Love Rock'ollection: The Brutal Strength Rock Star Trilogy, books 1-3 (14 page)

She thought wryly,
If I turn
it up
any higher I’ll probably spontaneously combust
.

But when she looked down to scroll up the volume, his warm breath fanned over the sensitive skin on the back of her neck. It felt so erotic, so sensual, like something a lover would do. Heat pooled in the center of her body, and her cheeks flushed.

Avery immediately pulled the ear bud out and shoved the iTouch into Marcus’ open hand.

He gave her a furrowed brow questioning look.

Slapping her hands over her red cheeks, she jumped up and blurted out, “I have to go to the bathroom.”

Luckily, it was a single stalled men’s restroom. She dashed in and locked the door. Leaning over the sink, she gripped the counter while her heart went all crazy town. “Holy Cow,” she exhaled shakily. She’d never felt so out of control with a guy. She scrubbed both hands over her head, causing her short red hair to stick up all over. Benito would probably like that windblown look she thought a little hysterically.

Avery, calm down
, she ordered herself.
Breathe in, breathe out
. When she managed to get her pulse slowed down to a more moderate post-marathon level, she splashed cold water over her face and ran her wet hands through her hair to smooth it down.

She wondered what Marcus thought of her sudden departure.

Marcus had watched until Avery had turned the corner out of sight, the video completely forgotten. He wondered what was up. He’d been having trouble concentrating. Sitting there, that close together, he’d gotten a big nose full of that tropically scented shampoo Avery favored. Why the hell would a guy use stuff like that, and why the hell would he even care?

Marcus was startled out of his thoughts when the waitress arrived with the hot tea and sandwiches they’d ordered, the wayward guitarist in her wake.

Taking a seat, Avery picked up the mug and blew over the rim of the steaming beverage. She avoided eye contact with Marcus, needing another minute to collect her thoughts. Staring out the window at the park grounds, she scrambled for something to say, for some neutral topic to discuss.

“Here’s your iTouch back,” Marcus told her, sliding the device across the table.

She picked it up, slid it into her pocket, and peered over at him. “Hey, I practically gave you my whole life’s story yesterday, but I don’t know much about you.”

“My life’s pretty much an open book. What would you like to know?”

“I don’t know. Tell me about your family. Is Dwight your only sibling?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you grow up here in Vancouver?” Typical male. It seemed like getting him to respond with more than one word answers was going to be a difficult task.

“No, on Vancouver Island. My parents still live there. They run a bed and breakfast slash water buffalo farm in Duncan.”

“Oh, cool. What do you do with water buffalo?” she asked, genuinely curious.

“For one thing, you can use the milk to make yogurt and cheese. You know that mozzarella you liked so much at Granville Island Market? It’s one of ours.”

“Wow!” She was impressed. Putting her chin in her hands, she raised an eyebrow. “Did you have to milk them as kids?”

“Hell, yeah. Dwight and I both.”

She laughed. “I can’t imagine. You and Dwight as farm boys. That I’d like to see!”

“That could be arranged.” Marcus sat back. “You should come to the farm this weekend. We’re all heading to the island for Thanksgiving. You could fly out with Dwight and me.” He pulled out his cell phone.

“Thanksgiving? But it’s only October.”

“Canadians celebrate it earlier, the second Monday of this month,” he explained. “We have plenty of room at the house. The B and B shuts down for the holiday. My mom would love it. She’s been dying to meet you. Everything closes down here in the city, too. You might as well. Say yes.”

“Ok. Ok. If you get your mom’s approval, I would love to come.”

“Cool.” He selected recent calls off his phone log. His mom or dad called every day since rehab to check on him. “Hey, Mom… Yeah, I’m fine… Yes, I’m still coming… No, I’m not pushing myself too hard… No, Mom. No, the songwriting’s going great… Hey, can I get a word in edgewise? Thanks, Mom. Listen, I wanted to bring Avery over to stay with us for the holiday. Would that be alright with you? I know, I told him that. Ok, see you then. Thanks. Perfect. Love you, too. Bye.”

“See, told you. Done,” he concluded, sounding like he was the winning lawyer in a court case. He glanced outside, then back at Avery. “Now that we’re warm and fueled up, do you think we can make the rest of the circuit?”

“Yeah. Hopefully it’s not as cold outside as it was earlier.”

Fortunately, the sun had emerged. They biked and explored until they were both worn out. When they were finally done, Ray was dutifully waiting for them in the aquarium parking lot, which was now packed with people.

Walking back into the hotel after being dropped off, Avery beamed a three hundred and fifty thousand dollar smile. Money to pay Campanella on the way. Spending the day with Marcus. It had been a good day. A really good day. After she let herself in her room, she collapsed on the bed, an exhausted but contented heap.

“WE PLAN TO release ‘Brothers’ as the first single,” Mary announced to the group as they gathered around the conference table at Black Cat the next morning. “It’s strong enough to generate buzz for the album, which given Marcus and Avery’s current pace, should be done soon.”

Marcus shot Avery a knowing smile.

Avery tried not to grin back and shook her head at him. She was a little intimidated by her first formal promotional meeting.

“We also have a plan to amp up media interest in the band.” Marcus shifted uneasily as Mary turned to focus on him. “I know you’re not going to be happy about this, but I’ve scheduled an interview for you with Carter Besille this afternoon.”

“Not interested,” Marcus said flatly.

“Listen, Marcus.” Mary held up her hand. “He’s in town to interview some actors and approached us about talking with you. You know the public has been anxious to hear from you since you were discharged. This is your chance to reconnect with your fans, and Besille’s show is a great platform to do that. It’s exposure on a national level and will focus attention right where we want it, on the band. And I promise you, we will be poised and ready to capitalize on it.”

Marcus rubbed his sweaty palms on his legs, and a muscle in his jaw began to spasm from his clenched teeth. He knew he needed to do it. But Besille was a disingenuous self-serving weasel. Marcus had little use for people like him, and he was sure Besille knew it, too. There had always been an unspoken animosity between them on the rare occasion when they were forced to interact. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I don’t trust him. He always has some kind of whacked angle.”

“They all do, Marcus,” Beth interjected. “We’ll send Stephen with you. And how about if I limit him to just a couple of questions? I’ll even tell him you’ll only answer questions pertaining to the band or rehab, ok?”

“Alright,” he agreed reluctantly. He really hated this part of the business, straddling the always fine line between his artistic integrity and financial viability.

“We are all set to go, PR wise, that is,” Beth decided as she looked over her calendar. “We have the song up. It’s available for download already. We hope to film the video this week, and we’ll release it on the band’s website, YouTube, and iTunes as soon as it’s edited. Oh, and BS’s name is on the short list of bands being considered to close the Grammy nomination show.”

The band members murmured approvingly.

“Ok, now one last thing about the video.” Mary quieted the guys down with just a look. “Beth and I were thinking of filming at the Palladium. Our plan is to keep it simple. You guys are awesome live performers and we’d also like to introduce Avery to the fans in that kind of setting.” Mary looked around the table. “Does that sound ok with everyone?”

“Sure,” JR said.

“Sure, why not?” Dwight agreed.

Marcus glanced at Avery, who had been silent throughout the whole meeting. “What do you think, Ace?”

“I don’t know. I’m good with whatever everyone else decides,” she said noncommittally with a shrug.

“Avery, you’re a member of this band now, same as all of us. This is going to be your debut performance. Tell us what you really think.”

Avery smiled. She so appreciated Marcus putting her on equal footing with the rest of the guys. “Well, you know, I really like the garage band montage Sony put together for the Foo Fighters’ latest album, and I was wondering if we could do something similar?”

Beth and Mary exchanged glances. Everyone in the industry was familiar with the project. There had been an essay contest for Foo Fighters’ fans, and the band played mini-concerts in the winner’s garages. Footage from each performance had been spliced together and used as a very effective marketing tool.

“I love that idea, Avery.” Marcus smiled encouragingly at his new guitarist before looking at Mary and then Beth, “What do you think? Would that be possible?”

“It’s a great concept,” Beth responded. “Reality show formats are very popular right now. I like the concept of a rock star meeting the common man. I’ve got to admit it’s very appealing.”

Mary leaned toward Beth. “Can you put something together real fast? Maybe use a local radio station to bring some fans in for a live performance?” She tapped her fingers on the table as she thought out loud, “But where would we get a place to film in on such short notice?”

“Hey, hold on,” Marcus interjected, rubbing his chin. “We’re all heading to my folks’ place for the Thanksgiving break. We have a barn on the property that we used for rehearsals when we were first starting out. We could do it there. Would that work?”

“Love, love, love it!” Beth exclaimed enthusiastically. “Back to your roots, too, and all that. I’ll make it happen.” She came around the table, knocking knuckles with Marcus and punctuating the gesture with a pantomime explosion. “I’ve got a lot of work to do.” Without pausing, she waved and left the room. “See you guys on the flip side.”

“Guess this meeting is adjourned then,” Mary pronounced after reminding Marcus not to forget his afternoon appointment with Besille.

As they filed out, Avery mused out loud, “Carter Besille. Wow.” Having gotten so comfortable hanging out with Marcus, she’d almost completely forgotten how famous he was. “Why do you dislike him so much?”

“Don’t be impressed with that talk show clown, Avery. He’s not what he appears to be. To the public he might seem witty and clever, but he’s just a snake in a thousand dollar suit.”

“Ok.” Obviously there was some history there that she had missed. She was curious but given Marcus’ dark expression she decided not to ask him to elaborate.

As they walked together down the corridor he patted her on the back. “Hey dude, I’m just the current flavor of the month. After this single comes out, all eyes are going to be on you.”

Great. That’s just wonderful
, she thought. With that kind of increased publicity and scrutiny, someone was bound to recognize her. Well, luckily it wouldn’t matter much longer because Campanella would soon have his money.

The expiration date on this disguise was drawing near. Only now, instead of being relieved, she actually dreaded the inevitable conclusion. Marcus was a friend now. One she desperately wished could be more. One she couldn’t afford to deceive much longer. He was not going to react well when she told him the truth. She inwardly winced, recalling Beth’s imaginary mushroom cloud.

MARCUS AND STEPHEN were waiting in the network’s greenroom when a studious looking twenty something toting an iPad came in and informed them, “Besille’s ready for you.”

Walking next to Stephen, Marcus followed the sweater vested aide to the set. Dreading this interview more than most, his stomach was already clamped in a tight knot. He had learned to be wary of the media early in his career, which was why he liked having Stephen along on these junkets. That way if the details of the interview got twisted, he had someone to back up his version of the story.