Page 70 of Filthy Sweet

Mare tilts her head to the side. “Fox,” she says gently.

I tense. Fuck. She can tell I’m upset.

“Band out for the night?” I ask.

Mare smiles. “We finally hit a wall. Like I do, every time I try to ask you how you’re doing.”

I grunt. “You’re too clever for your own good.” When I spot the bottle of whiskey on the table, I grab it and pour myself a shot.

For just a second, my mind flashes back to the time I brought Owen here, when I introduced him to Mare. They’d practically fallen in love with each other, they hit it off that easily, and recalling that softens something inside of me.

I’ve known Mare for years now, and maybe I owe her a little more truth.

“Fuck it,” I say. “It’s probably better that you hear it now, anyway.”

She arches her eyebrows, which are freshly dyed blue. “That doesn’t sound good.”

I lick my teeth, thinking, then just spit it out. “I might have another scandal coming, and it’s a messy one. When I was younger, up through my early twenties, I was a sex worker, and I had affairs with quite a few men in the industry.”

Mare blinks. “Whoa. Fox. I had no idea.”

I shake my head. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure what’s coming out, but I know I did plenty of crazy shit with powerful enough people that it won’t be pretty.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“Because it could fuck your publicity. You’ve got a new album coming.”

Mare scoffs. “Fox, I don’t give a shit about that. I love you. The band loves you. Hell, you’re always saying we need just a little more spice. Might as well come from you.”

I laugh, surprised by her reaction. “Mare…”

She reaches out and touches my shoulder. “Are you okay, though?” she says. “That sounds like a lot. Is your new man being good and standing by you?”

“Owen is perfect,” I tell her. “He couldn’t be more accepting.” Warmth stirs in my chest. “He’s sweet and supportive, and he’s not afraid of the hard things.”

“There you go,” Mare says, then laughs. “Bring on the scandals, Fox. And if the label gives you shit, we’ll threaten to walk.”

Her words are a relief, and a tension uncoils inside of me. Mare has become more than just a colleague, and she won’t abandon me like everyone else in this business. I’m not sure I deserve her acceptance, but for once, I don’t try to immediately throw another wall up.

Before I can get too sentimental about it, though, I realize what I have to do.

I surprise Mare with a quick hug, then place my hands on her arms as I step back. “Thank you. You just gave me an idea.”

She twists her mouth into a sideways smile. “And I guess you’re not going to tell me what it is?”

“Not now,” I say. “But come to my condo for dinner next week. I’ll cook.”

On the way out, I give Reggie one more try, then find Owen in my recent calls.

“Did you hear from him?” he asks immediately on answering.

My chest hurts. There’s nothing I can do about this problem right now, but maybe I’m not totally useless.

“Nothing,” I answer.

“Me, either.”

“You holding up?”

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