Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 72828 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72828 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
I ring her doorbell and rock back on my heels, push my hands into my pockets, and hope that she doesn’t slam the door in my face.
Finally, the door opens, and Sid’s expression goes from curiosity to complete annoyance in the blink of an eye. She starts to push the door closed, but I plant my hand on it, stopping her.
“Go away, Keaton.”
“No, damn it. Let me in so I can talk to you.”
“Not much to say,” she points out, but steps away from the door and simply walks across the room, away from me, her ass swaying in little yoga shorts and those spectacular legs on full display.
I close the door and watch as she opens her fridge and pulls out a bottle of water, cracks it open, and takes a sip, her eyes on me.
“I’m listening. Say what you need to say and then get the hell out of here.” Her blue eyes spark with annoyance.
It’s worse than I thought.
“I didn’t mean to sound like such an asshole the other day. I honestly didn’t. I’m excited for you to go to the show and celebrate with your friends. You deserve to share in that, and I know that you’re excited about it, too.”
“How nice of you.”
I clench my teeth and ball my hands. “I told you early on, I don’t do the spotlight, Sidney. Call it anxiety or stubbornness or whatever, but it doesn’t change how I feel about it.”
“I wasn’t asking you to ‘do the spotlight’, as you put it.”
“You know as well as I do that the press is going to be crawling all over the place at that event.”
“Yeah, but—”
“And you know that I don’t do that shit. I want nothing to do with it, ever. Not even for you.”
“You’ve made that abundantly clear, Keaton. You didn’t have to come all this way to drive it home for me. I’m not an idiot; I understand what you’re saying. Now, you can leave the way you came, and don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out. I have to pack.”
“You’re leaving again.” It’s not a question.
“For fuck’s sake, I’m going to Nashville. Like I told you. The show is this weekend, so I need to get back.”
This is it. She’s leaving. I had less than a month with her, and I royally fucked it up.
“Are you coming back?”
“Sooner or later,” is all she says as she rubs her face with the heels of her hands.
“Sidney.” I walk toward her, but she holds her hands up, stopping me.
“If you think I want you to touch me right now, you’re not reading the room very well. You’re not exactly welcome here tonight, Keaton.”
“I’m sorry.” I stop at the other side of the kitchen island, itching to get my hands on her. “I’m sorry. If tonight is your last night in Seattle—”
She laughs now and shakes her head. “You have a lot of nerve. You think that because I’m leaving I want to fuck you? After the way you’ve made me feel? Not a chance. You know the way out.”
She walks away, down the hall to her bedroom, without giving me a backward glance, and there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it.
“Bye, Sid.”
Chapter 11
Sidney
“How are you, Wendy?” The older woman is helping me organize everything in my closet that I’ll need for my performance.. I have a whole glam squad coming tomorrow at noon to help me get ready for Misty’s big celebration at the Opry, and there’s also a lot of prep work involved beforehand.
Wendy’s a lifesaver.
“Oh, I’m just fine,” she says with a smile. I’ve always thought of Wendy as my Nashville mom. She’s so nurturing, always ready to jump in and help me in any way that I might need. “I admit, I miss seeing you. You were on tour and then immediately took off to have some adventures in Seattle.”
“Yeah, I haven’t been home much.” I sigh and look around. It’s all so familiar, and yet, I don’t know if it really is home anymore. “I was excited to get this opportunity to come back to town for some work, if I’m being honest.”
“You didn’t even take a full month off,” she reminds me.
“I know, but I like to work. I’ve been doing some writing while in Seattle. I have about eight songs written or partially written. They just need to be polished up.”
“Well, that has to be a good feeling.” Wendy takes the dress I bought, with Olivia’s and Stella’s help, out of the garment bag, and her eyes almost bug out of her head. “Wow.”
“I can’t wait to wear it,” I confess with a grin.
“Where’s the other half of it?” She pretends to look around for a skirt, and it makes me giggle. “Then again, if anyone has the legs for this thing, it’s you, Sid.”