Blue Shoes #1: New Adult Rock Star Erotic Romance (Morris Music Book 6) by JJ Knight Page B

asking.
    I smile politely and try not to think about how Dylan and I have been playing phone tag for what feels like forever.
    Quando è il matrimonio?
    I don’t know when the wedding is. We haven’t set a date. Maybe we will get married tomorrow. This makes everyone laugh.

Chapter 16
    Dylan and I keep missing each other’s calls, but we do communicate a little every day by voicemail.
    I don’t want to make both of us crazy by asking him about the Avalon photo over a voicemail, so I don’t even bring it up.
    With every message, I record first, then listen back, then re-record it if I think I sound too desperate, or too casual.
    I feel like I’m fifteen again, with a stupid crush on some guy who’s stringing me along. Maybe Amanda was right that my lack of experience is a bad thing. I’d never had a boyfriend before I started dating Dylan. I did have a best friend who was a guy, but it was nothing like this.
    With every message Dylan leaves, I can hear the frustration in his voice. I feel it, too. Every time his voicemail picks up, I hope that it’s him and not a recording. My heart feels like it’s breaking when I realize it’s not.
    I’ve been in Rome for ten days.
    The jet lag has lifted, and my body has forgotten about the nine hour time difference. Except for the pain in my chest from missing Dylan, everything’s going okay.
    I’m watching the Deluca marketing team present their new ideas, and they’ve got some good ones, finally. Chet and I are starting to break through. They’ve brought in a new person, a girl about my age. She and I communicate well.
    My phone vibrates in my hand. I look down and see that it’s an unknown number from the L.A. area code calling.
    I race out of the Deluca meeting room and answer the call excitedly.
    “Dylan?”
    “Jess! Is that you? Finally.”
    I’m so relieved, I can’t even speak. The connection is crisp and clear. He could be on the other side of the hallway from me.
    “Finally, I caught you,” he says, his voice a throaty growl.
    My body shudders at the sound of his voice live. The distance between us disappears, and I long to reach out and touch him.
    I can hear shouts and giggles in the background. It’s ten in the morning here, so it’s one o’clock in the morning for Dylan.
    “Where are you? At a gig? Have you been in the recording studio?” I have to stop myself before I pester him with a thousand questions.
    “Just the Avalon again. They’ve got a regular gig for me to keep building up my fan base. They’re putting the footage online. Have you seen it?”
    “Footage? Sure, I think I saw something.” The picture of him kissing that woman springs to mind. Why is he asking me if I saw Avalon footage? Is he trying to figure out how much I know?
    My mind races with paranoia. My mouth is dry and my throat is tight. Is he hiding something?
    “Things have been crazy here,” he says.
    Crazy here. What does he mean? Is this a hint? My heart is pounding, my pulse racing in my ears.
    “Sounds like you’re having fun,” I say.
    “You know how it is,” he says casually.
    My legs feel weak. I keep imagining all sorts of subtext to what he’s saying. I know how it is? What does he even mean?
    I can’t stand up anymore, feeling this way. I find the wall with my back and slide down. One of the Deluca support staff comes running over to me in the hallway and asks if I’m okay.
    I signal for her to bring me water.
    “ Acqua ,” I croak.
    Dylan says, “What’s that? Are you learning Italian?” He sounds excited.
    “Just a few words.” I lick my dry lips. I should ask him about the photo, so he can put me at ease. But the words won’t come to me. I don’t want him to think I’m going to turn into some jealous freak every time we’re apart.
    “Say something in Italian for me,” he says. I can barely hear him over the sound of the crowd in the background.
    I say the only thing that comes to mind. “ Quando è il matrimonio?”
    “ Matrimonio