“But I saw past that and fell in love.”
“Ah, yes, Charlie does have a bit of a reputation for being a divo.” Beau cupped his hand over his mouth.
“Between you and me, are the rumours true?”
“Not at all.”
“I paid him to say that,” Charlie interjected.
Beau chuckled. “Well, divo or not, I must say you look very happy together.”
“We are,” Charlie said as he stared into my eyes.
“I hate to state the obvious,” Beau said. “But there’s quite the age gap between you, isn’t there? Charlie, I believe
you’re the same age as Jesse Steele?”
“I’m a year older,” Charlie said.
“So Austin is old enough to be your father?”
Charlie lifted his chin. “Only just.”
“What would you both say to anyone who thinks that you’re too young for Austin?”
“Age is just a number,” Charlie replied. “Austin and I have a lot of things in common—a love for music, for a start.
We get along. We enjoy each other’s company.”
“We make each other happy,” I said, not wanting to leave Charlie to defend us alone.
“And to state the obvious again, you’re both omegas?”
“You know how fulfilling a relationship with another omega can be,” Charlie said. “What would you say to anyone
who thinks that your relationship with JJ is odd?”
Beau smiled. “JJ and I have fought that battle since we got together. I’ve given up saying anything now. If people
can’t see how much we love each other and be happy for us, they’re not worth wasting our time on.”
“Then why should we defend our relationship?” Charlie asked. “Yes, we’re both omegas. Yes, Austin’s older than
me. But we’re also really happy together. Nothing else matters.”
I squeezed his hand. He rested his head on my shoulder again, smiling happily.
“It’s clear you’re very much in love,” Beau said. “Which brings me to the question that’s going to be on everyone’s
lips, or at least mine… Are we going to hear a duet between Charlie Faire and Austin Steele in the near future?”
“I sure hope so,” Charlie said.
Beau looked straight into the camera. “You heard it, folks. Charlie and Austin are going to release a single
together.”
That wasn’t exactly what Charlie had said, but neither of us corrected him.
He asked us a few more low-pressure questions before drawing things to a close.
“Well, our time is up. It was lovely to talk to you both today. Good luck with the rest of your tour, Charlie, and I
hope the two of you are very happy together.”
It took about half an hour for Beau and his team to clear out. Charlie shooed Robin and his bodyguards away too,
leaving the two of us alone. We didn’t have long. Charlie had to get to the concert venue to do soundchecks and
get ready.
He leant against me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“Nowhere near as bad as I thought. I think the real test will be what happens after the interview airs tonight.”
“I know.” Charlie looked up at me. “Come to the concert tonight? I don’t want you sitting here, watching the news
alone. We can check out the headlines and together face whatever gets said.”
I kissed him gently. “Okay.”
“And know that I don’t care,” Charlie said. “Nothing that anyone can say now will change how I feel about you.”
“I know.” I kissed him again.
Charlie slipped the ring back inside his T-shirt. “Tomorrow you’re going to put that ring back on my finger, and
then I’m never going to take it off again.”
We didn’t look at any news headlines after the concert. Instead, we snuggled up together and fell asleep, only to
be rudely awakened far too quickly by Charlie’s bodyguards and bundled onto the tour bus. We cuddled up
together on one of the two bottom bunks on the bus, with the curtain closed.
I woke not long later. The single-decker bus seemed a lot more crowded than the double-decker bus we’d used
on each of Jesse’s tours. That was probably because everything was on one level, so there was no escaping the
chatter of the people who were awake. Plus, I’d had a cabin with a double bed over the driver’s cab all to myself,
which was far more luxurious than squeezing onto a narrow bunk with very little headroom. I was aware of people
walking up and down the aisle past the bunks. Conversations filtered through from both ends of the bus, and the
scent of breakfast filled my nostrils, making my stomach rumble. Food was a good plan, and Charlie
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