AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’ve sung this song thousands of times, so why the hell can’t I get the timing right? Probably because Juliet Warren’s tear-stained face is all I can see. That beautiful face was marred with so much pain the last time I saw her, and I didn’t do a fucking thing to fix it. I just let her walk away.
I let her tell me what she thought I wanted, even though I knew she was wrong.
I let her think I didn’t want more with her.
It was all bullshit.
Nothing has ever felt as good as being with her. Performing on stage used to be the high I chased, until her.
Sure, in the beginning, it was all a game of cat and mouse. She told me no, and no one tells me no.
But it grew into something more than that. Those stolen kisses and secret meetings became everything. I ate the forbidden fruit and God was it good. It was the best thing I’ve ever tasted, and I’d do just about anything to have it again.
These weeks without her have been hell and having to hear the snide remarks and jabs at her character have put me in a permanently bad mood.
“How about we take a break, huh?” Neil recommends, ever the voice of reason.
I shoot him a knowing look, thanking him with my eyes for stepping in.
I slide the guitar strap off my shoulder and lean it against a speaker.
Gareth makes his way toward me and bumps me with his elbow. “How do we help you, man? It’s been weeks. You’ve got to nut up or shut up at some point.”
“Nice,” Neil chides.
“I still can’t believe you were macking on Jules, dude,” Ant adds with a smirk. “Still got my feelings hurt you didn’t tell us.”
This conversation is so tired and played out and yet here we are again.
“I need some air.”
No one argues when I leave the stage, they know better. I’ve been snapping like a pissy crocodile who missed the dinner bell.
Olivia is outside nursing a large cup of iced coffee.
“Sounds rough in there, Ryan.”
Her words are all business, but her tone is light. She’s tiptoeing around me too.
“I’ll get it together before tonight,” I promise, and we both know I will.
No matter how scrambled my head is, I’d never let it affect a show. The fans don’t deserve that.
“I know you will. I have to tell you something, Ryan, and I need you to promise you won’t be upset with me.”
That can’t be good.
“Yeah?”
She takes a long sip and sighs. “I invited Juliet to come tonight. I sent tickets a few weeks ago.”
Heat creeps into my cheeks and my heart skips a beat.
“She’s coming. Max emailed not long ago.”
She’s coming.
She’s coming.
