Playing Autumn (Breathe Rockstar Romance Book 1) by Mina V. Esguerra Read Free Book Online

steak juice on her face.

Chapter 8

    Boyfriend? The fuck you are, Oliver thought, and he immediately caught himself. This person now in front of him reminded him of a suit, the kind that talked big during the introduction and slinked away without a word weeks later. They had the same slicked hair, the same slightly crooked smile, and this guy was actually wearing a suit. But he hadn’t done anything to Oliver. There was absolutely no reason to get in this guy's face, no reason at all.
    Haley had said ex-boyfriend, right?
    “I'm sorry,” Oliver said, putting more into the handshake. “Were you going to explain this, honey?”
    When Oliver took his hand back and returned to his seat, both Logan and Haley looked like they had walked into the wrong room. He didn't care about Logan getting it, so he let the back of his hand lightly brush over Haley's wrist then enclosed her slender fingers in his. It floored him how warm and familiar it felt to him. Maybe from when they had slightly touched on the plane. That could have been it.
    “ Ex- boyfriend,” Haley said, releasing the frown on her brow. Her fingers tensed up but instead of pulling away, she leaned slightly toward him. Her eyes didn't change, but Oliver felt a gentle tap on his shoe. And another, and another. “But Logan and I have been in touch, still.”
    Though it took him a little longer, Logan shook his head and recovered from the confusion, and Oliver took slight satisfaction in seeing that face contort as if from a punch. “I'm sorry, I didn't realize Haley was with anybody. Hope you don't mind if I join you, catch up with her a bit.”
    Haley was avoiding this person why again?
    No one responded, but Logan pulled up a chair and started asking Haley about her flight. Oliver watched them for a few seconds, hand still wrapped around hers. He noticed that she didn’t mention that they had met only on the flight over, one where they weren’t even supposed to be sitting together.
    Logan looked like he was a sports star in high school, exactly the kind of boy that her parents must have liked. Dark hair all in place, sculpted facial hair, and Oliver wouldn't be surprised if he was a banker or something. He had no doubt that Haley's parents loved this guy. But did she? Something about her body language was off, from when she discovered he was coming, and even now as they talked. He didn't have to be an expert to see that.
    The way she was responding to his hand practically spooning hers? He knew what that meant. She darted a look at him from the corner of her eye, and he grinned at her as he released her hand to prep another tortilla.
    “I recognize you,” Logan said to him.
    “He's Oliver Cabrera,” Haley said hesitantly.
    “The singer? Like from the songs on your videos?”
    Her face flushed. Interesting.
    “He's here for Breathe Music, too,” she said quickly.
    “And I've been wanting you to meet the family, remember,” Oliver said, eyebrow slightly raised. “My grandma's so stoked about this trip, too.”
    Logan's eyes went from him to her, a tennis match that eventually ended with his eyes settling on Haley. “You two are together? That’s a surprise. You never mentioned it.”
    “I don't…”
    “She asked me to keep it private,” Oliver said between bites, a little too cheerfully. “She didn't want the press hounding her.”
    “Right,” Logan said.
    Oliver could tell he wasn't buying it yet. All that their the little charade was accomplishing was throwing Logan off, keeping him from saying what he really wanted to say in Haley's presence because there was a stranger around. But that meant Haley had to get into it more, and if this guy was really an annoyance, then he'd be out of her hair.
    Did she want Logan out of her hair? He could help with that.
    “What do you do, Logan?” Oliver said, suddenly okay with being friendlier to the sad dude.
    “I got a job out of college doing stocks,” Logan said. “Nothing as exciting as rock and