Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
I expected the two weeks we would spend here would be mostly this: me writing new music in the peaceful and inspiring sunroom and Bear grumbling and pulling his hair out in front of his laptop on the kitchen counter.
But that afternoon, everything changed.
Bear stuck his head into the sunroom. “Lou said you wanted to take another walk?”
I looked up from the scribbled notes I was making on the pad next to me. “Oh, I didn’t mean for her to bother you. I just texted to ask if she could maybe watch me from the cameras if I stay on the path so I could stretch my legs and get some fresh air.”
“I could use a break, and it would be better to go now before the sun goes down. The cameras only cover the fence line.”
I put my guitar down and stood up, stretching my arms up and rolling my shoulders. “You don’t need to babysit me. I can always walk on the treadmill downstairs.”
“Yeah, Zane, it’s a real hardship. Let’s go.”
I couldn’t tell if he was being gruff because he was put out about the walk or stressed from his workday. I knew that my insistence on not canceling the tour dates was adding worry to his life, but I was caught between a rock and a hard place. Canceling the dates to spare Bear and the team meant I’d disappoint thousands of fans and hundreds of event workers. It would become a global news story, and who knew what would happen to my personal security then? Disappointed fans were often dangerous enough, especially if they thought I was being a diva.
As long as my manager, Micki, wasn’t recommending it and the security team wasn’t expressly forbidding it, we would move forward. Too many people were relying on these shows for us to cancel them.
I followed Bear to the entryway and toed my running shoes on. He always had his black boots on, as if he needed to be ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.
“You sure you don’t mind?” I asked, feeling guilty.
“Zane. It’s my job.”
While his words were true, they still stung a little. After my dream last night in which he’d been kind and comforting, his distance and gruffness in real life felt cold in comparison.
We made our way out to the same trail behind the house we’d explored yesterday. I kept quiet in case he wanted time to himself. He seemed annoyed with me, and I could hardly blame him.
Our entire schedule had been thrown off by this situation, and now we were in the middle of nowhere for a couple of weeks while he doubled his workload, trying to both keep me safe and plan a higher-intensity protection scheme for the remainder of the tour.
I felt guilty for all of the additional work he and the rest of Violet’s team were having to do because of me, like maybe I’d done something to provoke this person—the Stamper—into whatever they were trying to do.
The cold air felt refreshing and invigorating. I drew in a long pull as I felt my muscles warm up and loosen. The scenery was beautiful, and I was grateful to be here instead of the crowded and chaotic city.
Bear pulled ahead of me as the trail narrowed, and my eyes immediately flicked down to his ass. He had an amazing ass. No matter how busy our travel schedule was, he always found time to work out in the gym. I’d even seen him doing squats and stair sprints in hotels when we were on the road. Was it any wonder he had such a perfect muscular butt?
I pulled out my phone for a little distraction, to give myself something else to look at. The phone had been in Focus mode all day as I’d been working, so as soon as I turned off the Focus, messages came streaming in. I clicked into a text from Aunt Rinny right away in case something had happened.
It had.
Rinny
Might need to alert your PR team about John-Keith. That boy’s cornbread ain’t done in the middle. I’m sorry, sweetheart. I tried warning him.
I felt a sense of dread as I clicked through the other notifications. When I got to JK’s social media post, I sucked in a breath.
Is it even possible to be a virgin in your thirties? #CousinConfessions Not saying which one, so don’t ask.
As if the world didn’t know whose cousin he was. The fucker’s profile pic was one of him and me together, and he took every opportunity to post about me. And what other thirties-aged cousin could it be? Pearl was twenty-eight, Horace was forty-one, and while Jayden and Jordyn were thirty-two, both of them were married with kids.
I must have made a noise when I saw the horrendous flood of comments because Bear stopped and demanded to know what was going on. “What is it?”