Page 59 of Love on the Main Stage
“Stop. I am… aware and happy.”
I blushed.
Leah whispered, “But I swear to God, she is like my baby sister—the one I literally used to carry around on my hip—and if you hurt her, I will?—”
I whispered back, “Leah, it’s all good. Her tears wound me to my core. It’s not my intent.”
Leah patted my shoulder. “Well done, then.”
There was a lull momentarily until The Duchess took her hand out. Thankfully, she seemed too distracted for what she assumed was our showbiz talk.
“You must be the lead singer? Marit?” She asked.
I nodded.
“’Justice’ is fab. Top-notch. I’m hoping you play it in your set.”
“We are,” I answered. “Gotta play the single. I am… honored you think that.”
“Oh, it’s fabulous. We’re excited to see you at UniVox.”
“Are you going?” I asked.
“Of course! We’re the official envoy. Or, rather, I was guilted into going and then decided to drag my husband. And all because of Norway’s dear Princess Elisabeth.”
Alicia looked at me, as if I knew something.
Leah snickered. “Betty is Ingrid’s best friend.”
“Yes, and apparently you all know her now. But what you don’t know is that she fobbed me off and decided to stay with Leah. I swear, Leah, I am jealous!”
“Oh, get over it. She still loves you,” Leah said. “Ladies and Barry, knock ‘em dead. Ingrid, your handler is glaring at us.”
“Fine, fine. So nice meeting you,” the Duchess said brightly.
“She’s just… sunshine,” Alicia sighed.
Somehow, knowing that the most beloved member of the British Royal Family, apart from Her Majesty, was Betty’s best friend raised the stakes. I worried about Betty’s immediate family accepting us, not realizing that the Brits were in on this, too. What if the soft masc rockstar was a little bit too much for Betty’s perfectly manicured royal orbit?
As if on cue, Clarice smacked my back, “Shake it off. Get out of your head. You’re going to spend the night with Betty after we absolutely kill. Let it go, Mar.”
Chapter 24
The Groupie
BETTY
Watching Mary play center of attention in my cousin’s crowded music room confused me and filled my cup. I was used to hanging back as the youngest child in a family of Very Important People. What wasn’t normal was feeling like an outsider. Of course, I wasn’t in showbiz, but here I was twenty feet from a person I longed to touch unable to get a word in.
“It’s weird to be the groupie, huh?” Leah snickered, putting her arm around my shoulder. “Oh, sweetheart, just go mosey over there.”
I shook my head. “I don’t even know where to begin. We’re in this weird limbo. I don’t want to make her feel awkward or to steal the spotlight. It’s really her night. They killed.”
“Totally slayed, yeah. They’re going to be super-duper famous, but she’s also your girlfriend, so you shouldn’t feel weird hanging out with her at a party.”
“She’s not. And Keir and Ingrid are here?—”
“Given that I have played wingman for your idiot brothers with so many bad choices in women and you basically sparedhim Ingrid’s wrath onhowmany occasions… I think you have earned the right to be yourself.”
