Page 117 of Embracing the Beat
“Boys playing with their toys?” she asks, smiling and gesturing to the adult men who do indeed remind me of little boys playing with their favorite toys, passing a guitar back and forth and trying to outdo each other.
“Yep. Although I think if you promise them ice cream, you can probably pull them away,” I tease, smiling more when she laughs at my joke.
Some of that awkwardness fades.
“How’s it been going?” She sits in the vacant sound engineering chair.
“Good, I think.” I still have a hard time believing I’m with a label that respects me and cares about my happiness.
“Better than Reverb?” she asks.
I snort laugh at that. “So much better. That place was…”
“Soul stealing?” she offers. “That’s what Jackson used to say.”
“It works. I was going to say toxic, but soul stealing sounds more accurate.”
Jax spies Charlie through the window, and his eyes light up before he holds up the universal sign for just a minute, then blows her a kiss through the glass.
“He’s such a nut,” she says with a shake of her head.
“You guys are cute together.” I wince when her shoulders tense, worried I brought the tension roaring back. “I…sorry.” She seems confused, so I elaborate. “About before. The awards show and all the drama with it. If I could change it, I would.”
She releases a deep breath, her shoulders relaxing. “Hindsight is great, isn’t it?”
I think about my own situation with West, and the baby growing inside me as a result of our time together.
“It can be. But it doesn’t always lead to regret,” I say.
I don’t regret my time with him. I wish I could. It would probably make these last few months easier. But from the first time I saw the little blip of a baby on the grainy screen, I had no regrets.
“No, that’s true. You know”—she clears her throat, scooting the chair closer—“I’m glad you signed with Arrhythmic.”
“You are?”
“Mm-hmm. I’ve heard some of your stuff. It’s really good. Plus, you mesh well with the guys.”
“They remind me of my brothers.”
“How many do you have?”
“Two. You may have seen Sawyer wandering around here when he picks me up.”
She nods. “I wondered. You don’t have a car?”
“Nah. I don’t go many places. Here and Mia’s.” Since Charlie works with Garrett, she’s also familiar with Mia.
“Maybe we could do lunch one day? You, me, Meredith, Mia.”
“I’d like that.” Other than Mia and my brother, I don’t have any friends.
“So,” she says hesitantly. “I hope you don’t mind, but Jackson told me…that you were…well, congratulations.”
“Gorgeous, remind me never to tell you anything I want to stay a secret.” Jax swoops into the room and wraps an arm around her shoulders, dropping his lips to her temple.
“You didn’t say it was a secret.” She pinches his side, and he flinches away with a giggle. His unrestrained laughter has both Charlie and me laughing too.
“It’s okay,” I interrupt. “Thank you. Yes. I am.”
