“They’ll dig up every skeleton in your closet. And if you ain’t got any, they’ll invent some,” she warns.
“You should know by now that I’m excellent at corpse disposal.”
Her brows knit. “Are you sure about this? Once we step into the spotlight together, there’s no way back.”
“Let them talk. Let them snap the pics. I don’t care about the noise because I know we’re dancing to our own rhythm.” I pause. “There isonething I’m worried about though…”
She grips the front of my shirt. “What? What is it?”
I put on an exaggeratedly forlorn expression. “Will you still love me if my forehead looks gigantic in every paparazzo shot?”
“Shut it! I’m not doing the chipmunk worm discussion again.” She laughs, shaking her head. “It’s my turn to talk now.”
“I’m all forehead–I mean ears!”
She giggles again and it’s the most wonderful sound I’ve ever heard. “Stop, I’m bein’ serious!”
“Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am.”
Tally puts a hand on my chest. “When we went on this road trip, I promised myself I was over you. I lied to myselfwhen I said I was only in this to write new music and have phenomenal sex. Stayin’ friends with benefits was never an option because you strum my heartstrings and make my soul sing. My pulse dances to the melody of your voice and I want it to be the soundtrack for the rest of my life.”
I choke down happy tears as I grab my wallet from my jeans. Dropping to one knee, I pull out her old wedding ring. “Does that mean you’re ready to take this back?”
Tally squeals. “You kept my ring!”
“Of course. That thing practically embedded itself in my forehead after you launched it at me like a golden projectile. I never knew you had such a strong throwing arm.”
“I’m a woman of many talents.”
“Tally Creed, will you marry me… again?” I ask, offering the ring.
“Fuck yeah!” She holds out her hand, fingers wiggling.
I slip the band on and rise to kiss her. “Our new life together starts now.”
Her expression dims as she twists the ring. “First, I have to take down Rex. I want a fresh start for us.”
Squeezing her hand, I smile. “I understand.”
“After all he has done to me and to you and to so many other singers, I wanna make it hurt. Really hurt.”
“No problem. Give me 30 seconds alone with him and my shotgun.”
She sighs. “Death would be an easy way out for the scumbag. I want him to rot behind bars where he can spend his miserable life stewin’ in the knowledge that I won. That we beat him.”
“Alright, what do you have in mind?”
“Public humiliation. A career-ending scandal. I want to stomp him like a roach while the world watches. For once, I want him to be in the headlines of the tabloidshe loves so much. I want to bankrupt him. And when the evidence discredits his social status, nobody will believe him if he tries to get me blacklisted.”
I nod. “Sounds perfect. You want some input or do you have a plan for all this?”
Her smile turns downright villainous and damn, that’s hot. “What about exposing Rex live at the concert in LA tomorrow?”
I whistle. “Diabolical. I love it.”
“I’m good enough with a computer to cut out a few important highlights of Wolfe’s confession to play for the crowd. When we get to the city, I’ll buy a new laptop and prepare a separate USB stick for the concert. Then we can still give the USB from Wolfe to the cops. But there’s a catch.”
“It’s never easy.”
