Page 5 of Before Now

I get a laugh from Christian, and he looks up from his phone to shoot me another wink. It eases my nerves, the room settling back into a more relaxed state again.

“We can use the glasses for anything you might feel uncomfortable having outsiders around for. I know writing lyrics can be personal with you baring your souls, so?—”

“No,” Adams says, his voice deep and raspy after his performance.

My eyes snap up to him, and Christian shifts in the chair, sitting up straighter.

“No, what?” the manager says. “No to the glasses?”

“To all of it.”

“What the fuck do you mean, all of it?” Christian pushes out of the chair, his commanding presence returning, but Adams stays trained on me, making me want the walls to absorb me.

Dev and Felix seem unsure for a second, but then Dev crosses his arms.

“It is a lot going on at once,” he says. “We’ve already done 33 shows with another 28 to go, the label expects us to write while on the road and be in the studio the week after we finish the tour. Now we’re going to have a film crew shadowing our every move?”

The room falls silent until Felix nods. “We wouldn’t even be able to relax and do stupid shit between shows. Not with someone reporting our every move back to the label.”

“I wouldnever—” I start, but Dev cuts me off, “Not just you on the road, sweetness.”

I swallow and reach for the back of my neck, not sure how to regain control here. The three of them have all sunk back into the cushions now, a unified force eyeing me like I’m the enemy.

“You serious about this, Adams?” Christian asks, staring down at him.

Adams tips his head to the side, his voice rough when he says, “All of us on board or none, right?”

Before I can even think how to get us back on track, Christian sighs and turns to me. “Thank you for coming, Miss Sinner.” The finality in his voice sends a cold wave through me.

Then he gestures for the door.

Nothing feels real as I scan over the three men on the couch, the one in the center, glaring at me as much as I am at him. One asshole has a problem with me, and I lost the best opportunity of my career.

I slap on a smile, not willing to let them see how utterly devastated I am right now. “It was really cool to meet you guys. Good luck on the rest of your tour.”

Christian guides me toward the door with a hand on my back, his other arm coming around to open it for me. When I step into the hall, Colton’s head lifts from the wall he’s leaning against, but the grin leaves his face when he sees an irritated Christian following me out.

“No fucking way,” Colton says to him. His expression softens when he looks at me, and I shrug, taking a breath as I turn around to Christian.

I shove my hand at him. “Pleasure.”

He grimaces, sliding his palm into mine, but when I try to pull back, he tugs me closer, his face serious. “Stay in Prague.”

I shake my head, not sure why I would even consider it, but he licks his lips and glances over his shoulder quickly before returning his attention to me.

“Give me until tomorrow, and I’ll change their minds. Adams just needs a nudge in the right direction.”

“It was Adams?” Colton asks.

Christian doesn’t even acknowledge him, his focus staying on me.

I search his eyes and try to gauge how much I should believe him. Playing it safe, I’d say maybe twenty percent, but the little girl running around with her daddy’s digital camera is fucking giddy.

“Really?”

Christian nods. “Go back to your hotel and keep your phone on you.”

When he steps back, he regains his grin, and I can’t believe I’m putting my faith in a band manager, but I manage a small smile. He slips into the room, and my shoulders slump.

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