Three days.

Three fucking days that Gabby has been avoiding me and her sister like the goddamn plague.

Were it not for Melissa reassuring me, I would have assumed she had fled the country. I have no idea if Gabby even told Melissa what happened between us, but in my short time working with Melissa and seeing how she interacts with Daphni, I have learned that the woman is fucking Fort Knox, and trying to get information out of her is damn near impossible. If Gabby had told her about what an asshole I had been to her, Melissa is doing a good job of pretending that she doesn’t know a thing.

I tell myself it’s for the best and that I need to focus on my job. Though that is bullshit, too. Truthfully, I am not protecting Daphni as much as I am simply babysitting her. The girl is a train wreck and surprisingly has been even more of a mess after realizing how pissed her sister was at her. I know she has been sending Gabby dozens of messages and that Gabby has been ignoring them all. I know because I watch her type out each one and I see her frustration when she picks up her phone every ten minutes to check it for a response.

Though in all honesty, I am not much better. Every break I have I use to try and find out where the hell Gabby has been hiding. When we left New York, we found out that Gabby had decided to stay an extra day in the city. Melissa had said it was because Gabby wanted to sneak in a study session with a tutor, but I had called bullshit. Gabby knew she couldn’t avoid me or her sister on a private jet. And when we had landed in Montreal for the next leg of the show, Gabby had conveniently missed her flight.

But after overhearing Melissa on the phone giving the address of the hotel, I know she finally landed and is en route to the hotel now. Just knowing that Gabby and I are finally in the same fucking city has every single one of my nerves on edge. Every time I hear a door open or a phone ring, I feel my body react in hope that it’s Gabby. It’s really fucking pathetic.

“What?”

At the sound of Daphni’s screeching voice, I turn to see her red face contorted in anger as she jumps off the couch where she had been sitting with Melissa.

“Daphni, please just hear me out,” Melissa pleads.

“No way, Mel! This is my tour! No way am I going to let anyone take this from me!” Daphni continues to scream, her shrill voice growing louder with each word.

“No one is taking the tour away from you, Daphni! But we need to be realistic, and we aren’t selling enough tickets to sustain the tour. We need to bring on Jordan James.”

My ears perk up at the familiar name. I had heard about Jordan through my buddies also in the industry. Tyrone, an acquaintance of mine, had been hired as part of his security detail and he had complained all the time about him, calling him an entitled prick. He was a spoiled, over-privileged singer who partied all the time, was always ditching his security team, and scamming on his young fans. Basically, he had a pretty shit reputation. Tyrone had made it four months with him before finally quitting. Handling Daphni and her constant mood swings was enough work without adding the extra nuisance of babysitting another spoiled pop star man whore.

“Fine, then! I quit. Good luck on a tour without your goddamn headliner!” Daphni screeches before taking a long swig from her water bottle.

Melissa jumps up from the couch, throwing her hands in the air. “Daphni, enough! Either you accept that Jordan is on the tour and co-headlining or you cancel the tour and get sued by the label for breach of contract! You pick!” Melissa’s normally calm and serene voice is laced with frustration and finality.

Daphni’s face pales at Melissa’s words. Collapsing back onto the couch, she lets out a frustrated growl. “Melissa, this was supposed to be my comeback tour. This was my chance to finally get it right. And now I have to share it with Jordan James? The Prince of Pussy? God, have I fallen this low?” She asks, her voice cracking.

Melissa lays a gentle hand on top of Daphni’s. “Daphni, it is still your tour. But, we need Jordan to sell the remaining seats for the tour so we can keep it going. I’m sorry, hon.”

“Fine,” Daphni finally concedes after a long moment.

Melissa nods silently and rubs comforting circles on Daphni’s back.

“Did you hear from her?” I hear Daphni ask Melissa after a long pause, her voice just above a whisper.

Melissa nods her head. “She’s in the city.”

“Will she come to my show tonight?”

“I don’t think so, honey. She’s still pretty upset. You need to be the one to reach out.”

“I am reaching out! I sent her like ten texts!” Daphni protests.

“Daphni, come on. You know your sister. She doesn’t want a text message.”

“Well, what else am I supposed to do if she keeps running away?” Daphni asks.

“Daphni, you know how Gabby is. This is her MO. When she’s hurt, she runs and hides. Can you really blame her?”

Daphni lets out a bitter chuckle. “God, she’s going to hate me forever.” Daphni’s shoulders curve inward, making her look so small and weak. It’s then I see how these last few days have really destroyed her; she is looking more and more tired. There are deep, dark circles under her bloodshot eyes, and she looks like she’s lost a few more pounds off her tiny frame. I suppose learning that your mother’s dead, your sister hates you, and that you have to share your tour with a prick you hate all within the span of a few days can pretty much destroy anyone’s soul.

I take a deep breath and walk over to Daphni and Melissa, sitting down on the edge of the couch. “Daphni, why don’t you try and do something special for her? Where it’s just the two of you? All she really wants is to spend time with you.”

Melissa and Daphni’s heads turn to look at me in surprise, both having forgotten I was in the room.

Melissa takes a moment before nodding at my words. “You know, he’s right, Daphni.”

“Hmm,” Daphni ruminates before narrowing her eyes and shooting me a suspicious look. “And since you are now the ‘Gabby whisperer,’ what would you suggest, Liam?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Gabby’s simple. She cares more about substance than style. Skip the fancy dinners, clubs—she’ll hate that. Think of what is important to your sister,” I answer.

“What’s important to her,” Daphni echoes thoughtfully. She pushes up from the couch and paces around the room. “Well, she loves puppies. She also has a weird obsession with goats, but whatever. Um, she likes to study.” She stops suddenly and looks at Melissa. “Mel, what’s the next stop after Canada? Isn’t it Columbus?”

“Yes, it’s Columbus,” Melissa responds, her brow knitting in confusion as she tries to decipher Daphni’s plan.

A wide smile spreads across Daphni’s face as she offers me a playful wink. “I have a favor to cash in and I think it will be just perfect.”