Page 148 of Sing For Me

“Actually, she just got a really cool offer.” He tells me about the invitation for her to participate in the cooking competition, pride shining in his eyes.

“That’s amazing, Will. Please tell her I said congratulations.”

“You can tell her yourself the next time you see her,” he says easily, like it’s no big deal. Like it’s a given that I’ll be spending time with his family.

I force myself not to start blubbering again and ask him how the rest of the family is doing. He tells me about CeCe’s last soccer game, and taking his younger siblings out for ice cream, and spending time with Rose and River.

“What about you?” he asks once I’m caught up on all things Ransome. “What’d you, um, get up to the last week?” He winces at the question, at the reminder that we spent the last week apart and not talking.

I could tell him the truth—that I spent most of the last week crying and not sleeping or eating—but I can already see the guilt in his eyes over what happened. So instead I tell him a different part of the truth. “Well, I fired Dennis.”

It’s comical, the way he freezes with his fork halfway to his mouth. “What?”

“You were right about the doctor. Total quack. He was just going to pump me full of drugs so I could delay the surgery and start performing.”

Will is halfway off the bed before I’m even done talking. “I’m going to kill that asshole.”

I grab his arm, attempting to pull him back. “It’s okay, Will.”

“Like hell it is! He’s not going to get away with—”

“Ifiredhim, baby,” I cut in, tugging at his arm. “You don’t have to worry about it.” I look down at my now empty plate, embarrassment coursing through me. “Turns out he was a much bigger asshole than I thought. He, um, is the one who outed us. To the press.”

“Are you fucking serious?”

I nod, unable to look at him. He hated having those photographers hounding him at home and at work. And it was my asshole manager who made that happen. “I saw his phone. The day after…you know… you left.” God even saying those words hurts. “He was tipping off a reporter about the break up.”

“Jesus,” Will mutters. Then he shocks me by pulling me into his lap, wrapping strong arms around me. “Honey, I’m so sorry he did that. I know that you worked with him for a long time. That must have hurt, to know he betrayed you like that.”

I nestle into him, relishing the feel of his strength wrapped around me, his warm bare skin pressed against my cheek. “Honestly, I was too pissed off to feel hurt. I wanted to kick his ass.”

I feel the rumble of his soft laugh through his chest. “I would have liked to have seen that. I bet Marissa was ready to cut off his balls.”

“Oh, my God, yes. She was spitting fire.”

“She’s kind of terrifying, isn’t she?”

I laugh. “She really is. I’m so lucky to have her on my side.”

We sit there like that for several long minutes, just holding each other. I’d missed this so much. “So, what are you going to do now?” he finally asks. “About management.”

I pull back enough to peer up at his face. I know this is a touchy subject for him, my going back to work. And after everything he told me last night, I finally understand why. “I’m not sure,” I tell him. “Marissa is calling around. Dennis is making a huge fuss, threatening to sue, but my lawyers are pretty confident he doesn’t have a shot.”

Will studies me. “There’s something else,” he says slowly. “What are you leaving out?”

I fiddle with the hem of his t-shirt I slept in. “The lawyers took a look at my contract, too. Apparently, there’s some weird clauses in there. They think they might be able to get me out of it, if I want to try to find a new label.”

“Are you happy with your label?”

“Will, we don’t have to talk about this,” I say quickly. “I know it’s not your favorite topic.”

“Hey.” He cups my chin with his big palm, tilting my head back so I have to look at him. “I know you’re going to work eventually, Eva. I wouldn’t have come back if I couldn’t handle that.”

“But—”

“It’s your life, honey. I want to know about it. Want to help you make your decisions.” He sucks in a breath, steeling himself. “The worst thing about the way things went down with Skye is that she didn’t talk to me. She was always sneaking around, lying to me, keeping shit from me. It’s important to me that we talk to each other. I couldn’t handle if I felt that distance between us, you know?”

Once again, my heart melts for this man. I lean up to kiss him. “I don’t want distance either. I love you, Will.”