Begrudgingly, Justin followed Xander to the spot on the patio that had been designated as their “stage.” The water in the pool sat like blue glass in contrast to the waves crashing unceasingly on the beach behind them. A makeshift canopy shaded them from the worst of the sun and large fans had been set up amongst the amps to help distract from the oppressive heat. Justin still felt bad for the uniformed servers weaving in and out of the tables making final arrangements. June weddings were a thing, sure, but who in their right mind scheduled an outdoor event in this heat?

Just then an ocean breeze swept in, brushing against the nape of his damp neck like a cool caress. Well, maybe this spot wasn’t so bad. It would definitely be more pleasant after the sun went down…which still wouldn’t be for a while. He’d conquered rehab—he could tough this out.

Hell, if he could make it through the first set, he could make it through anything.

“You remember Liam,” said Xander.

“Hey, mate.” Justin held out a hand to the drummer, who took it with enthusiasm.

“Good to see you, man. Nice haircut.”

Liam had always been a pleasant sort. Justin was glad to know Xander’s bandmates didn’t share his seething hatred. Which, of course, made Justin wonder how much of the story Liam actually knew.

“And where’s…ah, there she is. Justin, this is Kara, our keyboardist and resident fairy queen.”

The Xander who’d given Liam’s perfunctory introduction was not the same one who presented Kara to him now. This Xander was all ease and playful charm. If Justin didn’t know better, he’d have suspected something romantic between the two of them.

And rightfully so, because Kara was a knockout.

Dark red hair was piled high atop a pixie-like face that was almost swallowed by two marbled blue eyes. Curling wisps trailed down her long neck, as if they were always meant to be there. An ankle-length cotton dress clung to her tall, gamine form. From beneath its hem he could see that she wore no shoes. Even her feet were perfect.

Justin took her hand and, bowing over it, planted a quick kiss on the back. “Your grace. I am your humble servant.” That’s right. Xander wasn’t the only one who could ooze charm.

“Oh…rats. See, I didn’t want to like you and now I do. Sorry, Xan.”

“Give it time,” said Justin.

Xander cleared his throat. Justin quickly released Kara’s hand.

“Any idea where my stuff went?” Justin asked.

“Your guitar’s there,” said Liam. “I had the sound guy throw your bag in with the rest of our gear. The bellman promised to move it to our rooms before the reception gets underway.”

“Our rooms?” asked Kara.

Justin hadn’t gotten as far as inquiring about where he was supposed to crash. If there wasn’t space for him in these “rooms” of the band’s, then he might be able to stay with his aunt and uncle. Worst case, he was no stranger to sleeping on the beach.

“Apparently, there’s a vacancy in the staff quarters. Donny’s daughter works here—she sorted it out so that we could use it as a home base while we do the Florida tour.”

“Wait…a Florida tour?”

This was said by one of the dark-haired girls approaching the stage. Both had white shirts and black skirts like the rest of the serving staff. The taller, less-curvy one looked to be off duty. A giant red flower adorned the braided crown in her hair, from which various strands were starting to escape. She was barefoot, like Kara, and the oversized white linen shirt she wore slipped casually off her shoulder. Justin had a similar shirt. He considered changing into it after he sweated through this one.

“Hey, Tetra!” said Liam. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

The girl with the flower gave the whole stage a dazzling smile. As she turned to reply, Justin noticed the beauty mark on her cheek, like a classic movie star. An uncommonly sexy feature…

Justin gripped the neck of his guitar. Nope. No groupies. Xander had made that perfectly clear.

“Lupe pointed out that I wasn’t exactly dressed for a wedding,” she said. “I feel better now.”

“You look fabulous to me no matter what you’re wearing,” said Kara.

“There’s only one problem,” Xander said with mock seriousness.

The girl’s brows furrowed. It was obvious that she sought Xander’s approval. Justin wanted to tell the poor girl not to build her pedestal too high, but he bent his head over his bass and concentrated on tuning it instead.

“Oh my gosh! I totally forgot to bring you guys some water!”

“No worries! I’m on it.” The second girl, presumably Lupe, had a melodious yet deep voice. Justin wondered if she sang. Or danced.

“Sorry,” the groupie said sheepishly.

“Oh, Tetra, you know he’s just messing with you. Xander, cut it out and get back to work.” Kara winked at the girl, then tossed Xander the end of a cord to plug in.

Soundcheck was fairly simple. Unlike a normal concert venue, people were meant to mingle and chat over the music, so their amps weren’t turned to eleven. As long as they were able to hear themselves in the monitors—which always took a bit of tweaking—they could play more like a rehearsal than an actual show.

Donny might have thrown his nephew into this situation, but here Justin could focus more on the music and less on an energy-draining performance.

Lupe came back with two bottles of water for each of the band members. Justin guzzled the first down greedily. For once, he was happy it wasn’t a beer.

The set list was a bit more complicated. “Other than Beach Boys, I’m drawing a blank on peppy beach music,” said Xander. “Somebody else throw out something?”

Justin could think of about twenty different songs and artists, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.

“Sitting on the Dock of the Bay,” said Liam.

“Yes! We can do that. What else?”

“Simon and Garfunkel,” said Kara.

“Most of them are too slow,” said Liam.

“Not Cecilia,” said Xander. “Or 59^th Street Bridge. I could make those work.”

“Go on, Justin,” said Kara. “What have you got?”

Instead of rattling off his list, he suggested the one Xander was most likely to throw out. “La Isla Bonita,” he said. “But Kara would have to sing it.”

“Kara would have to know it,” said Xander.

Kara looked at Xander as if he’d grown a third head. “You’re asking me if I know a Madonna song. Are there fish in the sea? Does a bear poop in the—”

Xander held up a hand. “I got it. You know it. Let’s do it. What about you, Double-O Tetra? Any special requests?”

The groupie had perched herself quietly on the edge of the stage, politely waiting to speak until spoken to. “Walking on Sunshine is probably my favorite peppy song,” she said.

“It does feel a bit like we’re walking on the sun today,” said Liam.

“Totally Florida appropriate,” said Xander. “It’s in. Now, what 10mm Conspiracy songs should we add to this?”

The groupie actually gave it some thought and then suggested four of the more-popular-but-still-less-moody tracks from their repertoire. Three of them were songs Justin would have suggested. The fourth was one that hadn’t occurred to him, but in the context of a wedding made absolute sense. Was it possible this groupie actually had a brain, too?

Justin hoped not. That made her far more dangerous.

Thankfully, the distracting girl and her beauty mark slipped off the stage and lingered unobtrusively by the pool as the guests trickled in. There was a chorus of cheering when the bride and groom arrived…but the couple ignored everyone and made a beeline for the stage.

“Trish and Andy, everyone!” Xander announced. Justin added his mumbled congratulations to the rest of the band’s more enthusiastic replies.

“Oh my gosh, you’re really here!” Trish squealed. Her cheeks were flushed bright pink and her dress was incredibly poofy.

Andy, one of those gents of the tall, fit variety, shook hands with Xander. “Thank you, thank all of you so much for coming.”

“We can’t stay…” Trish started.

“They’re kidnapping us to take pictures while the light’s still good,” said Andy.

“…but if you could please, please just play one song first,” Trish begged. “Our song.”

“Name it,” Xander said without hesitation.

Andy looked at his bride as if there was no other sun in his sky. “Missing Piece.”

“Excellent choice,” said Kara as she moved behind the keyboard. “It’s one of my favorites, too.”

“You got this, man?” Liam asked, and Justin nodded.

Xander tested the mic, “Attention everyone. The bride and groom have requested that we play their first dance before they are whisked away for their photo shoot. Is that all right with everyone?”

There was a second chorus of cheers. Champagne was poured and camera phones were pulled out of pockets and purses. Andy held his arm up and Trish did a little twirl. Xander always knew how to warm things up. He had a special talent for speaking to everyone as if they were old friends sharing a secret.

“Some of you may know who we are,” said Xander, “but we’re a different sort of band tonight, so I think we should have a different name.” A few chuckles swept through the crowd. “Ladies and gentleman”—he bowed to Trish and Andy—“Mr. and Mrs. Merriweather, I present to you…Fish Out of Water!”

Trish jumped up and down and the partygoers applauded. Liam gave them a beat, Justin started the bass line, and Kara jumped in with the first notes of “Missing Piece.” Xander raised his arm and pointed at the groupie over by the pool. The band’s new name was obviously a nod to her. She laughed, smiled that amazing smile and blew him a kiss.

Oh yes, Xander Rorris was smooth, and he knew it.

Just as sure as Justin knew he was going to punch Xander in that perfect face sometime before this tour was over.