Page 37 of Legendary Rock Star
It all boiled down to whether Phoenix was telling the truth.
I glanced at him as he searched on his laptop. His handsome chin made me wish for more time with him. I turned off the chair and coughed to get his attention. Once his handsome brown eyes met mine, he closed the lid, and I said, “While a Christmas album wasn’t how I pictured my start, if there are fair profits and a possible future career for myself, I’m not against any of it.”
“Mark seriously doesn’t sign anyone he doesn’t intend to make a fortune off of,” he said.
Getting heard was all I’d ever dreamed about. The chance for my voice to express my feelings in a ballad, while I sit on a stage with all the lights off except for the one spotlight that made me shine, played in my dreams every night. I needed that moment like I needed the sun on my skin.
I met his gaze. He’d had that once, and he must want it back. I said, “Well, I want that for both our sakes.”
His voice was a tempting whisper when he asked, “So is the show less important now?”
The dream of having my own concert tour, where I sang every night, was so close now I could almost taste it, like dark chocolate. I met his gaze and said the truth, “After how they set you up today, I’m torn.”
His gaze narrowed and his leg was now pressed against mine when he asked, “What do you mean?”
I could feel my limbs tremble with his closeness. I turned to him and said, “The show shouldn’t have brought your parents to see you. The divorce was years ago, and has nothing to do with the competition. Dredging up old stories to bolster ratings was wrong.”
He nodded like he accepted that and said, “True, but I gave them good TV.”
I let out a sigh and said, “Yes, but—”
“They don’t matter.” He raised his eyebrows and nodded. “But proving I won’t steal from you does. Do you want some water?”
“I’m fine.” I sliced the air with a motion to stop him from changing the subject. Then I said, “I want to believe in you.”
“I get that you don’t.” He pointed to the vaulted roof made of glass that let the late afternoon sunshine flood the room with natural light. He said, “My failures earn me more than most people see in their lives.
“I’m helping the other competitors because I ruined Fiona’s career and I won’t do that to anyone else. And I need to show you I won’t use you. The song shouldn’t have leaked and I’m having my profits held in escrow until everything is fixed.”
I hoped to God it was so. I cupped his face and said, “I want that too, but for now I want to win.”
He didn’t move, but said, “Good.”
Hopefully the meeting with Mark would happen soon. But my shoulders slumped as I said, “But I don’t want to be the butt of the show’s attempts to mock you.”
His face tilted as he asked, “What?”
The ex-girlfriend, his estranged parents and the set-up of lunch with my parents had been all about showing his life again, not mine. I wasn’t stupid.
I lowered my lids as I said, “I think a lot of the focus is on you, because you’re already a star who brings ratings.”
He kissed my cheeks and caressed me as he said, “I’ve been at a loss for what to do with you.”
My skin was dewy with desire and my eyes widened as I asked, “What?”
He showed some of those dimples of his and said, “If I show I’m interested in you, it could be seen as selfishly wanting to reform my public image.”
I’d had that thought. My heart beat differently as I asked, “It’s not?”
He had that twinkle in his eyes that made me ache when he said, “And if I push you away and don’t show my interest, then I’m either a jerk to the viewers or a liar to myself.”
I wanted to believe that. His kisses sent me off course, but I said, “We need to wait until I know for sure you and I … that you are who you say you are.”
“I texted Mark, but he can’t come over right now. He was in a middle of a meeting,” he said. He stared at the wall like he was thinking back on a memory he didn’t share. Then he said, “I will prove it to you, but you need to promise to always answer your phone when I call.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss the chance, even when I win.”
Phoenix still didn’t look at me as he thought about our words. But he said, “Or when I win, and get that show and record deal. You’ll still answer then?”
