Page 7 of Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
“Jessie’s influence?” Finn asks Milo.
“Does she say fuck?” Milo asks.
“Enough. I’d appreciate it if this meeting didn’t take all goddamn night. I promised my wife I’d help put our son to bed so we can watch a movie together.”
“Is that code for—”
“Milo, if you finish that fucking sentence, I’m going to drown your ass in the pool.” Chris glares at our drummer.
He holds his hands up in surrender. “I’m done.”
“Are you sure?”
Milo taps his finger to his lips as he considers the question before finally answering. “Yeah, that’s all I got.”
“Good. Now that the comedic portion of the evening is over, I wanted to talk about an opportunity we’ve been presented with. To perform at a charity concert between now and Christmas.”
Finn groans. “Christmas songs?”
“What’s the charity?” Lilah asks.
“Santa’s Helpers.” Chris’s glance in my direction is so quick I almost miss it.
It’s a charity I’m familiar with. Only my experience was on the receiving end. The charity helps make sure kids from low-income families experience a special Christmas, even if their parents can’t afford it.
I give my head a slight shake to assure him I’m fine with it. More than fine. It’s a great chance to give back to the organization that helped my family when I was younger.
“When’s the concert?” I clear my throat to get rid of the rasp of emotion in my voice.
“Next weekend. In San Francisco.”
Lilah’s eyes widen. “San Francisco?”
“Problem, princess?” I can’t help but goad.
She glares at me. “No. No problem.”
“Cornerstone okay with it?” I ask Chris.
Since Noah left the band six months ago, our label has become a massive pain in the ass. Might have something to do with Noah’s departure after a fuck ton of publicity surrounding his overdose.
“Marcus is the one who called me.”
I’m not a fan of our label rep. But Chris has to put up with him more than the rest of us. And lately, the interactions have involved more and more bullshit, with zero signs of letting up. After twenty years, we should hold a little more control over our lives.
Not according to Marcus.
“So are we doing the concert?” Finn asks.
“That’s why I called you all here. Cornerstone is letting us decide. What do you think?”
“What doyouthink?” I ask Chris.
“I think we should do it. It will be our first concert since…”
Since Noah left.
Since Lilah.
