Page 153 of Dirty Rock

“Which you will.”

“We have to fly to Belgium to meet up with Evan Goldberg for—”

“Something unimportant.”

“And after that, I’ll need to speak to Dicky about signing Youth Gone Wild over to another publicist because—”

“Wait. What?” That had my attention.

Jules ignored me as though I wasn’t there, pacing back and forth even faster now as her thoughts struggled to keep up with the amount of words she was able to set free in a single minute.

“... and I can’t do that all the time. Not with a baby around…”

“Jules?”

“They deserve more than I can offer when I’m knee-deep in nappies, bottles, and—”

“Jules!”

“I can’t expect them to accept changes I push on them—”

“Julia Speed,stop what you’re doing right now before I leap off this bed and force you to be quiet.”

Her eyes popped, and she turned to me like she was seeing me for the very first time.

“Are you with me?” I asked carefully.

She nodded once, her lips parted, and her innocence was a sight to behold.

“Focus,” I warned. “And repeat what you just said about leaving the band and handing Youth Gone Wild over to another publicist.”

“Did I say that out loud?”

“You sure did.” My brows rose. “Expand, please.” I was trying my hardest to keep my cool, when all I wanted to do was jump off the bed and cry to the skies,Oh HELL no.

We were nothing without her. She’d put us in front of the right people at the right time, and kept us from the wrong people, too. Talent only got you so far. Julia had taken us where we were always meant to go.

“Okay,” she eventually said, holding her hands up in surrender and making her way over to the bed. My damn gaze drifted down to her stomach again, and I already knew I wouldn’t be mad about whatever the hell she had to say. I couldn’t be.

Perching her perfect arse on the side of the bed next to me, she held my attention. “I want you guys to be about the music for as long as you perform. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. But, just like when Tess and Presley hooked up, you and I have become gossip now.”

“I don’t care.”

“I do, and it’s going to stop.”

“How?”

“By me taking a step back.” She placed her hand on my chest. “Do you remember that band who played with you guys at TriFest last year? Front Row Frogs?”

My nose curled instantly. “Those arseholes.”

“They play good music, Rhett.”

“Good. Notgreat.”

“I think they could be great… with the right team behind them.”

It took a second for the penny to drop, and when it did, I shook my head wildly. “Fuck. No. Not happening. Never. Think again.”

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