“We have to get Adeline back,” I agreed. “We have to get her back and keep going with her in the band.”
Abel met my gaze, the whites of his eyes tinged with red. “Honestly, I don’t know if I can. I’m not even sure I can write anything half decent without him.”
“But you wrote with Adeline,” Cole insisted. “You wrote a damn good song with her, and you wrote our first album. Your fear, your doubts—they’re in your head. I know you have it in you, dude.”
“Cole is right,” I said as Silas nodded beside me.
Abel closed his eyes and let out a long breath. When he opened them again moments later, they narrowed with determination. “I need to be the one to explain.”
A smile pulled on my lips. Together, we were stronger. Together, we could fix the mess we’d made.
“That is probably not a good idea,” Cole said. “You are going to be the last person she wants to see.”
“You can’t try to justify what I’ve said. She won’t believe it. It has to come from me.”
“He has a point,” Silas agreed. “She knows what we want and how badly we want her to join. Abel’s going to be her main concern.”
Abel rubbed at his face, and Cole jerked his hands away. “Be careful. You shouldn’t touch your nose.”
Abel glared at him. “You fucking did this to me, and now you’re concerned about preserving my face?”
“We’ll have an army of angry fans after us if anything happens to the pretty lead singer,” he joked, casting Abel an apologetic grin. The singer punched him in the arm and rolled his eyes.
“All right. We’re done moping,” I declared. “It’s time to make a plan for how we get Adeline back.”
24
ADELINE
I trudgedinto the Crooked Stool like a zombie ready to be put out of my misery. After getting off the phone with Molly earlier today, I’d considered calling in sick, but then I remembered this was once again my main source of income. I couldn’t afford to slack off.
It was five thirty pm when the door to the bar swung open and Liam walked in.
I gave him a tired smile, and he smiled back before sitting down at the bar right in front of me. We hadn’t talked since the breakup, but the friendly expression on his face told me he was eager to make peace.
“Hey, Ade, how’s it going?”
I poured him a Guinness, his go-to drink.
“It’s been better,” I said, giving him an honest response. I was too drained to put on a happy face when I felt the exact opposite inside.
He frowned. “You’re done with the recording, right? Is that what’s bumming you out?”
I shrugged. “Something like that.”
His brows pulled together. “Look, I just want to apologize to you about how things ended. I was a dick. I know I didn’t do a great job of showing it, but your friendship means a lot to me. Can you forgive me?”
I considered him for a moment. He had a few days’ worth of scruff on his face, and his eyes looked tired. I knew the baby was due in a few weeks, so I could imagine the rush he and Vanessa were in to get everything ready in time.
The pint glass I pushed across the bar felt like a peace offering. Liam picked it up and dropped his other hand on the counter, palm up.
“Friends?”
“Friends,” I said after a moment, placing my hand in his and letting a grin unfold across my face.
He laughed, relieved, and lifted the glass to his lips. “Cheers to that.”
I cheered him with an imaginary glass and withdrew my hand. “So, how’s Vanessa?”
