“You’re right.” I swallow hard. “You were right about all of it. I never should’ve gone with Lacey. I should’ve told Clay to go fuck himself the minute he suggested I cut you out.”
“True,” Aiden agrees.
“Is that all?” Linc adds. “Pretty sure your two minutes are up.”
“Look, I’m not going to make excuses, because they won’t change what I did. I just came here to tell you that I walked away from the deal.”
“What?” Lincoln hisses, disbelief etched on his face.
Aiden is silent, but there’s a glimmer of curiosity in his eyes.
“I was staring at the contact, at all that money sitting on the table… getting everything I thought I wanted.” I run a hand through my beard. It’s getting long — I haven’t shaved in over a week. “Turns out I’m even more of a self-righteous prick than you’ve always accused me of, Linc, because I couldn’t sign the damn paper. I couldn’t give them my lyrics and let Lacey turn them into the same shit we wince at when we hear it on the radio. So, I walked out.”
“You walked away.” Lincoln blinks slowly. “You walked away from a deal with Red Machine.”
I nod.
“Why thehellwould you do that?”
“‘Cause apparently, I’d rather play shitty dive bars with you two than build a highly lucrative career around Lacey. Just took me a while to figure it out.”
“You’re an idiot.” Linc’s head shakes. “A goddamned fucking idiot. You do realize that, right?”
“Yeah, well.” I shrug and rise to my feet. “I never claimed to be a genius. Just thought you should know.”
I walk to the door. My hand is twisting the knob when Aiden finally speaks.
“Ry.”
I glance back, eyebrows raised.
“Got any plans tonight?” he asks.
“You mean now that I’ve thrown away a record deal, lost my job, lost my girl, lost my family, and been kicked out of my apartment?” I blow out a breath. “Nah, I’m wide open.”
Linc snorts.
“Stick around.” Aiden flat-out grins as he pulls his phone from his pocket. He dials while he walks toward his bedroom. “I have a quick call to make.”
I look questioningly at Lincoln.
“Don’t ask me. I don’t know what that close-mouthed motherfucker is thinking half the time, let alone what crazy shit he’s going to pull next. He keeps his cards pretty close to the chest. Missed his calling as a professional poker player.”
“You’re right about that.”
“You want a beer?” He asks, walking to the fridge. I figure that’s about the closest he’ll ever get to sayingI forgive you. It’s practically a peace offering, coming from Linc.
“Yeah. I’d love a beer.”
We sit in silence, sipping from our bottles while we wait for Aiden to return. After a few minutes of strained silence, Linc lets out a low laugh. “God, I would’ve given anything to see Lacey’s face when you told her you were pulling the plug.”
I crack a grin. “Remember how she flipped out on that guy who spilled a beer on her favorite white halter top during open mic night last spring?”
He nods, amused.
“It was just like that, except the guy was me and the halter top was five hundred grand. Frankly, I’m surprised she didn’t try to claw my eyes out again.”
We both grin and I feel a bit of the ice between us thaw.