Page 100 of Not Another Love Song

Tour.

She didn’t know how long it took her to process everything, but when her brain had returned to normal speed, Alex was kissing her neck, whispering words about “perfect” and “future” and “ours.”

“Alex,” she breathed, feeling him thrusting in and out of her again. “Alex, I can’t leave New York. I have the Pops.”

He pulled back to look at her, his lips bruised red against his pale skin. “What?”

“We have the Pops,” she said, reminding him.

He stared at her. “Gwen. This is U2. This is international.”

“Alex. I’m first chair in the Manhattan Pops. I have a full-time position there. A career.” A paycheck, she thought to herself. She shook her head, her brows coming together, trying to figure out why she needed to explain this. “We’re not even halfway through the season. When does the U2 tour start?”

“December twenty-second in Los Angeles.” He said it so simply.

“The Christmas concert is on the twenty-fourth.”

Alex stared up at her, like they were speaking different languages. “The Manhattan Pops will still be there. This tour won’t be.”

She thought of Nathan and Ava, the financial difficulties that caused them to reach out to Xander Thorne again. And now their two most effective sources of publicity were leaving for the rest of the season?

No.

“What about Ava and Nathan?”

His thumb brushed her cheek. His eyes burrowed into hers, searching for her meaning. Then he said, “What about them?”

She felt his hands on her skin, his cock still inside of her, and his breath on her face. And she’d never felt further away from him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Gwen slid off Alex, trying to gather her thoughts. Every hair on her body stood on end as she braced herself for this conversation.

“So you see no problem with abandoning the Pops? Midseason?”

He ran a hand through his hair and frowned at her. “Are you sure you heard me correctly? U2 wants us to travel the world together playing music to crowds one hundred times as large as tonight’s.”

“I…” She twisted to her knees next to him. “Are you sure you heard right? U2 wants Thorne and Roses to open for them—”

“Gwen Jackson and Thorne and Roses,” he corrected.

“That music group doesn’t exist.” She laughed tightly. “I mean…what we did tonight was amazing, but—”

“It was incredible, Gwen—”

“But how does Dom fit in!” She blinked at him. “I played his parts!”

“I’ll write a second violin part for him,” Alex said quickly. “He can fill out a couple of places…or…”

She lifted her brows, waiting. “Or…he’ll be replaced? Just like Forrest was?”

He scowled at her. “No, that’s not—”

“That’s exactly what will happen—”

“You’re missing the point.” He rolled off the bed and paced in front of her. “You don’t want to leave the Pops, do you?”

“I can’t leave the Pops!” Her hands rose, gripping the empty air like she could force him to understand if only she could materialize it. “I have a position there that I’m happy with—”

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