Page 44 of Audra: The Prequel

She wanted to sayI love youbut didn’t want to be the first to spill what was in her heart—and did Damon feel the same? He would have to express that emotion before she mustered the nerve to tell him her feelings.

“What did you do today?” he asked.

Her answer led them into a conversation that lasted for two hours. When they finally hung up, Audra rolled onto her side. She couldn’t adequately describe what she was feeling—maybe disbelief that this was her reality.

Thanks to Damon, she had learned to trust again. Trust her judgment. Trust in a man.

The clasp around her heart had loosened, and she was open to love. She was confident it was only a matter of time before he told her that he loved her.

She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but she was fairly certain that he was the One. Their relationship was going so well, she couldn’t imagine anything coming between them.

Chapter Seventeen

Audra’s phone rang as she was placing her shopping bags in the back of her BMW. She had found some good deals, including a few trinkets that would make great gifts for friends.

She slammed the trunk closed and fished her phone out of her purse. Inwardly, she groaned when she saw her ex’s name.

What does he want?she thought irritably.

“Hello?” she said as she climbed into her car.

“Hi, Audra.”

“Can I help you with something?” She intended for the conversation to be short and kept her voice cool, the way she always did since she had given up hoping for a future where the two of them raised their daughter together.

“How are you?” Kerry asked.

Sitting in the parking lot, she stared out the window and frowned at the question. Since when did he care about her wellbeing? They rarely had much to say to each other that wasn’t related to Kerilyn.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“Doing great, actually. We kick off our European tour in a couple of weeks. Merch is selling well, and streams of our music are through the roof.”

“Congratulations. Things are going well for you,” Audra said.

Kerry was a great musician, and she wasn’t surprised the band was seeing increased success. He wasn’t only the drummer. He wrote some of the group’s songs. She wished he worked half as hard at fatherhood as he did at music.

“If you want to speak to Keri, she’s not with me. I’m out shopping. She’s at home with Mom.”

He cleared his throat. “Actually, I called to speak to you.”

Now he really had her attention.

“Why?” Audra asked, suspicious.

“How are things with you and your baseball player boyfriend?”

He knew Damon’s name but refused to say it. As a courtesy, she had told Kerry about Damon and Kerilyn meeting and the time they were all spending together. Not that she had much choice. Kerilyn talked non-stop about Damon, and Audra knew it was only a matter of time before she mentioned him during a conversation with her father.

“Everything with us is fine.”Not that it’s any of your business, Audra silently added. “Why?”

“I know you don’t pay much attention to what’s going on online, but er… I was doing a little research on your boyfriend?—”

“Whatever you have to say, I don’t want to hear it. I already know Damon was out there before we became involved. He’s not like that anymore, so whatever dirt you think you’ve found, you can keep it to yourself.”

“What I found isn’t old, Audra. The two of you are in a relationship. An exclusive relationship, right?” her ex asked.

“Yes, Kerry.” Audra was hard-pressed to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

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