Girl vs. Boy Band Read Online Free PDF

name?”
    â€œIt’s Lark.”
    â€œLark!” Ollie’s eyes lit up. “Well now, that’s fitting. You’re quite the little songbird.”
    Lark felt her heart speed up. That’s what her father called her . . . his songbird. For some reason, hearing her nickname from this smug British hottie made her even angrier than she already was.
    â€œJust get your bags,” she huffed. “I want to go home.”
    â€œRight,” said Ollie, lifting his carry-on over his shoulder. “Home to Beverly Hills!”
    Home to Nashville
, Lark corrected silently.
The sooner, the better.

    The boys threw their bags into the rear hatch of the SUV. Ollie, clearly the group’s leader, opened the driver’s side door.
    â€œWrong side, you numpty,” said Max, chuckling.
    â€œOops, I forgot you guys drive on the right,” Ollie said with a grin, going around to the passenger side.
    â€œYou definitely don’t want Ollie to drive,” Aidan said with a laugh. “He totaled the go-cart we built together a few years back.”
    Since Lark was the smallest, she had to ride in the backseat, sandwiched between Aidan and Max. As they drove down the freeway, her mom pointed out all the sights and landmarks, as proudly as if she’d been born and raised in LA. The Hollywood sign especially excited the singers.
    Lark’s anger had given way to an extreme sense of discomfort. She didn’t have a lot of experience with boys, and now here she was sitting between two terrifically talented ones with another in the front seat, all of whom (if her mother had anything to say about it) would be pinned to the walls of teenage girls’ bedrooms all over the world in less than six months. This thought made Lark laugh—the boys themselves wouldn’t be pinned to the walls, of course . . . just their pictures.
    â€œWhat’s so funny?” Max asked, smiling at her.
    The friendly overture took Lark by surprise.
    â€œOh, I was just thinking about something,” she answered, unwilling to admit she was imagining their faces on posters.
    â€œWas it dinner, by chance?” Aidan asked, rubbing his belly. “I’m famished.”
    â€œI’ve got a wonderful meal waiting for us at home,” said Donna.
    â€œWicked,” said Max. “But don’t go to any trouble on our account. We eat anything from curry to bangers and mash.”
    Lark had no idea what a banger was, but imagining her mother preparing it—or any other actual meal—had her laughing again. Back in Nashville, her mom had cooked all the time—good, old-fashioned “stick to your ribs” Southern meals, and Lark and her father had reveled in the comfort of sitting around the kitchen table to enjoy them. Of course, that had all changed when Donna Campbell launched the Lotus Records label. She was much too busy with the uphill climb of launching a fledgling record label to find time to cook. And when there was time, she was simply too exhausted. Mrs. Fitzpatrick, the housekeeper Donna had hired to keep an eye on Lark after school, was an adventurous cook, but Lark still missed her mother’s home cooking. Especially as some of Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s attempts at global cuisine were less than appetizing. Lark crossed her fingers and hoped that the boys never mentioned “bangers and mash” in front of
her
!
    â€œHow old are you?” Max was asking now, eyeing Lark. “Thirteen?”
    â€œShe’s twelve,” said Donna pointedly. “Only twelve.”
    Lark blushed. The unspoken subtext of her mother’s words was a very firm
much too young for you.
    Max nodded. “I thought so. I’ve got a little sister who’s nearly thirteen. You remind me of her. She has a great laugh, too. Ollie’s got two brothers. His older brother’s some sort of genius—going to Oxford next year.”
    â€œHe got the brains,