Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“Cool.” I drop down into a chair and put my seat belt on so we can land. “I’m kinda excited to see you in the studio.”
“Don’t make me nervous.” He shifts in his seat.
“I make you nervous? You perform in front of thousands of people.”
“It’s a blur of faces when I’m up there.” He shrugs. “I care what you think.” He leans over and kisses me.
When we finally land, there isn’t a fleet of people waiting. We hop in a blacked-out SUV as we always do to head to the studio. I pull out my phone to check my emails and messages. I click on the one from Oliver first, surprised she’s messaging me. James has been handling a lot of the office stuff along with my manager Christy.
“What’s that face?”
“Nothing.” I shake my head and delete the message.
“It’s not nothing.”
“It’s not something I want to talk about now. After?” I suggest as we pull up to a building. My mother isn’t a subject I love to talk about. She is trying to get into contact with me. I’m sure I know why.
“The fuck?” Dylan mutters. I follow his line of sight to see the paparazzi. “How do they know we're even in the city?”
“I have no clue. Only a handful of people know.” Chris sounds as irritated as Dylan. “Pull around to the back,” Chris tells the driver. Thankfully, no one is back there. We hop out and make a run for the back door before they try to circle around and catch us.
“We have a leak?” Dylan asks when we enter the building.
“Not from our team but I’ll get to the bottom of it.”
“Is it that big of a deal?” I glance up at Dylan, who has me tucked into his side as we walk down a long hallway.
“It’s a big fucking problem if someone in my inner circle is tipping people off, but Chris is right. I don’t think it’s on our end, or other shit would have been out there.”
That’s true. I’m sure there is a ton they could have said about us. There are normally the same ten-ish people around us, I’ve noticed.
“Then, who did it?”
“It would have to be on her team,” Chris answers.
“Her?” Now I’m really confused and maybe a touch jealous. “Are you recording with someone else?”
“She’s twice my age, Irish.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “It’s a remix of an old song for Christmas.”
“I wasn't jealous.” I say quickly. My cheeks warm because I totally was.
“As you shouldn’t be.”
Chris stops in front of a door, lowering his voice. “Truthfully, I wouldn’t put it past her to have leaked it. She’s been out of the limelight for a while, so maybe she’s trying to drum up press, but I’ll speak to her team. That’s not how we handle press. Audrey Carter is old school so—” Chris shakes his head, irritated.
My stomach drops. I try to step back, but Dylan has a hold on me as Chris opens the door to the studio. My eyes land right on Audrey Carter.
My mother.
CHAPTER 21
DYLAN
The resemblance is obvious now that they’re together. In my defense, I haven’t seen Audrey Carter up close in years. We don’t run in the same circles. She’s at least twenty years my senior. We don’t make the same music. I make rock music, and she’s a solid pop singer, but I still feel dumb as hell. Irish’s face is as pale as the marble on the reception desk.
“Clover.” Audrey holds out both her hands. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Irish backs up. “No.”
“This is a mistake. Can you get the car?” Chris looks confused, but Cloudy opens the door. I put my arm around Irish to lead her back to the SUV when her mom reaches for Irish’s arm. “Honey, don’t turn away.”
Someone shouts, “They’re here.” Flashes go off, stunning Cloudy. I cross over and slam the door shut but not before photos are taken.
“Shit.” I arch my eyes toward Chris and nod toward the door. “Can you take care of this? Pay them off for not posting the photos.”
Chris’ eyes widen because I’ve never done that before, but he does as I ask. He might be a pain sometimes, but he’s good at his job.
Irish appears on the verge of breaking down. “Find a way for us to get out of here,” I order Cloudy.
He grimaces. “There’s only two exits. This back fire door and the front one. It’s a small studio.” He shoots a dirty look toward Audrey. She'd been the one to suggest this studio, and it's obvious why.
She smiles innocently. "I chose this because it's cozy and intimate. I recorded Christmas Fools in a studio like this one twenty years ago, and if we were going to make new magic with a remix, it seemed appropriate we recreated the original setting as much as possible."