Page 78 of Love You Like This

He walks out, tugging his hat down further. We all watch him go, his bodyguard trailing him. I pick up my phone and shoot a text off to Darren. He has the most success in calming Tobias down.

“I guess I should go up and change clothes since I’m going to go with you today,” I say to Hazel. My jeans and hoodie are too casual.

“Okay, I’ll text you when the car is on the way.”

“You two stay out of trouble before the show today,” I say to Xander and Stone as I stand. “I don’t want any messes to clean up.”

“Us?” Stone smirks. “We’d never cause trouble.”

“Right.” I pat his shoulder as I walk past him. “See you later.”

The weight of Xander’s gaze follows me until I leave the cafe.

Twenty-Nine

XANDER

Stone and I settle into his suite to work on new music. I want him to look over the lyrics I wrote while I watched Jade sleep back at my house. I’ve changed them and then changed them back again so many times that at this point I just have to hand them over for someone else to look at.

Writing anything but actual music is so far out of my wheelhouse I’m completely at a loss. Stone is so good at writing, though, that I am almost too nervous to hand over my ideas. Which is why I hesitate when he plops down on the other end of the couch and holds out his hand for my phone.

“Let me see what you’ve got.” He wiggles his fingers impatiently.

“Fuck,” I groan and unlock my phone, handing it to him.

“Don’t be scared.” He pats my knee. “I’ll be gentle.”

“Fuck you,” I say with no heat.

“Hazel has me covered.”

I throw a pillow at him. He tucks it under his arm and starts to scroll through. Without my phone I have nothing to fiddle with, so I grab the closest guitar and start tuning it. My eyes flick to Stone when he grabs his notebook and turns to a blank page. He starts writing without taking his eyes from my phone.

“This is really good.” He looks over at me. “Like multi-platinum good.”

I scoff, but he cuts me off.

“No. I’m dead serious. Just the lyrics alone gave me chills.” He holds up his arm to show me. “And that’s without any music backing it.”

The tension eases from my chest. “I’m glad you like it. It came to me in a rush.”

Stone tosses my phone into my lap. “Who is it about? A certain fiery redhead we all know and love?”

I’m not sure how to answer. Before he’s a bandmate, he’s my best friend, a brother. Jade doesn’t want anyone to know what happened last night, but I’m sure she’ll tell the girls’ group chat. Those four don’t have any secrets between them. Just like Stone, Tobias, and I don’t. Not to mention, Stone knows the entire backstory. I have to talk to someone, if only to have a sounding board.

I nod. “I wrote them while I sat next to her asleep in my bed.”

“Really?” His brows nearly meet his hairline. “About time, but also how? You were going tit for tat weeks ago.”

“After our show in LA, I asked her to come over for dinner. Just to talk about everything. I made us pancakes, and we walked along the beach. But we didn’t talk about the past. Every time I’d bring something up, she shifted the conversation. It never felt like the right time. Then we got back to the house, and I went to grab my keys. When I came out, she’d passed out on my couch.”

“So, are you good?”

I run a hand over my face before answering. “I think we’re better. We actually talked last night. There are things she didn’t know. Things I didn’t know. The shit she went through,” I sigh, trailing off. “It’s not my place to tell, but I feel so fucking awful. I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for it.”

“Is that where you were this morning when Darren couldn’t find you?”

“Christ, did he ask everyone?”