Page 123 of Burning Bridges Duet

Meanwhile, Ryder is just sitting there with Liv on his lap, staring at the TV and not moving. Liv’s smile slowly fades as she watches him, then she glances at me with a questioning look in her eyes. I open my mouth to say something, but before I can, Ryder abruptly stands up, forcing her to stand with him. He grabs her under her arms and lifts her before turning in circles, laughing uncontrollably, Liv joining him with a few squeals. He sets her back on her feet and starts to pepper her face with kisses.

“We look like fucking professionals!” he exclaims.

“I mean you are now,” she replies with a chuckle. Ryder chuckles as well, pulling her into his arms.

“It takes a bit more than a fucking perfect video for that, baby, but I’m more than happy already. Thank you so much,” he says, then he lets go of her before kissing her with her head between his hands, and she smiles into the kiss.

“Ryder,” she says when he releases her. “Did you check the numbers on the video?” He blinks at her, surprised.

“I thought you just uploaded it on private or something,” he says. I pull the laptop onto my knees and minimize the video, looking down at the numbers.

“You guys already have like two hundred thousand views,” I whisper, then I look up at Ryder before we both turn to Liv, shocked.

“I opened some social media accounts for the band and fed them teasers of the video,” she announces with a smile. “One of them went viral a few hours ago, and I bet the numbers are increasing as we speak. You already have around thirty thousand YouTube subscribers, with a few thousand followers on other platforms.”

“Holy fucking shit,” Jaxon mutters again.

“Huh,” Ryder manages to utter before he sits himself back down on the couch.

“But that’s not the best part,” Liv adds, grinning mischievously.

“How is that not the best part?” Chase asks with a laugh.

“A record label just slid into your DMs half an hour ago,” she replies. “It seems it’s time to get your own songs ready, Ryder, because you guys are getting a contract.”

Chase and Jaxon both jump up from their seats, cheering, while I’m left in stunned silence. I look over at Ryder, expecting him to flip out, but instead, he’s just sitting there, staring up at Liv. Tears start to well up in his eyes, and before we know it, he’s sobbing uncontrollably. Liv’s face falls, and she moves to straddle his lap, cradling his head in her arms against her chest.

“Ryder,” she whispers, but he just pulls her closer, squeezing her tightly as he continues to cry.

It’s been years since I’ve seen him cry. My eyes start to water too as Chase and Jaxon stand by their side, watching the two of them. Liv continues to shush Ryder, telling him that he’s made it and that he’s going to be the next big thing.

“Just wait until we get started,” she whispers, pushing his hair away from his eyes. “This is only the beginning.”

SIXTEEN

Ryder thanked me several hundred more times before giving me a kiss and heading to his room to call Cara, Brian, and Tom to share the news. He’s only been gone for about ten minutes when my hunger becomes more prominent than my tiredness, causing my belly to growl. Jaxon notices and quickly gets up to head to the kitchen.

“We can’t have our girl going hungry, can we?” Chase teases, but River is still sitting beside me, quieter than usual.

“Are you okay?” I ask him, and he nods slowly.

“Yeah, I’m just in awe of you,” he says. “Ryder and the others have been working their asses off for years, only landing those little gigs and not getting the recognition they deserved, and then you come along and make it look so easy.” Chase agrees, nodding.

“I knew you were good, but damn,” he adds, impressed. River pulls me closer to him.

“You did this. You made this happen for him,” he says, his voice filled with admiration. I smile and shrug.

“I just did what I know how to do. Those guys are the talented ones,” I say. “I would never want to go back to being famous myself, but I know it’s Ryder’s dream, and I’m going to do everything I can to help him achieve it. If my experience in the industry can help with that, how could I not offer it to him?” River shakes his head.

“You’re amazing,” he says, grinning at me, I blush and look down at my feet.

“He’s right,” Jaxon says as he comes back into the room, a plate in hand. He gives it to me while sitting down next to me. It’s a delicious-looking avocado egg sandwich and my mouth waters. Yum.

“Thank you, Jaxon,” I say wholeheartedly before digging in, which makes Chase snicker.

“Sure, they are the ones with the talent, but they didn’t know how to sell themselves,” Jaxon says. “They never could’ve done that without you.”

He rubs my back as I devour the sandwich.