“I’m afraid of saying this to you, Ty. We’re in such a good place —”
“But—” Ty’s face dropped.
“Don’t take what I have to say the wrong way.”
“Just say it, counselor, rip the Band-Aid off,” Ty said shortly, clearly expecting the worst.
“What if I get swallowed up by this—this—lifestyle?” I gestured around the car. “This sounds so stupid considering everything, but shit just got real.
“Shit is real. You’re moving your stuff in this week,” Ty said evenly.
“You have no idea how excited I am.”
“Well then, what are you churning about?” Ty seemed genuinely confused.
“Because, even when I first met you it was important to me to have my own identity, not to be known as only a “girlfriend” of a rock star.”
“You are the girlfriend of a rock star. And you are a kick-ass lawyer. Soon you’ll be my kick-ass CEO.” Ty stroked my hair.
“Okay, but—”
“Z. Jump off the cliff with me.”
“Oh, I’m jumping. I just hope we know what we’re doing.”
Chapter 24
TYSON
After receiving both Carter’s and the Pearson’s encouragement about our living situation, it took about two weeks to fully move Zoey’s stuff over to my house. For so many years, I had been mostly on the road. While my Seattle home was my home base, I hadn’t spent much time here because I was on the road or in LA. Living with Zoey made me want to change all that.
I loved every minute of having her with me. Each day, I was stoked to see her clothes hanging in our expansive walk-in closet, her toothbrush on the sink, and our bathroom shelves full of all sorts of creams, lotions, and perfumes. Her fragrant citrus-and-floral smell permeated our bedroom, and I’d often stop just to breathe it in to make sure I wasn’t living in a dream.
Ever the academic, after she had settled in, Zoey had already researched and was knee-deep in applications to get an online Master of Nonprofit Administration degree. She was convinced that she needed the paper to ensure that no one could ever question her leadership of my foundation. I suspected that she needed to have something to keep her brain occupied. She’d probably complete the course in six months instead of two years.
I spent my days taking care of band business or getting completely lost in my studio writing songs, many of them inspired by my sweet girl. We were leaving in a few days to play the after-party at the Phantom Uprising movie premiere, and then a month later we had a Christmas show in LA. We had been nominated for a Grammy as well as a Golden Globe and Critic’s Choice Award. There was talk the song would be nominated for an Oscar, which was crazy. Enjoying a little home time was a respite because the next couple of months were going to be a whirlwind of LTZ activity that Zoey hadn’t experienced firsthand yet.
This time, I was going to be well-prepared.
Sitting at the mini conference table on the jet, Zane, Conner, and I were trying to pay attention to Jace, who was in the middle of showing all of us the algorithms and other doo-dads that tracked our online SEO and hits and whatnot. My distraction was the small, blonde dynamo who was currently curled up in a seat watching a movie while we had our meeting. She was so fucking beautiful, just wearing black leggings and an oversize LTZ T-shirt, giant Bose noise-canceling headphones around her ears, eyes focused on the screen.
Startled by Jace’s big hand snapping his fingers in front of my face, I refocused my attention him. He was standing with one hand on his hip, looking pissed.
“Fuck, Ty. I’m doing this for her own good, you could at least fucking pay attention,” Jace snarled.
“Shit. I’m sorry, she’s distracting.” I shrugged, opting for the “ah shucks” method to get me out of a tongue-lashing.
“Clearly.” Jace’s narrowed eyes morphed into his all business-mode. “Andrew and Sienna are meeting us at Katherine’s office. I think it’s best if we start with a couple of posts on the band pages before you guys start getting papped. If the media find out, she might get blindsided. We are lucky that she hasn’t been fully outed yet considering the Sirius show and the pap shots in LA.”
“I know, dude. I know.” I’d learned my lesson and wanted to contribute, but the learning curve was steep. I was used to showing up and doing what I was told. But I’d made a promise to Zoey and her dad. Taking care of my butterfly was a top priority and my responsibility.
“Her social media is shit,” Jace grumbled. “I mean, Zoey’s last post is a picture of that other dude, Ty.”
“She doesn’t do social media, she doesn’t even have Twitter.” I knew we had to anticipate everything. Zoey was right, she already was the villainess in our best-selling songs. We had to consider all angles. An old post would cast doubt on her commitment to me if the LTZ fanbase got wind of it. She’d be ripped apart as a cheater if we didn’t pull it down.
Jace put on his reading glasses and typed into his laptop. “Well, she needs to delete that shit or turn it off.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to her.” I looked over at Zoey, who was now dozing in the plush, butter-leather seat, her pink lips partially open and hair cascading all around her face. I hated to disturb her, but it was important that she had some control of her own destiny. That much I had learned over the past couple of months.
“What is the security plan for Zoey?” Zane butted into the conversation. “We’re going to be tied up for hours with rehearsal, soundcheck, and press.”
“Sergey will be with us the whole time. He’s got someone assigned to her too.” I looked over at Zoey. “I’m planning on keeping her close to ease her into this, guys, she doesn’t
