Broken Bridges

Broken Bridges The Flintlocks Rockstar Romance Series – Book 2 by Tania Joyce BROKEN BRIDGES by Tania Joyce Published by Gatwick Enterprises 2023 Brisbane, Australia. Copyright © Tania Joyce 2023 All content and lyrics original works by Tania Joyce The moral right of the author has been asserted. All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced, manipulated or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organizations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical), or by any means (AI content creation or manipulation, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher. BROKEN BRIDGES The Flintlocks Rockstar Romance Series – Book 2 EPUB format: ISBN: 978-0-6455547-0-0 Paperback: ISBN: 978-0-6455547-3-1 ASIN: B0B8XWT552 Cover Photography by: Wander Aguiar Photography Model: Chris Lynch Edited by: Creating Ink For more information on the author please visit: www.taniajoyce.com Keywords and Subjects New adult romance, young adult romance, contemporary romance, rockstar romance, rock star romance, forced proximity, gay to bisexual romance (pansexual, sexual fluidity), LGBTQI+ romance, celebrity romance, Hollywood romance, movie star romance, rocker, band, musician, bassist, music romance. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 BEFORE YOU GO. BOOKS BY TANIA JOYCE NEWSLETTER FOLLOW TANIA JOYCE ABOUT TANIA JOYCE Chapter 1 LEWIS Four months. Six days. Ten hours. That was how much time had passed since I’d gotten down on one knee, proposed to the love of my life, and had been hit with a heartbreaking, soul-crushing . . . ‘no!’. After drowning my sorrows, I’d arrived home . . . and he was gone. That had been the last battering my heart could take. In the past six months, I’d lost my band, my grandfather, and my lover. New York, the city I’d adored, had taken everything I’d cherished away from me. It had broken my spirit, crushed my soul, and left me shattered. I had sixty days to clear out of my place, Pop’s condo in Brooklyn. I had to sell it to pay off his mountain of debt. With no other family nearby and my friends pursuing new dreams, there was nothing left for me on the East Coast. I’d had enough failures, losses, and delusions to last a lifetime. I needed to escape. Get a new life. Start afresh . . . again. But as I stepped off the plane in Los Angeles, six days before Christmas, I questioned my sanity. This was maybe even too far-fetched for me. Auditioning for The Flintlocks, a rock band who were more popular and more successful than my former group, The Saylors, had ever been, was ludicrous. I doubted I had the level of talent they were looking for. But the chance to write songs, record another album, and hear the tracks on the airwaves again had been a dream of mine for more than ten years. I’d given twelve years of my life to The Saylors. We’d amounted to less than nothing. We’d been a one-hit wonder. Our albums had never taken off. Our continual fights and arguments, different creative ideas, diverse interests, and total dysfunction had destroyed us. Yet another family of mine had fallen apart. At thirty years old, I’d learned too many valuable life lessons. I refused to be taken advantage of anymore, I wouldn’t let my ideas go unheard, I wouldn’t be complacent . . . and I’d never be blinded by love again. I wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes, so something had to change. Was a new band and city the answer? Who fucking knew? But I had nothing left to lose. I grabbed my duffel bag off the luggage carousel and collected my bass guitar from the bulky items counter. Weaving through the busy crowd, I made my way outside and jumped in a taxi. As the driver headed toward Ashlem Studios in West Hollywood, my head spun, and doubts pummeled my mind. This is madness. But then my thoughts reset with new resolve. My ex, Emilio, was wrong. I was hungry for success but our views on what that was differed. He wanted fame and fortune—I wanted happiness, a family, and to live off my music. I’d always known who I was and what I wanted. Following my heart had often led me astray. But now that was dead. So nothing would hold me back. Not anymore. I can do this. I need this. As I stepped out of the taxi, winter sunshine and a faint cool breeze hit me. I tightened my grip on my guitar case and stared up at the small chrome Ashlem Studios sign above the entrance to the two-story brick building. I pulled off my beanie, ruffled my fingers through my chin-length, shaggy blond hair, and closed my eyes. Pop, wish me luck. Taking a deep breath, I strode through the heavy glass doors. I walked across the glossy tiled foyer, checked off my name at the reception desk, then climbed the stairs to the second floor. Butterflies stirred low in my gut like a restless orchestra ready to play as I headed along the corridor lined with platinum album awards and photos of artists. One day, I’d grace the walls of a record company. One day. The door to the audition room