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“And you didn’t tell me?” Bunny raised her eyebrows and stared at Piper.

Piper seemed immune to the bait. “I don’t know what’s going on with you. I really don’t. But I’m worried about you, and if you say you really can’t do the event then okay. But I’m not pulling out now. I’m more excited about this than I’ve been about anything else in a while. So please, can you at least think about letting us work through it together so you and Bea don’t kill each other up on stage?”

Bunny looked at Piper, and then closed her eyes.

She wanted to scoff at Piper’s worry, she wanted to shrug off the hurt and the pain she saw in her best friend’s eyes. But every word had hit its target, and each left her wounded and bleeding.

“I’ll try. I can’t promise, but I’ll try. Is that good enough?”

“For now.” Piper’s trademark smile, filled with her excitement and bounciness, filled the room once more.

“Ready for cookies and more coffee?” Siena asked moments later as she pushed open her office door.

“Yes.” Bunny smiled, pretty sure Siena had been standing at the door, waiting for it to be clear to return.

“Excellent.” Siena clapped her hands together and let out a loud breath. “And now Bunny, for the love of God, come and sign your damn contract.”

“You really did change it?” Bunny had been at least eighty percent convinced that the clause change had been a bluff.

“That’s the only clause that is different. Piper has signed her agreement, but I stand by what I always have. I won’t represent any group who doesn’t agree to all the terms. The music industry might still have the Rolling Stones drama in some groups, but not in any that I’m willing to represent.”

Bunny nodded. “I promise. I’ll look at it tonight and send it through.”

“You better. Because I hear there’s this new up and coming female duo that might be worth looking into, and I might just have some extra time on my hands.” Siena winked.

Piper chuckled beside Bunny, while Bunny rolled her eyes, pursed her lips, and found herself entirely grateful for these annoying women in her life.

They finished off their second cups of coffee and nibbled on a few cookies as they discussed finer details of the event and a few things lined up for the next year.

Piper and Bunny said their goodbyes with a much calmer air than their greeting and left Siena to her work.

“Bunny.” Piper stopped as they stepped out of the elevator.

“Yeah?” Bunny turned back to see worry marring Piper’s beautiful face.

“You know I’m always here for you, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” Bunny smiled reassuringly at her best friend, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Something held her back. She couldn’t deny her initial reaction to the whole ambush had been fury, but now, looking at Piper she had to admit the tough love gave her more respect for their partnership.

“Good. Now I really need my best friend.”

“What?” Bunny asked.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you, and I know you’re private and that’s okay, but I could really use someone to talk to, and I don’t want to talk to anyone else.”

“Not even Jo?” Bunny smirked, unable to resist the temptation.

“Nope. When it comes to the big things and the little things, I need my best friend to listen to me bitch, say all the right things in the right place, and only after I’ve given her permission, tell me to pull my head out of my ass and get over it.”

Bunny laughed and draped one arm over Piper’s shoulder, which really wasn’t comfortable considering how much taller Piper was, but together they walked out of Siena’s office building and headed toward their favorite nearby cafe for lunch and a long overdue catch-up.

TWENTY-THREE

jo

“Where’s Bea?” Bunny asked the minute Jo stepped into the rehearsal room. Jo’s heart skipped a beat at Bunny’s sharp tone. She hated that she hadn’t gotten used to that yet. It was still so hard to reconcile everything from her relationship with Mandy.

“She’s got a meeting that she’d already scheduled. She said she texted you, and traffic was awful today.” Jo kept her distance from the energy that radiated from Bunny. It was so negative that she could barely stand it.