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Damn it. Don’t I know it.
Through the glass partition of the communal office I can see Evan approaching.
I wait for it and Lacey doesn’t disappoint. “Now I know why they hired you for such a coveted position even though you’re so young—I mean, I know you deserve it, Dusty, it just makes more sense now.”
“It’s not like that.”
But the damage is done. My heart sinks and I go through the motions of the meeting, not waiting around afterward to chitchat or have a drink with the team. I’m not up for it tonight. I barely slept at all last night and it’s been a long day. In fact, the whole whirlwind love affair, the early morning confrontation with Rylee and the marathon of meetings with high-powered lawyers, detectives and government officials has been…a lot. It’s all catching up with me.
And with Lacey practically bursting with glee at the juicy gossip, I need to get out of here before I burst into tears in front of everyone. I don’t want Ace to think I’m running again…but maybe I am. Maybe it’s the only way I know how to cope with the fact that I’ve just self-sabotaged my entire life.
So I murmur a polite goodnight, make my way to the elevator and head home.
Back in my apartment, I take a shower to wash off the day and put on a pink babydoll nightie that I bought on a whim before I left Austin.
Collapsing onto the couch, I pour myself a glass of wine and order a pizza.
He’s not going to be happy about it, but I’m too exhausted to see Ace tonight. I need to eat some pizza, drink a glass of wine and fall into a comatose sleep for a solid nine hours.
I send him a text.
Hi Ace, I’m so glad everything worked out today. I’m going to have an early night but I’m sure I’ll see you soon xx Tex
He’s probably exhausted too. I can only hope my text isn’t like waving a red flag at a mad bull.
I know I’m in love with Cash Maddox. And a part of me is screaming: fight! Do whatever you have to do to keep him! But another part of me—and she’s the part that’s still half sane and clearly the one I should listen to—is thinking that it might be best if we let this whole thing cool off for a while.
Over the past four days, I’ve started my dream job, fallen catastrophically in love, had so much hot sex I feel like a completely different person, confronted the villain in my company’s almost-downfall, and played a major role in righting their multi-billion dollar ship. And to top it all off, I’ve ruined everything. I’ll now be the butt of the office joke. I don’t know how to process the tsunami of emotions.
My phone rings on the kitchen counter and my sister’s name lights up the screen. “Hey, Sky.”
“Hey, Dust. Finally, she picks up. How’s the new job going?” I’m not sure I’ve ever heard my sister sound so upbeat. “And have I told you yet today that you’re the best sister on the entire freaking planet?”
“No, you are. How’s Nashville? How’d everything go? Are you still there?”
“You’re not going to believe where I am. I’m in a spare apartment in Kade Tucker’s house! Can you believe that? I met him! He’s so freaking hot it’s ridiculous. He’s with someone, but a girl can always dream, right?”
“What about the audition? Did you get a recording contract? What’s Roxie like?”
“Oh my god, Dust, I have so much to tell you. I signed a contract! Roxie is awesome. She’s so good at what she does. She loved the new songs I’ve written. She has some suggestions about how to record them and we’re going to be using the same producer as the Tucker Brothers. I just…” Sky bursts into tears. “…Dusty, thank you for whatever you did to work this magic. I feel like I’m living in a dream right now.”
“I’ve always told you, Sky, I knew you were destined for greatness.”
“It’s all because of you.”
It’s actually because of Ace, of course, but it’s too long of a story to explain tonight.
“Dust, I was so low after Billy dumped me and canceled all my gigs. I didn’t even want to tell you all that. He was cheating on me and I found out about it and I was about to walk out on him. You were so right about him. Men always leave, we know that. And I didn’t listen to you or to my own instincts and I was so devastated. Again. And after that, I was on the verge of giving up. On everything.”
“Sky—”
“But literally an hour later, I get a call out of the blue from Roxie Tucker. I mean, holy shit. At first I thought someone was playing a joke on me. She said you have a connection who convinced her to listen to my songs and to give me a chance. And then she invited me to Nashville so she could listen to me play and I couldn’t believe my luck. And then buying mom’s house for her, Dust? What the hell? Did you win the lottery or something? How did you do all this?”
“I—”
Bang bang bang.
Someone’s pounding on my door.
