Page 34 of When We Fell Again
“Nice try,” laughed Kelvin. “I’ll give you all the details shortly, but it’s local to you.”
Rockfield would have been epic. But I was happy to settle for somewhere close to home if it meant getting back into a studio and recording what would be our second album or EP, or whatever length the record company had agreed to.
A wide smile cracked my face. “That’s brilliant news. Thanks, Kelvin.” I bowed my head. “And thank you for having our backs when things weren’t exactly going well.”
He sniffed. “Well, there is something else I need to talk to you about. Alone.”
Levi, Jude, and Robbie took the hint and left us, chatting animatedly, still on a high from the news Kelvin had given us.
Once they were a safe distance away, Kelvin steepled his fingers and fixed me with a glare.
“What the fuck happened in Exeter?”
CHAPTER14
Alexis
“What happened in Exeter?”
Hell of a way to start a conversation, Theo.
We sat at a table in the bar, the comings and goings of the setup of the evening going on around us. Theo’s original plan had been to meet at the hotel, then go to the university for the gig. But a cancelled train and the late running of the next service meant he had arrived two hours later than planned. So, what was meant to be a leisurely catch-up over a coffee turned out to be anything but.
To start with, it had been a straightforward chat, me telling him how well the tour was going, everything went to plan, and no major issues to report. Which, for the most part, was true.
“What do you mean?” I tried to play dumb.
He fixed me with a look. “Come on, Lex. I’m not stupid and neither are you. The merch stand. Sales were definitely down that night.”
I let out a slow, hard breath. He didn’t know about what had gone down with Jordan, or if he did, he was waiting for me to bring it up.
“Oh, right. That.”
“What did you think I meant?” His brows knotted together.
“Nothing.” I brushed it off. “There was no one to sell merchandise on the night, so I took it on. But trying to do that and keep an eye on the band was too much.”
“You can’t be in two places at once.” Theo tapped a note into his phone. “I’ll get on to the people who are in charge of it. That can’t happen again.”
I waited for him to say something else about Exeter, expecting him to mention Jordan’s fight. The whole day, I’d tried to stop thinking about what had happened between us the night before. I should have kept my distance, stayed away and kept things on a purely professional basis. But I didn’t. Emotion and attraction overcame me, and my walls crumbled. He’d messaged me earlier saying Kelvin Francis was also coming, but I hadn’t replied, trying to rebuild those walls of professionalism.
Trying to deflect the conversation away from everything Exeter-related, which reminded me of everything Jordan-related, I asked Theo how Lissy Parker was getting on.
“I think you’d have been bored, to be honest,” he replied. “Nothing much has happened. I mean, it’s gone really well, and there’s been no trouble. Looking after Idol Rev is probably a bit more exciting.”
After the last twenty-four hours, I’d take boredom over confusion and heartache. But I couldn’t tell Theo that. Not without mentioning I’d spent the night with Jordan, and I didn’t really want that little titbit of gossip getting out.
“Except for the merch problem, everything else has been fine.”
“That’s good.” Theo nodded and leaned back in his chair. “There was something else I wanted to talk to you about.”
I couldn’t think what else he needed to discuss. Everything was fine with Idol Rev. Unless hehadheard about me and Jordan.
“Chris’s mum passed away two days ago. He’s going to be out of action for the foreseeable future while he sorts out her estate.”
Although pleased Theo didn’t want to talk about Jordan, his news surprised me. I knew things had been pretty bad with Chris’s mum, but I hadn’t realised quite how much.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” I made a mental note to drop Chris a message with my condolences. He’d need all the support he could get during such a tough time.
