Page 36 of How Good It Was (Excess All Areas 3)

The elevator doors opened, and once inside, Matt hit the button. “For real?”

Luke nodded. “Suddenly you guys didn’t need me. The last three songs on the album are now yours.”

Matt tugged a hand through his hair. “That was never the intention. Fuck. I don’t know why I keep fucking things up between us. Iz, then this.”

“About Iz. It’s time I pulled my head out of my ass. I’m glad she’s happy. And I know you’ll look out for her.”

Matt stared at him. “For real?”

“Yeah. I’m glad you have each other.”

When they stepped out of the elevator, Matt pulled him into a hug. “Thanks, brother.”

The pressure on his chest lightened a little.

“Hey, guys,” Cerys said, as she passed through reception.

Beyond the fact that meeting Cerys had totally chilled Jase out, making him a borderline likeable person, it was hugely to their advantage that she ran the production studio that belonged to her father, Jimmy Bexter, a famous American producer.

It was light and bright. And thankfully it came at a discount, although he’d noticed his paycheck from the band had doubled that month which would ... wait, he had a million fucking dollars coming his way soon.

Not that he intended to spend any of it.

“What you just said ... It’s going to make this easier,” Matt said, opening the rehearsal space they’d been allocated.

“What is? And why is no one ready to play?” Luke said, as he sat at his drum kit.

“Because we want to talk to you,” Alex said.

“I’m fine and I want to play,” he said.

Matt took his sticks out of his hands. “We’ll play, but first we talk.”

“That was quite the bomb you dropped on Thursday.” Ben leaned on the windowsill; arms folded. “You don’t just get news like that and then be fine. Sorry, let me correct that. Some people would be fucking ecstatic. But you’ve made it clear that marriage, kids, anything that you think ties you down is off the cards. So don’t give us the ‘I’m fine’ bullshit.”

“Look,” Jase said. “I know I’m probably the last person you want to talk to about this shit. But I’m worried about you regardless. Everything was on tilt before this. But now ...”

Luke’s chest tightened. His breathing shallowed. Fuck, he bit down on his jaw until he was at risk of cracking his own teeth. “Honestly, I’m fine.”

Jase huffed. “You’re fine that a gorgeous woman is asking you to pretend to be in love with her so she can save her career, then fuck off back to America and take your kid with her?”

Luke glared at Jase. “What do you want me to say, Jase? It is what it is?”

Matt stepped over to Jase and put his hand on his shoulder. “Sometimes, life sends you what you need, Luke. Not what you want.”

“Keep the mysticism or whatever the fuck that was to yourself. I didn’t need this, and I don’t want it. I had plans to take a trip before the album comes out in a couple of months. Did you know that? Wasn’t going to plan it. Was going to show up at the airport and look at the board. See where I could go. And you know what, I’ll have more fucking money than I can poke a stick at, and not be able to do anything with it. A million dollars isn’t fucking pocket change.”

“A million dollars?” Alex asked. “You mean pounds? Did you win the lottery or something?”

Fuck.

He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. He’d deliberately left the money out of the conversation with the band.

“Whatever. We all got paid more than normal. I was…”

“She’s paying you?” Jase asked, guessing what he’d meant.

Ben looked from Jase to Luke. “For real?”

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