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"Yes, thank you, Millie, you know I love working here with you. I'm so excited about what we can come up with together."
"Me too, Sum. Tell Julian to call me whenever he wants. I'll be locking myself in here for the rest of the day to catch up."
"I'll order in lunch from our favorite little bistro to get you through."
I offer her a smile, thanking her for being so amazing, and she disappears back through to her desk, even more energy to her bounce than she had before. Whatever she's on, I want some.
HEATH
"He'sback,"Devoncallsfrom across the recording studio, obviously happy to see me, judging by the smile on his face.
Teo looks up from the guitar he's tuning. "Able to separate yourself from Ms. Harper for long enough to get some work done?" He looks less pissed off than he was on Monday.
I pick up my guitar and start fiddling around, my fingers gliding over her strings naturally. Music's in my blood, and it feels good to play after the stress of the last twenty-four hours. Makes me wonder if Connor has any interest in learning to play. I could teach him. From what Mom tells me about my dad, he knew his way around a guitar, just never got big enough to do anything with his talent because he was too lazy. That was why she pushed me to learn from a young age, and I'm grateful she did. Learning how to play and meeting these guys got me through high school and set me up for life.
"I told you guys I would be back today, and I am, so quit your whining and let's get on with it. I need to be back in Palm Springs for tonight."
Devon sits behind his drum set, picking up the sticks and tuning into the song I'm playing. "Don't tell me you've shacked up with her already." He looks somehow offended by the idea.
"Not really. If it was up to me, we would have, but for now, I'm just staying with her for peace of mind."
Devon looks at me like he doesn't get it. "What, she can't go one night without your cock? You must have impressed her by surprising her in Paris. Told you it was a good idea."
I give him a look, like not everything is about sex, even though I know that's all he thinks about. "Amelia had some mail delivered to the back door of her office, and she's shook up about it, understandably."
His eyes go wide when he realizes what I'm saying. "Shit, you think the same person who was bothering you before?"
"That fucking crazy fan?" Teo butts in, suddenly interested in the conversation.
"Looks like it. Same style, a note with something stolen from her house.”
“Shit, man. No wonder she's freaking out, if they were in her house. Have you told Della?" Teo hands me something he’s been working on.
"Nah, not yet. I've been avoiding her since I took off. She's pissed, and me hanging up on her probably didn't help the situation."
"Yeah, I'd keep out of her way until you’re back on her good side. Or until next week when you have to see her at the photo shoot," says Devon as he starts to tap away at his drum kit.
I look at him blankly. "What photo shoot?"
"Cover for the new album." For fuck’s sake, maybe I should have picked up some of her calls. I can't remember anything about a shoot being booked, but I am a little preoccupied with Amelia and the kids, so she could have mentioned it. There is still no sign of Iwan, so the three of us start playing around with a new sound Teo wants to test out. The two electrics and drums are all we need, and the sound coming out is sick. This is what I like about being a musician, jamming with the boys, not all the rest of the shit that comes with it. Days like today make me wish things were different and we never made it big in the first place. Life would be so much more manageable.
Four hours later, we've made some progress, even though Iwan never showed; he's now on Della's shit list instead of me. Teo is going to play around with what we got, see if he can make it work. I'm about to hop in my car to drive back to Palm Springs when Dev jogs over. I lean on my car door as I wait for him.
"Iwan just called, he's been at the hospital with Mandy," he pants, breathless, like he is worn out from the short run to my car.
"Is everything okay?"
"They ran some scans, and they think so, but she had some cramping, and they were worried about the baby."
"Glad to hear they're okay. Let me know if you hear anything else. I got to get going, man. I want to be there for dinner so I can hear how the kids’ days were at school."
"You've changed, man."
He's right. If someone told me twelve months ago this would be my life, I wouldn't have believed them, not for a second, but I couldn't be happier that it is. "I know." I smile. Having a family to go home to at the end of the day makes life worthwhile.
"It suits you." He pats me on the back, like he's giving me his blessing to go home to them.
I hop in my car and close the door, rolling down the window because he's still looking at me like he's not done talking. "What's up, Dev?"
