Page 54 of The Sounds of Her
“Bro,” he leans back in his seat and puts his hands behind his head. “I’ll get behind it if you’re both sure it’s what you want to do. And while we’re discussing secret shit, I know you’re hiding something from me. Something else going on that has nothing to do with this stupid scheme of yours.
“I don’t know why you won’t tell me, and I haven’t pushed you. If it’s impairing your thought processes, then I need to be a good friend and at least try to talk you out of it. Or you know, you could just tell me what’s wrong.”
“Nothing is wrong.”
“Fine, don’t tell me,” his tone sounds snippy.
I hate that he’s right. I am keeping something from him.
“I don’t want this to blow up in your face.”
My jaw grinds. “Nothing will happen between me and Brooke.”
“Famous last words.”
We stare at each other in silence. He blows out a breath and nods.
“Okay, I’ll go along with it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
I flip him off.
“Good luck telling Jordan.”
Shit.
Chapter Thirteen
We touch down in Sydney and after pulling up at the terminal, everyone gets up. I stretch and yawn glancing at Brooke who is staring at my abs, which are on show as I lift my arms. I tilt up my lip at her in a knowing smirk when she realises I caught her staring.
“Better get used to it,” I say. “And as hot as that glare of yours is, you need to pretend you’re obsessed.”
She pulls a face. Then glances over my shoulder at Jordan watching us. He has his sunglasses on but they’re at the end of his nose as he eyeballs us.
“I’ll be happy to teach you guys how to look like you’re madly in love. Because I am.”
“Fuck off, Jordan,” I nudge him. He grunts and grabs his stomach, then heads past us. “He’s right. When we step off this plane, you’re walking into our world.” I divert from his pissy attitude.
“I had the pep talk from Jenna earlier.”
“It’s not the same as the reality of it. But Stone and DiMarco are there, so they’ll make sure no one gets near us, but there will be a lot of cameras and screaming.”
“How do you deal with that all the time?” she asks as she gets up and grabs her bag and jacket.
“Ten years’ experience. I don’t hear it anymore. I wave and smile and get where I need to go as quickly as possible. The airline staff will have a route for us to follow. It will be away from the huge crowds, but reporters and photographers always slip through. It’s the perfect opportunity to get people talking.”
“About us.” Brooke inhales and blows out a shaky breath. I’m not used to seeing a nervous Brooke, it’s jarring.
“I’ve got you, okay?” I say, stepping closer to her.
Everyone in the band, plus Jenna and Elsa, are aware this is fake. Stone knows too because he is the head of our security. Not that he wouldn’t watch out for Brooke under normal circumstances, but Adam insisted we keep him looped in. I’m fine with it and Brooke didn’t see a problem either, but we decided no one else can know. Jordan isn’t happy we aren’t telling Alessa, but she already left to re-join Red Alert on their tour before we told him.
I’m not sure why, but Brooke is adamant it be contained to the band and her closest friends, saying there is too much potential for it to go wrong if the guys in Red Alert know. I don’t think Alessa would tell, but Brooke doesn’t want it getting back to them. She hasn’t told Megan either.
Without her knowing, I spoke to Jordan. Who am I to ask him to keep secrets from his woman? I made him swear it goes no further than Alessa.
I feel bad for not telling Brooke, but the less she knows, the better. And this is the reason why I’m not good at relationships. I’m lying to her already.
I get on well with Hannah, our PR manager, and trust her to handle how this goes out to the press. I didn’t tell her the truth, saying something developed with me and Brooke and we want to go public. She took it in her stride and joked about me being the one to tell Bianca.