Levi Walker was arrogant, opinionated, and about as subtle as a sledgehammer in both his opinions and his clothes. But none of that mattered to me. Hell, no one would ever accuse me of being subtle either. It was that final observation he’d made, the one he’d aimed in my and Halo’s direction that was really raising my hackles. He could take that comment, and any ideas he had about us, and shove it up his—
“That was actually something we wanted to talk to you about,” Killian interjected. But I didn’t take my eyes off the man who was now eyeing the angel and me as though we were a problem he was trying to decide how to fix.
“No offense, Kill,” I said in a tone that said I was completely fucking offended. “But I’m not about to talk to some stranger about my personal life.”
Halo shifted in the seat beside me, and while I knew he was more than likely wishing I’d shut my mouth, I wasn’t about to sit here and let some random guy offer up an opinion on how we should conduct our love lives.
Fuck. That.
“He’s not some stranger,” Killian said, and rubbed a hand over his mouth. “And I, for one, would really like to hear what he has to say about this. You both knew we’d have to discuss it sooner or later.”
I opened my mouth, about to tell Killian I’d rather it be later, way fucking later, but Halo put a hand on my thigh under the table, and I turned to face him.
When my eyes found his, I could see the request that I listen to what Levi had to say, clear as if he’d said the words out loud. So I covered his hand with mine and gave a nod before we both turned back to Levi.
He smirked, those dark, assessing eyes shifting between us before landing firmly on Halo. “That’s some power you have there. Are you the only one in this bunch that he takes orders from?”
Was this guy kidding with this shit? But before I could answer, Halo spoke up.
“He doesn’t take orders from anyone, and neither do I. So if you’re about to tell us we can’t be together, then you need a better strategy.”
I whipped my head to the side, my mouth all but falling open at Halo’s ballsy answer, and I felt the tension in my shoulders ease a little. It seemed the angel and I were on the same page. It also seemed like I wasn’t the only one Levi had to impress with this particular answer.
“First of all, let’s clear something up,” Levi said. “I’m not your mother or your father. I’m not about to tell you who you can and can’t date. Nor will I play matchmaker or pimp,” he said, looking to the rest of the guys. “That’s not my style. My job is to make you look good. To make the band look good. I am here to make sure the world sees the best possible version of yourselves, no matter who you’re dating. And that means getting ahead of anybody out there who wants to make you look less than perfect. Capiche?”
Well, okay then. As silence descended around the table, I looked to Killian, who arched an eyebrow as if to say, See? Told you he was good, and I had to admit, this little speech of Levi’s was the best thing that’d come out of his mouth so far.
The last thing we needed was another Brian who had not only wanted to run the band but also our private lives. I wasn’t about to hire anyone who was determined to make Halo and me hide our relationship.
“Okay,” I said, and leaned back in my chair, throwing my arm up along the back of the booth so I could finger Halo’s hair. “You’ve got my attention.”
“Oh, thank God. I was worried for a minute there that you didn’t like me,” Levi said, a glint in his eye.
“Okay, okay,” Killian said, shaking his head as he let out a sigh. “Back to what you were saying, Levi, about smoothing things over with these two and focusing on the band. How would you go about that?”
Levi nodded, but before he could say anything, Jagger interrupted. “Yeah, how about you tell us what you think will happen when this hits stands next week.”
Jagger tossed his early release of Rolling Stone on the table in front of Levi, where my and Halo’s relationship was about as in your face as it could be.
A low whistle filled the air as Levi picked up the magazine, his eyes roving over every inch of skin displayed on the cover. “Nice.”
Halo made an unintelligible sound that had Levi raising his eyes, and the cheeky smile led me to believe this guy was holding back when he said to Halo, “You don’t like it?”