Page 21 of From Us, Forever

I remember now, the day before. “When you stepped outside to receive a call the other day. You told me it was your lawyer but it was her, wasn’t it?” He had been off ever since that night. She must have said something to dampen his mood.

But still, a clouded sense of deception wrapped me.Why did he have to lie?

“It was her.” He sighed. “I didn’t want to pick up at first, but she kept calling, and I got curious. She told me that she had nothing to do with this.”

“And you believe her?”

He gave me a pointed look. “Of course not. But it was weird. She was insistent. She almost didn’t sound like the Cece I used to know. She sounded broken.”

I had to bite my tongue to control the anger that was surging out of me at the sound of her name on his lips. “You knowshe’s a manipulative bitch, Jay. And you very well know what she said the last time she saw you at the hospital.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “But what if what she was saying is the truth?”

He couldn’t seriously be questioning her lies. “I don’t think truth and White should even be in the same statement.”

His gaze softened, surprising me. “You’ve always been adamant to call her White.”

“She is perfectly named. Have you seen her?” I mumbled, sighing. “I hate that color so much that I don’t even want to wear white at my wedding.” I stilled, realizing what I had just said when his eyes widened.

Our conversations about marriage were in the past. We made jokes and argued about the details when we were kids. We said we’d be married by twenty-five, but here we were, past that time, with no wedding bells in sight.

Jay quickly schooled his expression, leaning over as he pulled me onto his lap. “I don’t like you being too far away from me,” he mumbled, holding me close.

My mind reeled back to our conversation. “Is that why you’ve been acting weird for the past couple of days? Because you talked to her?” I mumbled, frowning, as my eyes landed on him.

“Like I said, I don’t really believe her, but what if, and that isa bigif,she’s telling the truth, and someone else is doing all this? Someone we don’t know is out for the band. I’d really like to know who I’m up against, Evelyn.”

“It’s surely her or someone else in the industry who wants a go at you. Wasn’t her name on the lawsuit that you guys received? How can she deny that?”

He huffed a breath. “She says her lawyers advised it. But other than that, she asserted that she’s got nothing to do with the rumors. Fame and power are involved, Evelyn and some people will do anything for that.”

A faint shiver ran through my body. “I didn’t realize being a singer was so complicated. It makes me wish that you were just another bar singer.”

He laughed. “It’s the amount of money we have piled in our bank account, sweetheart. Not the fact that I’m a singer.”

My nose scrunched up as I contemplated. “It can’t be that bad. What’s your net worth, seven figures?”

His lips curved into a wide smile as he tipped closer to my ear and whispered numbers that made my eyes almost bug out of my head. He couldn’t possibly be serious. “You’re kidding, right? That’s absurd.”

“It’s the truth.” He grinned. “And now it’s yours.”

“No, it’s not.” I shook my head. “It can never be mine,” I said, panicked. I wanted nothing to do with that kind of money. It only terrified me.

“But it is. I’ve added your name to everything. Your net worth is a lot more than you think.”

My heart thudded as I looked at him in astonishment. “Well, I don’t want it. I haven’t even considered the wordnet worthattached to my name. Even if that were the case, the only thing I would be comfortable adding to that is my Target sweatshirts, thrifted paperbacks, and my old dying laptop.”

“Now you can add four properties, stock assets, and a hefty bank account to that.”

“You’re crazy,” I mumbled before seriousness flooded my bones and I exhaled, taking in a moment. “Jay, I still don’t likehow you lied tome about the phone call. And I also don’t like the fact that I had to get the answer out of you. I thought you were the one who said we would be dealing with anything thrown at us—together.”

A visible swallow worked along his throat as he regarded me. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I was racking my brain, thinking who else it could be. Maybe it’s Cece just trying to fill my mind with doubts.”

“Yeah, she is known for that. She is capable of that and a lot more. I don’t want her tocome between us anymore, and as much as I like to know about everything that’s going on, I do not want to discuss her any further than necessary. Things will probably go back to normal after the statement tomorrow.”

He nodded, sliding his thumb along my cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you more.” It still didn’t sit well with me that he talked to her and chose to hide it from me, but I let it go because I didn’t want to prolong this conversation.

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