setlist,” she spoke to her manager. Then she opened the music app and found the playlist to accompany the setlist and pressed play.
Luke looked over Allie’s shoulder, reading the list on her ever-present iPad. “Trying to send a message, are we?”
“Maybe,” she replied. It hadn’t been her intent, but as she started putting it together, listening to it, she really enjoyed it, knowing it would be a good show. Great even. And if it sent a message, that was even better. She knew that some may see it as a message to Ethan, but actually it was a message to herself. Words to bolster her confidence. That she would be all right.
As she listened to her music, her body automatically moved to it. After performing the songs so often, the moves became second nature to her. Each song had its own dance. Some more than others.
When she returned to Chicago, she and the rest of the band needed to start rehearsing. “I need to get to the studio this week. I have a few new songs that I need to lay down tracks for. Will you be my producer, Allie?”
“Of course,” Allie said, her eyes returning to Mia’s phone. “Three new songs?”
“Yeah … maybe.”
“‘Dyin’ Over You,’ ‘Crumbling,’ and ‘Untitled’?” Allie rattled off the names of the new songs.
“Why ‘Untitled?’” Luke asked.
“It’s an angry song and I haven’t been able to come up with a title yet,” Mia responded.
“How angry?”
“Maybe I should call it ‘Infidelity’?”
Mia wasn’t entirely sure about whether she wanted to perform all of these new songs. But “Crumbling” would definitely be in the shows. She needed Ethan to hear it and she needed to tell him.
“This is pushing over two hours … in the middle of July. You’re going to exhaust yourself,” Allie piped up.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll dress appropriately. Drink lots of water. Schedule a pee break … or two,” Mia said with a laugh. Not wanting to talk about the songs anymore, she changed the playlist and went with one of her running lists, full of energetic songs. Her body took a second to warm up, but quickly found the beat to the music.
Allie had her feet up, but Luke danced with her. When the two of them had been younger and sleeping together, they’d danced quite often, the moves sexual. Now the moves were anything but. They were goofing off and laughing the entire time.
“Ugh, how do you even feel like dancing in our condition?” Allie bellowed. “You’re tiring me out.”
“This is a piece of cake compared to the twins,” Mia answered with a final ass bump to Luke.
“Speaking of the twins,” Luke started, sitting down by his wife. “I went to lunch with Ethan last week.”
“What?” Mia asked, shaking her head. “How is that anywhere related to Ethan?”
“He’s their father.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Anyway.”
“Yes, well. It took a bit but I finally decided it was time to try and make up with him.”
“Oh …” She’d told him to do it … yet it made her anxious and she didn’t know why.
“Yeah and we talked.”
Talked? Did she want to know?
Yes, she did. Hearing it from Luke would be so much easier than her husband. Maybe having some little clue would make this upcoming conversation with her husband easier because holy hell, it would be hard.
“About?”
The ringing doorbell interrupted him. “Hold that thought,” he said and excused himself to answer the door. Mia turned the music up a little and danced, needing the beat to distract her from wondering what Luke would have to say.
“I still can’t believe you have all that energy,” Allie commented.
She turned to her friend and smiled. “I also slept most of the day. I’ll be a mess tomorrow for my appointment,” she added, closing her eyes and swaying to the hypnotic beat. At Allie’s loud intake of breath, Mia whipped around to see her husband. Her heart stopped.
“Ethan!” she exclaimed, shocked that he was there, standing in front of her. He took her breath away. Gone was the earlier facial hair, his skin now clean-shaven and he wore a crisp pair of green shorts and a white polo.
“He asked nicely,” Luke said, heading towards his wife.
Ethan took a few steps toward her and stopped. “Can we talk?”
Mia looked at her husband and then at Luke who raised his eyebrows and nodded his head towards the door. Luke was right once again. She needed to hash things out with Ethan, needed answers from him. She had to face some unpleasant