by Casey, Ember
He groans, but doesn’t elaborate.
“She’s more… I don’t know. I’m not sure how to explain it. People pay attention to what she’s wearing all the time. And who she’s with…” She turns to me. “You’re kind of one of those people who’s famous for being famous, right?”
“I suppose so.” I certainly don’t like the direction this conversation has gone. My stomach feels odd—I don’t usually have to defend my status to anyone. I’m really not sure why I have to now.
“Great.” Pax shakes his head. “That’s just…great.”
“I think I’d like to go back to my hotel.” The words almost spill from my mouth, and there’s quite a bit more emotion in them than I realized. My chest is tight, and the last place I want to be at this moment is in the car next to this man—a man who clearly despises me.
“He didn’t mean that.” Molly places her hand on my shoulder. “He’s just being an asshole. But that’s just the persona he wants to project to people. Besides…” She looks between the two of us. “You two could help each other out.”
“We could.” He glances over at me with an expression I can’t quite read. “We definitely could.”
I stare at him for a moment. “You need publicity for your new album. I got that much from the interview you did with my new sister.”
He gives me a little shrug, but doesn’t look over at me.
The man must think I’m an idiot, but I see exactly what he’s thinking. “If you were to date a princess, even for a little while, you might get some free publicity for yourself—and you could leverage that into publicity for your album.”
“I’m not sure that’s the kind of leverage I’m interested in.” He looks at his sister through the mirror again before glancing over at me.
Molly’s grip on my shoulder tightens. “Don’t listen to him.”
“I’m not.” I shake my head. “And I think I would like to go back to my hotel. Or you can drop me off at the next light if you’d rather. I’ll find a taxi to take me back.”
He glances over at me again. “We haven’t had dinner.”
“I’m sure I can find something to eat somewhere in this city.”
His jaw tightens. “I’m sorry. I… I’m sorry.” He rubs his jaw again. “Molly’s right. This could be beneficial for both of us—in the short term, anyway. We should talk about it over dinner. Here…the restaurant is just up here.” He points at a building to our right.
I’m not sure why, but this doesn’t seem like the type of fling I really want to have at the moment. Attraction or not, the part of me with some sense is getting louder by the moment. Nothing about this would end well—better to get it over with now than to risk damaging my family’s reputation.
I shake my head at him again. “I think I’d rather just leave. There’s nothing for us to talk about.”
“Why not?” His brows knit together. “It’s perfect—”
“It’s perfect for you,” I interrupt. “But there’s not a thing in such an arrangement for me.”
Pax
“Nothing?” I say, bringing my car to a stop at a red light. “Are you sure there’s nothing in it for you?” I raise my eyebrow as I look over at her.
She catches my meaning immediately, a blush rising to her cheeks.
“Maybe not nothing,” she admits. “But not as much as there is for you.”
“Not enough to keep you in this car?” I say. I lean across her, making sure to brush against her body as I reach for the door. She sucks in a breath as I flick the door unlocked. “If you want to leave, feel free. I won’t hold a woman against her will.”
As I straighten, I look her in the eyes, daring her to walk away. It’s a gamble, sure, but if she’s changed her mind, then I’m willing to let her go. If she wants to deny this chemistry between us, then nothing I can say or do will make any difference.
In her eyes, though, I see that the heat is still there. Something seems to crackle in the air between us as we stare at each other, and I fight back the urge to grab her and kiss her again, to remind her of what our bodies do to each other.
“Well?” I ask her. “You staying or going?”
Behind us, someone lays on a car horn. The light has changed back to green, but I don’t care. I just keep staring at Sophia, waiting for her answer.
Her eyes never leave mine, but her fingers move to the door. My stomach sinks.
Instead of reaching for the handle, though, she finds the lock and clicks it shut again.
“Just go,” she says. “You’re blocking traffic.”
I smile, leaning back into my seat. The asshole behind me is throwing a fit, but I don’t care. I took a risk and called Sophia’s bluff—and it worked.
Looks like I haven’t lost my touch after all.
As I continue driving toward the restaurant, I say, “If you don’t want to go public with this, then that’s fine. I’m not that interested in dating anyway.” The extra publicity would’ve been awesome, but if the thought of being photographed is going to scare her off, then there’s only so much I can do about that.
“Good,” Sophia says. “Neither am I.”
Molly leans forward between our two seats. “This is has turned into the most unromantic conversation ever. Is this how relationships work when you’re famous? Wait, don’t answer that—I don’t want to know.” She taps the edge of my seat. “Does this mean we’re not going to get the world’s best mac and cheese after all? Since it’s in public?”
“How about this,” I say. “We’ll call ahead and order our dinner to go. Then we can head back to my place to eat. That’ll give us some privacy.” And get Sophia right where I want her.
The others agree that’s the best plan, and half an hour later, we’re walking into my luxury apartment with doggy bags of food.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” Molly announces as I set the bags down on the table. The moment she’s out of the room, I turn to Sophia and grab her, pulling her into my arms. I’m not sure what happened in the car, but I want to fix this—to forget about our disagreements and go back to the fun stuff. To indulge the need coursing through me and give in to the energy arcing between us.
“No reporters,” I say. “No tabloid stories. Just us.”
She doesn’t resist as I fold her against my chest. She falls against my body, her lips crashing against mine. If she was mad at me before, she’s willing to forget it now. I twist her around, pushing her up against the wall, and my hands run up her sides. Her skin is hot even through her clothes.
“I want to fuck you right here,” I murmur. “Right against this wall. And then again bent over the kitchen table. And then again—”
“Not now,” she says, but she continues to run her hands up my back. “Your sister will be back any minute.”
I growl in protest, but I know she’s right. I kiss her fiercely once more before releasing her abruptly. By the time Molly returns, I’ve set all the food out on the table, and Sophia has managed to straighten out all of her clothes again. Molly shoots me an amused look, but if she guesses what went on while she was gone, she doesn’t say anything.
And by the time we’ve dug into the food, I’m sure all of us have forgotten about anything else. Antonia’s is that good.
“You’re right,” Molly manages around a mouthful of food. “This is the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had in my life.” She looks over at Sophia. “What’s the food like in Montovia? I bet the palace chef makes you whatever you want, whenever you want.”
“The food back home is really good,” Sophia says. “But Chef’s mac and cheese has nothing on this.”
I smile, pleased that my recommendation has managed to impress her.
Since when does impressing a woman mean so much to you? I think. Of course, I’ve never hooked up with a princess before. I have no idea what she expects.
“Has Pat played his new stuff for you yet?” Molly asks Sophia.
“Not yet,” Sophia says, her eyes flicking my wa
y.
“Yeah, that’s top secret until the album drops,” I say.
Molly shrugs. “You played it for me and Cat.”
“That’s different. You’re family. Sophia is…” Some random princess I just met. Someone I’m still trying to figure out. “She’s working with Celebrity Spark. I can’t play it for her or my label would have my balls.”
“Only if she tells them,” Molly says, getting up. “And you won’t, will you, Your Highness?”
“You don’t have to call me that,” Sophia tells her. “It sounds so stuffy. And of course I wouldn’t say anything, but—”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Molly bounds over to the cabinet where I keep all my music equipment. “You have a copy somewhere, don’t you, Pat? Even just the demo or something?”
I sigh. “This really isn’t the time for—”
“Here it is!” Molly pulls out a CD. It has the titles of some of our new tracks written on it in Sharpie.
“Those aren’t finished tracks,” I tell her.
“But it has my favorite on here,” she says, popping it into the CD player before I can reach her. To Sophia, she adds, “He still puts his stuff on CDs so he can send our mom a copy. She refuses to learn how to use an MP3 player.”
“This isn’t family story time,” I grumble.
“No, it’s concert time,” Molly says with a grin. She hits the play button on the CD player.
I know exactly which song Molly is going to play—the one that nearly broke me to write. The one I thought about keeping private forever—after all, some demons are better kept secret. But I’m a musician, and at the end of the day, the music rules me, not the other way around. Once the song was out of my mind and out there, there was no putting it back again. It belongs to the world, now. But I’ll be damned if I ever tell anyone what this track really means.
It would be easy to reach over and turn it off. But in spite of everything, I’m curious to hear what Sophia thinks about what she’s about to hear. Curious, and…a little terrified.
She’s just a hook up, I tell myself. She can fuck off if she hates it. And she’ll never know the truth behind it, so there’s no reason to be so scared. But as the music starts to come through the speakers, I turn to face her, my chest tightening as I wait to see exactly how she responds.
Sophia
The way he’s staring at me when the music starts, I know I’ll probably have to lie and tell him it’s the best thing I’ve ever heard.
But as the song begins, I can tell it isn’t the same as his band’s usual music at all. It’s much different, though it takes me a few minutes of listening to understand why.
Everything in the music seems to blend together. The lyrics, the acoustic guitar, the melody—it all sounds like it came from the depths of someone’s heart.
It’s beautiful and unlike anything I’ve ever heard.
“Don’t you love it?” Molly chirps from where she’s standing in front of the stereo. She has her eyes closed and her hand on her heart, swaying with the beat. “It’s the best work he’s ever done.”
“Whatever,” Pax grumbles. “Just turn it off.”
“No. Don’t.” I look over at him, trying to catch his gaze, but he’s staring at the table. His cheeks are stained crimson, and I’d almost think he was blushing—but I’d stake my title on the fact that Pax is not the sort of man to be embarrassed about anything.
When the song ends, Molly turns the volume down and bounces back over to the table, plopping into the chair across from her brother. “I still say you’re going to win every award there is to win with that song.”
Pax shrugs and shovels another bite of food into his mouth.
“It’s really beautiful.” I look over at him again, but he’s staring at his plate. “Did you write it?”
“He did all of that one—the music and the lyrics. After the band heard it, they all worked on the rest of the album. But none of those other songs even compare—”
“I think that’s enough, Mol.” He glares at his sister. “Our guest doesn’t need to know—”
“Of course she does.” Molly grins over at me. “She’s into it, too. She—”
“What’s it about?” I interrupt, staring over at Pax. “Did someone break your heart—?”
“No. We are not doing this.” He stands, walking over to the sound system and punching a button that turns off the music.
Molly’s smile falls, though I’m not sure why. “I’ll tell you the whole story sometime.” She glances over at her brother. “Sometime when my brother—”
“You won’t be telling anyone anything.” He shakes his head as he walks back over to the table. “Because you don’t know anything.”
She sighs as she pushes away from the table. “I know a lot more than you give me credit for.”
He glares at her for a moment before he shakes his head, turning to me. “It’s not a big deal.” He forces a smile. “She…she turns everything into a thing. And that song is definitely not a thing.”
His sister lifts a brow. “It’s definitely a thing.”
Pax stares at her, and I can’t really read his expression. “Do we really need to have this talk again, Molly? When we’re in public, we don’t share personal details—”
“We’re not in public, though.” She frowns. “Do we really need to have this talk again?”
I smile, looking between the two of them. “If my presence here is making you uncomfortable—”
“You’re not making me uncomfortable.” Molly looks over at me, still frowning. “I think he thinks—”
“You don’t know what I think.” Pax looks between the two of us. “I swear to God, if I find out this was some sort of joke…some conspiracy between the two of you…”
It’s like a light switches on in my head, and I realize how ridiculous this situation is. How did I even get here? “I’ve never met your sister before in my life.” I stand, suddenly very aware of my open blouse—I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed how much of my cleavage was showing before this moment because of the missing buttons.
I’m not sure what was happening to me before now—I was clearly in some sort of lust-fueled fugue state, unaware of what was going on. This was enjoyable when I was going to have a one-night stand with a rock star, but now that I seem to be in the middle of some sort of family feud, the fun seems to have disappeared. Part of me thinks it might be nice to know some personal details of Pax’s life—God knows my life has been an open book, available for all to read. And there’s certainly something dark and mysterious about him that I wouldn’t mind knowing more about. But I’m not sure it’s worth trying to peel back any layers. I had only wanted a short, happy fling with the man. Hearing a single song he’s performed shouldn’t have changed that.
But somehow, it has. And that is almost terrifying in a way I can’t describe.
Still, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to have Pax sing for me himself. To play his guitar for me and…
No. Obviously, my brain cells have been affected somehow by the air pollution in this city. The best solution for all of us would be for me to leave—to let these two have whatever argument it is they need to have without my presence.
I hold my top closed with my hand. “I think I should call a car.”
“No.” His eyes widen slightly, and he takes a step toward me. “I mean… I can drive you anywhere you need to go. You don’t have to leave—”
“I think…” I take a step back. I don’t know what’s happening to me, but my chest is suddenly tight with anxiety. And the way he’s looking at me now makes me clutch the opening of my blouse even more tightly. Things just seem more…real now. Back at the studio, this had seemed like an easy fling—something mindless and fun. But that song… I’m not sure why it affected me as much as it did. “I…I should go. I…I shouldn’t have come in the first place.”
Molly’s eyebrows shoot upward. “Maybe I should go. If you give me the keys to the car, I�
��ll—”
“Not happening. You are not ever driving my car. Not in this lifetime.” He narrows his gaze at her before looking back over at me. “We’ll take my sister back to her dorm. And then…and then we can do whatever you want. I’ll take you back to your hotel… Or we can come back here…”
“Or you can just do her at her hotel.” She laughs. “And then do her again here…”
“I swear to God, Molly, I will strangle you right now—”
She interrupts with a laugh. “Sure you will. The publicity you get for my murder will probably be better than the coverage you’ll get for dating a princess.”
His hands clench into fists at his sides, and he closes his eyes for a moment. He takes a deep breath before he opens his eyes, his gaze returning to mine. He forces a smile. “I say we get rid of my sister. And then we can have a real conversation. Or…whatever.”
It’s the whatever that’s still intriguing—the only thing still keeping me here.
Wait…what the hell have I gotten myself into?
He’s glaring at his sister, and I tune them both out as they begin to argue again.
My phone buzzes in my bag, and I reach for it. There are fourteen missed calls, and at least a dozen texts, the most recent from my eldest brother.
I don’t need to read them to know what they say.
Pax and Molly are still arguing, almost yelling at each other.
I know an opportunity when I see one. I shove my phone back into my bag, and I walk out the door.
Pax
It takes me a moment to realize Sophia is no longer in the room. When I spin back to look at Molly, she just shrugs. I’d take a bullet for any one of my sisters without a moment’s hesitation, but they sure as hell know how to drive me fucking insane sometimes, every last one of them. Molly knows there are things in my past I don’t want to revisit—especially not in front of strangers. I’m not in the mood to bare my soul. Just listening to that song again was enough to leave me sick to my stomach. No matter how many times I hear it or perform it, I’ll never get past that.
