“There’s a lot to be said for young and dumb,” Grip said. “Pretty much describes our fan base. I love every one of them.”
“Exactly why Lost Property need to open for us.”
“We need to open for you because World’s End couldn’t fill a stadium alone.” Grip ducked when Jay swung at him with an open hand. “You might be a big deal on the rest of the freaking globe, but this is Australia, mate, and you racked off and didn’t visit once till now and you hurt our feelings.”
Which absolutely no one was concerned about since the tour was already a sellout. It was just a matter of how many shows they played.
“Plus you filled your damn band with Yanks.”
Which absolutely every Australian fan was sensitive about because ten years ago Jay and Grip and Evie’s three brothers were one band called Property of Paradise who had a couple of hits, showed a lot of promise and might’ve made it big except Jay’s world flatlined when he lost Evie. He stopped writing, didn’t want to sing. Couldn’t handle being anywhere near Evie or anyone who reminded him of her. He quit, sold everything he owned, got on a plane and took off, and two years later started a new band called World’s End and never looked back.
Until now, when he invited Lost Property to open for him in Australia, against the advice of everyone on his management team.
To say there were a lot of hard feelings was like suggesting water was wet. It went without saying and you could drown in a bathtub.
“Never thought you’d keep the new band name,” he said. He’d felt winded when he’d found out about it.
“Trolling you has always been a sweet deal.”
And Lost Property had done okay for themselves. Not Jay’s brand of hit factory, seriously cashed up, sky’s the limit okay, but they were making a decent living. “Is it safe for me to be in a room with the other guys?”
“Three layers of management between you and Abel, Isaac and Oscar should be enough to stop any bloodshed. But I wouldn’t expect a warm welcome.”
“What about Errol?” Evie’s dad had once been the closest thing to a father Jay had known. But when the crunch came, Errol chose blood.
“Hasn’t changed. Just wants the best for the band and Evie.” Errol had wanted Evie to be a star in her own right. At least he couldn’t blame Jay for standing in her way.
“Why did you agree to this anyway? I figured you’d tell me to fuck off,” he said.
“Because we were young and dumb when it all went south. Because we used to be live fast, die-hard friends and—” Grip passed a hand over his face. Jay hung on the end of his sentence. They could be friends again. It’s what he hoped. He hated the idea of this bad blood following him around for the rest of his career. It’s why he was doing this the hard way instead of pleasing everyone on his team and booking an up-and-coming band who’d be grateful for the opportunity.
“For the money,” Grip finished, making Jay feel the weight of his jet lag in the grit under his eyes and the vague sense of doom that clung to his shoulders.
At least he could say he’d tried to make amends, but he wasn’t sure the cost of it would rise above the act of placating his own wounded ego and raw vanity.
“Where are you in all this?” Grip was still a friend. Maybe the only old friend he had in Sydney.
“Switzerland, mate. You know I don’t do drama. Unless I think you’re taking advantage of us and then I’m your worst enemy. I know where all the bodies are buried.”
Did he know what Evie was thinking? “You really haven’t hooked up with Evie?”
“You really haven’t gotten over her.”
“I have.” Maybe the burning in his chest was indigestion. The kind that bored a hole in your esophagus. “It was a shock to see her handling your dick after a twenty-hour flight.”
“Shit.” Grip laughed. “If Evie so much as breathed on my dick I’d have made a mess of myself.”
Which is pretty much what Jay had done the first time Evie had handled him. And then he made a mess of so much more and it was for no good reason at all. “What does she do for you guys other than wardrobe?” It was one thing to try and not make it in the music biz, but to have Evie’s talent and not try was criminal.
“Not wardrobe. Evie’s on the management side. Marketing and social media. Runs the fan club, the website, the gram and facey. Produces all our sharable content and keeps the record company and the promoter happy. Makes sure we don’t get caught misbehaving and blow everything.”
“I hope she’s paid well, because that last one would be a full-time job all on its own.”
“
Don’t you worry about what she’s paid. Though not enough if you ask me. Worry she takes a bad angle photo of you and makes it go viral. She can make you look like you’ve got a fatal disease and have one foot in the grave.”
Yep. That was the Evie he knew. “I just want this to be good for everyone.”