Page 165 of Never Sleep with the Enemy

I twist in the mirror, giving the back of my dress a quick glance. “You think you’ll sign with them again?”

“Prissy wants us to,” he says. “They’ve offered the most so far. Money-wise, at least.”

I hear the hesitation in his voice. “But?”

He looks at me. “Well, Sugar Sound is in New York.”

“Right,” I say. “That’s your home.”

“It is.”

I turn away from the mirror and step toward him. “What’s wrong with New York?”

“Nothing,” he says as I stop between his knees. “I love New York. It took me in when no one else would. It’s where I met Goldie and started all of this.”

“So… what’s wrong with New York?”

He looks up, hands sliding to my hips. “It doesn’t have you.”

I smile, soft and a little sad. “Guess we haven’t thought this part through yet, huh?”

“I didn’t want to,” he admits. “Now that I have you, the idea of being away from you…” He shakes his head. “I don’t think I can take it.”

I kiss his forehead. He sighs, his fingers tightening just slightly around my waist.

“Might be something we have to get used to,” I say. “Sometimes you’ll be on tour. Or I’ll be on tour. And we’ll both be in and out of studios, recording. It’s part of the deal.”

“Midnite Music sent an offer,” he says, looking up at me. “If we sign with them, I’d have every excuse to be in LA. To come see you here in Vegas.”

“Don’t make this decision for me, Logan,” I say gently, running my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. “Do what’s right for you. For your girls.”

“Youareone of my girls,” he says, his eyes on the lightning bolt pin attached to my dress. “Don’t forget that. Even if I’m recording three thousand miles away. Or playing in Germany.”

“Germany?”

“Priscilla mentioned something about a world tour,” he says, rolling his eyes. “Once Tessie’s legal stuff is cleared up—which might be sooner rather than later.” He chortles. “Ms. Walsh says the DA isn’t even considering charges. Can you believe that?”

“Don’t look too disappointed now,” I say. “That’s great news.”

“It is,” he says. “It’s just… if I’d known it wouldn’t have mattered, I wouldn’t have let Monroe…” He sighs, disappointed in himself.

I kiss him again, to comfort him, to ease the ache forming in my chest. Because the thought of being apart from him—from Goldie and Tesla—hurts more than expected. The hard studio days. The long nights on the road.

Without him… it’ll be agony.

“But you’re right,” he says, exhaling hard. “I should think about what’s best for everyone. Not just myself.” He wraps his arms tighter around me, resting his forehead against me. “I just wish there was a way I could have everything. The money. The freedom. The fame.” He lifts his eyes. “You.”

Lightning crashes in my mind, sharp and sudden.

A perfect, obvious path illuminates right in front of me, showing the way.

It’s perfect. It’s…

Oh, Knox is gonnakillme.

“Logan,” I say.

“Hmm?” he murmurs, voice muffled against my stomach.

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