Page 211 of The Song We Lost

I feel tears hit my eyes immediately and Bailey smiles through her own.

“I want the dream,” Her fingers tighten around mine. “You and me. Music. Our home. Maybe a little chaos.” She laughs softly. “I want all of it.”

I don’t even realize how hard I’m crying until she reaches up wiping beneath my eyes with both thumbs.

“You sure?” I whisper roughly.

Bailey’s expression softens instantly. “So sure.”

Relief crashes through me so hard I almost sway from it. I pull her against me immediately burying my face against her neck while she laughs breathlessly into my shoulder.

“Bailey,” I mutter. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“I sent one text.”

“After I woke up without you this morning.”

Her laughter vibrates softly against my chest. And fuck… I could spend the rest of my life listening to that sound. My hands settle automatically against her waist while my mind already starts moving ahead before I can stop it.

“We should put a room together for Iris here.”

Bailey blinks up at me.

“So Cole can breathe sometimes,” I explained quietly. “Even just for a night.”

Emotion flashes hard across her face. “I’d like that.”

The future suddenly feels real in a way it hasn’t before. Bailey pulls back slightly then, biting her lip the way she always does when she’s trying not to smile too hard.

“So…” she says carefully.

Immediately suspicious, I narrowed my eyes. “What?”

“Rachel got the final details from the label.”

My entire body tenses automatically.

Bailey laughs. “Relax. It’s okay.”

“That sentence has literally never once meant something good.”

She snorts. “They want promo. Interviews. A set number of live performances tied to the album release.”

I groan.

“But…” Her grin turns devilish. “They never specified venue size.”

I blink once. “What?”

“And technically…” Bailey’s eyes sparkle now. “They also never said the tickets had to cost anything.”

Realization slowly spreads through me and then I start laughing. “Oh my god.”

“I know.”

“Bailey Brooks…” I shake my head in disbelief. “Are you trying to loophole your loophole?”

“I am.”