AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Cooper, I only said that because--”
“I figured out pretty quick it was because of the whole NDA thing. The only question is why you wouldn’t sign one. You see, in my mind, it’s a pretty easy yes. There is nothing wrong with putting insurance in place in this business. And I would have thought with you knowing how this industry works, you would understand that.”
She pulls her hand away from me, and my chest tightens. Suddenly, I know this is where it ends for us. This is where all my dreams of Sloane get shattered.
“You have no idea what asking that of me means.” She glances at me but returns to searching out the window, her voice calm yet full of emotion. “There is a history that is extremely painful and involves me being legally bound to stay quiet.”
Memories of the Google search I did on Sloane at the beginning come back to me, and how strange it was I really didn’t find anything about her. That lines up with what she’s saying now. But it’s also a case of I don’t know what I don’t know.
“Obviously, I had no idea about that. Had I known, I would have approached it or talked to you about it differently or shit, I don’t know.” I run a hand through my hair, not sure what to do with this information. “Are there things you can tell me? Or want to tell me?”
She hesitates, considering her options, her words, or maybe both. “There is a lot I would like to say, so much I want to tell you, but it’s not just the legality of it. I want to keep my past in the past. And I want to keep you as far from it as possible.”
“I’m willing to listen if you’re willing to tell me anything.” I don’t know what else I can say to convince her. I reach over and take her hand back, and she doesn’t resist.
After another long silence, she gives in. “My record label wanted to turn me into something I’m not. And they had the power to do that. I would record a song as I wrote it, but what would be released was nothing like the original. They wanted me to be some cutesie plastic pop star when that was the furthest thing from who I was. And when I refused to perform the songs live like they released them or write any more songs, they sued me.” She takes a deep shuddering breath, but I don’t say anything, giving her room to talk. “Like I told you before, my parents were my managers because they had been musicians and knew the business. We ultimately got out of the contract, but the cost was my songs, and my parents agreed to it without telling me. Everything I had created up to that point was stolen from me.”
“Oh, my God. That’s horrible.” I squeeze her fingers lightly, not knowing what else to say. I can’t imagine that kind of betrayal coming from your own family.
“And I had signed NDAs with everyone and couldn’t say a fucking thing about any of it. I haven’t talked to my parents since then, and this was four years ago. So, when you brought up the need for me to sign an NDA to have a relationship with you, I lost my shit.”
It makes sense now. All of it makes sense now. Her initial disdain for me. Her mistrust of the industry. Her freaking out at the possibility of having to sign an NDA. She has every reason to feel all of those things and more. And I just danced on every single open nerve those represent. I’m such a fucking idiot.
“Then forget it. I don’t want you to sign the fucking thing. Blackmore and the guys can fight me on it if necessary. If I had known any of this, I swear so many things would have been done differently.”
“Don’t say that. I don’t want you walking on eggshells around me or pretending to be something you’re not. I want you to be you and nobody else.” She kisses the back of my hand and gives me a slight smile before looking back out the window. “What happened to me in the past only made me who I am now. It shouldn’t change who you are.”
That’s an interesting way to look at things, but I’m not so sure I agree. “No, that’s not fair. Because how I treated you was based on only partial information. If I had had the whole story, I could have made an informed decision on how I acted towards you.”
She arches an eyebrow my way. “Were you reading psychology books in Ojai or something?” Her small laugh eases my racing heart just a little and breaks the ice between us that much more.
“No. But I did have some revelations about myself.” Fuck it. I may as well tell her everything. “I’m falling for you, Sloane. There’s no way around it, and it took a minute, but I finally admitted it to myself. I’m not the same person I was at the beginning of the mentoring program. You’ve changed me. And it’s all for the better. My pulse speeds up like crazy whenever you enter a room. Your laugh makes my heart race. I literally ache every fucking day to wrap you in my arms and never let you go. I daydream about our future - one I never believed I could have. But with you, anything seems possible.”
There’s a stunned silence that weighs heavy in the air between us but also feels charged somehow. As if our heightened emotions are ricocheting around the interior of the car.
“Against my better judgment, I think I’m falling for you too.” She laughs. “Wait...”
“Against your better judgment?” I laugh. “Oh my God. That’s awesome.”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“No, no, it makes total sense. And actually, I’ll take it as a compliment.” My laughing is starting to hurt my stomach. “It’s a perfect depiction of how things are between us.”
“Cooper, come on. You know I didn’t mean it in a bad way.” Her cheeks are red, and the blush is adorable.
“I know. And regardless of how you got here, to hear you’re falling for me too is all I need to know.”
And it’s true. All I wanted to hear was that she felt the same about me. And now that the rock pushing on my chest this entire time is lifted, I can breathe freely for the first time in a long time. It hasn’t been an easy road to get here, but we’re here. I’d be too greedy to ask for anything more.
“Venice beach?” she asks as I pull into a parking area. “What makes you think Penny is here?”
I slide into a parking spot and turn towards Sloane. “I’m going to let you change the subject just this once because finding Penny is a priority right now. But know that I saw what you did there, and we will circle back. Got it?”
She smiles. “Got it.”
“I don’t know if Penny is here. This is just a guess, but I hope it’s an educated guess. There was a line in Penny’s song about ‘something something crashing on the shore.’ I don’t remember exactly. But that made me think maybe she would go to the beach. And Venice Beach is as good of one as any, and it’s nearby.”
Sloane briefly studies me, then says, “You might be a genius.” And then gets out of the car and heads toward the boardwalk.
