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)
“We’re recording this,” she’d whispered when I’d played it for her, her eyes misty. “Now.”
And we did. In between shows and interviews, we snuck into a recording booth tucked away in Brooklyn, just me and my piano. It only took a few recordings to get what we wanted — mostly because this song was so engrained in me at the moment that I couldn’t help but sing it with my whole heart. That was why Aleks had caught me singing it in his condo. I was consumed.
On the last night at the Garden, we played it as the encore song.
We released it as a bonus track at midnight.
And by morning, it was number one on every streaming platform.
I woke to a text from Aleks, three words that made my heart gallop, my lips curling into a smile.
Aleks: Told you so.
I held onto those words as the weeks flew by. They were all I had. The night he’d come to my opening show, we’d had only moments together — a quick, staged kiss and photo op before I went on and then him guiding me to my car after the show, his hand on the small of my back.
That touch had lingered in the car, but we didn’t have a spare second to talk with Isabella and Rina there with us. They were freaking out over the show, screaming how amazing it was, showing me videos and photos posted online.
Aleks had kept his hand on my leg, but he was silent, and I’d wondered what he was thinking as he stared out the window.
Once he got me safely inside the hotel, he was all but run out by my team — who had gathered for what felt like an afterparty in my suite.
He’d squeezed my hand and told me he was proud of me.
He’d kissed my cheek and told me to get some rest.
He’d offered a weak smile and told me he’d see me soon.
And the next morning, he was on a flight back to Tampa, getting ready for his next game.
That was it.
For two weeks, that was the most time we had together.
Our texts were short, him busy with the season in full swing now and me too caught up in my head to know what to say when I did have time to get on my phone.
I didn’t tell him about Austin.
I didn’t tell anyone about Austin.
I may or may not have put some extra effort into the little photo ops Aleks and I did have, holding our kisses for longer and leaning into his touch when he walked with me in public, just to prove my ex wrong.
But truth be told, I’d forgotten about the punk and his stupid phone call.
Until the day Isabella dumped a bucket of ice-cold reality over my pretty head.
“I think it’s time.”
Isabella and I were huddled together on the bright orange velvet couch of my suite in Nashville where I was about to play another sold-out show in just a few hours. Giana and Aleks were on Isabella’s laptop screen, G in the top square and Aleks in the middle with us reflected at the bottom.
Just like it had been when we’d proposed this whole charade months ago.
“Time?” I asked.
“For the big finale. The final scene.” She clapped and shimmied. “Time to break your heart and start that healing vindication tour of feminine power and enlightenment.”
My stomach bottomed out at her words, heart stalling in my chest before it kicked back to life hard enough to crack a rib.
She was calling the breakup.
Dread curdled inside me, and I wasn’t sure if I was buzzing or completely numb as time stretched and slogged to a complete halt.
I felt like a tightrope walker who’d just glanced down for the first time, like I’d completely forgotten just how far I had to fall and how badly the crash would sting until that very moment.
Simply put, I just hadn’t expected this. Isabella called a meeting with us so casually that I thought it would just be to discuss our next publicity stunt. In fact, I’d been buzzing with anticipation. I’d hoped his schedule would allow Aleks to fly out to my next show. I’d hoped I’d have a gap in my tour to go see him in Tampa, to actually stay a night with him and talk about what happened during the hurricane.
I missed him.
God, I missed him so badly my chest ached just at the vision of him on that tiny laptop screen.
I wanted to reach through it, wanted him to pull me into that frame and into his arms. I wanted to remember what it felt like to have him wrap me up, to have his scent surrounding me, to feel his warmth and hear his content chuckle as he kissed my hair, blocking out everything else in the world. I’d slept in the shirt he gave me more nights than not, but it just wasn’t the same. It wasn’t enough.