Unsteady Rhythm (House of Archer Book 2)

  She leaned closer to Keith and smiled and waved for the photo. Lex grinned and waved back after snapping the photo before turning around to find a new subject. Sydney shook her head, amused.

  “She’s just adorable,” she said, turning to Keith.

  She didn’t realize how close she had moved towards him until then. Like they had been earlier that day, their faces were only inches apart.

  Remembering how his eyes had moved to her lips then, hers dropped to his now. She’d had plenty of fantasies about those sexy, sultry lips. Now they were right there, beckoning her.

  She wasn’t sure who leaned first, but before she knew what was happening, her lips were touching Keith’s.

  Her eyes closed. Her lips parted slightly as he brushed his mouth against hers. The sensation was like a sensual current flickering through her body.

  She leaned even closer, craving more. He used the tip of his tongue to trace her lower lip. He might as well have run his hands along her bare skin, it was so evocative. She followed his lead, trailing her tongue along his lip. It was enough to have him deepening the kiss, meeting the gentle thrust of her tongue with his own.

  Her heart raced in her chest. She longed to touch him but she didn’t dare for fear he would stop kissing her. He tasted so good, like cotton candy, root beer, and an even more intoxicating flavor that was all his own. She wanted the kiss to go on forever.

  Now she knew what that magical moment felt like.

  No sooner did that thought cross her mind than Keith abruptly ended the kiss. He didn’t just pull away from her. He shoved himself to his feet, stumbled a couple of steps away, and wiped his mouth as though to erase what had just happened.

  Sydney blinked as she tried to recover her senses. She was confused by Keith’s reaction. It took her a second to remember that they were in a public place and she was just tongue-kissing him in front of his sister. No wonder he was acting like he just committed a major sin.

  She checked to make sure Lex was okay. The little girl was still less than ten feet away, aiming her camera up at the clouds. There was no one around paying them any attention, so Sydney supposed that was a plus.

  Keith grabbed the backpack they had been toting around all day and swung it over his shoulder. He stepped over to Lex.

  It’s time to go, he signed. When she started to protest, he told her, You need to take pictures as we leave so you can put them in your special album.

  Sydney hadn’t even finished collecting what remained of their snacks before they started walking away without her. She hurried after them. Keith didn’t look at her as she reached him. He took a few steps to the side so that Lex walked between them.

  Sydney wanted to ask him what was wrong, but she suspected he wouldn’t tell her. Even if he did, would she really want to hear what he had to say?

  She pushed Keith and his attitude from her thoughts when Lex started signing and pointing at things that interested her. This outing was supposed to be for her, and Sydney intended to keep it that way no matter how grumpy her brother was.

  They stopped at the gift shop so Lex could pick a souvenir. She chose a stuffed purple hippo and immediately named her Angel.

  Touched, Sydney gave her a hug. That’s very sweet of you, she signed. Thank you.

  You’re welcome, Lex said with her contagious smile.

  After that, they headed out and drove back to Lex’s apartment. Keith didn’t say a word the entire drive. Sydney wasn’t sure what to say to bring him out of his strange funk, so she remained equally silent.

  Megan answered the door. “Welcome back,” she greeted everyone, giving Lex a hug and kiss. “How did it go?”

  “Great,” Sydney replied. “Lex wore us out.”

  Megan chuckled. “She tends to do that. Thanks again for taking her today. It will be something she talks about for a long time.”

  “It was our pleasure,” Sydney replied since Keith had barely even stepped inside the apartment, never mind said anything.

  “Why don’t you let me feed you for your trouble?” Megan offered. “I started a roast and there’s plenty to go around.”

  “We have plans,” Keith said before Sydney could respond.

  Megan smiled in an obvious effort to cover up her disappointment. “That’s fine.”

  Sydney was beginning to see a pattern in their interactions. She looked down as Lex bounced on her feet in front of her.

  Will you come see me again before you leave with Keith?

  Sydney knew she meant before the tour started back up. We’ll see each other again soon, she promised.

  Keith made a similar vow to Lex as he gave her a hug goodbye. Lex waved them both off as they headed back to the car.

  Once again, the drive to Keith’s apartment was done in silence. Sydney really wanted to bring up the kiss, but that was clearly why he was acting like he was.

  Did he not like it? Did he think she hadn’t liked it?

  She didn’t have nearly enough experience with such things to know. It was eating at her, though.

  Since her overnight bag and purse were still in Keith’s apartment, she got out of the car after parking in his complex. She followed him at a rapid pace through the parking lot, across the lobby, and up the stairs to his place. She had learned he only rarely used elevators.

  After he opened the door to his apartment, he said, “Wait here,” and closed the door in her face.

  Shock kept her rooted in place. He returned a minute later with her things.

  “Here,” he said, thrusting her bag and purse at her.

  He started to shut the door on her. Before he could, she shoved her way forward and stuck her foot inside to stop him.

  “Wait a minute, Keith. What’s happening here?”

  “What the hell does it look like?” he asked, staring at some point beyond her shoulder like she wasn’t even there. “I’m sending you home. I don’t want you here.”

  “Look, if you didn’t enjoy the kiss—”

  “Just stop,” he said, finally looking at her. His eyes were glacial. “I didn’t want to kiss you and the last thing I want to do is get involved with a woman whose single experience with sex resulted from a bastard armed with a date rape drug. This was a mistake. It was all a mistake. Go.”

  The words fell like weapon strikes.

  She had no shield to combat the ammunition he had just hurled at her. A wounded sound issued from the back of her throat. She staggered back before the tears burning her eyes could make an appearance and further humiliate her.

  She turned and left, not even remembering how she got into her car. Then she sat behind the wheel and covered her face to mask her sobs.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Regina was more strategic the next time she met with Nikki and Mal. After their last nearly-disastrous dinner, she decided somewhere out of the public eye would work better for these types of meetings. They were all currently gathered in the living room of her condo in downtown L.A.

  “We’ve been pawing each other all over L.A. the past few days,” Nikki reported. “I sure hope it’s been worth it.”

  “It’s not like it was that much of a hardship,” Mal responded, reaching over and grabbing her ass.

  Nikki smacked his hand away. “Nice. God.”

  Regina once again congratulated herself for predicting this kind of interaction when she chose their meeting place. The two of them couldn’t seem to be in the same room together without it causing friction. At least they had been able to convey otherwise to the media.

  “I’ve seen the stories,” she said. “There have been a number of them about the two of you getting together. Paired with the stories about the breakup with Connors, our plan to gain more exposure is definitely working.”

  Nikki smiled. Regina thought she looked like she was gloating. Outside of what Lily Montgomery and The Void’s PR reps were reporting, most of the stories floating around the media implied that Nikki had broken up with Connors to get with Mal. That was exactly w
hat Nikki wanted people to think. Connors hadn’t bothered responding directly to the requests from the press for his side of the story about the parting, so the public really only had Nikki’s perspective on it.

  While Nikki was happy with that result, Regina had hoped for more, particularly when it came to generating usable footage for House of Archer. Elijah Long had been just as peeved as Regina imagined he would because the breakup hadn’t happened in front of the cameras. Regina had done what she could to perform damage control, notifying Long of the news before she contacted her associates with the media. She had proposed the idea of Nikki flaunting her new relationship with Mal in front of Connors in hopes that could end up on the show. It had mollified Long for a short while...until Connors screwed it up.

  How was Regina supposed to know he wouldn’t pay Nikki any attention when he saw her again?

  Now she was once again backpedaling in an effort to get back in Long’s good graces. That was why she had decided to call this meeting.

  “We still need to figure out how to make your relationship worthy of airing on House of Archer,” Regina said. “Long wasn’t pleased with the results of your last efforts.”

  Nikki’s smile fell from her face. “That wasn’t our fault. It was that manipulative slut’s fault.”

  “Who are you talking about?” Mal asked. “You can’t possibly be talking about Sydney Ward.”

  “Of course I am. She completely lied to me so she could get Keith for herself.”

  Mal shook his head. “You’re off base.”

  “Oh, really?” Nikki countered, planting her hands on her hips. “Then how do you explain why she was hanging all over Keith at the after-party? You saw them leave together.”

  Mal seemed stumped by that. Nikki smirked.

  “Exactly,” Nikki said.

  “On the contrary,” Regina said smoothly, “little Miss Ward is anything but what you think. I’ve got some new intel that says she’s about as inexperienced as they come, and she and Connors aren’t even an item.”

  Nikki’s eyes widened and then narrowed. “Tell me everything.”

  * * *

  “Let’s take it again from the top,” Archer said. “Con Man, try to keep the pace this time. You’ve been off on each take so far.”

  Keith wanted to snap out a retort but there was no cause for it. His front man was right. He had been off throughout their recording session so far.

  Hell, he’d been off since he ripped Sydney’s heart out the day before.

  As he had done since then, he told himself he had done the right thing. She had no business getting involved with the likes of him. If she thought she knew him after a handful of tutoring sessions, she was wrong.

  Sending her away like he had was the only way he was going to protect her from him.

  He did his best to focus on the music as the recording session continued. They managed to wrap several songs before they got stuck on “Miracle Worker.” It just wasn’t coming together for them.

  “There’s something missing,” Sage said through the booth’s speaker system from his position at the console outside.

  Lily walked over beside Sage and conferred with him. He waved at the intercom so Lily would talk into it.

  “I think I have an idea,” she said, looking at everyone through the glass. “But we can’t explore it today.”

  Keith once again searched her expression for any form of ire towards him. He had expected her to lash out at him the moment she saw him that morning. Strangely, she didn’t seem to know anything about what had happened between him and Sydney. He wasn’t about to enlighten her.

  “All right,” Christopher said, replacing Lily at the com. “Let’s wrap for today. We’ve already spent more time here than I wanted since you’ve got a show tonight. Sound check is in two hours. Take the break while you can.”

  Keith put his guitar away as Archer and Xander did the same. Noelle made sure her lucky drumsticks were safely in their case and set among the equipment trunks. She’d been paranoid about them since they went missing earlier in the tour. Nikki had managed to find them before Noelle hired a search party.

  As they all exited the booth, Archer walked over to Lily and kissed her. She smiled up at him and ran her fingers along the side of his face. They looked like they were communicating without words.

  Keith looked away from them. He couldn’t explain the vicious pain he experienced from seeing them together. It wasn’t something that had ever bothered him before. This new pain was agonizing and unwelcome.

  For the first time in years, he craved a hit.

  Because he did, he approached Sage. “Where’re you headed from here?”

  “Bubbles and I are going to get some grub. Want in?”

  “I do,” Xander said as he walked past.

  “Yeah,” Keith also replied.

  “You two in?” Sage asked Archer and Lily.

  “Can’t,” Archer replied. “Got to stop by the studio on the way to the venue. I’m dragging Lily with me. We’ll grab something while we’re out.”

  Keith knew he meant the television studio. He didn’t envy his friend’s insane schedule.

  They each went their separate ways after deciding to meet at a diner near the venue. Keith rode his bike there and did his best to think only about the traffic and his route.

  Nothing else.

  The diner was nearly empty due to the odd time of day between lunch and dinner. Before too long, everyone had arrived and they were seated in a circular booth that could accommodate all of them.

  Mandy arrived a few minutes later, surprising them. “Thanks for the tip-off, Sage,” she said, climbing into the booth beside a smiling Noelle and kissing her in greeting. “I was able to sneak away for a little while.”

  There was that pain again.

  Keith ground his back teeth and picked up one of the laminated menus when everyone else did the same. He had long ago learned to hold a menu when he was in a restaurant so it looked like he was reading it. What he usually did was order food based on photos or what everyone else ordered.

  He found himself actually glancing down at his menu this time. He was surprised when he could piece together enough of it to make a decision about what he wanted to eat. It was remarkably liberating.

  Something about that realization had him closing his menu and forcing himself to ignore the annoying pain in his chest.

  He was grateful for the distraction when the waitress came and took their orders. After she left, everyone started talking about what they had been up to while they were in town. They didn’t expect Keith to say much since he never usually did, so they didn’t pester him when he sat there in silence.

  As the meal came to an end, Mandy cleared her throat. “Okay, you guys. This is going to seem like a very weird time and place for this, but there’s something I need to say.”

  Keith looked between her and Noelle, who seemed puzzled. The only one who didn’t appear curious was Sage. Keith had a sneaking suspicion Sage already knew what was coming.

  “I’ve been waiting for a time when there weren’t any cameras around,” she explained. “And for one reason or another between our schedules and all of the filming, this is the first time in weeks we’re actually together without the cameras.”

  She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small box. Noelle’s gray eyes went round. Mandy pulled the top of the box back and revealed a ring.

  “Elle, I—”

  “Yes!” Noelle shrieked, throwing her arms around Mandy. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  Everyone but Keith laughed. Even he managed a smile. Leave it to the hyper Bubbles to interrupt her own proposal.

  The diner staff and the couple of other patrons all applauded as Mandy placed the ring on Noelle’s finger. They kissed and twined their hands together. When they parted, they exchanged giddy smiles.

  Keith looked down at the nearly empty cup of coffee in front of him. He wanted to be happy for Noelle.

  So why was
he so fucking miserable?

  Mandy had to leave shortly thereafter to hurry back to the venue. It seemed a shame that she and Noelle couldn’t spend more time celebrating. He supposed if Mandy had to work around the cameras, though, this was the best they could expect.

  That just reinforced his decision to refuse to have cameras in his personal space. The show’s producers hadn’t put up much of a fight about that since the show wasn’t centered on him. They sure as hell had gotten on him about breaking up with Nikki off camera, though.

  Archer had told him not to sweat it, which had actually made Keith feel worse than Elijah’s ranting. It had belatedly occurred to Keith that by not providing content from his life for the show, he was putting more pressure on Archer and Lily to fill those gaps.

  Still, the show was called House of Archer. How interested could fans be in his life?

  With their break time at an end, he, Sage, Xander, and Noelle headed to the concert venue. Keith was blissfully absorbed with work as they attended a meeting about that night’s performance, toasted Noelle’s pending nuptials, and then completed the sound check. He convinced himself when they finally took the stage that he was entirely focused on the music and not on who he would be seeing at the after-party later.

  The show went well. Once again, he was kept distracted as they exited the stage and went to their green room to change for the after-party. There wasn’t even enough time to check in with Lex before Christopher had them heading to the event space.

  Keith did his usual scan of the room as they entered. He most definitely wasn’t looking for anyone in particular...just scoping things out.

  And that was definitely not disappointment he felt when he saw there wasn’t yet a blonde in a vintage dress and sweater in the room.

  “We’ll be over here to start,” Christopher said, leading them to the left side of the room where a crowd was gathered around a couple of rectangular tables. “Signing and photos for thirty, then mingle.”