chapter 35

Rex knocks back the rest of the champagne and then closes the space between us, pressing his hands to the counter on either side of me. Except it's not a motion of want. At least not yet. Whatever he wants to say is so urgent and so heavy he needs me. Right here. "I want you on tour with me."

My eyebrows jump. "What?!"

"You. Leo. Your mom. I heard she and Mickey hit it off actually," Rex says.

I slap him on the arm. "Don't talk about my mother like that!"

"It was a joke!" he hisses, rubbing the spot my hand thwacked.

"I can't go on tour with you, Rex. I work."

Rex shakes his head. "You don't have to work anymore."

"Um, yeah I do."

Rex narrows his eyes. "You know who you're talking to, right?"

"It's not about – I can't be beholden to you for money, Rex, that's just –"

He places two fingers to my jaw and I stop talking. "I'd be taking care of you." This thumb settles against my chin. "Because that's what I want to do."

My mind races. I don't want to give up my job. At the same time, I w