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They said their farewells, then Zac threw his phone down on the coffee table. His mind was all over the place after the day’s conversations. But before he could start figuring out what it all meant, his phone rang again.
Half-expecting it to be Lexie calling back with some more sage advice, it surprised him to see Talia’s name on the screen. They’d exchanged phone numbers while they were recording. They’d even hung out with her at a club one night when they’d crossed paths again during their tour. She and Beau had gotten a little cozy on the dance floor, which had played right into the label’s hands for the release of their duet. The duet he was meant to have sung with her, but which he hadn’t been able to bring himself to do, knowing how the tabloids would spin it.
“Hey, stranger,” Talia said when he answered.
“Hey. What’s up?”
“I’m in town, and I’ve got a proposition for you. Any chance we can meet?”
“You’re in LA?”
“Yep, arrived last night.”
Zac rubbed the back of his neck. If it would distract him from the whirlwind of thoughts flying around his head, he was game. “Sure. Since I’m assuming it’s business-related, do you want to meet at Drew’s office tomorrow morning? I’ve got to head in and see him, anyway.”
Talia agreed, and they arranged a time, then said goodbye.
Zac spent the night tossing restlessly. Lexie’s words had opened the floodgates. He was inundated with vivid memories of Cassie’s beautiful smile, those gorgeous eyes, the rightness of her body wrapped around his.
Even more than those things, he’d missed talking to her, hearing her laugh, and making music with her. He craved the warmth of her presence. Having her near had made each minute of the day brighter, even when he’d been trying to pretend it didn’t.
He eventually fell asleep, but it was a long time coming.
The next morning, he woke early and exhausted. He headed to Drew’s office at nine, and they’d just finished running over their upcoming promo schedule for the release of Crossfire’s album, when there was a knock at the door. Drew opened it and ushered in Talia and her manager. Zac stood, and Talia’s pretty face lit up.
“Zac!” She walked over and threw her arms around him.
Zac gave her a quick hug, then stepped back, catching a flicker of a smile on her manager’s face. The man held out his hand. “Zac,” he said with a nod. They’d met once before, in the UK, when he’d dropped in on one of their recording sessions.
“Cameron.” Zac shook the man’s hand, then let go and shoved both of his into his back pockets, looking between Talia and her manager. “So, what’s this about?”
Talia dropped onto one of the comfortable couches Drew had in his office and grinned up at him. She waited with her eyebrows raised until Zac followed suit and sat opposite her. “How are things with you and your guitar tech?”
“Cassie,” he growled.
Talia gave him a coy smile. “That’s the one.”
“I told you before, we’re not together.”
“Mmmm.” She leaned back and crossed one long leg over the other.
Zac shot a look at Cameron—who merely quirked his lips in response—then returned his attention to Talia. “So, are you going to tell me what you wanted to see me about?”
“Actually, it’s not really you I want to see. Or at least not just you.”
Zac kept looking at her, waiting for her to get to the point.
“Well, things might not be better between you and your guitar te… uh, Cassie.” She smirked. “But that song you were playing all the time during breaks when we were recording—the one Beau told me you and Cassie wrote together? It was beautiful. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I want to buy it and record it.”
Zac kept his gaze steady on her, even as a surge of pride rocketed through him. Not that it surprised him. He already knew Cassie was talented. “Yeah? Well, you’d have to talk to her about that.”
“It’s not just Cassie’s song, though, is it?” Talia asked, her eyes artificially wide and with a flutter of her long lashes.
Zac snorted. She wasn’t as innocent as she appeared. “It’s not, but it was mostly hers. And if you’re serious about doing this, I don’t want it to come through me.”
Her brows arched. “Why not?”
“I don’t want her to think she owes this to me.”
