Page 86 of Once Upon a Boyband
“No,” I repeat, a little louder this time. “I can’t do it.”
“Adam,” Freddie says. “We can still talk about this. Let me call Meryl. You said you’d do Nashville, so we’ll only do Nashville.”
“Actually, the Los Angeles show is already live on the website,” Ivy says from her seat beside Freddie. “No tickets on sale yet, but they’ve announced the date and started the lottery.” She looks at Kevin. “Really? They picked a date before checking with any of the artists performing the show? Can they do that?”
“They own Midnight Rush,” Leo says. “They can do whatever they want.”
“They don’t ownme,” I say sharply. “And I’m not lettingthem call the shots like this.” I hold Freddie’s gaze. “I’m sorry, man. I’m out.”
Freddie drops back into his chair like he knows he can’t argue with me, but then Jace leans back, eyes glittering with anger. “Of course you are,” he says quietly. “A quitter doing what quitters do best.”
“Jace, don’t,” Leo says calmly.
“Why shouldn’t I?” he says. “Why shouldn’t I point out how much Adam screwed over all of us when he walked? When he quit and left Freddie to clean up his mess with the label? All week, we’ve been acting like it’s no big deal. Like we’re all best friends again. It’s all just water under the bridge. And maybe it is for you,” he says, looking at Freddie. “You’ve got the career you want. But you know what I have right now? A crap marriage and a dead career. And every day, I look in the mirror and wonder if it would have been different. One more album. One more tour with Midnight Rush. Would it have mattered? Given me the edge I haven’t been able to find on my own?” He runs a hand through his hair, his shoulders dropping as he fixes his glare on me. “But I’ll never know, will I? And that’s on you,Deke.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Laney
I should takea picture of Sophie’s face right now.
She’s sitting at the top of my bed, her legs crossed under her, her mouth hanging open in what can only be described as absolute shock.
I just showed her the video Ivy took of Adam singing beside the campfire, the rest of Midnight Rush adding their harmony in what will always be, for the rest of eternity, one of my favorite moments of all time.
“Wait, wait,” Sophie says, reaching for my phone. “Did he lean over and kiss you after he finished the song?” She tracks back about twenty seconds to watch again, then she looks up at me, eyes wide. “He did. Deke Driscollkissedyou right on the mouth.”
“AdamDriscoll,” I say. “It’s been a long time since he’s gone by Deke.”
She swallows. “And you met Freddie Ridgefield,” she says. “Like, he knows your name and stuff.”
“Yeah. He does. He’s a really nice guy, Sophie. You’d love him.”
This morning, when I showed up at Mom’s, Sophie was at an all-district orchestra thing. She didn’t get home until this afternoon, so she’s only just now getting the full story.
Miraculously, she hadn’t even heard the news about the reunion show, even though it’s been all over social media, and she definitely didn’t see the cybersleuth video that identified me as Deke’s fiancée, so she’s getting all of this firsthand, directly from me.
Which, honestly, it’s better that way. Now I get the joy of seeing all her reactions in real time, and after the last six hours, I’m overdue for some joy.
Dad was the first one I talked to. He called while I was en route to Hendersonville, asking why he just had a client congratulate him on his daughter’s engagement. When I explained the situation, the conversation did not get better.
I don’t fight with my dad. He’s the easiest person on the planet to get along with. So it stung when he said, “Elena, I’m a business owner and a member of this community, and you’re asking me to lie to people I care about.”
“I know, Dad,” I said. “And I’m sorry about the lies. But we just have to keep it up until New Year’s. Once the concert happens, everything will go back to normal.”
“And what do we do in the meantime? Lawson Cove is a town built on kindness. When people find out you’re engaged, they want to celebrate byhelping. Sheri Pruitt already called and offered to do your wedding cake, and her offer won’t be the only one. What are you going to tell these people?”
I sighed into the phone. “That we’re planning a really long engagement, and I’ll keep their offer in mind?”
He was quiet for a beat before he said, “Well, I’ll letyousay that then. Because I won’t cater to the idea that what people on the internet think is more important than what your neighbors think.”
I hung up the phone feeling chastened but also a tiny bit indignant because the one thing Dad didn’t seem to consider was howI’mfeeling.
My conversation with Mom was a little better. She was mostly concerned about my emotional state and whether there is potential for heartbreak in my relationship with Adam. It was comforting to realize that even with everything that’s happened, I’m not worried about getting my heart broken.
Adam and I feel solid in a way I’ve never experienced before. Which was probably the only thing that got me through all the other phone calls and conversations that consumed my afternoon.
The only one that made me smile was Percy, calling to tell me Mimi and her friends at Shady Pines want to throw me a bridal shower. Even though Mimi was in on the secret when we borrowed a ring to fake the engagement, when she came across a local entertainment news headline about the local vet engaged to a popstar, she decided fake had turned into real and shifted her brain into planning mode.
