“Taz has needs,” she explained.
Syon growled and nuzzled at her neck. “So do I.”
“Hey, Mr. Lead Singer”—Taz was suddenly there, pulling Syon away from her—“you have an interview. You know, the one that only wants the Marquis? Give me my sushi date. You’re busy.” He captured Kate’s wrist and started pulling her toward a waiting SUV. “Bye-bye, Mr. Lead Singer.”
Syon flipped him a double bird, one on each hand. But Cid was closing in on him. The road manager had his customary happy-go-lucky smile on his face. A makeup girl was there, with her box slung over her shoulder. Another polo-shirted team member had several pairs of Syon’s pants and leather vests on hangers. Syon gave in and walked toward another waiting SUV as the semitruck backed into the loading dock to begin prepping for the next concert.
Taz was fired up. He said a couple of things to Yoon in Korean as their driver took them through the business area of town. They ended up in Korea town, their SUV pulling up in front of a large restaurant.
There was only a single story to the place, but it was humming. There were tables with large burners set into them so you could cook your own Korean BBQ, with huge vents overhead to pull off the steam and smoke. But there was also a counter with sushi chefs behind it. Taz called out a greeting to them as they entered. Kate did her best impression of a bow before a pretty waitress guided them through the mass of people to one of the back tables.
Taz launched into a list of what he wanted.
And it was long. The waitress laughed at him before he finished, but she wrote it all down and bowed before leaving with a little wink for him. She was back within moments with the first tray sent over from the chefs.
“Syon hates it when he does solo interviews.”
“Really?” Kate looked up from her plate. “Then why does he do them?”
Taz was chewing and had to finish before answering. “You know, Cid is new to us. He’s got what he calls ‘fresh ideas.’ We’re all trying to give his marketing a chance. But it’s not good to split us up. Makes for friction. That could lead to trouble. I’m glad we went to the pub the other night. We need to be more than just party animals. I’m a serious musician.”
“Cid seems to steamroll right over that point. I’ve mentioned it to Syon. The fans love you guys for more than your image.”
Yoon nodded.
“You guys are tight,” Kate said. “It’s pretty awesome to see.”
Taz stopped before putting something in his mouth. It was clutched between his chopsticks. “You think so?”
“I do.”
“See, that’s why you and Syon work. You get it.” Taz looked at his plate and selected another piece of sushi. “So many chicks don’t understand. They get jealous. Don’t realize the…” He was searching for the right word.
“They don’t realize that being in a relationship means accepting each other for who they are,” she said. “Not trying to gain personal self-worth through getting you guys to split off from one another.”
Taz’s eyes widened. “Exactly. But that’s a lot easier said than done for most people.”
That was a solid truth. It was a balancing act, and it meant being flexible enough to deal with things like Ramsey walking through their bedroom from time to time.
It was all a part of Syon, and she’d be a liar if she said she wasn’t fascinated by him. That meant all of him.
An hour later, Kate stared at Taz and Yoon in awe. “Where are you two putting it?”
They laughed at her and tried to feed her. She blew her cheeks out and shook her head. The restaurant was fuller now than it had been when they’d arrived, with parties of people waiting outside for a table to open up. Waiters were carrying food around while waitresses brought out the beverages and condiments. The tables were so close, anytime someone got up, the chairs bumped together. English was the odd language. Most everyone around them was chattering away in some Asian tongue. The table behind them finished, and within moments, it had been cleaned and reset.
Taz raised his hand to call the waiter over but suddenly stiffened. His good nature evaporated in a flash. Kate turned to see a woman standing in the walkway. She’d been on her way to sit at the table behind them. Her face was white, her mouth open in a little expression of astonishment.
They were both frozen, staring at each other. Someone behind the woman suddenly noticed. An older woman came up beside the young one, grabbing her shoulders and hissing at her in Korean.
Kate didn’t have to understand the language to know when someone was cussing, or at the least being insulting.
Taz’s expression tightened. But he watched the girl, waiting to see what she was going to do. The older woman was chattering away and even pointed at Kate.
The younger girl suddenly broke out of her trance, turning her back on Taz.
“Time to go,” Taz said.
Taz pulled his wallet from the inside of his leather jacket pocket. He carelessly dropped three crisp one-hundred-dollar bills on the table and got up.
He was ten feet away before he turned, his face a tightly controlled mask of fury. He went up to the owner and passed the man several more hundred dollar bills. The owner looked back at the table where the girl was sitting with her family. She was looking at the tabletop as everyone seemed to be taking digs at her. She looked up, feeling Taz watching her. It seemed to be what he was waiting for. He raised his hand toward her, offering his open palm to her in a gesture that was overly gallant. He jerked his head toward the door when she only stared at his hand like she was really contemplating the offer.
She looked like she really wanted to take his hand. Taz hadn’t moved; if anything, he looked like he was leaning toward her.
Her family noticed, and one of them stood up to block her view of Taz. His expression hardened. He looked back at the manager.
“Don’t tell them until after they’ve eaten that I paid for their meal.” He tossed another hundred dollar bill onto the counter and started for the street.
He was lost in thought on the way to the hotel. He pulled out of his thoughts only long enough to look at Kate.
“Thanks for dinner,” he said.
He was gone a moment later, grabbing a key card from Cid’s second in command and making his way to the elevators.
It sucked.
Ramsey had his family, and Taz seemed to have a girl who wouldn’t cross her family to be with him.
Seriously sucked.
Kate made her way to her suite, realizing she was relieved to discover Syon’s stuff set up inside it.
How long was it going to last?
Don’t.
She needed to answer that question, but she couldn’t. Doubt was a cruel little bitch, chewing on everything she thought she knew and twisting it. Time crept by. She checked her cell phone, but there was no text message from Syon.
She’d told Taz she got it. The lifestyle. The demands.
So she couldn’t bug him when he was working. Instead, she slid into bed and told herself to let it go.
Which was another bit of good advice she completely ignored.
* * *
“The Marquis!”
Kate sat up. The space in the bed beside her was empty.
“You’re so hot!”
“Come party with us!”
A round of giggles came from outside the suite door. Kate tripped as she fumbled to get some clothing on. By the time she opened the door, Syon was at the end of the hallway, surrounded by fangirls. Music was blaring, shaking the hallway. He plowed through the door, obviously eager to get inside the suite. It felt like the floor fell out from under her feet.
Members of Cid’s team were still moving around. The early hours of the morning were just normal work time for them. A door suddenly opened, and Yoon popped into view, still shrugging into his suit jacket.
She retreated to the suite she shared with Syon, feeling like the bodyguard was a leash to keep her in her place.
Inside, it was dark, the candles unlit tonight. Her composure was crumbling, and there was no amount of willpower that could stop it. Her confidence was a puddle at her feet, even as she tried to go back to sleep.