I feel the heat of his hand through my thin skirt. His finger drawing circles along my thigh makes my insides all melty. “If you’re going to do that to me, you should be the one driving. It’s distracting.”
I stop at a light, and he grabs my hand and puts it in his lap so I can feel his erection. It may be two o’clock in the afternoon, but I want him. When the light turns green, I turn onto a side street and pull into an empty parking lot. “You drive.”
He gives me a heated stare. “I don’t think either of us should drive.”
“Liam, we’re in a church parking lot.”
“So?”
“Kind of inappropriate, don’t you think?”
“Why? God made our bodies to do this very thing.”
My jaw drops in surprise. “You believe in God?”
“Sometimes.”
“When?”
“When I look at you.”
I turn off the engine, climb over the console onto his lap, and kiss him. What he said to me might be the single best thing anyone has ever said in the history of the world.
Chapter Forty-seven
Liam
I walk into IRL with a spring in my step. Not even Dirk’s car parked out front can keep me from thinking about the past few weeks with Ella. Not to mention the deal I’ve been working on finally came through. Everything in my life is coming together. When I pass Ronni’s door, it occurs to me getting rid of her would make everything perfect, and I wonder how I can make that happen.
Her door unexpectedly opens, and we’re face to face. Her lipstick is smeared. She pulls the door shut behind her. “Liam,” she says curtly.
She walks past me to the restroom. Without thinking about it, I open her office door. Hatred sears my gut when I see Dirk buttoning his pants. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I belt out a maniacal laugh. “Why should I even be surprised?”
He puts on his suit jacket. “What I do is none of your damn business.”
I stride over and get in his face. “It’s been six weeks. Plenty of time for you to sell IRL. Why don’t we have a new owner yet?”
“You don’t get it, do you?” he says smugly. “Even if you have a video, you won’t release it. People will know you’re a victim. You have too much pride. You won’t do that to yourself or the band. There’s too much at stake.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Am I?”
“Go to hell.” I walk out, catching Ronni as she’s returning. “You really have hit an all-time low, haven’t you? I knew you were a slut, but he’s an old man.”
“An old man with power.”
“I’d warn you to watch out for him or you’ll get burned. But I think I’d enjoy seeing the flames.”
“Aren’t you late for practice?”
I stomp down the hall, my morning ruined. When I enter the studio, I announce, “Ronni’s sleeping with Dirk.”
Nobody seems surprised.
“We know,” Crew says.
“And you didn’t say anything?”
“What’s to say? You already hate both of them. Didn’t think I needed to fuel the fire.”
Garrett gets off his stool. “I found out last week. Thought maybe it had been going on all along, and that’s part of the reason you hated Dirk.”
“I hated him long before Ronni came into the picture.”
Crew motions for me to sit. “And that’s not even the bad news.”
I take a seat next to him. “What do you mean?”
He looks at Brad. “Do you want to tell him or should I?”
Brad looks guilty as hell. “I’m leaving the band.”
The looks on everyone’s faces tell me this is no joke.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about since I found out about the baby.”
I get up and pace. “Brad, musicians have kids all the time.”
“I know, but if we go on tour next year, the baby will only be a few months old. I can’t do that to Katie.”
Garrett laughs bitterly. “So this is Katie’s decision, not yours.”
“We decided together.”
“Do you realize what you’re doing?” I ask. “Have you checked your bank account lately? Once you leave, that’s it—no more royalty checks.”
“This was never about the money,” he says.
“Maybe not, but you love playing bass.”
“That hasn’t changed. I’m going to keep playing. Maybe I’ll find someone local who plays a few gigs a month. And there’s always the church band.”
Garrett rubs the back of his neck. “The church band? Are you shitting me?”
“Listen,” Brad says. “I’ll stay on until you get a replacement. I’ll even help you