Page 5 of Hard Rock Muse

“I’m not sure I ever did.”

Julian’s face turned pained.

That made me even angrier. Where did he get off, acting like he was the injured party?He’dbeen the one to leaveme.He’d walked away from everything we’d created together. He’d thrown away years of hard work. He’d thrown away all the years we’d spent together like it meant nothing to him.

Tears pricked at the back of my eyes, the sting reflected in my aching chest.

“I can’t do this.” I grabbed my purse from underneath the chair and headed toward the door. “I can’t.”

“Ever, please,” he asked in that low voice of his. “Don’t walk away from me again.”

I whirled on him.

“Away fromyou?” I barked out. “Where do you get off even—”

Julian reached out and placed a hand on my arm. That was it. The slightest touch of his fingers against my skin was enough to stop me in my tracks. I choked back more angry words, swallowing them like a bitter pill.

“It’s not ideal,” he said, “but it is a great opportunity.”

I inhaled sharply.

Shit. How much did Julian know? Had he been following the gossip? The music industry was incestuous to a fault. Everyone tended to know everyone else’s business. Did he know how desperate I was?

Did he know about me and Keith?

Had he heard all the shitty rumors my old producer had spread about me?

My cheeks burned at the thought. I’d thrown away my old life precisely because I hadn’t wanted all that crap following me around. But Julian was the one person who knew Everly Davis was Ever Darling, lead singer of Where Angels Burn.

Ex-lead singer, that was.

I’d thought I’d gotten everything I’d always wanted. I thought my dreams had come true.

Then it all went to hell. My lifebecamehell.

That asshole ex-producer of mine Keith Fielding had made sure of that.

And after years, too many years, the only thing I could think to do was to run from it.Put the pieces of my life back together and try to reinvent myself.

When I’d gotten the call for this gig, I’d thought my prayers had been answered.

But maybe instead of angels, it was devils trying to drag me back down.

“We’ve only ever played Cerise’s songs,” Julian said. “We have input, but they’re really hers. Now we all have a chance. We can show the world what we can do. All of us. And I think, with your help, I can do something great.”

I paused, letting my tight grip on my purse ease.

Maybe that was the opportunity he meant. Maybe it had nothing to do with me and my past. Maybe Julian didn’t know. He never had been one to follow gossip.

Relief unfurled within me like a blossoming flower.

“Why don’t I show you?” Julian offered. “I’ll play my song. You tell me what you think. See if it’s something you want to work on.”

“I don’t know…” I hedged.

Julian’s music had always been great. More than great. He was insanely talented when it came to the piano and I had no doubt that whatever he’d composed would be amazing.

Would it sound different from what he used to compose when he was with me? How much had he grown as an artist? It had been so long since I’d listened to something he’d written. Would it still move me in the same way it did when we were together? Or would it only cause me more pain, knowing what I had lost?