Page 141 of Of Heartbreak and Harmony
It’s a far cry from how I felt about her a few months ago. I was so certain Sav Loveless was a villain. A corrupt, power-hungry woman with no regard for anyone but herself. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
“Thank you,” I say finally. “I appreciate you being willing to talk to me. I appreciate your honesty.”
“You’re welcome.” Her soft, kind smile morphs to something more mischievous before my eyes, one brow arching almost deviously. “Now, if we’re done with this conversation, I’d like to talk toyouabout something.”
My brow furrows, my lips mirroring hers without me trying. She’s contagious and all-consuming when she’s like this.
“Okay...”
“How close are you with Becket, Rocky, Pike, and Ezra? You still talk?”
I tilt my head to the side and try to sus out the reason behind her question, but her face is giving nothing away. Nothing but mischief, and it gives me the feeling she was quite a handful as a child. Wild and fearless and always breaking rules.
“Yeah,” I say with a shrug. “Kind of.”
“Kind of?”
“Well, I talk to Ez more than anyone else. But yeah, we’re on speaking terms.”
“They still play?”
“I think so, yeah...”
“Together?”
“Rock, Ezra, and Beck do. They actually were in some talent management thing in Houston a few weeks back. But not Pike. Guess he’s got a girlfriend and a real job, now. Ez says he ditched them.”
Sav hums and nods, pursing her lips. After another painful pause, I can’t fight my curiosity anymore.
“Why? Why do you want to know?”
Her smile returns, and magnetically, so does mine.
“Well, Calla Lily Sunrise James, I’m starting a record label, and I want to sign Caveat Lover.”
My jaw drops, and I blink at her as she grins impishly like some crafty cartoon mastermind. She’s so fucking proud that she shocked me, and a laugh bubbles out of me before I can stop it, which just entertains her more.
“Well, whatchya say, Cal? Want to call your boys and see if they can meet us in LA?”
I give my head a little shake, then blink a few more times. It seems too fucking good to be true. It seems unbelievable. I’m trying to wrap my head around it when something Torren said creeps up from the recesses of my memory.I’m going to fix this, he’d said, and that thought serves as an ice-cold bucket of reality crashing down over my head.
“I don’t want a pity contract, Sav. I don’t want people to say I slept my way into a record deal. It’s bad enough that my manufactured relationship with Torren is what put a spotlight on my band. I won’t be some nepotism baby, too.”
Sav snorts. “You’d have to be my kid to be a nepo baby.”
“You know what I mean.” I roll my eyes. “Thank you, but you don’t have to do this. It’s not necessary. I don’t care what Torren said.”
“Ugh,” Sav groans. “That man doesnotget to take credit for this. Sure, he suggested it after we found out what our label had done, but it was my idea first. You’ve been on my spreadsheet since that show in Chicago. Torren’s late to the fucking game.”
I shake my head. “Your spreadsheet?”
“Yeah.” She takes her phone off the nightstand and types in her passcode, pulling up the spreadsheet then handing it to me. “Look. It’s my spreadsheet of bands I have my eye on.”
I recognize a few of these bands as I scroll through the list, stopping when I see Caveat Lover. The column contains all our information, but it’s highlighted in red.
“Why are we in red?”
“Because you were already signed when I found you. Which, by the way, was extremely disappointing, but I kept you on there just in case.”
