Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57804 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57804 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
“Oh, nice.” I managed the words with a forced smile on my face. Even if he still made my heart race a hundred miles an hour, I couldn’t get hooked on him. This was temporary, and he was taken. Besides, I wouldn’t want him to hurt me again.
Ryder led me into the dining room where four other guys were sitting. They all smiled at me in a friendly manner and lifted their hands in small waves.
“Guys, this is Delilah Harrington. Delilah, that’s our drummer, Wyatt,” Ryder said as he pointed to a lean man with defined biceps and shoulders and short, brown hair. He then directed his finger to a man with black, neatly trimmed hair, matching stubble, and blue eyes. “Our bassist, Jesse.”
I smiled at them, feeling my face warm up slightly as they all gazed at me. They all looked good in their band photo, but they looked even better now in casual clothes and relaxed poses.
Ryder gestured to the other side of the table where a man with shaggy blonde hair and green eyes sat, along with another man that had dark brown hair that was slightly pushed back with one dimple on his right cheek.
“That’s Carson, our rhythm guitarist, and our lead singer—”
“Amos,” I said with a surprised laugh. I remembered Amos from my past. He was four years older than me, but he was old friends with Ryder, so I had been around him quite a few times when he came over to the ranch to hang out.
“Nice to see you again, Delilah. Living the dream, yeah?” Amos replied with a cheeky grin on his face.
I raised my eyebrows slightly, surprised by his charming tone and look. When he was a teenager, he was a bit awkward and shy, fumbling over his words at times. It was cute, but I had been stuck on Ryder at the time.
“Absolutely,” I said with a warm smile before looking at the others. “I really like your music. I think we could be a good fit. Musically.”
“Would you want to hear one of the new ones we’re working on after dinner? It’s for our debut album,” Ryder asked as he gestured for me to sit down at the head of the table.
“I’d love to,” I replied as I sat down, nearly shuddering when Ryder’s arm brushed mine as he took a place next to Carson.
“We’re gonna blow you away,” Carson said as his eyes locked with mine. I could tell that he was the youngest of the group. Probably just a year or so older than me.
“I don’t doubt it,” I replied before tearing my eyes away from his. I had been around bands before. Obviously, it was normal in the music industry to meet other artists, but this meeting just felt so intense as they all peered at me.
Maybe it was because I wanted this to work. I wanted to settle things between Ryder and me so that I didn’t continue to carry the sadness and disappointment that I had been saddled with for years. I didn’t want to leave Chalice Falls feeling worse than before.
Ryder had pizza delivered to the house so that we could spend more time talking instead of having to worry about cooking dinner. We gathered at the dining table, talking about our favorite bands, artists that influenced us, and funny moments from performing. Honestly, I laughed more than I expected to and found myself relaxing more.
“Once, I was performing at this festival in Texas, and I threw my hand up in the air to wave to the crowd and my blouse ripped,” I admitted before shaking my head at myself, my face burning just at the thought.
“Are you serious?” Jesse asked with wide eyes.
“What did you do? Did people see?” Amos added as he leaned forward slightly.
“Luckily, I had a bra on underneath, but it was so embarrassing! I was glad it was at the end of the last song so that I could hurry off stage,” I replied. I nearly burst into tears out of embarrassment at the time, but everyone was more focused on how well I performed. My wardrobe girl had the blouse fixed by the next performance.
I supposed that was showbiz.
“You’re really a big deal, Delilah. I knew it the moment I first heard you sing in that school play,” Ryder told me with a grin on his face.
I subtly smiled in a bashful manner as I shook my head, remembering being up on that stage in my plaid white and black dress, red shoes, and braided hair. On top of it all, I sang an original song, not wanting to reduce myself to a cover because I wanted to be a serious singer songwriter.
The stage lights felt like they were beating down on me at the time, but I controlled my breathing and let my voice ring out throughout the small school auditorium. Halfway through the song, my eyes shifted to the right to see Ryder sitting in the fourth row. He was grinning and leaning forward slightly like he was captured by my performance.