Uh-oh. That didn’t sound good. But I didn’t say a word.
“I’m…seeing someone.”
Oh. That wasn’t so bad. “Cool. Anyone I know?”
She hesitated just enough that I could sense it. “Yes, but we’re not taking it public yet.”
I didn’t understand that. It wasn’t like my mom was in a band like I was, being scrutinized by thousands od people who had their eyes on her.
But maybe therewerepeople watching what was happening and I started to get an inkling of maybe why. My mom was a good person but she didn’t always have the best judgment when it came to men.
I’d apparently inherited that trait. Braden was waiting in the wings, willing to be the best boyfriend any woman could want, but my fucking stupid heart still pined for Zack and what could have been. It was so stupid—and yet I felt helpless. Although I wasn’t acting on those feelings, I couldn’t figure how to turn them off.
Maybe my mother was the same damn way.
And I was curious as hell. “I promise I won’t tell.”
When she turned around, her eyes said it all. “He’s, uh, in a relationship right now and he needs to end it. So I’d rather not say.”
I just gave a short nod, but I really didn’t know what to say in response. My mother was an adult and she’d never had iteasy when I was growing up. I didn’t feel like I should judge her in her pursuit to find some kind of happiness.
But the guy she was with—what an asshole. It just sounded like he was having his cake and eating it too.
I gave my mom a small smile, taking her in. I had her facial features—the small nose, mostly straight teeth, brown eyes and brown hair—but she was definitely the older of the two of us. Her hair was peppered with gray streaks and she had some lines around her eyes.
But in the pit of my gut, I worried that I’d inherited every last thing about her…including my insatiable need to be loved—by the wrong man. Could I possibly escape my fate?
It wasn’tlong before I was seated in front of my laptop, open on top of my dresser. The window was behind me, showing off the weather in our state for all on the call to see. If for some reason we did lose power, I’d join on my fully charged phone.
When I logged on to the Zoom meeting, the virtual room was already full. Zack, Braden, and Cy all attended via Zack’s laptop in his kitchen like we had multiple times before, and, based on Zack’s scowl, I imagined he wasn’t too happy with the news that Braden had delivered…that I would join on my own.
I just couldn’t be around them anymore. I was still aching from the damage Zack had left in his drunken wake—and I wasn’t ready to fully commit to Braden, either. And I felt horribly guilty for that, because he was deserving whereas Zack was most certainly not.
And yet…my heart still wanted the man who’d rejected me over and over again. Why couldn’t I take a hint? I should have resigned myself to it back in high school when he’d decided to date Ava. I needed to accept it now, that I was simply an easy lay on the road when he didn’t have a groupie handy. And I’d more than willingly spread my legs and opened my heart when he hadn’t appreciated it.
No more.
Well, he could glare at me on the screen all he wanted—but, because three guys from Crushed Velvet were also on screen, he wouldn’t say a word, and that suited me just fine.
“Dani, good to see you,” said Chad, our A&R Rep, the guy who’d gotten us the deal in the first place. There was also another guy, Russ, a man in his thirties that we’d met before, but I couldn’t remember what he did, and then there was another man I didn’t recognize.
And that was who spoke next. “Hi, gang. My name is Tristan Jackson, and I believe you’ve all met Russ.” To that, we nodded. Tristan was an older guy in his forties or fifties, but I didn’t know for sure. He wore a gray suit that didn’t quite match his hair but came close. Although Chad was on his own screen, tuning in from somewhere else, Tristan and Russ were in the conference room back in L.A. “I wanted to congratulate you on the success of your first album. Your tour went a long way towards finding you new fans, and you’re getting a lot of play on radio stations and streaming. We’re not trying to rush you, but we’re wanting to get an idea of when you might have your next album ready.”
Zack didn’t hesitate. “When do you want it? I already have all the songs written.”
Holy shit. I knew Zack had been composing, but I’d had no idea he’d madethatmuch progress.
“Good to hear. Well…we talked with Mick and we know you guys need a little bit of rest. So first, just take a few weeks off. Ease back into the day-to-day and enjoy some well-deserved time away from the grind. But wearebuilding our release calendar for next year and we’d like Once Upon a Riot on it. If you need any help making your songs album-ready, we’ve got some writers here who can—”
“No. We got this.”
Tristan clearly had no idea who he was talking to. Zack would have rather died than share the writing duties with someone else. As it was, it was almost impossible for the other three members of the band to add anything of our own.
“Okay, no problem. Just let us know if you change your mind.” When Zack nodded but didn’t say anything else, Tristan continued. “So let’s build a timeline. If we can get the album recorded by July, we can get you back on tour by September—and we should add an international leg to that, so make sure your passports are up to date.”
Passports?I almost laughed, because I didn’t even have one, but I made a mental note that I should get it taken care of soon.
Then Zack asked the question we were all thinking, ignoring what Tristan had been pushing for. “When will we see royalties from our first album? Sure, it’s making money, but when will we be in the black?”
