Page 305 of Pride Not Prejudice

My palms were sweating as the thought of confronting Jameson tightened my chest. “I go talk to him and tell him I’m feeling left out?”

“Not exactly the words I’d use, but sure.”

“Then what? Wait for him to figure out he hurt my precious feelings?”

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

“What if he just tells me I’m stupid?”

“Then we’ll see him for who he really is. A fucking asshole.”

I groaned and rubbed at the back of my neck. “I don’t like this.”

“It’s never a good feeling, but if you want a partnership with him, you have to fight for it. Don’t you think?”

He was right. I couldn’t deny it, but damn, did I want to.

“Come on, Kill. Let’s get home. You shouldn’t be out here alone, especially not when you’re feeling like this.”

It was impossible to ignore the concern in his voice. I’d been a disaster when I first came back here, and Mav had nearly lost Clara because of me and my tailspin. He was a better big brother than I could’ve imagined.

“Thanks, Mav. For everything.”

“’Course. We’re family. That’s what we do. We take care of each other. No matter what.”

We went our separate ways and I had to admit, I felt better after talking to him. Half an hour later, I sat on my front porch with a freshly opened beer as the sun sank below the horizon. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t stalking Jameson on social media. But his accounts were dark. He’d gone silent in order to focus on our music.

So when post after post began showing up with pictures of Jamie walking into The Silver Spur hidden poorly by a hat, my chest tightened.

“What are you up to, Jameson?” I murmured.

Dialing The Spur, I waited for Frankie to answer.

“The Spur, can I help you?” Her voice was already tired, as though she’d been fielding annoying questions all day.

“Hey, Frankie. It’s Killian.”

“Hi, Kill. You want to come play tonight too? Jameson’s set is about an hour, but I could probably squeeze you in after.”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. He was playing a show and didn’t think I should know that? What was more, he was playing a show without me.

“Nah. I…I want to surprise Jamie. Can you set aside a table for me?”

She chuckled. “Of course I can. Show starts at seven. Do yourself a favor. Come in the back.”

Chapter Fifteen

JAMESON

My heart was going a mile a minute as I prepared to take the stage at The Silver Spur. As far as Killian was concerned, I was meant to be doing a private promo shoot. At least that’s the lie I’d fed him so I could come out here tonight incognito—if a cowboy hat and an unshaven jaw were considered incognito. But it had gotten me past the few photographers waiting at the main entrance to the establishment, so I’d take the win.

The bar was filled with patrons waiting for Open Mic Night to begin. What they didn’t know was that I’d be treating them to a concert, and I’d be the only act. Equal parts excitement and guilt raced through me. If Killian were here, we’d have taken the stage together. But that was the problem. I’d get too wrapped up in him if I didn’t force us apart.

I hadn’t known what to say to him. How to explain to him that I just needed something to do to keep my creativity flowing. Something to keep me from thinking about him when I shouldn’t be. So I had lied and told him I was going to do promo instead of being honest about tonight’s open mic.

I’d seen the hurt flash across his face when he thought he’d been excluded, but honestly, I hadn’t let it go that far in my mind. We both still had solo names. We weren’t linked in the public’s eye. That wouldn’t happen until we performed together and released our single, and then after that, the album. But now that I was here, everything felt a little dimmer without Killian.

Frankie, the Spur’s owner, took the mic and stood in front of the stage, giving a sharp whistle. The patrons quieted down instantly, all attention on her.

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