Page 36

She shoots me a wan smile, then lets me boost her up into the truck and buckle her in. The entire drive to the ranch, she's quiet, staring out into the night like she's a million miles away.

I pull up in front of the cabin I share with Wade and kill the engine, so fucking tense, my head hurts. "If you regret saying it, we can pretend it never happened, songbird."

"What?"

"If you regret telling me that you love me, we can preten—"

"Bishop!" she cries softly. "Is that what you think?"

"I don't know what to think, Callie. You were having the time of your life up on that stage. And then you got off it, and everything changed," I say, my hands tight around the steering wheel. "Did the record label reject you? Is that what the exec sid to you?"

"You knew who he was?"

"Saw him the second he walked in."

"I didn't even know he was going to be there tonight," she whispers. "He was supposed to come next weekend. I had a whole different show planned for him."

I'm not surprised he showed up tonight instead. They can manufacture production quality. They want to see raw talent, and what you do with it when the pressure is on. If you crack when the unexpected happens, you aren't ready.

Callie is ready. She proved it tonight.

"Did he hate what you did up there?"

"He loved it."

"Then why are you so fucking sad?"

"I'm not sad. I just…" she trails off with a sigh. "I guess I just realized something tonight, and I'm trying to process it. That's all."

"What'd you realize?"

"That the best part of the night was knowing you were waiting for me when it was over," she whispers.

"Fuck."

"He offered me a deal, Bishop." Her voice shakes. "I'm turning it down."

"The hell you are."

"I don't want it."

"The hell you don't."

"If it means I have to leave you, I don't want it," she whispers.

Oh, hell no. Absolutely the fuck not.

I release the steering wheel and climb from the truck.

"Bishop, did you—?"

I close my door before she can finish asking if I heard her. Because yeah, I heard her. And I want to spank her perfect fucking ass over what she just said.

I stomp around the side of the truck before opening her door. She glares at me as I unlatch her seatbelt. "You can't just ignore me when I'm talking to you."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are."