Page 7 of California Wild

Until her band, Dead Run Riot, landed a real headlining tour, she was going to have to hustle like hell.

She glanced at her to-do list for the day and sighed.

Yep. No time for weird emotional distractions today.

Which meant no time to wonder if she’d really seen Jesse last night.

Hayley pressed her lips together, trying really, really hard not to let her brain go there.

Because that was stupid.

Jesse wasn’t in her life anymore. He hadn’t been for over a year.

They’d kept in touch for a while after she left—a few texts here and there, surface-level check-ins that meant nothing.

Then he stopped. Or maybe she stopped first. Either way, it ended.

Which was for the best.

Because Jesse Navarro might have been the best she’d ever had in bed (and, oh boy, was that a dangerous thought this early in the morning), but out of bed?

He was a disaster.

A noncommittal, frustrating, emotionally unavailable disaster.

The kind of guy who made you feel like the center of his world for one second and then forgot you existed the next.

And the worst part?

She had actually fallen for him.

Like an idiot.

Hayley sighed, setting her coffee down with a little thunk.

She was not doing this. She had work. Bills. A studio lesson in less than an hour.

And maybe—just maybe—a music career about to take off.

Jesse Navarro was the past.

And she had a future to fight for.

* * * * *

The scent of coffee and sheet music filled the small, window-lit room as Hayley adjusted the piano bench, nudging it forward with her knee.

7:29 AM. Right on time.

She took a deep breath, rolling out her shoulders, warming up her own voice as she waited for her first student to arrive. Mornings were her thing. Not because she loved waking up early (she absolutely didn’t) but because the hustle didn’t wait for anyone.

And she had rent to pay.

Her job at Pure Sound Studios was freelance, flexible, but steady. She made her own hours—morning lessons from 7:30 to 9:30, afternoon sessions from 3:00 to 7:00.

In between?

She worked.

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