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“Whatever you say,boss,” he snaps in clear condescension before snatching the towel and wiping his mouth. “I don’t give a fuck what you think about me because you know fuck all.”

“Well, by all means, LL, if I’m wrong about you, feel free to fucking surprise me.”

He spits blood into the towel and tosses it back at me before standing. “Whatever, like I give a damn who you stick your prick into.”

“Just keep your shady shit away from me and—”

“The fuck’s going on here?” Dad yells, striding on stage, and I flash LL a warning look.

“Just a misunderstanding,” LL offers quickly, eyes fixed on mine. “Apparently, I mis stepped with Easton’sspecialbird,” he declares with blood-laced teeth, sealing his fate with me.

Fuck.

I can practically predict the future issues he’s prone to cause, and not just for me personally. At this point, I’m hopeful the band only remembers Natalie’s first name. I wasn’t thinking long-term, or at all, about the future when I picked Natalie up because honestly, she had me convinced we weren’t happening. Long term is what kept me awake the second she passed out in my arms in that hotel room in Dallas.

“What special bird?” Dad asks.

“Just a girl I met on the road,” I lie. “It ended in Dallas.”

LL’s lingering stare and budding smirk tells me he knows I’m lying, and he just gained leverage. Thank God he’s got no real idea of who Natalie is or the damage it could cause. I’d parked a block away fromAustin Speak—in front of the coffee shop—but I have no doubt Leif was privy to every word she spoke on the road and caught her mention she was media. It’s too much. The web is already spinning in a direction I don’t want, and we’re not even a week in.

I hate lying—especially to my dad—but I will for her, her future, her happiness, and our relationship. For now.

“If it ended, then what’s the problem?”

“Seriously, Dad?”

Dad, of all people, should understand my need to protect any woman from walking STDs like LL. Just the memory of how turned on she got watching LL get head has my hackles rising. It’s not so much jealousy—though it’s a large part of it—but his reaction to her natural curiosity. I practically saw him licking his wolfish chops as he weighed her reception. I’ve never wanted to physically end another human life like I did when I saw LL’s intent to try and lure her into participating. Even from ten feet away, I couldfeelhis intent.

Shaking those thoughts away, I kick what’s important to the forefront. My priority right now is that Natalie’s identity remains safe. I’m her secret, and sadly, she has to be mine. For the next three months, four tops, it’s doable, but it will be fucking tough with all the media attention starting to focus our way.

LL’s lips curve as he obviously reads my panic—despite my attempt to hide it—hammering another nail into his coffin.

“See you backstage,” he says to Dad before smugly sauntering off. Dad watches him go before turning to me, silently demanding an explanation.

“He made a pass at her in a very lewd way, knowing she was with me.”

“So, you punched himnow? After the fact?”

“He deserved it. That’s why he didn’t retaliate.”

I move to organize the sheet music scattered along my piano, but Dad yanks my hand, my reddening knuckles in clear view. “Going to sting like a bitch playing with this tonight.” He shakes my swelling fist. “This fucking thing is a lot more valuable than fighting over some meaningless road fling.”

I rip my hand from his grip. “Well, maybe you treated women like dish detergent inyour day, but that’s not my style.”

“The fuck?” He explodes. “You say this shit to me? I’ve been faithful to your mother well before and during your wholeexistence.”

“Have you?” I ask, having no idea where I’m going with this line of questioning. I exhale heavily when I see fury flare in his eyes. “Sorry, Dad. Shit, sorry.”

When his anger dissipates as a result of my apology, I deem his ability to let it go so easily a superpower I wish I possessed. But it’s her. I know it’s her, and meaningless is not a word I would associate with her. She’s under my skin, fueling my days, lightning in my veins. I’m already gone.

“What the fuck is going on with you? And don’t lie to me.”

“I’m stressed out,” I say honestly. “I have a lot on my mind.”

“So, take a day. Take two. You don’t have to be writing on your days off. Find something else to get into.”

“I can handle this, the road, on my own,” I snap.

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