Page 6 of Harrison's Wedding

Once we’ve stood with them for about fifteen seconds, having our picture taken and answering questions, I nod to my friends and we continue up the red carpet. As I expected, the media are hung up on Gabriel and Ariana, and most of the questions we’re being asked are about them.

I can’t help but notice that Heather is letting me answer most of the questions about the couple, then giving the same non-answer whenever she’s specifically asked about them. I’m kind of dreading the full reconciliation that’s going to happen when we get inside.

When we finally get into the club, Heather releases a breath of air in a whoosh and I use the hand around her waist to squeeze her tightly. We continue through a second set of doors into the nightclub.

Smoke is rolling across the dance floor, which is full of people dancing to the music that’s blaring through the speakers. There’s a massive screen scrolling through pictures of me. Some are promotional pictures from Cruise Control or touring or magazine covers, but they’ve also got childhood pictures that they must’ve gotten from my mom, and I shake my head slightly.

There are also huge “HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY, HARRISON!” banners everywhere in the room and balloons with a picture of my face printed on them. From beside me, Heather makes a noise of disgust and her nose is wrinkled up as she takes it all in.

“Should we get a drink, angel?” I ask her.

“Please,” she laughs. “I’m sorry for this. It’s nothing like what I would’ve done.”

I lean over and kiss her before smiling at her. “All that matters is that you’re here.”

She has no idea how true that is. I instinctively reach my spare hand down to my pocket to feel for the ring box. Safe and sound.

We get drinks, and I’m greeted by several people who want to wish me a happy birthday before we make it up to the roped-off VIP section. It’s up a set of stairs, and Sebastian is sitting on a banquette with his arm around a tall, thin, redheaded woman that I think we might have met at some radio station event a few weeks ago. She looks vaguely familiar.

Next to him is Hayden Vega, the drummer for our band. He reaches across to pick up his drink off a table nearby and his dark brown hair falls around his face, framing the light brown skin that matches his eyes. He’s talking to the group around him with a smile on his face and is apparently here solo tonight, but he doesn’t seem fazed. Unlike Sebastian, he doesn’t sleep with anyone he can, and his last relationship lasted six months rather than six hours.

The VIP area breaks into cheers as we enter, and I shake hands with my party guests before we finally make it to the banquette to sit with our friends.

“Happy birthday, old man!” Sebastian says with a massive grin on his face.

“Shut up, dude. It’ll be your turn next year.” I roll my eyes at him, but I smile as I sit down on the banquette and Heather sits between us.

“Ah, yes, but I’ll still be eighteen months younger than you when I do,” he teases me.

“Have you had a good day, Harrison?” Hayden asks.

“Yeah, it’s been all right.”

I smile to myself, thinking about what I did today. I’m going to propose to my angel tonight.

“You’re looking real good tonight, Heather. If you’re ever looking for a younger man, you know where I am,” Sebastian drawls at Heather.

Heather laughs and rolls her eyes at him but doesn’t say anything.

“You’re going to hit on my girlfriend at my own birthday party?” I laugh as well before affecting a hurt tone to tell him, “I’m wounded, Seb.”

“Hey, I had to try; she looks banging,” he shrugs.

The woman he has his arm around frowns at Heather when he says this. I can see why she would be annoyed, but she has nothing to worry about. It’s not like Sebastian and Heather are about to sleep together; we just have a running joke that she’s going to run away with him one day.

Every now and then, we’ll make the joke in front of outsiders, and it always confuses them. They seem to think I should be jealous that my girlfriend’s best friend is Sebastian Fox or something. As though he’s not one of my best friends too. At the end of the day, if I didn’t trust them, I wouldn’t be in a relationship with Heather or in a band with Sebastian.

“Any idea when Gabriel will get here?” Hayden asks us.

“Yeah, we saw him and Ariana during The Gauntlet,” I tell him.

Both Sebastian and Hayden whip their heads around to stare at me as I say it.

“You saw who doing what?” Sebastian asks, and his eyebrows fly so high that they’re practically in his hairline.

“She walked The Gauntlet with him,” Heather confirms. “We had photos with them on the red carpet. That was fun and not awkward at all.”

“He’s a fucking idiot,” Sebastian rolls his eyes and snorts in disgust.

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