“I’m sorry about your mom. That’s got to be really hard.” Poppy squeezed her hand briefly and let go.

  Thank god someone knocked on her door before Harlow had to talk any more about it.

  It was Miles, who had a ball cap in his hand, along with a pair of sunglasses. “Do I pass the Miles Brown Fanboy test?” he asked before kissing her soundly in front of everyone.

  He had on an Editors tour t-shirt, jeans ripped in the right places and looked totally gorgeous. He put on the hat and glasses.

  “Okay, yeah you tipped from Miles to one of his fanboys. Where did you get those sunglasses? I love them,” Harlow took them off his face and tried them on her own. “Super cute.”

  “You can have them at the end of tour when I don’t need a disguise. And what’s yours?” he asked.

  “My disguise is that way less people know about my band than yours. I’m just one of many chicks with this look out and about.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “Let me get my backpack,” she told him, but he followed her into her room completely and started chatting with Nora and Poppy.

  “Maddie wanted you to know she was changing quickly and would be down to join you all shortly,” he said.

  “Oh are we all going shopping?” Poppy asked just to poke at her brother, which made Harlow snicker.

  “Sure. Just in different places.” He took Harlow’s hand. “Got a car waiting. Let’s go.”

  “See you later,” Nora called out. “Ask him that thing.”

  Harlow took her hand back for a second, walked back into the room and flipped her friend off, making Poppy guffaw.

  “For the record,” Miles said once they’d gotten into the car, “you are nothing like one of many chicks with this look. There’s no one like you in the world.”

  She smiled and sat back against the seat.

  Miles held off until they came out of the first store, and he dropped their bags with the car, and they headed to the next place, just down the block. “What thing are you supposed to ask me?”

  “I was expecting you to demand to know in the car.”

  “I was hoping you’d share.”

  “My brothers live here in Atlanta. I told you that earlier, remember?”

  He nodded.

  “I’m going to dinner at my oldest brother’s house. And he said I could invite someone.”

  “Yes, I’d love to go,” he said quickly.

  “I feel like you probably need to know more before you make that decision. There’s some tension between my mother’s side of the family and me. This dinner could be fine, but if my biological mother shows up, it could go left really quickly. It’s a lot for me and it’s my problem. I don’t want to dump it in your lap.”

  If it was a lot for her, he definitely wanted to be there.

  “I’d be there as your boyfriend?” he asked and then added, “Which I’d like, obviously. I just wanted to check.” Because he was her boyfriend. Or whatever word that conveyed the same basic thing. In the month since the tour had started, especially since she’d been in his bed every single night, he’d come to feel something pretty intense for her. And it felt like she returned that feeling.

  “I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to come. If it’s awful,” she shook her head, “it could really ruin your night.”

  “Your not being with me ruins my night. Your going to this dinner without me so you have no one to have your back ruins my night. You brought it up so it would be super rude to rescind your invitation,” he teased.

  Harlow wanted to tell him everything while simultaneously running away from the subject and never speaking of it again.

  She had her very close circle and even then, it was only Nora who she really talked to about it. Over years.

  She wanted to be the Harlow who wasn’t so delighted by the idea of Miles being with her at this dinner. And she wanted to be the Harlow who hadn’t gotten all tingly and flushed when he asked if he was going as her boyfriend.

  After catching her reflection in a window, Harlow called herself the liar she was. If she was the Harlow who didn’t get tingly over Miles, there wouldn’t be this lovely thing building between them.

  And she liked it so much. Liked that she could look over at him no matter what he was doing, and he looked up too, like she’d called him in some secret magical way. Liked watching him sing his entire heart out. Liked the thing he did with his tongue and her clit. Liked that he wanted to be with her and didn’t try to hide it.

  “Yes.” She opened the door and got out, heading to the shop, face burning.

  He caught up with her inside, taking her hand and kissing it before letting it go. “Yes, I’m your boyfriend, and we’re telling your brothers about us when we go over there for dinner tonight?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yes.”

  “Great. Now I need your help with an outfit. It’s not every day I meet my girlfriend’s family.”

  She poked him in the ribs laughing. “You’ve met my dad more than once.”

  “Still. Don’t ruin it, Harlow.” He sneaked close enough to kiss her right on the mouth, crushing the A line dress she’d just pulled off a rack between them.

  A thrill zinged through her. That he’d make a claim like that at all was sort of unexpectedly wonderful.

  An hour and a half later they were eating lunch at a secluded back table in a funky little place they found down an alley.

  Her chile relleno was fantastic, as was the giant margarita, and Miles looked even hotter and slightly dangerous in the low light.

  “Harlow,” he said, reaching toward her holding a little gift bag.

  Inside, nestled in tissue paper were three resin bangles she’d looked at a few shops earlier that day. She’d put them back after considering the cost and the stuff she was already going to have to lug around or send back home.

  Two tortoiseshell and one black. They’d go with the outfit she was planning to wear that night.

  “These are wonderful. Thank you.”

  He shrugged. “I just saw you looking at them. I hoped you hadn’t put them back because you hated them.”

  “You pay attention.” Worry eased into his features, and she shook her head. “No. In a good way. It makes me feel nice.” Valued.

  “Oh, well good. I like paying attention and you deserve it. So.” He ducked his head.

  Every time he reached for the chips in the center of the table she got caught up in the flex of his forearms and the movement of his hands. It wasn’t the first time she’d found herself staring at him as he played guitar or ate chips at a Mexican restaurant.

  “I’d really like to lean in and bite you right here,” she said quietly, pointing out a spot above his wrist.

  He dropped the chip, a look of surprise chased by sensual promise. God, she really liked this guy.

  And his arms.

  “What’s stopping you?” he asked, teasing.

  “I’m going to guess the management probably frowns on patrons just nibbling on one another. Even if one of those patrons has forearms that make a girl all fluttery inside.”

  “The world is very unfair,” he said, taking another chip.

  “So true.” Laughing, she went back to her meal.

  “How much time do we have when we get back? Before we have to leave for your brother’s house?” he asked.

  “I did some research earlier and I think it’ll take about forty-five minutes or so to get there from the hotel. I called a car service so they’re picking me…us up an hour before. I figure just in case we hit traffic or whatever. It’s going to take me an hour to get ready before that. How long do you need to get ready?”

  He was most likely trying to figure out if they had enough time for sex. Which normally she’d be down for. But the closer the time for dinner got, the more anxious she was becoming. Anxious sex wasn’t her favorite. She found it difficult to focus on pleasure when something was worrying her.

  So she took a step closer to being a grown up and told him. “We have time after. And I’ll probably be in need of some relaxation.”

  Miles took her hand and squeezed to let her know he got it.

  Miles was grateful Harlow had helped him pick out what to wear for dinner. He wouldn’t have worried so much if it had been her father, or any of the extended family Miles had. But this was different enough that it had his normally bold Harlow off balance. Which had knocked him off balance too because his reaction to her reaction was something altogether new.

  He wanted to project that he had his shit together and that he was there for Harlow. So the outfit of dark trousers with a thin but warm cashmere sweater—one he’d push up to his elbows so she could see his forearms—was a signal to her family and to Harlow as well.

  Tonight was about Harlow, not so much for meeting her brothers. He wasn’t going to start anything. He wanted things to go well if for no other reason than to erase all the anxiety he could clearly see she carried.

  Then when they got back, he was going to stop by her room with her as she gathered her things into an overnight bag so she would be in his bed all night. Then he could make sure she was all right, sex her up if that was something she wanted and watch that she had a good breakfast the following morning. They had a show the following evening, so he knew she’d need the care and the energy.

  He escorted her to her hotel room and took his share of the bags. “I’ll be down here to get you ten minutes before we go to meet the car, okay?”

  She hugged him, staying longer than she usually did, so he kept her against him, telling her through his body that he was there. He wanted her to tell him more. Reveal the whole story. But he understood from her reaction that she didn’t normally share this much even with people she’d known for years. He needed to be patient. And smart.

  Back in his room he took the time to make a call home. Yes, he was a grown man, but his father always had good advice.

  “Miles, your mum and I were just talking about you at breakfast. How are things?”

  “Hey, Dad. Things are great. The shows have been amazing so far. Sold out every night so far. We’re tight.”

  “Yeah, once you get past the first week or two, you hit that spot where you all know one another perfectly. It gets at little threadbare toward the end when everyone is exhausted so remember to take the time for you four to connect and reconnect.”

  That was why they’d insisted on a rest day at least once a week. It cost more but Earthquakes would be on tour for nearly six months and they needed not to be exhausted and burned out. His father had been the one to suggest it, another reason Miles respected his dad as a businessperson as well.

  “Do you have a few minutes?” Miles asked.

  “Always. Your sister is okay? She texts daily and sounds fine.”

  “She’s great. You were right to push me to hire her. She keeps us all in line. She’s decided Above Me is hers to take care of too.”

  “Ah, I wondered when you were going to tell me about Harlow.”

  Miles sighed. “Did she tell you about it?” Meaning his sister.

  “She didn’t have to. Tell me and then we’ll circle back to this,” his father said.

  “Well, it all started before I kissed her the first time. But once that happened, I couldn’t seem to find any reason not to pursue her. And yes, I get that I am on tour with her band and that if things go bad it could mess things up professionally. Though, I’ll say Above Me isn’t going to do anything outwardly that would hurt this tour or their own trajectory. It’s one of the things I like most about Harlow.”

  Once he’d been with her the first time, he’d understood just how much trust she gave him. She was vulnerable when it was just the two of them in a way he never saw outside that. It made him feel ten feet tall that she trusted him with her body and her heart.

  “She wants to keep this on the low.” Which, admittedly frustrated him.

  “Is she ashamed of it? Is she with someone?” his dad asked.

  “No to both. I think, and this is conjecture based on what she’s said and not said that she’s lived her life in the public eye because of who her father is and that she’s trying to navigate in a way that makes her feel she’s earned her success. And that she likes to have her personal life private.”

  His father sighed. “You know your mother feels very much the same way about our personal life so I expect you understand her in a way others wouldn’t.”

  “That’s true. We have a lot in common with growing up in a spotlight that belonged to someone else. She understands the industry like I do. She knows the bad and the good and she’s determined to make her way through the minefield of the music business. She’s good at what she does. Confident in her skills. It’s very attractive.”

  “Doesn’t hurt that she’s beautiful,” his dad teased.

  “Well, no. But her beauty is something that’s a magical combo of who she is inside and all that pretty on the outside. I…I thought I was in love before, but I didn’t know shit.”

  That made Adrian Brown laugh. “Miles, I wish I was there to have this conversation with you face to face. You don’t know what you don’t know. You had that other experience to know precisely what it meant when something real felt very different. A good life is learning from our mistakes. That doesn’t guarantee no new mistakes, god knows, but pain is easier to get past when you can spin it as a positive.”

  “You aren’t going to say it’s too early?”

  “Do you think it’s too early?” his dad countered.

  “No. I…I started falling the moment I saw the footage of her on stage back in April. I’m still getting to know her, and we aren’t getting married tomorrow. But I want to do this right. She and I are going to dinner tonight at her brother’s house. I’m meeting that part of her family and there’s some tension there, so I don’t want to mess anything up. I want her to trust I’ve got her back. She’s stressed about it in a way I haven’t seen from her. There’s just this spot inside me that’s driven to soothe that anxiety. It’s not so much that I want them to like me. I want them to like her.”

  His dad was quiet for long moments. “That’s an important distinction. I’m proud you can see that. All you can do is go with her and be at her side. If something happens, you can do your best to protect her. Just remember her feelings count most here. Since you don’t know exactly what the problem is, you need to follow her lead. For what it’s worth, I have faith you’ll do just fine.”

  That was exactly what he’d needed to hear.

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  “It’s my pleasure to be your dad. It always has been. Now, let’s circle back to how I know about you and Harlow.”

  CHAPTER

  TWELVE

  “You look so pretty,” Nora said, stepping back from where she’d been pinning the braided bun at the base of Harlow’s head.

  She’d chosen black herringbone patterned pants and a pale pink short sleeved sweater. Her, but softened. Harlow wanted to signal to her brothers that she wanted the evening to be soft and calm and hoped they did too.

  Her makeup was classic, and she’d gone with a berry-colored lipstick.

  “They see me in media where I’m supposed to be on. I just want them to remember I’m more than that. I’m proud of the work we do as well obviously.” It took all her self control not to wring her hands. Nothing else in the universe made her so uncertain in the way dealing with her mother’s side of the family did.

  Nora met her gaze in the mirror they stood in front of. “I understand. You look perfect. And you and Miles together are going to look like the ten minutes before a baby gets made.”

  Laughing, Harlow turned and hugged her dearest friend. “You always say the perfect thing. I don’t know what I would do without you in my world.”

  “That’s good because I’m not going anywhere. I need you to promise me you will get your asses up and out of there if she shows up and it gets bad,” Nora said, her eyes narrowed.

  “If it gets to the point where I want to leave, I will.”

  “That’s a dodge of what I asked you to promise.”

  “No it isn’t.” Harlow held up a hand to stop her friend from speaking. “What I mean is, she probably won’t even be there. I haven’t seen her in person in years. She’s in no hurry to contact me unless it’s one of her phone calls to yell at me about my behavior.” Sadly, Gloria found a reason to leave shitty, judgmental voicemails a few times each year. Not for birthdays or anything important in a positive way. No, just sniping at Harlow from out of the blue to remind her Gloria never believed she was anything more than an easy lay and a failure as a person. She’d done so during their solo tour earlier that year after she’d seen some pictures of Harlow on stage. Called to let Harlow know she looked like a whore and was disgracing the family. There were times she wondered if her mother had some sort of internet alert set up for Harlow’s name so she could find extra things to be upset over.

  Harlow took a bracing breath. “She’s got no reason to show up tonight. What I’m hoping is that it’s just me and my brothers and their kids. If it’s just us, it’ll be fine.”

  Their mother might be viewed differently by her and her brothers, but Harlow loved them and their kids. Even though they hadn’t spent a lot of time with each other growing up, she knew they loved her in their own way.

  It needed to be enough, or she would slip out and stay gone. She was working on that part.

  “And if she shows?” Nora asked.

  “Like a dog with a bone,” Harlow muttered, and Nora flipped her off. “If she shows and she’s unpleasant, and I can’t ignore it by moving away from her or changing the subject, I will make my excuses and say good night. I’m not going over there to be disrespected. I’m not a doormat, Nora.”

  “No, you’re not. But…you want her to love you. And she doesn’t. Not in the way you need her to. That hurts you. And I hate it. You deserve so much more. But I also understand you love your brothers and it’s just dinner. But you’re taking your boyfriend to meet your family. That’s big. And it’s a message to them and to Miles.”