Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 76759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
An idea pops into my head. “What if I went along as an influencer? Or your social media manager? I have a pretty large following on Instagram and some of the other apps. I could take photos and give the band some great publicity.”
“Brianna,” Brock says, “the band is already getting great publicity. They’re opening for Emerald Phoenix.”
I sigh, biting my lip. I can’t tell the truth—that I’m going on the tour to get Jesse Pike to fall in love with me.
What if he doesn’t?
Well… If he doesn’t…I come home. I come home, patch up my broken heart, and take my place at Dad’s side in the orchard.
But I have to try. And if it doesn’t work out, I get to see some amazing concerts and a lot of Europe.
“Brianna,” Brock says, “why don’t you just tell us the truth? You want to come along.”
A chill hits the back of my neck. Does Brock know about my feelings for Jesse? Or does he suspect? I may as well just admit the truth—or part of it.
“All right. I give. I want to come along.”
Rory smiles then. “I think it would be lovely for you to come along. In truth, I wish Maddie could come along with you for the whole tour. In fact, I wonder…” She tilts her head.
“What are you thinking?” Brock asks.
Rory grabs Brock’s hand. “It would be a really awesome opportunity for Maddie. I mean, when else could she see so much of Europe with her family? Maybe she’d be willing to put off her last semester of college. That way, she and Brianna could room together, and neither one of them would be alone.”
Damn it. I like Maddie and all, but having a roommate wasn’t in my plans. Still, I force a smile. “That’s a perfect solution. I bet Maddie would love to come.”
“It would entail her going back to school in the fall and then graduating in December,” Rory says.
“I’m not sure she’d be up for it,” I say.
Seriously, why would she want to miss her last semester? I may get my private room after all.
“Well, we can ask her.”
“What if she doesn’t want to come? Can I still go?”
Now I’m acting too eager. Be cool, Bree.
“I’ll have an easier time selling it to the guys if Maddie comes along,” Rory says. “But honestly, it’s a free world, Bree. I can easily give you the names of our hotels, and you can book a room. No one’s stopping you. I just can’t guarantee you’d be able to ride with us to all the gigs and stuff.”
“I never saw you as a groupie anyway, cuz.” Brock laughs.
“Riding with the band would be fun,” I say. “I’d love to be able to do that.”
“Then to get Jesse and the guys on board with that, we probably need Maddie to come. Jesse’s very protective, and he wouldn’t want you going along with the band unchaperoned.”
Ha! Jesse could be my chaperone. I’d love that. However, that’s not the way to get him to agree. “But I wouldn’t be unchaperoned, Rory. You’ll both be there, and Brock is my cousin.”
“She makes a good point,” Brock says.
Rory scratches the side of her head. “Yeah… That unchaperoned argument wasn’t really working with me anyway. The truth of the matter is, Brianna, I don’t know how the guys are going to react to this. Let me talk to Jesse and bring the idea up to Maddie as well. We’ll try to get it to work out.”
“I would love it if it could. This is a perfect opportunity for me to see Europe before I start working full time on the ranch. I’m a huge fan of Emerald Phoenix, and an even bigger fan of Dragonlock. So please, please make this work out.”
Damn, Bree. Don’t be so over eager. Of course my advice to myself is too late.
“I’ll do my best,” Rory says.
“Thanks.” I give her a hug.
“Tell you what,” she says. “All the guys are coming over for rehearsal. In fact, they’re probably already here. If you want, we can talk about it to them right now.”
“Maybe we should talk to Maddie first. Is she home?”
“Yeah, she’s home. I think she’s up in her room reading.”
I stop myself from jumping. “I’ll go see her right now. I know I can talk her into this.”
I race up the few steps to the main level, and then down the hallway to Maddie’s room. I knock on the door.
“Yeah, come in.”
I open the door. Maddie’s lying on her bed on her stomach, her head hanging over the edge of the bed, a book on the floor before her. Her bed is adorned with pillows and a cozy leopard-print duvet. Her bedside table holds a stack of well-loved books, a reading lamp, and a small potted plant. It’s some kind of cactus. Her walls are oddly bare except for a corkboard where she’s pinned what appear to be inspirational quotes.