Page 28 of The Final Beat

“I don’t want to do it,” Elliot cried. “If I’m not making music I want to be with Belle and Lily, not managing us.”

“So, look at the files then,” Ali said, giving us a raised eyebrow. “I’ll see you all in a few days for the final pre tour meeting.”

Once we all said our goodbyes and were in our cars, I finally heaved a sigh of relief. I would tell them eventually about my dad, but I wasn’t ready. They also didn’t need to know that it was Destiny who’d gone with me. I wasn’t ashamed of what we were, but she was. Besides, I liked that we were a secret because, if nothing else, it meant I had her to myself.

CHAPTER 14

DESTINY

As I parked my car next to Beau’s on Ronnie’s drive, my stomach rolled. I had no idea why. It wasn’t like I hadn’t had sex with Joey before and pretended it hadn’t happened. The idea of pretending today, though, made me feel weird. I wasn’t sure I even had it in me to be shitty with him and if I wasn’t, people might wonder what was going on.

While I considered my options, not that I had many, I saw Joey’s flash motor pulling up behind me. I had no idea why men felt the need to buy stupid cars that they couldn’t drive to their full potential. Give me my little Fiat 500 any day. It was top of the range with all the extras, but it still wasn’t flash. Not like the bright orange thing that Joey was unfolding himself out of. His long, lithe body appeared delicious inch by delicious inch. He was wearing a suit with a white shirt untucked and on his feet were white trainers. The stubble on his cheeks was a little longer than usual, enough I could scratch my finger nails through it, but it wasn’t too long that they’d be lost in it.

After beeping the lock on the car, he threw his keys into the air and then caught them before dropping them into the pocket of his trousers. As he strode towards the house, rubbing a hand over his head, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Everything abouthim was sensual, the way he walked, the way he filled out his suit, the tattoos on his large hands. I was just glad I was small enough not to be seen over the top of my seat, so he hadn’t spotted me watching him.

Once I saw him disappear into the house I got out of my car and followed his path. It was the final meeting before the tour, and I was confident that me and my team were ready. I’d triple checked everything, even though I trusted Laura and Ryan’s work implicitly. In short, we were ready to go.

As I reached the door, I saw it had been left ajar and wondered who else was expected. Joey couldn’t have seen me in my car, so wouldn’t have left it open for me. Elliot’s car wasn’t there but I’d assumed he’d come with Beau. Not wanting to leave the door open, I shut it behind me and walked towards the sounds of laughter. I’d been to Ronnie’s house a couple of times before, so I knew they’d probably all be in his kitchen around the huge table which sat about twelve people.

I was right, they were all sitting at the table while Amber pulled mugs out of the cupboard.

“Destiny,” Ali said, giving me a huge smile. “Hiya.”

“Hi.” Everyone turned and smiled, except for Joey who seemed more interested in his phone. “The door was open.”

“I left it for you,” Joey muttered without looking up. “I saw you waiting in the car.” Then he looked up. “You looked interested in something.”

Fucker. He’d seen me and thought that I was watching him. Did that make him egotistical or just a dick? Probably a dick seeing as he was right.

“No,” I said with a sigh, “just couldn’t get something nasty out of my head.”

The others ignored us, they were so attuned to us bickering all the time, it wasn’t anything they thought they needed to worry about.

“Tea or coffee, Destiny?” Amber asked.

When she turned to face me, I was shocked by how pregnant she looked considering she was only about three and half months.

“Where the hell did that sprout from?” I asked, moving to stand next to her.

She grinned. “It’s a thing with twins apparently.” She rubbed her hands over her stomach, looking serene and beautiful. “I feel like a whale.”

“You don’t look like a whale,” I said, grinning. “You look gorgeous.”

“I don’t know about that. I’m shattered, though.”

“Are you getting plenty of rest?”

She nodded. “God, yes. I think Ronnie is sick of finding me snoring away.”

I glanced over at him and from the way he was looking at her reverently, I doubted it. I was sure he was waiting on her hand and foot and insisting that she rested all the time. “Tea please. Normal, none of that healthy shit that Joey insists on.”

She giggled and glanced over at the table. “You know him too well.”

That made me squirm a little. I cleared my throat. “I’d better join the party.”

“Okay. I’ll bring the drinks over.”

“Want me to help, sweetheart?” Ronnie called.

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