Page 5 of Reverb (Larkspur Book 3)
Miles stood and stretched the kinks out of his back. He’d spent the better part of the morning taking calls and emails from the legal team at the label, coordinating with Jax on the press release, and trying to clear the usual multitude of everyday emails he received. Thankfully, Isla, his PA, had gone through and tackled as many as she could, reducing his workload.
He stood at the floor-to-ceiling window of the suite he was in, taking in the bustling Las Vegas Strip below him. Despite being early afternoon, the streets were busy with tourists.
His phone rang, and he crossed the room to answer it. Seth’s name was bright on the screen, and Miles sent a small prayer to whichever deity may be listening that just for once, Seth was calling to tell him he wasn’t in trouble for something.
“Good afternoon, Seth,” he said in greeting.
“Heya, Milesy. How’s it hanging?” Seth’s voice was bright, and Miles groaned internally. That tone of voice never boded well.
“What have you done this time, Seth?” he asked, bracing for the worst.
“Now, is that any way to talk to a man on his wedding day?” came the chirpy response.
Miles sank into the nearby chair, pinching the bridge of his nose as he took a calming breath. “Wedding day?”
“Yep! Cal and I are getting married.”
Miles pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it. Did he say…? Pressing the speaker button, he laid his phone gently on the tabletop. “Did you just say you and Cal are getting married? Today?”
“I did. We’re on our way back to Vegas now and plan to meet with an officiant as soon as Art can get one arranged.”
“I didn’t realize you and Cal were even dating.”
“Well, we haven’t really dated, y’know.”
Miles stared blankly at the phone. What the hell was Seth up to now?
“Why the rush to get married if you’re not really dating?”
“We both have… circumstances that are easily resolved if we’re married,” Seth told him. Before Miles could ask what circumstances there could possibly be for a quickie wedding, Seth continued. “Look, I know this sounds like a crazy idea, and you probably have a million questions, but please, just trust us on this one.”
“Trust you? Seth, have you met you?” Miles couldn’t help but snark back. Really, this man was single-handedly responsible for over half the gray hairs Miles sported. “Put Cal on so I can talk to him, please.”
“He’s talking with Jax and Sarge right now. Miles, I know I’ve been less than responsible on more than one occasion, but believe me when I say that we both consent to this. Art has drawn up all the paperwork, and you know my brother has made sure that every possible legal loophole has been closed.”
Miles took some solace from the news Cal was talking to his cousin, Sarge. The former Marine would eat Seth for breakfast if he so much as harmed one hair on Cal’s head.
“I’ll get Jax to draft another press release,” Miles said, reaching for a pad and pen to jot some notes. “Is there anything you specifically want to mention?”
“Actually, we don’t want to tell anyone at the moment,” Seth replied. “We figure you have enough on your plate with Jamie and Kellet’s story, and if we announce I’m marrying one of the tour crew, then the vultures won’t be focusing on our music. Instead, they’ll be too busy trying to catch us out.”
“That’s very… mature of you, Seth,” Miles said, trying to mask the shock in his tone.
“I can be mature when I need to be,” Seth replied, and Miles detected a hint of hurt in his voice. “Look, when I say we aren’t telling anyone at the moment, we mean anyone. Art knows because he’s my brother and lawyer. I’m telling you as a courtesy, and Cal is only telling Jax and Sarge because they’re his family.”
“What about your bandmates?”
“We’ll tell them after the tour.”
“Is that wise? They won’t like that you’ve kept this from them.”
“I know, but Jamie and Kellet have enough to worry about, and Liam will stress out about it all because that’s what Liam does when he’s not in control of a situation.”
“Seth, I’m not happy about this, but I’ll respect your wishes. I’ll still get Jax to draft a press release, just in case we have another scenario like Jamie and Kellet’s.”
There was a prolonged pause before Seth sighed and said, “That’s not likely to happen.”
“Seth, come on. You’ve been in this game long enough to know that if the fans or press catch the slightest whiff of anything, they’ll be on it like a dog with a bone. There was already speculation about Jamie and Kellet, and now it’s been proven correct. Fans will look even harder at you and Liam, trying to figure out if the two of you are hooking up.”
“Never going to happen. Ugh. I love Liam like a brother, but I’ve never looked at him that way.”
Miles sighed. “I know that. But the fans don’t. They look for things that aren’t there. You know this. There only needs to be a couple of sightings of you and Cal within a few feet of each other, and they’ll have you hooking up.”
“Well, they won’t be getting any grainy pictures of me and Cal in elevators, as he’s not coming back to the tour until after the break.”
“Why not? You can’t just pull him away from his job, Seth. Jax and I need him here. Especially now.”
“I don’t want to share any confidences, but he’s got a small legal issue, and Art is going to help him with it. He’s returning to LA after our wedding so he and Art can get the ball rolling. He’s only missing one show. If you really need him for anything, I’m sure he can remote in.”
“Legal issue? Is Sarge aware of this?”
“He is now,” Seth said, blithely. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll message you when we get back to Vegas.”
“Fine,” Miles said resignedly. “Seth?”
“Yeah?”
“Congratulations. Let me know if you need anything, okay?”
“Thanks, Miles. We will.”
Miles stared at the quiet phone. Seth. Married. Not two words he ever expected to put in the same sentence. But there you go.
He checked his emails again, sent another brief message to Isla and Jax, telling them both he was offline for an hour, and changed into his workout gear. He needed to run and clear his head. It had been a hell of a twenty-four hours.