Page 57 of Reckless

But Sophia wasn’t done.

“So how did Above Me get this opening spot on the Earthquakes tour?”

“Erin Brown is a fan. She passed on our music to Miles and told him we might be good to open for them. He heard our music. We share an agency. The band asked us, and we accepted. It’s a great opportunity for us to reach a bigger audience, so it was an easy decision.”

Sophia wasn’t expecting Harlow to resist the bait. She frowned prettily a moment.

“But when you met him.” She waggled her brows at Harlow. “I mean, just between us, it couldn’t hurt that you’re pretty.”

“Thanks, I guess? Thing is, there are plenty of bands fronted by pretty people and most of them would happily jump at the chance to open on this tour. But thankfully, we have a sound they and their management liked, so we got the opportunity.”

“Why not use what you have? Pretty face, famous dad, famous boyfriend with a successful band.” Sophia shrugged. “It’s rough out there. Competitive.”

Nora put a hand on Harlow’s arm.

Harlow took a deep breath and then answered. “We did use what we have. Talent. That’s what got us this spot. As for the rest, I think what I’d say is that women have it hard enough being taken care of in the music industry without the calls coming from inside the house, you know?”

“Calls?”

“It’s from a movie. The bad guy is in the house. It’s her way of saying we should be supporting one another’s work, not playing into stereotypes that they can’t achieve success unless it’s through a man.” Nora fluttered her lashes.

“She’s sleeping with one of the hottest men in music right now. She can’t expect it not to come up as an issue. I don’t hate the game like she claims to, but Harlow, you can’t pretend it doesn’t exist,” Sophia said. “You sure can’t pretend it doesn’t matter that you’re riding that dick.”

Harlow rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide that response. “It doesn’t matter toyou. I don’t need to share details with you like we’re close. Or like I have permission to share anything about the private life of someone I’m with.”

“Permission? Honey, men with dick piercings don’t worry about that. He loved it when I talked about it. Got him more fans too. Did you sign a NDA or something? He might have gotten wiser after me.” Sophia snickered.

“Are you interviewing us about our band and music or about my boyfriend’s body jewelry?” Harlow asked.

“You already talked about your band. Now talk about yourboyfriend’scock. Come on. Loosen up a little. This is part of the business you’re in. The public wants to know about your life, and thatespeciallyincludes when your life means you’re sleeping with a rock star. Just because you can’t get past that he and I were together you’re going to act holier than thou?”

Harlow snorted. “Don’t make this into something it’s not. I don’t give a shit if you fucked Miles athousandtimes before I came along. I’m here now. That’s all I need. This isn’t some sort of fight over a guy. You’re rude. We aren’t friends. I don’t know you and I’m not going to share details of my private life because you want me to help you get readers.”

Beyond annoyed and utterly done, Harlow stood and Nora joined her. “We’ve got another appointment to get to.”

“Well I was done with you anyway. Don’t hold your breath that you’ll keep his interest after the tour ends.”

“Bye bye!” Harlow waved as she paused in the doorway. “Have the day you deserve.”

Not wanting to catch the subway, they hailed a cab and headed back to the townhouse. Harlow looked at the time. “Do you want to text Brian to let him know we’re on the way back?”

“He’s a big boy. He’ll see that when we return if his face isn’t stuffed into a comic book. But we need to talk about what just happened,” Nora said.

“Not the first time it’s come up in an interview,” Harlow said.

“The first time you’ve squared up with your boyfriend’s ex who wants you to share details about your sex life. And who came out and inferred you have your success because you’re pretty and have a famous dad. And youarepretty, and you do have a famous dad. And your success--”

Harlow interrupted, “I’d be lying to myself and everyone else if I claimed it had nothing to do with those things. It does. Jeremy heard about us because we had connections. We used our family connections to record our album. Jeremy is the one who sent the music to Miles’s aunt Erin to start with. Yes, we work hard. But those other things she brought up are a factor.”

“Not the same and you know it. She was totally off base. The whole thing was a setup. You know that right? She knew who you were, and not just the part about your music. She’s kept tabs on Miles, that much is clear.”

“If he wanted to be with her, he would be. That’s literally it. I can’t control any of that part about how she feels or what she does. Only what I do in response. She can’t have him back. I already licked him.”

Nora burst into laughter. “How are you going to explain this to him?”

“I’m not. He’s got enough on his mind. I have enough on my mind. Some random ex-girlfriend from years ago isn’t a threat to me.”

“What if she’s a threat to him?” Nora asked. “Like, sure he’s got a pierced dick, but he’s not out there shaking it at people. At least not that I’ve seen and since we’ve been on this tour, we’ve been around him a lot. He seems to keep his private life quiet too.”

---