Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
In the wings, Alex was over the moon that I had remembered to promote myself. It was part of the game I’d been playing since I was a teenager and I knew it well, I just didn’t like that part very much.
“I hope you’ll come back when the album is out, maybe sing a song or two for us?” The audience cheered wildly at his lead-in, and I felt my skin flush with heat at their adulation.
“I’d be happy to. Thanks for having me.” I stood and smiled, waving at the audience so they all felt as if I was thanking them personally.
Backstage, my shoulders relaxed, happy to be myself again. “That was great, Gavin. You’re back, baby!”
“Didn’t know I was gone,” I growled and walked straight through the green room, ignoring the other celebrities in the lineup in my hurry to get the hell out of the freezing studio.
“You know what I mean. These interviews have created the right amount of buzz and when the execs hear your songs, they will be primed to love them and greenlight the album.” Alex walked fast to keep up with me.
“What’s next?” There was always something to do since I came back to L.A.
“A quick shoot for Golden Guitars. They’re eager to promote your new partnership. You should be, too.”
“I am.” Golden Guitars was the standard for quality guitars and I owned more than a few of theirs. “The golden guitar was a little over the top, but I’m happy to work with them.”
They had offered up a ridiculous amount of money to use my face to sell the best guitars in the world, and I was happy to take it. What the hell else would I do, anyway?
Call Suzie?
I thought about it. Time and again, I thought about it. I’d even picked up the phone at least two hundred times, ready to call her. To hear her voice even if it was angry and screaming. Six times today, my thumb had hovered over the call button, determined to hear the melodic tone of her voice. I chickened out every single time and that only made me feel worse.
The only good thing about this feeling was that work was my favorite distraction. Whenever I thought about Suzie and her smile, her curves, that sexy collection of eyeglasses, I wrote a song. Whenever the urge to call her became too strong, I wrote a song. Before the month was up, I’d probably have enough songs for five albums.
“Street Religion has been calling. They want you to be the face of their new rocker jeans. Six figures, so think about it.”
As if I needed the money. “Yeah, sure. Whatever.” This was my life now, running from interview to photoshoot to meeting.
“Perfect. We’ll meet with them tomorrow morning.”
“No can do. I told you Wednesday mornings are off-limits.”
Alex snorted. “You can’t deliver instruments to poor kids any other time?”
“No.” I could, but I wouldn’t. “Make it later and tell them why if they give you shit.” It was a good look for me and any brands associated with me and we both knew that.
“All right. I told you it would be good to be home again, didn’t I?” Alex gripped my shoulder and flashed a wide, satisfied smile as we slid into the back of the waiting car.
Off to the next distraction, while wondering what Suzie was up to at that exact moment.
Suzie
“Hey, babe, free for lunch?” Persy stood in the doorway, arms folded and concern burning in her violet eyes.
I shook my head. “Sorry, I have plans.”
Okay, I wouldn’t exactly call them plans, but I had something I needed to do more than I needed to pretend to eat the quinoa salad I’d made for lunch.
“Does that mean he took the news well?”
I shook my head, unable to lie to my friend. “I haven’t told him yet. Something came up and dinner never happened.” I hadn’t heard a word from him since and I didn’t have the heart to find out. Until today.
Persy sent a disbelieving look in my direction. “You’ve known for couple of weeks now, Suzie.”
“I know, and I planned to tell him at dinner, but he never showed up.” That was embarrassing enough to admit, but after a few days to think about it and a good night’s sleep, I realized I was being petty by not telling Gavin about the baby. I would let him know and give him the out he so clearly wanted, and then I would return to JRMC and my quinoa salad.
Persy’s gaze narrowed and she studied me closely. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Lies! Tell me what’s going on. You look like you’ve been crying.”
“Only most of the past few nights, but it’s nothing. Really. Just hormones, that’s a thing pregnant women have, right?” I whispered the word because as small as Jackson’s Ridge was, the hospital was even smaller and word traveled faster than light through these corridors. “Anyway, we can do lunch tomorrow if you don’t have plans with Ryan. I’m going to the mansion to tell him now.”