Page 123 of The Twisted Beats

“Right back at ya, love.” I make a quick correction and give her a scolding look. “I’ll never forgive you if you make me wreck my car.”

“Then quit being so heartless and crude.”

“I’m sorry this hurts, but what do you want me to do? Lie to you?”

“No, but… I don’t like her, but you treated her like shit. I’m surprised she’s still into you.”

Livianna’s comment strikes a chord in me.

Whoa, how did I not see it?

My chest fills with a knowing I’m right. “Maybe she isn’t.”

“What makes you say that?”

“My uncle swears he didn’t take my phone and weird text messages got sent to Guns and the tabloids.” I pass a car and stay in the fast lane. “Who else would want to hurt us?”

Livianna seems to think about it for a few moments. She faces me.

“Callum, you’re right. It was her!” Livianna’s face turns bright red and twists in confusion. “But how did she know your passcode?”

“My phone was one of the older models that didn’t require one, so I never set it. It didn’t seem necessary because I have nothing to hide.”

“Well, that explains everything.” Her entire body relaxes into the seat. “Zara’s such a bitch. She deserved how you treated her.”

“Nah, I was an immature dick, but she is a bitch.” I takeLivianna’s hand. “I would never do anything to you like I did with her.”

“You better not.”

After a few minutes, our heavy moods shift. We listen to music, sing together, and get back to being ourselves while truly enjoying each other.

We end up in Big Bear. I pull into a diner’s parking lot, feeling like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders.

There’s still the topic of what she went through on New Year’s Eve, but I’ll tackle that when the time’s right. I would rather see her smiling and leaning into me than her upset and pushing me away.

Once we get seated in a booth, people start to notice us. Fans stop by and ask for autographs and pictures. We graciously accept for a good hour until I make us order and our food gets delivered.

Most patrons leave us alone at that point, but one or two come over. I politely ask them to let us finish our meals first. By this time, we’ve been here going on two hours. Not that I mind, but I was hoping for more time alone with Livianna.

It sinks in that if we’re gonna be together for as long as I hope we are, we won’t be able to enjoy a date out without security or arranging it with the restaurant ahead of time. Especially when I can get out of Ur Boyz and make Mayhem as big as I see in my dreams.

It’s bittersweet. I love that we’re both making our careers work, but a pang of sadness fills me knowing I can’t just spontaneously take her out for coffee or dinner. That’s not the life we signed up for, though, so I suck in a breath and ask for the check.

Our server places the bill down. “I hope you kids have a short drive, given the weather. They just closed the highway due to a big accident.”

I turn around and peek out the window. A huge snowstorm has rolled in.

“It wasn’t even raining on our drive up here.” I take my debit card out and hand it to her. “We were planning on going back to LA.”

“The roads are terrible. The rain came in and then the temperature dropped fast. They’re saying it’s black ice for miles.” She takes my card. “I’ll be back in a minute with your receipt.”

Livianna chews on her bottom lip as she stares out the window. “Callum, it’s a blizzard out there.”

“I didn’t even know it was supposed to snow.”

“Neither did I.” Her brows cinch together. “What should we do?”

“Well, it doesn’t sound like we’re getting back home today, but…” I think about how much money my uncle gave me.