Page 64 of The Magical Bed & Breakfast

“Whose?” Rory knew he’d never made that rule. He wasn’t that draconian. If his bandmates had special projects, they were free to pursue them. They were not under any record contracts that limited their artistic freedom, so Rory wouldn’t do that to them, either. He let out a sigh. “You can’t perform this piece with me.”

“No, but if you’re performing, so are we. Nolan insists. It’s his decree.”

It irked Rory that Nolan was makingdecreesthey hadn’t discussed.

“I cleared our performance with the person in charge.” Kyler nodded toward Whitney. “There’s a brief intermission when we can set up the equipment and it won’t show behind the midway curtain. She says we all go on after your fancy solo.”

“Duet. It’s a harpsichord duet.” Somehow, it was important to clarify that.

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Marco? And Dustin?” Rory watched his friends arrive. “What about…” he looked behind back at the entrance and saw Dustin’s wife holding an infant.

“It’s a girl,” announced his drummer.

“Congratulations!” Rory gave Dustin a quick backslapping hug. “I’m surprised you came out.”

“It wasn’t that far for us with my in-laws in Providence, so we drove over. Couldn’t let you go it alone.”

“We knew you needed back up,” said Ven.

They were here, all of them. His band had shown to back him up. Rory swallowed hard.

“We figured you could sing your new love song tonight, and we would wing the backup, you know, a little preview of our next hit for your hometown,” said Kyler.

Rory blinked. He had been composing a ballad to Kate. Was it ready? “There’s no time to practice.”

Kyler just shook his head. “It’s not a problem.”

“Yeah, like I’m always telling you, practice is overrated.” Dustin smirked.

“Says the drummer!”

“Like the threads, man.” Marcus gave him a nod of approval.

“Thanks,” said Rory. Suddenly he knew everything would come together…because they were together. And Kate would be here soon. He took a breath. They could all do this. Only one situation concerned him. He pulled Kyler aside. “Nolan? Ishehere?”

“I don’t think so. I told him, of course, but he’s been acting weird. That last podcast he booked, they knew way more about your stalker situation than they should have. I’m not sure how they got the inside scoop. It was all Marco and I could do to keep the interview on track. They only wanted to talk about scandal, like scandal was a good thing.”

Marco joined them. “Nolan hinted we should sensationalize it.”

Rory stiffened. “Any press is good press?”

“Exactly.” Marco nodded. “I heard you hired QHM.”

Rory blinked. “Where did you hearthat?”

Kyler shrugged, “Nolan. I figured you told him but not us. And why would you go behind his back—and ours—to do that?”

Rory picked up on his friend’s annoyed tone. He hesitated. How could he explain this to Kyler without upsetting him?

“Because Nolan isn’t really the one in charge, that’s why.” Ven wandered over to join them as Dustin and his family found seats in the back. His bandmates all turned to him.

“How long have you known?” he asked Ven.

“Months. It became clear the way you always go off on your own and then the decisions come through on songs, concerts, tours. The only bit that’s off is this whole stalker situation.”

“Nolan seems comfortable with it,” said Marco.

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