Page 26 of A Love Song for Dreamers

He eyes me up. “If it’s that simple, you try getting him to lay down somethinggood.”

I’m only half listening, my gaze finding Annie across the patio. She’s standing in a group that includes Mace, Jax’s former bassist Brick, and Brick’s fiancée,Nina.

“Haley invited her.” Awe and weariness twine in Jax’s multimillion-dollarvoice.

“How long is shestaying?”

“No clue. Haven’t got my wife pinned down long enough to ask her which direction the sun’s rising and setting in,either.”

I take a sip of the bourbon. It’s actually not bad. “You and Annie should’ve made upsooner.”

“I’vetried.”

“Tryharder.”

“Kids aren’t that easy, Tyler. Someday, you’llsee.”

I always figured the rift between them came from Annie’s “try anything twice” attitude and Jax’s fierce protectiveness, along with a dose of stubbornness on both sides. Regardless, I hate that Jax and I made up when he and his own daughterhaven’t.

I could fixit.

The thought takes hold and won’t letgo.

I turn to face my former mentor. “Give me two weeks. I’ll get a decent track out of your aspiring artist in thestudio.”

Jax chuckles. “I assume you want something inreturn.”

I drain the rest of my bourbon and set the glass on the nearby table the caterers have startedcleaning.

“You take care of your problems with your real kid. Tell Annie you’re sorry,” I go on under the weight of Jax’s stare. “That you’re an idiot and you fucked up two years ago and fans can’t buy you a scrap of perspective when it comes to the people in yourlife.”

When his amber eyes spark, and it’s unsettling how much they’re like Annie’s. “You’re serious. Why do you care enough to give me two weeks of yourtime?”

“Because I made things harder forher.”

“That’s the onlyreason.”

“That’s the only reason,” Iecho.

But as he turns to go back inside, I yank off my jacket, feeling overheated onceagain.

7

I’m rippedfrom my dreams in my former bedroom the next morning. For once, it’s not because I’ve got an idea for a song or a line I need to writedown.

It’s because of shrieking in thedistance.

I tug on tailored black shorts and a white tank top I brought from New York and head downstairs, but by the time I get there, it’s quiet. The morning sun spills in through the huge kitchen windows and the slider doors. The only sign of life is Haley moving around the cavernous space, making coffee in a flowing blacktop.

“Everyone alive?” Iask.

She turns, smiling. “Your dad took Sophie to daycare. She’s always loved it, but recently, she’s not a fan. Oliver doesn’t like her and she doesn’t likeTeddy.”

She’s moving slowly toward the fridge, either from tiredness or her gigantic belly, and I spring into action. “You sit down. I’ll makebreakfast.”

I grab a carton of eggs, some bacon, and cheese for good measure, plus a huge frying pan from a cupboard, before turning on thegas.

“Why did you invite me without telling Dad?” I ask over my shoulder. “I shouldn’t be mad at a pregnant woman. But Iam.”

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