Jace
Windshield wipers swipe furiously as the rain pummels the streets of Dallas. Shane elbows me. “Think Rory’s still pissed?”
I don’t have to talk to her to know that answer. “Yup.”
That conversation with Rory on the street this afternoon fucked me up.
It kills me knowing I hurt her. I was so distracted when I returned to the studio that Frank had to print out the lyrics of a song I’ve sung five thousand times because I couldn’t concentrate.
The only thing I could think about was the pain in Rory’s eyes.
The hurt in her voice. Her parting words.
Does she really want a divorce? An ache forms in my chest, and I rub it.
“At least you got your phone back,” Shane says.
The one bright side in an otherwise devastating day. “Yeah.”
“Nice of Edmond to bring it to you.”
I nod.
“The new songs are dope. You killed it.” It’s not like Shane to try to cheer me up. I’m usually in a good mood. He must be concerned if he’s blowing smoke up my ass.
“We’ll see.” I’m hoping we have time to record “Firefly.” We spent a stupid amount of time dealing with “Red Light.” “You think I did the right thing, signing our song over to Bandit?”
“It’s worth the gamble. It’s not our whole catalogue, but it’s enough to show Niles we’re serious. And we’ll see if he gets our shit on the radio to promote us. In a way, it’s like we’re auditioning him.”
Hadn’t thought of it that way.
When we reach the hotel, I nod to Shane. “I’m gonna stay in the lobby and call Rhett.” We charged my phone at the studio. When it lit up, I had a million notifications.
Shane smacks my shoulder. “Calling on the big guns for woman advice, huh?”
“Basically.”
“Get some sleep. We’re at it again bright and early.”
Like I could forget. I find a couch in the lobby and dial my brother.
After three rings, he answers, his voice scratchy and gruff. “You need bail?”
I smile, relieved he picked up. “Sorry it’s late. I’m happy to report I’m not in jail.”
“Then what’s going on? Why are you calling me at one in the morning if you’re not incarcerated?”
“I’m messing up this thing with Rory, and since you screw up with Paige all the time, I figured you’d have some ideas.”
“Why do you think I screw up a lot?”
I scratch the back of my head. “’Cause we have a helluva lot more chickens than we did a few years ago.”
He chuckles but then pulls the phone away. “Sorry I woke you, babe. It’s Jace. No, he’s not in jail. Gonna take this in the other room.”
Why does everyone think I’m a delinquent?
He clears his throat. “Okay, tell me everything.”
Ten minutes later, he sighs. “Well, hell, Jace. Rule one of any relationship is you gotta talk to your woman once in a while and let her know what’s going on.
No wonder Rory’s pissed. It’s bad enough you have girls swooning over you wherever you go, but you top that off with this Marlowe crap, and I’m surprised Rory hasn’t ditched you yet. ”
Thanks for the vote of confidence. “Did you miss the part where I’ve been up all night rehearsing and recording the entire week? And getting up with Layla at five or six in the morning? I fell asleep on the fucking floor this morning after I fed her, that’s how tired I was.”
“All right. I get it. You’re doing your best. I hear ya. But you gotta communicate. Did I not teach you this?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I love you, bro, but you taught me fuck all about relationships except that divorce sucks and not to marry your childhood sweetheart.”
He lets out a long sigh. “Shit. I guess you learned that watching my marriage to Amber go up in flames after she cheated on me.”
Amber yelled at us every single day she was married to my brother.
“You and Paige are obviously good together, but it’s not like you share your marriage dynamics with anyone.
Not that I’d expect you to.” I rub the back of my neck, uncomfortable talking about this but not knowing what else to do.
“I’ve never been in this deep with anyone, so I know I’m making amateur mistakes.
And I’ve barely slept all week, so my head is a mess. ”
“All right. Let me ask you a few things. Rapid fire.”
Shit. This is something he used to do when I was a kid and I couldn’t think straight. I brace myself. “Okay.”
“Do you want this to work with Rory?”
“Yes.”
“So do you want her as your girlfriend or wife?”
“Wife.”
“Do you want to divorce her?”
“No.”
“Do you love her?”
“Yes.” My eyes widen at my confession. Jesus. Is that why I feel like death warmed over after she said she wanted to leave me?
“Interesting. I have to admit I’m surprised. Never thought I’d see the day when my baby bro would fall in love.”
“Fuck off.”
He snorts with laughter. “I’m just giving you shit.
Look, I know your heart is in the right place, but the key is to let Rory see that.
You gotta find a way to pull back on this stuff with Marlowe.
Didn’t you just post a bunch of videos with her?
Paige showed me some stuff when we were going to bed. ”
This can’t be good. “Rory posts all of our social media.”
“Hold on. Let me look. Paige got me some apps so I could keep up with your tour.” He pauses. “You said Rory posted these?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Because the captions make it seem like you and Marlowe are together.” Shit.
“The first one says, ‘Love singing with my favorite girl.’ The second one is, ‘So good teaming up with the gorgeous Marlowe Miller again.’ Hmm. The last one is the worst. ‘They say art imitates life. I’ll let you decide which is which.’”
Fuck. I scrub my face. “I don’t know how to make this better. Today Rory said she wanted a divorce.”
“The best thing you can do is talk it out with her. And then you gotta make sure you spend time with her every day. With your schedule, that’s gonna be tough, but for all she knows, you’re fucking Marlowe in between recording sessions.”
My jaw tightens. “I’d never do that.”
“I know that, and you know that, but does Rory?”
As I stare at my sleeping wife, who’s cuddling my daughter, my heart kicks in my chest. Get your shit together, Jace, and make this right.
But how do I juggle my responsibility to my family with my career? One of the reasons I never tried to seriously date anyone is because I didn’t want anything to pull me away from music. I know life on the road is hard. I’d never deliberately drag Rory and Layla into this if I had a choice.
I sit on the edge of the bed and stare at the two most important women in my life. Rory’s swollen eyes crack open, and she winces. “My arm’s asleep.” Fuck, she’s been crying.
“Let me take her.” I carefully pick up Layla, who’s thankfully down for the count.
I lay her on the other bed, cover her with her baby blanket, and surround her with pillows before I return to Rory.
“Can we talk? I know I told you I’d get you up this morning, but you were out, and I don’t know if we’re gonna get any more chances before we get back on the bus on Friday. Assuming you’re not gonna ditch me.”
Her lips purse. “I don’t bail on my commitments.” Thank God. I try to grab her hand, and she shrugs me off. “Don’t touch me, Jace.”
I hold up my hands. “Fine. But can we talk?”
“I don’t have anything to say to you.”
“Then can you listen and let me talk?” When she doesn’t hit me over the head with a heavy object, I take that as my cue to continue.
“I tried to keep some space with Marlowe, but then Niles showed up and reamed me out in front of both of our bands. Said if I didn’t sell this, Wayward Sons was off the tour, and he’d fill the spot with someone else. ”
She sighs and sits up. “When did you decide to record ‘Red Light’ with her? Because that would’ve been nice to know.”
“Frank handed me a contract yesterday. Said Niles was interested. That he could promote it on the radio and get us a lot of airtime. But the caveat was I had to record it with Marlowe. The guys wanted to do the deal. I had no time to think about it. One minute Frank was giving me the offer, and the next Marlowe was there to rehearse. I didn’t have my phone to call you. I just got it back tonight.”
She rubs her eyes. “So you signed on the spot?”
“I didn’t feel like I had a choice.”
“That’s illegal. It’s called signing under duress and invalidates the contract.”
I love how smart she is. “Babe, I seriously doubt I can make a case against one of the biggest labels in the country.”
“It’s still illegal.”
“I think it’s just the music industry. That’s how shit works. I didn’t make the rules. I’m merely trying not to get trampled by them.”
Her head tilts as she stares at me. “Let me make sure I understand this correctly. You signed over all the rights to ‘Red Light’ to Bandit Records without consulting an attorney?”
She has a point. I blow out a breath. “Frank explained the major points of the deal. I didn’t go into it totally blind.”
“But that’s your bestselling song.”
“I know that. Do you think I wanted to hand it over to Niles? But we’ve never gotten radio play or this kind of exposure, and Niles wants to use that to sell more tickets.”
Her expression flattens. “You mean for the extended fall dates.”
I drop my head. “That’s something I wanted to discuss with you. I haven’t signed off on that yet.”
“‘Yet’ is the operative word here, Jace. Everyone knows you’re going to do it. But here’s the thing. If you go, it won’t be with me. You’re going to have to find someone else to be your nanny.”
How can she be so casual about this? “Stop calling yourself my nanny. You’re more than that. You’re my fucking wife.”
Her cold, detached laugh hurts. “It’s almost like you just remembered we got married.
” She pushes out of the bed. “But I don’t feel like your wife.
I don’t even feel like your girlfriend anymore.
That died when you and Marlowe flirted in front of me for a solid hour this afternoon.
You have your reasons. Fine. But I don’t have to accept them.
Can you appreciate that I had to come back to the hotel and rewatch all that footage? ”
“I’m so sorry.” I’ll say it as many times as I have to.
She grabs her phone and swipes the screen.
“Your fans aren’t the only people who’ve seen your social media.
Taylor texted me tonight. She said, and I quote, ‘Looks like your boyfriend’s fucking this singer Marlowe.
How does it feel to have history repeat itself?
Don’t worry, sis. She’s probably a better match for him.
’ How much do you want to bet she’s playing those videos for my father? ”
Fuuuuck. “Baby.” Jesus, I’ve royally screwed up.
“I can explain everything to your dad so he knows nothing’s going on with Marlowe.
That it’s just a way to get publicity.” I rub the back of my neck as I think about what my brother told me.
“Why’d you write those captions? We’ve never posted anything that over the top before. ”
Her expression turns to stone. “I wrote what your new PR team told me to write. They wanted me to ‘push the narrative.’”
“So ignore them. I still have final say on what we post.”
“Here’s the thing, Jace. I don’t care anymore.
You’re going to let Marlowe sit in your lap like she did last weekend?
Fine. You want the whole world to think you’re fucking your ex?
Go for it. I’m just here to take care of your daughter.
But from here on out, do me a favor and call me what I am to you—your nanny with benefits. ”
“Rory.” This is starting to piss me off. “She just plopped down on me at the meet and greet. What was I supposed to do? Dump her on her ass? I told her to get the fuck off me.”
Rory stares at me, her expression remote. “Look on the bright side. It probably won’t be that hard to find another babysitter who lets you fuck her.”
Is that really what she thinks of me? That I used her? That I broke my fast simply so I could fuck my nanny?
I thought maybe Aurora loved me. I thought we were building something together. I thought we had a future.
But when she locks herself in the bathroom, I realize she’s gonna leave soon just like Marlowe did.
Except the thought of losing Rory is nothing like losing Marlowe.
It’s worse.
It’s everything.