The three of us arrive at Finlay’s, with a security detail behind us, but they keep back not being too obvious or bringing attention to us. The pub’s not packed, but it is buzzing with the influx of people coming in after work. Robert, the cleaner, stayed back at the gallery to lock up. I felt kinda bad that he wasn’t coming with us, but he is a little older than us, and he has his own family to go home to so he said he didn’t mind.

We walk over to a booth and Nate takes a seat. He still looks shell-shocked at the events of today. I smirk as Alex walks off to the bar to grab us some drinks. Sliding in next to him, he’s quiet and staring at his hands on the table. Nate’s been so distant since Zaria left him. I know he’s hurting. She was good for him, and they didn’t part on exactly good terms. I’m still not really sure why they ended it completely.

“Nate,” I murmur.

He looks up and fakes a smile. “Mmm.”

“You doing okay?”

He fake smiles again and nods. “Yeah, just been a big day. Would’ve liked to have been able to call Ria. Tell her how the opening went…” there’s a small pause, “… but I can’t.”

Frowning, I exhale. I’ve seen Nate torn up over girls before, but never like this. Mainly it’s because they were a good lay and he wouldn’t have them again, but not because he actually liked them and truly missed them. This is different, he cares about her… a lot. And I can see the downturn in him, even when he’s had such an outstanding day at the gallery because he’s still miserable.

“Bro, what’s stopping you from telling her? Just because you broke up doesn’t mean you can’t be friends? Right?”

He shakes his head. “I sent her our customary picture message a few days ago, but I heard nothing back. She doesn’t want to talk to me. If she did… she would’ve replied. We’re done…” He squeezes his eyes shut. “At least I get Alex in the breakup.”

We both look up and watch Alex walking over, showing skill and precision while carrying three huge pints of Guinness in her tiny hands.

“I’m a Guinness glass goddess, bitches. No-one’s got skills like this girl. Am I right? Holla,” Alex exclaims placing the glasses down on the table and then raising her hands in the air like she’s praising herself.

Nate rolls his eyes, and I grin as she picks up a glass and takes a long drink, the head from the beer smearing and leaving a white trail on her upper lip. For a second, a brief moment, something in me wants to reach over and lick it off. I open my eyes wide wondering what the fuck that’s about when she pulls the glass down, her tongue darts out and swipes her upper lip as she giggles.

“Man, I love the frothy parts.” She laughs, and it makes my insides shudder.

What the hell is it with this chick? She is something else…

“You’re in a pub surrounded by men and talking about frothy parts? You’re game, Alex,” I suggest, and she tilts her head.

“Well, maybe I like to live a little dangerously, Matthew. Here’s cheers to the frothy bits,” she yells the last part loudly making everyone in the bar turn to look at us. I duck down slightly, don’t ask me why as there’s nowhere to hide, while everyone cheers loudly and Nate chuckles. It’s nice to see him laugh, though, I must admit.

She takes another long gulp of her stout, smiling at all the men who now have their attention firmly on her. I understand why, she’s very attractive, but she has an edgier side to her. One that will always have people looking while judging her in one way or another.

Nate picks up his beer and starts to drink, so I follow suit.

“So Natesicles… you have work to do and I… being the best thing in your life right now…” she smirks, “… need to do my job and sell, sell, sell. We got this,” she proclaims tapping his leg.

“Yeah. I’m gonna put all my spare time into painting more pieces, and with your…” he tilts his head with a sly smirk, “… charm and charisma…” he raises his eyebrows up and down, “… selling my stuff seems to be easy for you.”

She scoffs. “Nate, the paintings sell themselves. I merely just bump up the price to make extra profit, ‘cause I’m the shit,” she says with a shit-eating grin.

“What?” Nate scoffs.

She giggles, rolling her eyes. “Kidding… except for that one douche who thought he knew everything. So I did bump the price on that one, and we got an extra five hundred from him.”

I burst out laughing as Nate shakes his head. “I can’t tell if you’re joking,” Nate asks.

Alex grins, taking another sip of her stout and shrugs looking to me with a sly wink.

I’m pretty sure she isn’t. Sly little minx.

“So Alex… how did you meet an A-lister like Zaria?” I ask.

She swallows hard, and I watch her happy exterior falter slightly.

Alex looks across to Nate who also winces, and I furrow my brows. That’s when I mentally kick myself for bringing up Zaria. Who’s not only a sore subject for my brother, but obviously the way Alex and Zaria met, that must be a touchy subject too.

Good one ass!

“You know what, that’s none of my business,” I quickly add and she waves her hand through the air, a bright smile back on her face as she shakes her head like it was nothing.

“No, it’s all good. I met Ria at a women’s shelter I was staying at. She came in as part of her charity work, and we hit it off right away. We kept in contact after she left and remained friends. Ria helped me get back on my feet... she helped me a lot, to be honest. Without her, I wouldn’t have my apartment, and I wouldn’t have been able to finish my study. Shit! Without her, I might not even be here if I’m being really truthful…” she trails off, looking pensive.

Nate grimaces like he expected as much, while I sit back in my seat and exhale with a slight nod. “Sounds like Zaria really pulled you from a tight spot.”

“You have no idea.”

I want to ask. The idea that she was in a women’s shelter in the first place rings alarm bells for me. There’s obviously a story there. Was she a runaway? Was she abused? I have no idea. But I want to find out. Now though, this is not the right time. Tonight is about celebrating.

“Okay, so congratulations are in order.” I raise my glass. “To my moody artist twin, who’s freaking awesome in the art world as well as music. Who knew he was so fucking gifted.” I raise my glass higher as he chuckles.

“Did you just compliment me?” Nate asks raising his glass.

“Take it while they’re coming, who knows if I’ll be this nice ever again,” I reply and Alex lets out a stifled laugh.

“I get the feeling, Matt, that you’re nicer than you let on. You’re a big squishy teddy bear deep down, right?” She waggles her eyebrows to Nate, who chuckles and fist bumps her.

“Hey, no gang ups,” I demand and they both chuckle.

“Excuse me,” a soft voice chimes in from behind me. I turn to see a brunette bombshell with, I’m guessing, her friend standing there shyly gawking at us. Her cute button nose frames her face perfectly as she smiles, making the dimple in her left cheek sink in even further. I inhale sharply as Nate clears his throat, while I continue to gape at the beauty before me.

“Umm… hi,” Nate replies, casually.

The brunette beauty looks to me and gives her best shy expression as her fingers dig into the pleats of her white skirt, in what I’m guessing is nerves. “Hi, umm… I’m sorry to bother you guys, but we saw you, and you look so much like them, so we had to ask.”

My stomach deflates a little that she came over, not because she’s interested, but because they obviously know who we are. I glance up to see our security detail watching cautiously. I give them a nod to let them know we’re okay and they keep their distance.

Alex rolls her eyes and sinks into her chair taking a long gulp of her stout looking uncomfortable. I glance over to Nate to see how he wants to play this. It’s his night, so I’ll take his lead on this.

He half-smiles and looks to the beauty’s friend. “If you promise not to make a scene, we’ll take some photos with you and sign something if you like,” he tells her, and both of their eyes light up as though we’ve given them the best gift ever. They both bounce up on their toes trying to hide their excitement.

A part of me dies inside as I watch the brunette. I wonder if I can ever land a girl. She has the look I’m after—the elegance, the shy demeanor—but she knows who I am. Fuck! Half the world knows who I fucking am. So how the hell am I going to find a chick that doesn’t want me for the glory that comes along with being on my arm? Or the money that’s attached to my wallet?

The two girls squeeze into the seats between Nate and me and I let out a small sigh. Suddenly, all the happiness and fun from tonight has vanished.

“Here… can you take a pic for us, pretty please?” the beauty asks Alex.

I inwardly sigh that she even has outstanding manners.

The girl’s a fucking winner. Fuck my life!

“Sure,” Alex responds taking her phone. I can’t help but notice Alex is not smiling or looking overly impressed as we pose for the pictures. The girls cuddle into us, and Alex takes quite a few happy snaps.

“I really love your music, guys, I’m such a big fan,” her friend says to Nate, and I sink a little further into myself.

“Thanks, we love bringing the music we make to our fans. It’s awesome you guys like our sound,” Nate explains and they both nod.

“Oh, we do, so much. Are Danger and Ryan coming here, too?” her friend asks.

“Nah, not tonight… sorry.” Nate shrugs.

They both smile. “Oh no, don’t be sorry. Meeting Nate and Matt from Recoil is amazing! You have no idea,” the beauty responds.

“What’s your names?” Nate asks.

“Trish,” her friend answers.

“Annabelle,” the beauty replies.

Fuck.

Even her name screams shy, sophisticated, and innocent.

Alex rolls her eyes, drinking back the last of her stout. “I’m getting more booze,” Alex murmurs casually getting up and walking off to the bar. I watch her as she strolls off, her tiny frame wrapped in a business dress suit, doing nothing to match the way her hair and face portray her. She’s a walking contradiction, and it’s only now as she wriggles her ass from side to side purposefully, with a grin over her shoulder while staring at me, that I realize I was actually gawking at her ass. Blinking a few times as I shake my head, she laughs at me. I take a deep breath quickly looking away and back to Annabelle and Trish.

“Did you have something you wanted us to sign, Annabelle?” I ask, her name rolling off my tongue with ease.

She smiles, and I’m glad I’m sitting down because she really is drop dead stunning. “Ahh, yeah, if you don’t mind. I have this book you could sign.” I nod as she ruffles through her handbag. She pulls out what looks like an autograph book and my stomach sinks even further. The innocent vibe of Annabelle is diminishing, and a celebrity chaser vibe is now becoming more and more evident.

Damn. Annabelle is a definite no-go zone now.

She pulls out a pen from her expensive looking handbag that looks especially suited for the book, and I’ve reached my limit. I exhale and take the pen from Annabelle, signing inside her book nicely for her as she beams her dazzling fucking smile at me.

Alex comes back with another stout and three shots of something on a tray. As she sits back down, Alex grabs one of the shots and throws it down the hatch. I smirk at her because she doesn’t even wince. She’s made of strong stuff.

“So what’s it like having a twin? Are you guys psychically connected and stuff?” Trish asks Nate, and he looks to me and chuckles.

“Umm… not really, but we can sometimes sense each other’s emotional state. Stuff like that.”

Trish moves in smiling sultrily at Nate as she leans into his side. He tenses up completely looking like a lost puppy as she obviously starts laying the moves in on him.

“That’s so cool,” she says running her pointer finger up the middle of his chest as he tenses completely and opens his eyes wide.

Alex snorts through a stifled laugh and throws back another shot. I raise my eyebrow at her and take a deep breath.

It’s time for big brother Matt to step in and take control of the situation. “Okay, it was really nice to meet you ladies, but we’re kinda in a work meeting. We’re reviewing Alex here on her work standards with our label, and we really need to get back to it. Sorry, but I’m sure you understand?”

They both straighten up and look at me like they’re shocked I’d turn them away. Alex bites her lips, opening her eyes wide, trying to hold back an all-out giggle while Nate looks at me thanking me with his eyes.

“Oh, right, sorry. You’re with the band? What do you do?” Annabelle asks Alex.

Alex looks to me while tilting her head. “I play the kazoo. It isn’t heard much in their songs, mainly in the background, but man their songs would be fucking shit without me. I make their music really. I don’t even know why we’re having this review, you guys know you need me. In fact, I want a pay rise,” she quips deadpan.

Nate smirks, and Annabelle and Trish both tense up while looking uncomfortable. “Okay, we can see you need time to discuss business. Thank you for talking to us. It was great meeting you both,” Annabelle says while quickly standing up along with Trish.

“Was great meeting you, too. Have a good night,” I say.

“Catch ya round. Thanks for being fans,” Nate remarks as they walk off toward the bar and some other waiting men.

Alex throws back the last shot, and I chuckle while shaking my head. “The kazoo?” I ask, and she shrugs.

“And you’re a demanding co-worker, not to mention borderline alcoholic there, little pixie. Wanna slow down?” Nate questions.

She scoffs and picks up her second glass of Guinness. “I can handle my alcohol. Plus, I need it watching you two with your groupies.”

I slump a little in my chair. That’s what I don’t want. It’s precisely the type of woman I’m trying to avoid by having my list—groupies, sluts, super fans, weirdos—I don’t want that kind of woman in my life anymore.

“Pfft, they were hardly groupies. That’s nothing, Alex,” Nate declares, and she smirks.

“So you were all fine and comfortable with Tittie Trishy then?” she fires back at him and he grunts.

“Okay, so maybe I was slightly uncomfortable. But still, it’s kinda cool when people appreciate our music.”

“They appreciated the fact that you’re celebrities, Nate, nothing more,” Alex asserts sipping at her stout.

Nate jolts back in surprise at Alex’s words. “That’s a little harsh, isn’t it?”

“Personally, I think she has a point,” I reply.

Nate curls his lip at me. “You do?”

Alex smiles and sits up a little taller.

“Yeah, I mean she had an autograph book with a heap of signatures in it from all kinds of celebs. They’re not real Recoil fans, they’re celebrity chasers. Even I can see that.”

Nate sighs. “Yeah, that make sense. Oh well, good riddance then.”

“In that case, cheers to twins and an awesome kazoo specialist,” Alex says, and she winks.

“Here, here,” I reply, grabbing my drink and clinking it with hers.

Nate picks up his glass and cheers us too. We all have a drink and go back to celebrating Nate’s great day at the gallery.

My ten out of ten isn’t here tonight, but I don’t need to find her right now. No, right now I’ll drink with my brother and his employee, who’s looking at me through her fucking amazing big doe eyes sideways through the frost of her beer.

What the hell is she thinking?