm sick here. Cut me some slack."

Austen flops down beside me. "Food poisoning my ass. That's what you get for eating gas station sushi."

"Shut up." I grab the phone back, rewinding to watch Quinn work the crowd. She's got this natural presence, drawing everyone in. Different from my style, but effective. "The fans seem to love her."

"Instagram's blowing up," Lyle scrolls through his own phone. "Everyone's asking who she is, wanting more duets."

A smile tugs at my lips before I can stop it. "Well, she didn't completely destroy our reputation."

"High praise coming from you," Beau rolls his eyes. "Maybe now you'll hop off your high horse."

I toss a pillow at his head. "Maybe if you stop mooning over her every five seconds, I'll consider it."

But I keep watching the video, studying how she moves across our stage like she was born to be there. Maybe I've been wrong about her. Maybe.

I scroll mindlessly through Netflix,trying to ignore the excited chatter outside as the crew loads up for their night out. My stomach still feels like I swallowed a blender full of razors.

"Last chance, sicko!" Austen yells through the door. "Sure you don't want to power through?"

"Go fuck yourself!" I groan, pulling a blanket over my head.

"Your loss. Quinn's buying the first round to celebrate her debut."

That gets my attention. "Since when does she have money?"

"Since your dumb ass got food poisoning and she saved our show. Monica gave her a bonus."

I grunt and hit play on some action movie I've already seen three times. The door slams shut and engines start up as everyone heads out. Finally, some peace and quiet.

I'm barely twenty minutes into the movie when there's a knock at the bus door.

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