“No.”I rolled my eyes.
“You gotta live your life, man.You can’t spend the rest of your life punishing yourself for all your wrongs.That’s not what the program is about.You need to know your triggers and avoid those.”
“And if women are my trigger?”
“What women though?Groupies?Women who only want to be with you because of the band or for bragging rights?Find someone who knows you—the man inside and not the glitzy rock star.”
“Easier said than done.”I snorted.“And for the record, I’ve never worn glitter.”
“You know I’ve known you for forever, right?You can’t bullshit me.”Liam laughed for a second before sobering and leaning into his side of the table.“But seriously.It’s worth it when you find it.Believe me.A good woman makes life worth living.”
“Any advice where I’ll find such a mythical being?”
“I don’t know.Have you tried Plenty of Fish?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, and when he gave me a shit-eating grin, I tossed a piece of egg at his stupid face.
Chapter 3
Alice
After a long afternoon of packing up drums and ducking anyone who even remotely looked like Noah, I pulled up to Lark’s house in Henderson.She was renting a small two bed, two bath house with a garage, and I was so jealous.Her tiny house was so much grander than my shithole apartment.And it had a garage that was the perfect practice space for our little group.
But Lark was awesome and deserved it.She’d been with the Tin Gods longer than me and had been the first to welcome me into the girl roadie life.Unlike a lot of the stuck-up snots on the road, Lark had been a genuine friend.
“Hey, Mom, I gotta go.”She opened her door with her phone at her ear after I’d knocked.Then she made a face as her mom obviously continued to talk.“Ma, the girls are here to practice.I gotta go.Yeah.Love you too.Bye.”
Lark sent me an eyeroll as she ended the call.“I love that woman, but she can talk like no one’s business.And I don’t know why, but she always wants to tell me what famous person has died.She’s crazy.”
The love Lark felt for her mom shined through her rant, and I felt a pang in my chest.I had no idea what a relationship like that was like.I wished…
Nope.It was best not to wander down that path.
I gave Lark a wonky smile.“Is Bailey here yet?”
Bailey was the third of our kooky trio.We’d met on the road when she joined the tour last year as a merch girl and had clicked immediately.Bailey Butler loved guitars, tequila, and men—not always in that order.
“Yup, she’s in the garage going over something she wrote last weekend.Come on.”Lark grabbed my hand and pulled me through her living room to the garage door off her tiny kitchen.
I’d never been a touchy-feely person, but it was a requirement with Lark.She never asked, and I kinda liked that about her.
When we entered her garage, we found Bailey hunched over her guitar muttering to herself.Her eyeliner was smudged, making me think it was from yesterday, and her blond hair was tousled like she hadn’t fixed it in a minute, but she was still so gorgeous it was impossible to look away.She constantly got hit on while working the merch line when we were on the road.Her tips on an average day were probably more than my weekly salary.Bailey had this confidence that, combined with her looks, made every man want to make her his.
Bailey looked up from her guitar with a grimace.“I can’t get this bridge.I just…it needs something.Alice, help me out.What is it missing?”
She played the chorus that led into her bridge, and it was like she had switched to a different song.The pulsing chords gave way to a lilting melody that, although beautiful, didn’t match the rest of it at all.
I picked up a guitar leaning against the wall.“Can you go back to the chorus?Play that bit again.”
We picked our way through the chorus and a few verses until we had a little bridge that she loved and went with the rest of the song.We laughed and sang and played like we always did.I moved from a guitar to the drum set I’d left at Lark’s house weeks ago.
But of course, when we were on a much needed water break, Lark had to bringitup again.
“Hey, did you know this one got admitted to Juilliard back in the day?”Lark tipped her head at me.
“Wow.You did?”Bailey beamed at me, and I might’ve been mesmerized by her sky-blue eyes for a beat.“What was it like?”
I shook my head and looked away.“Nah, I didn’t go.Couldn’t afford it.”
