Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 125213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“Well, that’s good. I mean, not for the panhandle, I suppose, but I’m glad you’re safe.”
My lips flattened.
This motherfucker.
“Austin, why are you calling me?”
“I just wanted to check in on you, make sure you’re okay. I bet you’re excited about the big show tomorrow night. I’m happy to hear you didn’t have to cancel. There were rumors floating around after news about the hurricane broke.”
Yeah, right. I knew this bastard. He was probably praying for me to cancel.
“Uh-huh,” I said flatly. “Well, I’m fine, so… see ya.”
“Wait, wait,” he said on a laugh. “I… I miss you, love. It’s good to hear your voice. Tell me how you are.”
I knew I really had moved on because where him saying I miss you to me even nine months ago would have made me weak, it now just made me cringe.
“Cut the shit. What do you want?”
“So hostile.”
“If that’s what you want to call it, then let’s be clear that you made it that way.”
“By giving you space after our breakup like you asked me to?”
“Don’t play innocent. We both know what your buddy Garrett the Ferret has been doing, and your convenient no comment approach isn’t doing me any favors. But you already know that.”
“I’m just keeping our private life private.”
I barked out a laugh. “Okay. Bye, Austin.”
“How’s your fiancé?”
I paused where I was about to hang up on him, but didn’t say a word.
“Aleks Suter,” he said, clicking his tongue. “Can’t say I saw that one coming. Although maybe I should have, if the little video timelines your fans have made about how you two were already together when we still were are to be believed.”
My fight-or-flight instinct kicked in, and I knew better than to say a word.
He was goading me.
“That part of the rumor mill had me curious, I admit,” he said. “So, I started doing a little digging. I asked around about Aleks, about you two.” He paused, waiting for me to bite, but I refused. “What’s interesting is that, unknown to the public… there seems to be a different rumor going around. One that insinuates that you two lovebirds aren’t actually engaged. Some even say you’re not dating at all.”
My insides felt like goop, sliding out of me and onto the floorboards of the car racing us across town.
“Come on, Mia,” Austin said, voice lowering. “What’s with this charade? I know Aleks Suter. He doesn’t propose. He sleeps with supermodels at pool parties in Vegas.”
My nose stung with that assessment, my anxious mind once again thinking of last night.
The way he’d commanded me…
The way he’d tied me up…
His mouth on me…
Was I just another conquest, a way to get what he needed after the dry spell I’d conned him into, the one he’d reminded me about so often?
He’d had so much to say last night…
“Do you realize how bad I’ve needed this? Needed you?”
“Tell me you want this.”
“Tell me you want me to destroy you.”
“Tell me I can do anything I want.”
He’d given me all the control, given me the chance to stop it. And I’d told him to turn off my brain.
I hadn’t asked him for more.
Could I really be mad, then, if he only gave me last night?
But that kiss…
“Is this how you and Bella thought you’d spin Garrett’s reviews?” Austin asked, pausing when I didn’t answer, a low chuckle rumbling through the receiver. “I never thought you’d stoop so low. Even the best artists can take a little criticism, love.”
I ground my teeth together, face burning. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He laughed. “Sure. Alright, well, have a great show tomorrow. Tell your fiancé I said hello.”
Austin hung up.
And I, promptly, freaked the fuck out.
The Big Finale
Mia
Two weeks passed in a blur of sequins, dancing, and screaming fans.
Anxiety had gripped me by the throat the entire flight to New York after Austin’s phone call, but once I stepped foot on the tarmac, my team surrounded me, each of them listing off our endless to-do’s.
And my focus shifted.
Sound checks. Choreo runs. Morning show appearances. Radio interviews. Recording sessions.
The first show went off without a hitch, everything from the lighting to the last confetti cannon perfectly orchestrated. And as if the cheers from our fans weren’t already enough of a reward, the headlines the next day were the cherry on top.
LOVE WINS: The Sunset Tour is Sensational
A Star Among Stars: Mia Shines Bright in a Sold-Out MSG Debut
From Opening Chord to Final Bow: The Sunset Tour Dazzles at the Garden
A MUST-SEE SHOW: Mia Love IS the Music Industry
MSG Has Seen Legends—Add Mia to the List After Last Night’s Performance
The Sunset Tour Takes NYC by Storm: Fans Beg for an Encore
Isabella was over the moon, frantically reading every new headline to me each morning as we ate room service in my suite. And when I told her about the song I’d kept a secret, the one Aleks had told me to release… she’d lost it.