After hours of practice, we left to go drinking. We were able to get into a club with special VIP access because I knew some people.

To say I had connections in the industry would be an odd way of putting it. I had a friend who was in a band that hit it big. Morris and I had been friends since we were kids, way back when Harper and I had first met.

I paused.

I'd actually said Harper's name out loud.

Or more like, I'd thought half his name. He always went by his last name, even though his first name was Jason. He'd been named after his deadbeat dad and wanted nothing to do with him. So even with me, he had always just been Harper.

And I'd thought his name. That was one of the first times in a long time I'd been able to make myself say his name to myself like that.

A sharp stab of pain, so familiar to me, shot through my chest.

"Hey. You okay?" Liam murmured quietly.

We were all piled into a cab on our way to the club. I was sitting next to Liam. I tried to maneuver myself to the far end of the vehicle, but Liam somehow slipped past the others to settle himself by my side.

The tips of his fingers brushed against the back of my hand as they rested on the leather seat. He looked to me with concerned eyes.

I made my lips curl upward, the closest to a smile I could force myself to make.

"I'm fine," I murmured back. I turned my head to stare out the window without another word.

Great, I was imitating Julian now.

"So what's with this VIP thing?" Liam asked the others, seeming content to let me keep to myself.

"We've got some hotshot friends," Gael said. "It gets us access to a special lounge on the second floor. We'll have privacy and space for just ourselves."

"We won't have to worry about hordes of fangirls flocking to us," Seth added.

"Since when do fangirls flock to you?" Nathan joked.

Seth made a face at him. "I get just as many girls as you, asshole."

Being the youngest, Seth often protested he was just as much of a sex god as the others. He had that kind of earnest enthusiasm that made you just want to ruffle his hair.

"You can stay in the lounge," Nathan told Gael. "I'm going to be on the dance floor with all those chicks you're not allowed to touch anymore."

When we arrived at the club, we took the back entrance that allowed us to reach the second floor directly, skipping the line and crowds.

Liam looked impressed when the bodyguard nodded and waved us through without more than a second glance. This was our usual place and he knew us by sight.

The private lounge had glass walls, so we could see the rest of the club, including the dance floor and small stage. The club was often booked for live performances. We'd performed here ourselves a few times, even.

"This is pretty swanky," Liam said.

"Your band must've played here a few times," I said.

"We never got special access to the private lounge like you guys." He nodded his head approvingly. "You really have hit the big leagues."

"Hell yeah we have," Gael said with a smug grin. "And you know what a private lounge comes with? Private servers." He gestured to the lounge entrance with his chin. One of the bartenders was there, ready to take our drink orders.

The guys each ordered rounds of beer. I thought about ordering a drink, but I wanted to stay clearheaded tonight, especially with the way Liam was staring at me.

"Just a seltzer water with lime for now," I said.

The bartender jotted down a note and looked to Liam, waiting for his order.

"You have twelve year Highland Park?" he asked.

I didn't know much about drinks, but I figured it was some top shelf stuff. I had to wonder how much money he had made his with old band.

"I've learned to enjoy the finer things in life." Liam winked. "I'm getting too old to drink cheap swill."

"Too old?" I said. "You can't be that much older than me."

"When you've been in the industry as long as I have and seen the things I've seen, it makes you grow grey hairs real fast," he told me.

"You've been doing music for a while?" I asked.

Despite myself, I was curious about Liam. That first time I'd met him, years ago, when he'd given me the idea for my band's name, he'd already been in the music scene. I'd just been starting out. Back then, the idea of being in a real band was simply an overly ambitious idea me and my brother had.

"My dad bought me my first guitar when I was twelve," he said. "I've been in bands since I was thirteen. Played my first concert at fourteen. Got my first fangirls and groupies at fifteen."

"Of course that's the metric you measure things by," I said. "Typical cocky rock star. All you care about is how many girls you can score with."

"You wound me," Liam said. "I care about the music just as much as you."

"If that's true, why did you quit your band and decide to go for a temporary position?"

His eyes turned dark.

"Like I said," he shrugged, flicking his gaze away from mine. "Creative differences."

That was a copout if I'd ever heard one, but I didn't want to push too hard. If I pushed on his past, Liam might feel like he could push on mine. That was a subject I wasn't prepared to touch. Not now.

Maybe not ever.

We settled on a pair of barstools with a high table. I perched on my stool, feet swinging, toes just barely touching the ground. The rest of my band seemed content to do their own thing for now, laughing and drinking and talking shit with each other the way guys always did.

"I'm surprised the other guys aren't pestering you with a million questions," I said.

"I asked them to give me a minute alone with you."

I shot Liam a look of disbelief.

"This isn't a come on." He held his hand up, palms out, as if in surrender. "You're the leader of this band. I want to find out more about the gig I just signed up for."

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

"Why exactly are you hiring a temporary session guitarist?" he asked with tilt of his head.

I exhaled deeply, annoyed that was his first question. I didn't want him to think less of me. I didn't want him to think I couldn't hack it. The other guys already worried too much about me. I didn't need that from Liam as well.

"It's nothing big," I said. "I'm perfectly happy to continue singing and playing guitar at the same time. My wrists just act up sometimes."

"You're overexerting yourself?" Liam guessed.

"I do tend to put one hundred and ten percent into my performances."

"But why a temporary guitarist?" he asked.

"My band and I already have a good thing going," I said. "We have a good rhythm. I don't need someone new coming in and ruining that. I'm sure you get what I mean. Bandmates reach a certain equilibrium with each other. You've worked with each other, you've grown up together. You've been through so much. It's always difficult to add a new person into that mix and have things stay the same. It's like a family."

"I do get that," he said, casting his eyes down.

The bartender returned with our drinks and handed them to us. I supposed I could have ordered something fancy and non-alcoholic but I didn't feel in the mood for some sugary sweet mocktail.

Liam took a sip. He eyed me over the rim of his glass.

"Have you been working with the other guys for long?" he asked.

"My brother and I have been playing together since we were teenagers," I said. "I've met the other guys along the way. I'd immediately known they were special. Everything kind of fell into place. All the pieces just fit together like a puzzle. I'm sure you've experienced the same thing with your other band members?"

He nodded shortly.

"Yeah. We used to have a great thing going." Liam took a quick sip of his drink. "So you and the guys are close?"

"They're like my brothers," I said. "We've been through a lot together. There's nothing I wouldn't do for them and nothing they wouldn't do for me."

"That's pretty great that you feel like your band is part of your family." Liam looked down at his drink, staring into it as if it held the answers to the universe. I waited for him to continue, but he didn't.

Seth came over and draped himself over my shoulders, resting his chin on the top of my head.

"What are you two doing sitting here all by yourselves?" he asked.

I tugged him down to poke him in the nose with my index finger. "We're talking business. You know, that stuff you always ignore?"

"You should join in on the fun," he said. "We're going to start a game of Poker Face."

"We'll be right over," I said.

"If you lose, I'm going to make your punishment even worse than last time." Seth grinned and pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

I blanched. I didn't think it was possible for anything to be worse than the shot he'd made me the last time we'd been in this club.

Seth made two fake finger-guns with his hands as he bounced off. He pointed them at me with a cheeky grin, as he was going to shoot me dead with whatever concoction he came up with.

I turned back to Liam with a laugh.

"Looks like we're going to have to join the party after all," I said.

"I thought you said they were like your brothers," he said. "Kid seemed pretty touchy-feely with you."

"He's like that with everyone. Why, are you worried you're horning in on someone else's territory?" I asked playfully. "Maybe I should have said I'm with Seth. Maybe that would stop you from coming on to me."

"Nothing in the world will keep me from coming on to you," Liam said. A slow grin crossed his face. "You're just too cute and sexy for me to resist."

"Use the C word to describe me again and I'm going to kick you in the nuts with my boots."

Liam laughed, not deterred in the slightest.

"Let's not join them yet," he said. "I want to talk some more shop. Let's go somewhere quieter."

Somewhere quieter. Was that his way of trying to get me alone?

I should have been alarmed. And a part of me was alarmed.

But despite my better instincts, I wanted to get to know him more.

Liam stood and took my hand with a gentle touch. The tips of his fingers against my wrist made my chest squeeze. His good-natured smile made my stomach flutter.

I didn't want to give in to him, but he was making it damn hard for me. Every moment I spent with him made my reasons for resisting seem less and less important.

That should have freaked me out.

That should have been the moment I shut him down and ran away.

Instead, the thought was almost freeing.

The feelings I'd experienced since meeting Liam had been long forgotten, but I was enjoying their return.

As much as it scared me, being around Liam was liberating in a way that I hadn't felt in a long time.