Incidental Happenstance (32 page)

            She interrupted. “Of course not!” she said, surprised that she’d even suggest it. “But I really think you should.”

            Tia thought for a minute before answering. “I’m sure I will eventually, but not yet. I just now admitted it to myself, and no matter how comfortable we are with each other, we’ve still only known each other a short time. If I told him and he wasn’t feeling the same way, it would be awkward and I couldn’t stand that. Things are perfect right now, and I don’t want to do anything that could mess that up.”         

            “I understand,” she said. “You’ll know when the time is right—I just like you both so much, and I like what you do for each other. I really want you both to be happy.”

            “I am
so
happy!” Tia exclaimed. “And I like you too, Jessa—you’re an awesome person, and I’m so glad to call you my friend.”

            They finished their strudels and coffee and bought some snacks to take back to the boys, then strolled casually around the square, taking pictures of the historic gate, before heading back to the hotel.
We really bonded
, Tia thought happily, and she felt as if she had a new true friend, one who understood where she was coming from, and one she could trust with her true feelings about Dylan. 

            As much as she was coming to love Jessa, and enjoyed their time together, Dylan turned out to be right about her missing home. As the time for Lexi’s visit grew closer, Tia found herself looking incredibly forward to seeing her old friend again and sharing London with her. Just another week and a half, four more cities, and then she’d have a whole week with Lexi in London and then a few more days in Amsterdam.

            The time difference and their schedules made it difficult to keep in close contact, but she and Lexi talked at least a couple times a week and emailed regularly. Dylan had booked them a room to share to have “girl time,” and Lexi had already planned a host of activities around the InHap shows to experience the magic that embodied London. With the boys they’d planned a couple of private tours with London Walks, including a Jack the Ripper tour and a haunted pub crawl, and she insisted they visit the Tower and Buckingham Palace. It was going to be a busy week, and Tia couldn’t wait. 

            When the day of Lexi’s visit finally arrived, Tia found herself full of nervous excitement over seeing her best friend. She waited at the luggage carousel holding Lexi’s name above her head. When she appeared, Tia shrieked and ran to hug her, and they spun and looked each other up and down and embraced again. “Europe agrees with you, Tia,” she observed, “you look amazing!”

            “Oh, it’s so good to see you Lex!” Tia exclaimed, hugging her again.

            Lexi looked around. “Where are my boys?” she grinned. “I expected Bo to show up, at least.”

            “They’re over at Wembley,” Tia answered, “setting up for the show tonight. It’s kind of tense tonight, actually. Ty’s having throat troubles and might not be able to sing back-up. It’s the first of two sold out shows and the place is huge—they might be the biggest shows of the tour.”

            The English audience had always been tremendous supporters of InHap. They’d embraced them as their own, perhaps because Dylan was a native Aussie who’d lived for a time in Northampton. The Wembley shows had sold out in less than an hour, and they were playing in two other cities as well during their stay in the UK. They had a heavy agenda, with a bigger than usual number of television appearances, interviews, radio shows, and even an audience at Buckingham Palace with the crown princes, who were longtime fans. Tonight’s show was a big deal, and having one of the band members not able to give 100% would really disappoint the fans. Tia knew that Ty had been drinking honey-lemon tea all day and had seen a doctor, and although he felt well enough to perform, his voice was gruff and crackly.

            “Poor guy,” Lexi said. “I can’t even imagine having a job like that to do when you don’t feel well. It’s got to take a lot of energy to be up there on that stage.” She changed the subject. “We do have front row seats though, right?” Lexi pleaded.

            “Of course,” Tia replied, struggling to pull one of Lexi’s enormos bags off the carousel. “Shit, what do you have in here, rocks?” she grunted.

            “I think that’s my shoe bag,” Lexi smirked. “Hey…” she said when Tia glared at her from the corner of her eye. “Don’t give me that look. It’s not every day a girl gets an experience like this one, and I intend to look good doing it!”

            Tia just laughed at her and tugged the bag off to the side. “I’ve got a taxi waiting out front. We’ll drop your bags at the hotel and head over to Wembley—the boys are planning dinner with us backstage.”

            “I’m so glad you’re my friend, Tia,” Lexi crooned. “You get me into all the right parties!”

            Tia draped her arm over Lexi’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “I missed you, Lex. It’s so good to see you.”

            “Right back at you, girlfriend. I can’t even tell you how jealous everyone back home is that I’m here right now.”

            “You didn’t tell anyone…about me and Dylan though, right?” she asked cautiously.

            “No, no, don’t worry,” Lexi placated. “But it’s been so hard, you know, covering all the bases? I just told people that your new boyfriend was playing with InHap—which isn’t a lie—and that we had preferred seating and  we’d get to hang with the band after the show. Ryan is beside himself, thinking that I’m going to cash in on my gimme.”

            “I thought you told him you had a new gimme,” Tia said suspiciously.

            “I did,” she answered, “but he doesn’t believe it. It was Dylan for so long, and without telling him the real reason I had to cross him off my list, he just wasn’t buying it. It’s cute, actually,” she giggled, “since I told him I was coming and that I’d get to meet Dylan, he’s suddenly all jealous and protective. I’ve never gotten so many flowers in my life,
and
,” she said, holding up her wrist where a diamond tennis bracelet sparkled, “he gave me this last night before I left—so I wouldn’t ‘forget how much he loved me,’ he said.”

            “It’s gorgeous!” Tia gushed, relaxing her shoulders. She trusted Lexi completely, but felt better knowing that even Ryan didn’t know the truth. If she’d kept it from him, the secret was safe. “You can really play this to your advantage—for a while, anyway.”

            “I know, right? I’ve got my eyes on some earrings, and I dropped a little hint before I left. I expect I’ll have them in my hand shortly after I get home.”

            “You are shameless,” Tia laughed.

            “I know. I’m a lawyer—it’s my job, and I’m pretty damned good at it. Manipulation is quickly becoming second nature,” she joked as she wrestled the last of her overstuffed bags from the carousel.

            Lexi was positively giddy by the time she stepped into the hotel. Tia had arranged for the taxi to take the scenic route, and every time Lexi saw a structure she recognized, she let out a little squeal and got more excited. The Ritz itself had a worldwide reputation, but nothing can truly prepare a person for stepping into the dooe, nd experiencing the marble elegance that welcomed one from the street, or the luxuriously appointed rooms that held no pretenses. “Damn, I feel like a princess!” she exclaimed.

            “You’ll feel even more like one tomorrow,” Tia said. “We’re doing high tea downstairs at two, compliments of Bo. It’s a British tradition, and it’s supposed to be quite an experience.”

            “Well, I guess I owe him one big kiss!” she exclaimed. “I just love that man—he’s so adorable!”

            “Yeah, he’s a sweetie,” she replied fondly. She’d come to love the man too—he was funny and obnoxious on the outside, but was really a very insightful and intelligent person. Tia had grown to trust him a great deal with her feelings and fears.

            “Dylan has arranged a day at the spa for us on Tuesday,” she added. Lexi’s eyes lit up immediately—a day at the spa had been at the top of her ‘to-do’ list, and Tia knew it. “But I’ll be the one to deliver
that
kiss. You can just say thank you and shake his hand.” She wagged her finger at her friend when she saw the look of mock surprise on her face.

            “Aw, you can suck the fun out of a circus,” she smirked. “But I’ll be good, I promise.”     Lexi took a quick shower—three hours in the airport and eight on the plane practically required it—while Tia unpacked one of her bags, hanging her things in the closet and smiling inwardly at the clothes Lexi’d brought on the trip. Everything she pulled out screamed ‘sexy and available,’ and there were incredibly few casual choices. When Lexi stepped out of the bathroom in a perfectly accessorized low cut fitted pant suit, Tia took one look at her and said, “No wonder Ryan’s worried. If he saw the clothes you packed for the trip, he’d think you were planning to get yourself a booth in the Red Light District. Did you even bring any jeans? You can’t go sightseeing in any of this stuff!” She held up a stiletto heel. “Do you realize how many of the sidewalks here are cobblestone?” she added. “You’ll break your neck if you try to walk around in these things.”

            “The smaller bag is my casual stuff,” she smiled. “I told you I was going to look good on this trip.”

            Tia shook her head in exaggerated disbelief and said, “You do look gorgeous, by the way.”

            Lexi performed a little three-point catwalk turn and smiled back over her shoulder. “So, I’m ready—let’s head over to the stadium—I’ve never seen a sound check before! Who’s opening for them, by the way?”

            “Tandem Obsession.” Lexi squinted in question and Tia continued.  “They’re pretty hot on the Brit scene right now, but they haven’t hit it in the U.S. yet. They’re pretty good though; they opened in Glasgow last week. Kind of punky pop, with a bluesy attitude.”

            “I like the name,” Lexi pondered. “Any hotties?”

            Tia rolled her eyes. “What do you mean, ‘any hotties’?”

            “You know exactly what I mean. I obviously need a new gimme, and this is just the place to find one. I just love the vibe here; I could feel it as soon as I stepped off the plane.”

            “It’s called jet lag,” Tia joked, “and you are impossible, Alexis Marie.”

            “You know I hate when you call me that. You sound like my mother.”

            “Yeah, well I should call your mother and tell her you’re trying to get in a quick lay with a Brit punker. She’d love that. So would Ryan.”

            “Yeah, whatever,” Lexi smirked. “So I ask again, any hotties?”

            “Definitely none hotter than mine, so I can’t really say,” she grinned.

            “Well, duh!” Lexi bubbled. “Only one of us can be dating the sexiest man in the world.” She stuck out her lower lip in a pathetic pout. “I hate that it’s you.”

            “I just bet you do.” Tia smiled at her best friend in the world, linked elbows, and led her back to the lobby to catch a taxi. 

            Ty was still losing his fight with laryngitis when they arrived—apparently honey and lemon weren’t enough to push it back. After rushed greetings and an over exaggerated exchange between Lexi and Bo that had everyone’s eyes rolling, the girls took their seats in the front row to watch the boys sync mikes and instruments.  Tia looked forward to introducing Lexi and Jessa, but Dylan’s assistant was busy running errands and getting things together for dinner, and couldn’t join them yet.

            “This is so exciting!” Lexi exclaimed. “It’s kind of weird being in an empty stadium.” She looked around the vastness of Wembley, eyes wide. “This place is enormous—how many people does it hold?”

            “Ninety thousand,” Tia answered as Lexi whistled through her teeth, “and every one of these seats will be full in a few hours. Both shows sold out in less than an hour.”

            “That’s a shitload of people!” Lexi exclaimed. “I’d be scared to death in front of an audience that big!”

            Tia laughed. “Are you kidding me? You’d love every minute of it.”

            Lexi smirked. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Having that many people chanting your name and screaming for you—it’s got to be seriously awesome!”

            “Hey Tia,” Dylan called from the stage. “Can you help get Ty’s mike through sound check? We can run through
Lost in You
. He still sounds like shit.”

            “Absolutely!” Tia mounted the stage and took Ty’s place at the mike. Lexi watched from the floor as they ran through the intro and her eyes widened as she heard how Tia’s voice blended with Dylan’s in perfect harmony. “Wow, you guys sound amazing together!” she exclaimed breathlessly. “I’ve heard Tia sing before, but…wow. It sounds great from here!”

            The sound guy Neil agreed with two thumbs-up, but Dylan wanted to be certain. “Let’s run through
Over the Hills
once, just to be sure,” he said into his own mike. And they were off again, their voices rising and falling over the music as if they were one.

            “I’ll say it again,Rqv Lexi yelled toward the stage. “Wow.”

            Ty was silent during dinner, hoping that resting his voice would be enough to get him through the night. The rest of the guys harassed him relentlessly, well aware that he’d taken a self-imposed vow of silence. At the preshow meeting, however, it was evident that he wasn’t going to be able to sing backup vocals.