“Stop trying to distract me. You’re taking me to the firing squad.”
I laugh. “It’s not going to be that bad.”
The door opens and Mom appears. She immediately pulls Reece into a hug. “Hello, dear. Garrett has told me all about you. It’s so nice to meet you.” She squishes their boobs between them.
“Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Young.”
“Call me Sandy.”
Relief washes over Reece’s face as Mom welcomes her.
Mom looks at Reece’s car in the driveway. “I’m glad you didn’t drive her over here on that death trap of yours.”
“It’s a motorcycle, Mom, and she’s been on it, but she’s not a fan.”
Mom smiles. “Good girl.”
I follow when she leads Reece to the sitting room, where Zola, one of the staff, is waiting with drinks and a tray of tiny food with names I can’t pronounce. I look around. “Is Dad coming?”
“He’s on a call. He’ll join us for dinner.”
“Working again on a Sunday night, is he?”
“Don’t start, Garrett. He works very hard to provide for his family.”
“And he never lets us forget it.”
She gives me a pointed look, then turns to Reece. “My son tells me you’re a waitress. A respectable profession. I waited tables myself back in college. It’s how I met Garrett’s father.”
Reece and Mom spend a few minutes swapping tales of waitressing. I’m happy she seems at ease.
Footsteps echo outside the room. To my surprise, Rob appears, heading straight for the bar. Reece leans close. “You didn’t tell me your brother was going to be here.”
“I didn’t know,” I whisper back, then say to him, “Is it spring break or something?”
He shakes his head and tosses back a shot.
“Oh, shit. You didn’t flunk out, did you?”
A low grumble comes from the doorway. “Rob flunk out of Yale Law School?” Dad says. “Hardly. I’d say that kind of thing only happens to you, Garrett.”
I tense “I’ve never flunked out of anything.”
“Because you’ve never tried anything.”
“I work my ass off as a drummer.”
Dad laughs snidely. “I wouldn’t call pounding on drums work. It’s a hobby.”
Mom intervenes. “Daniel, Rob, I’d like you to meet Reece. She’s absolutely delightful.”
They make pleasantries until Zola appears in the doorway, signaling to my dad. “Looks like dinner is ready,” he says, taking off for the dining room.
We settle at the table. As usual, Dad sits at the head. Mom’s at the other end, and the three of us sit in between.
“Why are you home?” I ask Rob. “I thought you didn’t graduate until May.”
“I don’t. Joanna kicked me out.”
“Shit, really?”
“Language,” Mom says.
“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” I ask. “You cheat on her?”
“No, I didn’t cheat on her. I tried to tell you a few days ago. I called, but you seemed” —he looks at Reece— “pre-occupied.”
“Why’d she throw you out? Haven’t you been together for two years?”
Rob pours a glass of wine and takes a long, slow drink. “Dad’s firm didn’t offer her a job. Turns out that’s why she was with me all along. Not because she loved me, but because she wanted to work at Young, Kincaid, and Nash.”
“Bitch was using you this whole time?”
“Garrett,” Mom scolds.
Rob raises his glass. “To skanky gold-digging girlfriends. May they rot in hell.”
Reece practically turns green. I know what she’s thinking. I reach under the table and squeeze her hand.
“What will you do now?” I ask. “It will be hard to find an apartment for only a few months.”
“I’m living here. It’s only a forty-five-minute drive.”
“You’re living here?”
Dad clears his throat. “You miss a lot when you play house with someone you met only last week, eh, son?”
“I wasn’t … We weren’t … She was afraid to stay at her boss’s house alone.”
Dad appears relieved. “So you’re not moving in together?”
“No.”
He looks at Reece exactly like I expect him to—like she’s a skanky gold-digging girlfriend. “I heard you and Sandy talking. You’re a waitress?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Are you putting yourself through college?”
“No.”
“Trade school?”
She shakes her head. “I’m a musician, like Garrett.”
“I thought you said you’re a waitress.”
“I am.”
“Then you must not be a very good musician.”
I slam down my fork. “Dad, what the fuck?”
“Garrett,” Mom says, “for the love of God, will you please watch your mouth?”
“You’ll have to excuse me for being so direct, Ms. Mancini,” Dad says. “But you must understand, especially in light of what recently happened to Rob, I have to protect the interests of my family.”
“Yes, of course, sir. I, uh, I’m not like that.”
“I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”
Mom shoves the wine bottle at Dad. “Daniel, more wine?”
He ignores the bottle and asks Reece, “What line of work is your father in?”
“My father?” Reece hesitates.
I feel bad for not having better prepared them. “Reece’s parents died when she was six.”
Mom reaches across the table and puts a hand on Reece’s. “I’m so sorry, dear. We didn’t know.”
“Your grandparents then,” Dad says, not offering a morsel of empathy. “I assume they raised you. What do they do?”
“Can we stop with the third degree?” I say.
“I’m simply making dinner conversation, son. No harm in that.” He turns to Reece. “So, your grandparents?”
“I don’t have any. I wasn’t raised by family. I’m on my own.”
A look of disgust washes over his face. “You grew up on the streets?”
“Reece didn’t grow up on the streets.” I take our clasped hands and put them on the table, showing him a united stance. “She was in foster care until she turned seventeen. She’s supported herself since.”
Dad leans back. “I don’t have to lock up the silver, do I?”
“That’s it.” I stand quickly, my chair falling over behind me. I pull my hand from Reece’s and pick up the salad plates Zola just placed in front of us. “Thanks for the stellar reception, but we’ll be eating in the kitchen.”
“Was it something I said?” he calls after us.
“Daniel, enough,” Mom says. “Let the kids enjoy their dinner.”
We step into the kitchen, and I put our plates on the table. Reece looks like she’d rather be anywhere but here. “I’m sorry. My dad can be a real bastard. He’s a lawyer and tends to treat everyone like a criminal. Most of all me.”
Rob appears with his plate and wine glass. “Dad’s in rare form tonight.” He turns to Reece. “Please excuse our father. Joanna dumping me set him off.”
Reece sits and picks at her salad. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay,” Rob says taking the chair across from her. “But he does set a good example.” He holds up his hand to stop me when I lunge at him. “Of the kind of man I don’t want to be.”
I sit next to Reece. “Yet you’re going to work for him.”
“Of course I am. His firm is one of the largest in Connecticut. I’d be stupid not to. Plus, he won’t work there forever. When he retires, I plan on being the ‘Young’ on the stationery.”
“You’re not like your father?” Reece asks him.
Rob and I look at each other and laugh. “Far from it,” I say.
Reece’s eyes dart between us. Rob has dressed for dinner, wearing khakis and a button-down. He has short hair, a clean-shave, and zero tatt
oos. “But the two of you are so different,” she says.
“On the outside, maybe. Rob isn’t just my brother, he’s more like my best friend.”
“But he’s so much older than you.”
“Only two-and-a-half years,” I tell her.
She’s confused. “How is that possible? You’re nineteen, and he’s about to graduate from law school.”
I put a proud hand on his shoulder. “You’re looking at a real-life prodigy. He skipped third and eighth grade and earned his undergrad degree in three years.”
Rob shrugs my hand off, embarrassed. “I’m not the only prodigy in the family. Gare here is a master on the drums.”
“I know,” she says. “I’ve heard him.”
“Reece is the master,” I tell him. “You should hear this girl sing. And she plays guitar as well as Jimmy Littner.”
Rob looks amused. “No shit?”
“Who’s Jimmy Littner?” she asks.
Zola clears our salad plates and serves us chicken parmesan. While we eat, I tell Reece the story of the kid I went to private school with when I was seven. “I was in music class, being introduced to a variety of instruments. Jimmy picked up a guitar and played it like he’d had years of lessons, only he’d never touched one. The next year he was shipped off to some music conservatory, and now he plays classical guitar in front of millions of people every year.”
“How can you even compare me to a person like that?”
“I’m serious, Mancini. You might even be better than Jimmy. Rob, you have to hear her.”
Rob stands. “Let’s go.”
I push my plate away.
Reece stares at us. “Go where?”
“You didn’t tell her?” he says.
“Haven’t had the chance.”
“Tell me what?”
“Come on. I’ll show you.”
We go to the back hallway and down the rear stairs to the lower floor. Reece sticks her head into the theater room as we pass. “You have a movie theater in your house?”
“Doesn’t everyone?” Rob quips.
“No, everyone doesn’t. This room is bigger than some of the foster homes I lived in.”
“Sorry,” Rob says, looking guilty.
Reece’s face splits into a smile. “I’m kidding.”
“You’ve got a spunky girlfriend,” he says to me.
“You have no idea,” I whisper. I take Reece’s elbow and tug her along. “Come on, it’s in here.”
Rob flips on the light in the music studio. Reece glances around the room like a kid in a candy store. “Your dad built this for you? But he hates that you’re a musician.”
“He built it when I was twelve,” I say. “Back when he still thought it was a phase and was sure I’d follow him into law.”
She picks up a guitar and strums it. I go over to Rob and pull him aside. “She’s mine.”
He looks at me like I’m crazy. “Little brother, please tell me what the hell I did to make you think I like your girlfriend.”
“Nothing, but you haven’t heard her songs yet. When you do, you’ll want her. Everyone will want her.”
“Damn. That good, huh?”
“Yeah. That good.”
Chapter Fourteen
Reece
I gaze at the two suitcases by the door, knowing I’ve forgotten something. I haul one of them over to the couch and unzip it.
Maddox laughs. “You’ve checked and rechecked ten times. I think you’re good, Reece. Besides, it’s not like every city you visit won’t have a mall in case you need something. You’ll probably have people at your beck and call who will go shopping for you.”
“Reckless Alibi might. Not me. I’m only a guest singer.”
“You’re riding on the bus. Staying in the same hotels. Sounds like you’re one of them to me.”
“I’m not, and I don’t want to be. I want to make a name for myself.” I zip up the suitcase and then plop down on the couch. “Mad, am I cheating by doing this? Garrett said something last week I haven’t been able to shake. He said they had to work their assess off to get where they are, but I’m basically getting handed all this without lifting a finger.”
“You shouldn’t let anything he says get to you. He’s being a royal douche.”
“Maybe, but he has a point. I’m pretty much riding their coattails. None of this would be happening for me if they weren’t famous.”
“None of this would be happening if he hadn’t stolen your lyrics.” He pulls me to my feet and locks eyes with me. “You deserve this, Reece. Don’t go looking a gift horse in the mouth.”
“I know. I’m nervous is all.”
“I’d be worried if you weren’t. Do you remember the movie you made me watch a while back with Lady Gaga? The one where the famous singer met some girl doing a nightclub act, and he pulled her onstage and made her sing that song and then she went on to be more famous than he was?”
“You mean A Star is Born?”
“That’s the one. I keep thinking the same thing is about to happen to you.”
“You’re crazy. I’ll never be on the same level as Reckless Alibi. Just wait, after this tour, they’ll probably need bodyguards around the clock.”
“Want to put money on it?”
“You want me to bet I won’t be as famous as them?”
He shrugs. “Easy money for me.”
“You might be a tad biased.”
He drags my suitcase over to the door. “You don’t want to be late for the bus. Let’s get going.”
I put on my coat and glance around, wondering how or if my life might be about to change and if I’ll look at our apartment differently when I return. Then I take a calming breath and walk out.
“Reece?”
I turn back to Maddox, who’s pulling one of my suitcases. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
I study my two bags and purse with drawn eyebrows. Then I cover my mouth. “Oops.” I run back inside and get my guitar.
~ ~ ~
“If there’s anything you need from your suitcase, get it out now,” Bruce, the bus driver says. “We won’t stop until we get to Cleveland.”
I pat my extra-large purse. “I’m good. Thanks.”
Liam reaches into the luggage compartment and pulls out my guitar case. “In case we want to jam.”
I smile, glad he might want to play with me to pass the time.
“Time to roll,” Bruce says.
Everyone but Garrett climbs on board. I have no idea where he is. I hang back to say goodbye to Maddox.
“Don’t let them intimidate you,” he says. “If you ever need me, I’m just a phone call away. Even at two in the morning.”
“Do you have your plane ticket yet?”
“You bet your ass I do. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
As soon as I showed him the tour schedule, he said he would fly out for the third show—the debut of my opening act. Knowing he’s going to be there makes me feel better.
Bruce blasts the horn, startling me.
Maddox hugs me. “Give ’em hell, Mancini. You’ve got this.”
“I’m going to miss you.”
“You’ll see me in five days.”
“I’m still going to miss you.”
“Me, too. Now get your ass on the bus and go get famous.”
I smile at him over my shoulder as I climb on.
Bria pats the seat next to her and Ella. Liam’s girlfriend and I have met briefly a few times, but we haven’t gotten to know each other like Bria and I have. I sit and glance around. Seeing pictures of it is one thing. Being on the bus is something else entirely. I feel like I’m in a dream. All those shows on HGTV about rich people and their decked-out RVs—I feel like I’m on one of those shows.
“Don’t worry,” Bria says. “You’re not the only one who thinks this is all surreal. This is our first time in something like this, too.”
“You’ve already been on one tour, though.”
“
We drove around Florida in a passenger van, helped with the sets, and ate at Burger King. This is new for us, too.”
I let out a breath. “Good, because it’s like I’m living someone else’s life right now.”
Liam and Crew are looking through cabinets, checking things out. Iggy is trying to figure out the remote control to the TV. But I don’t see Garrett.
Bria seems to know what I’m thinking. “He’s in the bedroom. Got here early.”
“You mean he didn’t want to see me. Does he think he can avoid me for the next ten weeks?”
“Give him time. Men can act like toddlers when they don’t get their way.”
After the bus starts moving, I hear a loud pop and turn my head. Crew has opened a bottle of champagne. “We’re celebrating,” he says. “We’re going national, people!”
“At nine in the morning?” Jeremy asks, looking up from his newspaper.
Liam holds out a container of orange juice. “The pussies can water it down with this.”
Crew gets out glasses and pours, asking if we want mimosas or not. “Where’s G?”
“Brooding,” Bria says.
“Garrett!” he yells. “Get your ass out here.”
The bedroom door opens, and he appears. Regarding me with disdain, he takes his glass from Crew and heads to the back again.
“Hell, no,” Liam says, running to block the way. “You’re doing this. You can go hide after.”
“Reckless on three?” Crew says.
I back away. This isn’t my toast.
“Let’s get Reckless!” they shout, some louder and with more excitement than others.
Ella says to me, “It’s okay to join in, you know. I do it, and I’m not part of the band.”
“It wouldn’t feel right.”
“You’re here for the duration. Might as well make the best of it.”
Garrett tops off his glass and disappears again. “Maybe you should tell him that.”
“He’ll come around. If he doesn’t, he’ll be missing out on one hell of an experience. But that would be his fault, not yours. None of this is your fault. He took something from you that wasn’t his. You deserve to be here.”
“Maddox keeps saying the same thing.”
“Maddox?”
“My best friend.”
“You should listen to him. Don’t worry, Bria and I have your back. Don’t we, Bria?”
Reckless Reunion (The Reckless Rockstar Series) Page 9
