Front & Center (Book 2 of the Back-Up Series) by A. M. Madden Page B

She turns and stares at me impassively. “It’s a stupid picture. It’s not a big deal.”
    “ Exactly. Look at the shit-storm one picture is stirring up. Can you imagine what we’ll have to deal with once the news of her pregnancy leaks? What the guys will have to deal with then?”
    “ You promised you wouldn’t do this.”
    “Do what?”
    “Shut me out.”
    “I’m not shutting you out. I’m telling you exactly how I feel. I wasn’t considering the guys in all of this. I was consumed with you being a dad, what that meant to us, what that meant to me. I finally woke up today and realized how much this could affect them.”
    Sitting in the nearest chair, I viciously rake my hands through my hair. “ Wha t are you saying?”
    “Maybe we should take a break.”
    “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?” The volume of my voice causes her to jump.
    “ Just until all this crap blows over,” she responds in almost a whisper.
    I stare at her like she lost her mind . “How the fuck is that going to solve anything? You are asking me to live on that bus and not be with you? Pretend I don’t love you more than anything else in this fucking world?” I’m not reaching her. I can tell because she won’t even make eye contact with me.
    “I’m asking for you to consider the guys.”
    “The guys don’t care that we are together.”
    “They ’ll care if the fans do.”
    Taking a step closer to her, she steps back. “So you want to table our relationship for a bunch of what-ifs?” Again she stands motionless. What the hell has gotten into her? 
    “Leila, even Jen is fighting for us. Jen ! How the hell are we going to make it if you won’t fight for us?”
    Leila sits heavily on the couch, still avoiding my gaze. Kneeling in front of her, I take her hand in mine and soften my voice in an attempt to get through to her. “You said you loved me.”
    “You know I do.”
    “Then why are you trying to deny it?”
    “I’m not denying it. We’ve been in denial, pretending our relationship doesn’t affect them.” She pulls her hands away and adds, “I’m scared.”
    “I will not let anything happen to you.”
    “I’m not scared about my safety.” She says impatiently. “I’m scared I’ll be the reason you don’t succeed.”
    “Baby, please stop. You aren’t listening. We are moving in the right direction. The label is behind us. The guys are behind us. Please promise me you’ll stop thinking this way.”
    She doesn’t respond when I surround her with my arms. She suddenly stiffens and pulls out of my embrace.
    “Jack, I need time.”
    “Ok. I’ll give you a few minutes to calm down.”
    “No. I need time.”
    She meets my gaze for a moment, before turning away as one single tear rolls down her cheek.
    Her steely stance, her detached aura, her indifference towards this entire situation angers me more than anything else. I thought I knew this woman.
    I take a step forward until we are practically nose-to-nose, my hands clenched in fists at my sides, as a means to control the rage I feel coursing through my veins. It reverberates with every breath I take.
    “I’ll give you your fucking time so you can get your head on straight. But if you think I’m walking away from this just because you are having a fucking panic attack, you don’t know me very well.”
    I storm out of the room and viciously slam the door behind me.
    When I walk into the room the guys are sitting in, I instantly know they’ve heard my outburst. “Hunt. Please wait for her and walk her to the bus.”
    “What happened?”
    “She’s losing it. She feels she’s ruining your chances to make it big, and she’s fucking freaking out!”
    I grab a beer and bolt from the holding room. I need air to squelch this dangerous feeling bubbling up inside. I’ve felt rage before, but this is different. It’s tinged with desperation. It’s so foreign, and I have no idea what to do with it. I’ve never needed another person in my life like I