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Fuck, her voice is wavering. She’s about to start crying and I have no way to comfort her or convince her I’m telling the truth.
“Look, I know this is your life and all, and that’s all good. Just please forget about us. Aurora doesn’t need this in her life. And frankly, neither do I.”
She ends the call, and I storm back into the room and take my phone to Ty who only laughs. “You saw the photos I leaked. Cool, huh? We’re getting back on track now.”
So mad I could spit fire, I hiss, “Take them down.”
“Like hell, I will.”
The fool has no idea how close he is to feeling my wrath.
“I haven’t been out in the last month, and this makes it look like I was out last night.”
“And that’s exactly what we need.” He takes a seat at the table, like he’s done nothing wrong at all. “You are under contract. You are the lead singer of Shakedown. You are a bad boy who drinks and loves the ladies. That’s your brand, Lo. That’s what we bought.”
“You bought a singer and songwriter.” Shoving my cell phone back into the pocket of my jeans, I have to rein in the rage that’s boiling inside me.
“No. We haven’t used any of your songs. We don’t owe you a thing for them. But you owe us. And you will do as we want. So, stop trying to change and get back to work as usual.”
His brows rise as he looks at me. “Who called you anyway? Whoever it was, they don’t really care about you. Not if they want you to change the man who sells billions of concert tickets. That guy is hot. That guy is in demand. The guy you think you need to become is boring, and no one wants to see him.”
Well, there’s a little girl and her mother who do want to see that guy! And frankly, so do I.
“I found out that I have a daughter.” Admitting it feels good. “She’s here in L.A. along with her mother.”
Finally, it’s out there.
8
Lucy
Waiting at the park near my apartment, I try not to freak out. After he told me the pictures were from a long time ago, I went online and after doing a picture search, I found the same pictures on a news piece from last month.
So, I called to apologize and give Apollo the chance to meet his daughter.
I don’t know what I expect to happen, but he’s done all he said he would, and I need to let them spend some time together.
Running my hands through Aurora’s curls, I take a deep breath. “I brought you to the park today because I want you to meet one of my old friends. You saw him already. He came to our apartment a couple of weeks ago. So, he’s not really a stranger.”
“Okay.” Uninterested, her eyes are glued to the playground equipment. “Can I go swing?”
“Sure, you can.” Taking her hand, I lead her to the swings, help her get on it, then I give her a gentle push.
She giggles as the swing moves. “My tummy tickles.”
“I remember that feeling.” Apollo’s hand touches the small of my back as he’s snuck up behind me. “It’s good to see you, Lucy.”
My heart pounds as anxiety fills me. I thought I was ready for this, but apparently, I’m not. Taking a deep breath, I try to relax. This is happening, whether I’m ready for it or not. “It’s good to see you too, Apollo.” I stop the swing. “Aurora, this is Apollo.”
“You can call me, Lo.” He runs his hand through her hair, brushing it off her face.
“Oh, she can call you Lo, but I can’t?” I tease.
He nods, his eyes on our daughter. “She’s very special, so she can, you can’t.” Smiling at her, he adds, “You have a beautiful name, Aurora. It was my grandmother’s name.”
“I like your eyes,” Aurora states.
“I like your eyes too. We have very similar eyes, don’t we?”
