"Yesssss!" Jules shouted, pumping his fist just like the audience in the bar just now. The idiot had obviously been in the States way too long. "That's bloody fantastic!" Niall clapped his huge hands together, then came over and slapped me on the back as I laughed out loud.

"Wait!" CeCe yelled over the noise of our celebration. We quieted and looked at her. "I have conditions," she said.

Her voice was all business, and I knew I should shut my mouth, or maybe put on a damn shirt or something, but the way she was biting her lip right now pushed all rational thought out of my head. "You do?" I said, letting my eyes fall to her lips.

She shifted and stared at a spot directly over my shoulder. "Yes," she said primly, not meeting my eyes. "And I need you to consider them very seriously before you agree, because these are going to change things for you and they way you're working here."

I had to smile. She was working so damn hard not to look at my stomach. "Go ahead, love," I prompted her, teasing. "Tell us your conditions."

Her eyes blazed at me. "One," she said, lifting her chin. "You need to find a new lead singer."

I opened my mouth to agree with her, but August interrupted. "Done," she called from across the room. "I already have somebody in mind. We'll audition him early next week."

"We will?" Jules asked, bewildered.

"Next condition?" August asked, ignoring him.

"Two," CeCe went on, raising her voice a little louder. "You need a new band name. I cannot sign Twat Yacht and you cannot be Wrecked any more."

I was moving towards her without meaning to, drawn by the way she caught her pink lip in her pearly teeth. "We're not," I said with my eyes on that mouth of hers "We're the wreckage of Wrecked."

Her mouth parted slightly. I was close enough now that I caught a whiff of whatever perfume still clung to her skin at the end of a long night. It was the kind of private scent that sticks in your brain, calling up memories every time you smell it. I leaned in a little closer. Was it her shampoo? Her soap? Or was it just...her?

"What he means to say, love," Jules added, breaking in and ruining the moment. CeCe snapped her gaze away from me and looked at him instead and I had to suppress the urge to knock him flat. "It that's the band name. Wreckage."

CeCe's mouth formed a perfect 'O' of surprise. I waited as she took a deep breath, wondering why it meant so much to me that she be impressed, that she liked it. "That's actually..." She trailed off and then looked up at me with excitement in her eyes. "That's actually really fucking perfect."

I felt like leaping into the air. "Yeah we though so," I boasted, trying to keep casual about it. "Harks back to the history but still leaves room for the new, yeah? A nod to the old fans, letting them know they still matter while acknowledging that things have changed."

Jules snorted. "Stop trying to impress her, ya pompous twit."

Now I definitely wanted to deck him.

"Third thing," CeCe said with only a slight little squeak. "We need to work on your look."

"Our look?" Jules chuckled.

I whipped my head back to gape at her. "My look?" I echoed, feeling like she'd just sucker punched me in the gut she kept staring at. All these shy, meaningful glances? All the licking and biting her lips and now she wanted to tell me she didn't like my "look"?

Well that was a bunch of bullshit. I took a step back from her, angry at myself for misreading her signals while at the same time certain I hadn't. "What's wrong with my look?"

She regarded me coolly. "Come on now. This isn't your first time round the block. You know you need to project a cohesive image and right now?" She gestured to my faded, well-worn jeans and then swept her arm around to take in Jules' greasy curls and Niall's dumpy polo shirt. "Right now you all look like three dudes who wandered away from the bar and somehow ended up on stage."

I felt my lip curl. It was fucking Killian all over again, micromanaging us. "Maybe that's the look we're trying to project," I said, my words dripping with acid.

She seemed surprised. "You're pissed about this?" she challenged, talking tougher than I expected. "Tough shit. You guys are pros. Act like it."

"They will," August said, sounding way more confident in us than I was feeling right now. Jules looked a little green around the gills and Niall was steadily staring at a spot on the floor. I could almost hear the whirl of thoughts in their heads and I knew the second CeCe and August left, we were gonna start a row. I felt like breaking shit. It didn't fucking make sense how angry I was right now. Anxious rage clawed in my belly, twisting it around like a wrung out rag.

"Here's my card," CeCe said, slapping it down on the arm of the couch. "You call me when you make your decision. Looking forward to doing business with you, boys." She gave a breezy smile. "Or should I say, lads."

Watching her walk out that door made my stomach twist even more and suddenly I wasn't pissed, I was fucking confused as hell, and I didn't give a fuck how it looked to August or the rest of the band.

I ran after her.

"Oi!" I shouted, louder than necessary.

She stopped in the middle of the hallway, freezing in place but she didn't turn around.

But she didn't move away either. Not even when I got close enough to inhale that scent again. "Really lassie?" I breathed, letting my lips brush her hair before stepping in front of her. I reached out, catching her chin with my finger and tilting it up so she had to look me in the eye as I asked. "You really be wantin' me acting professional 'round you?"

Fucking hell, when she licked her lips like that it made my stomach drop like I was taking the lift to the top of the Empire State Building. I was close enough to feel the heat rising off her skin, just a millimeter of electrically charged ions dancing in the space between us. All I need to do was bend my head and I'd catch the corner of her mouth with my lips, suck on that lush lower lip and maybe bite it myself. It would be the easiest fucking thing in the world but...

"Yes," she hissed, forcing out the words in a rush of air. "Professional. This is a business relationship."

I swallowed and stepped back. With my head still bent and my hair falling into my face, she couldn't see the anger in my eyes. Then I took a deep breath and nodded. "Aye," I said slowly. "It is then. Pity though, don't you think?" I brushed my finger under her chin again, watching her eyes follow my hand back down to my side again. She pressed her lips tightly together as if to keep herself from licking them.

Ah, so it's this game then, is it? She wanted me just as much as I wanted her. Maybe not tonight. Maybe we'd keep the pretense of professionalism up for just a little longer.

"Have a good night then, love," I said bending closer to her.

She let out a soft sigh, turning her face to mine. Then she seemed to remember herself, because all at once her eyes went wide and she was rushing away.