Twisted Wings
Page 25
Fuck.
Sydney pushes up with tears in her eyes, and it shocks my heart. “Ma, I’ll call you back.” I hang up the phone without waiting for her response.
“Hey, look at me.” Her eyes flash to mine and I wipe away her tears with my thumbs. “She’s surprised, that’s it. She will love you.”
“What if she doesn’t,” she cries. “I mean, my own mom didn’t. What if yours hates me too?” Her insecurities are wreaking havoc in her eyes.
I blow out a ragged breath knowing deep in my heart, my mom will love her. They are so alike and she’s hounded me for years to get married. I shake my head. “Tink, she won’t. Let me call her back and talk to her. You’ll see.” She nods and tries to push off me, but I hold her thighs down. “You are not going anywhere.” I’m determined to fix this. The two women I love more than anything will be on the same side whether or not they like it.
Sydney chews on her lip as I hit my mom’s number. I keep it off speaker, just in case my mom’s a wild cannon again.
“Is she pregnant?” I drop my head at her first words. See, wild cannon just exploded.
“No. She’s not. Why are you being so rude?”
“Son,” her voice levels. It’s the same voice she would use when I fucked up. “What am I supposed to think? You’ve known her for what, two months? Is she after your money?”
My eyes widen, surprised by how mean she’s being. I rub my jaw as Sydney stares at me. “First, we’ve known each other for over two years. Second, that was uncalled for. You don’t even know her.” My voice hardens as I become defensive. Sydney’s head drops.
Silence hangs between me and my mom until she sighs. “I’m sorry, Max. You’re right. You caught me off guard. I don’t want you to get hurt. You should bring her here so we can meet.”
If she thought I caught her off guard before, wait till she hears the rest. “Actually… we’re getting married next weekend. In Dallas. I planned on sending the plane to pick you and Brad up. Rex will be there too.”
She gasps. “Why the rush?”
“Because I want her by my side permanently as soon as possible,” I grind out, not liking that I have to justify my actions. Even if it’s to my mom. I pull in a deep inhale, grabbing Sydney’s hand and bring it to my lips. “Because I’ve loved her for over two years and I finally was able to make her mine.”
She sniffs in the phone. “Max, I’ve never heard you talk like that before.” I roll my eyes as my mom’s voice morphs into sweetness. “I still would like to meet her before you get married.”
“Ma, we’re at the ranch and only here for four more days.”
“Okay. Send the plane in three days and we’ll come there and visit for a day before we all go to Dallas.”
I mouth to Sydney, “She wants to come here to meet you.” She nods in agreement. It’s probably the best plan. I’d hate to ruin our wedding weekend fighting with my mom.
“You win,” I say into the phone. “We’ll see you in three days.”
Chapter Forty-One
Sydney
Sweat makes my shirt stick to my back as we take a quick break from our soundcheck. Nerves mixed with excitement about tonight has my body heat at an insane level. Also, the insane summer humidity I’m not used to anymore doesn’t help. Max is sitting on a speaker, watching everyone. He’s more relaxed now that I’m not in danger.
Or maybe because I’m about to be his wife.
My teeth tug on my lip, the thought sending butterflies to my belly. Max Shaw’s wife. The whirlwind of the past few weeks, the island, the proposal, the time we spent together, seems like a dream. Max asked me once we got back if I regretted saying yes now that I've had time to think and I'm back in reality. Definitely not. And now, all our friends are on their way here for a surprise wedding. To top it off, Max’s mom does love me. The couple days we’ve spent together have been wonderful. I can’t help the flutter in my belly watching Max with his mom. It’s a sexy attribute to see him cherish his mom.
Staring at the empty stadium in my hometown, I wonder how many people coming tonight know the real me. Memories of sitting out in the lawn seats watching my favorite band pop in my head. It’s surreal to think about. There’s one person who won’t be here, though. Mommy dearest. That woman would never admit that her daughter, the one she never wanted, was successful. She probably tells people that I lip sync.
“You all right,” Max says, coming up behind me. I shake her out of my head. I was never good enough for her, and it wasn’t without trying.
I sigh and spin in place, looking up. “Yeah. Just being here, takes me back.”
“Do you want to see her?”
I shake my head, biting my inner cheek, not surprised he can read me. “She’s not worth my time. She’s had twenty-six years to make time for me, that road is a dead end.”
He nods, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Damn, it’s hard not to pull you into my arms right now.” I scan the surrounding area, light technicians and stage prop guys are busy doing their job. Two guys from the band are fine tuning their instruments on stage.
I wrinkle my nose and step into Max’s space, lifting on my toes. I place a quick kiss on his lips, tugging on his bottom lip as I pull back. “That’ll have to due until later.”
He narrows his eyes with a wicked grin on his lips. “I don’t think that’ll last until later.” As he takes a step forward, I take a step back.
“Max,” I warn. “There are reporters everywhere. One kiss is easy to hide.” I seem to have awoken the beast. When he takes another step forward, my eyes flicker around, looking for something to distract him. Tug chuckles to the side of us, watching everything.
“I thought you were keeping it on the down-low until tomorrow.”
“We are,” I clip, not taking my eyes off Max, afraid he’s about to lunge. From the corner of my eyes, I see Tug get up from his drum set and an idea pops into my head. “Hey Tug, Max used to play drums.”
“Sick. You wanna heat her up?”
Max pops a brow up, slowly nodding his head while his eyes rake over my entire body. I clear my throat, shifting my body from foot to foot as his devilish expression does exactly what Tug suggests. Except he’s not supposed to heat me up. “The drums, Max.” I point to the sticks Tug’s holding out.
“This is fun watching you squirm,” Tug jokes. Max jerks his head to Tug, his expression hardens and I still. What the hell? Tug's smile drops, his eyes widen. “No, bro… not like that… I mean… not sexual at all,” he stutters, trying to find his voice. “I mean, Sky’s like a big sister to me.” Max gets a hold of his feelings and his shoulders relax. “Here, have fun.” Tug jerks out his sticks again, passing them to Max before striding off stage.
I pinch my lips together and wait for Max to say something. Rather than addressing what just happened, he stalks around the drum set and sits, twiddling the sticks in his hands.
“So…” I drawl, not giving him a chance to redirect. He stares at me and I blow out a breath. “I think you just scared the piss out of Tug.”
“Good.”
I sigh, looking up to the rafters. Max rarely lets his emotions get the best of him. “Tug is a good guy. He didn’t mean anything by it.”
Max beats a stick against a drum and I jump in surprise. Why is he being an ass right now? I cross my arms and glare at him.
“I’m sorry,” he finally says. “It’s because we’re engaged and no one knows that has me on edge.”
“Do you want me to put my ring on? I will. The only reason I’m not wearing it is because we both agreed we wanted our friends to hear it from us before they heard it through a media outlet. But you’re not my dirty little secret, Max. I love you and I want to tell the world I’m yours.”
His head drops and he shakes it. Lifting up, regret is written all over his face. “No. Let’s keep to the plan. I just hate not being able to touch you.”
“Tonight, you can make up for it and touch me however you want,” I tease, helping lighten the mo
od.
His lips lift to a smile as he beats on the drum, his eyes never leaving mine. When I recognize the song he’s playing, I throw my head back, laughing. Jay strings his guitar, joining in. Not wanting to miss out playing with Max, I grab my mic and turn it on. My foot beats to the music and I jump in singing I Can’t Get No Satisfaction from the Rolling Stones.
Claps surround us when we finish. I stare at Max, his shirt soaked, sticking to his six-pack and there’s nothing I’d rather do than straddle him and let him play me right now. He looks wickedly hot.
Swaying my hips, I shimmy around the drums, approaching Max from behind. I whisper in his ear, “Meet me in my dressing—”
“Look who I found begging to get in,” Graham announces loudly, walking onto the stage. I stand tall and glance at who he’s talking about, taking a couple steps away from Max.
“Sydney!” Addison runs across the stage and I run to meet her halfway. Our arms wrap around each other. “I mean Sky,” she quips as she pulls back, smiling.
“I didn’t know y’all were coming up here.” I glance around Addison and the group of our friends make their way over to us. Aiden, Jaxon, Ryan, Macie, Harper, and Katie join Max, slapping backs and hugging each other. The only one missing is Ryker. It’s football season, so I’m not surprised.
“I couldn’t wait to see you,” she says. She glances at Max. “Did you quit your day job?” He grins, wiping the sweat from his forehead off on a towel.
“Nope. Just crossing something off my bucket list.”
I was ready to cross something off my bucket list too. Screwing a rock star in a dressing room.
“You guys sounded awesome,” Katie says, looking back and forth between us.
Jay walks over, thankfully, and I introduce him to everyone. He pats Max on the back and says, “We know who to call if Tug is sick.”
“This is so cool.” Harper and Macie walk to the front of the stage and twirl around. “Is Preston around,” Harper asks excitedly, scanning the area.
“No. He hasn’t gotten here yet.” When she pouts, I add, “Don’t worry, I’ll introduce y’all later.” Her face brightens up. “I’ll meet you guys at the hotel in a bit. I have to finish up here.”
Max and I have some unfinished business.
“All right, girls, you heard her,” Aiden says, signaling them to walk. “You coming, brother?” he asks, patting Max on the shoulder. Max’s eyes find mine and I try my hardest not to show any emotion.
“I’m going to stick around and make sure everything is set for tonight.” Aiden taps his finger on his lips, studying Max. Then his eyes turn to me. Shit. He’ll see right through this.
“Max, everything is fine here. We just have to finish going over our set. I’ll see y’all tonight,” I squeak out, waving my hand around.
Ignoring the heated expression on Max’s face, I say goodbye and head backstage to my dressing room.
Alone.
Definitely not getting any satisfaction.
“If you just stopped being so stubborn. You and Max look good together.” Addison says, flipping through a magazine that has a picture of Max and me on the cover from the music awards night.
“Did you bring that with you?” I laugh, watching her shrug a shoulder. It’s last month’s magazine, so she didn’t pick it up at a store recently. We’re old news now. I feel bad that I haven’t told her about us, but Max and I swore to each other we would tell them together.
“Well, she’s right,” Katie adds, looking up from painting her toenails.
Addison, Katie, Harper, and Macie arrived a couple hours ago and we’re all relaxing in the hotel before the show starts. The last time we were all together was at Damon’s funeral. I push those thoughts out of my mind. The faded guilt will always be a memory away, but I can’t continue to live my life suppressing my feelings based on my past.
“He’s leaving next week, ladies.” It’s the truth. They just don’t know I’m going with him. We’ve decided when I’m not on the road, we’ll live at his place. It’ll be a great reprieve from the spotlight. As much as I love it, this tour has opened my eyes about being in the public. It’s invigorating and scary at the same time. To be famous, it seems you have to surrender all your privacy and I can’t live that way. This way, I get the best of both worlds.
“And?” Addison continues.
“And, I live in Los Angeles.” Still not a lie. Although, I slip into the bedroom to avoid further questioning, hoping they don’t follow.
Nobody follows, rather Addison yells from the living room. “Why hasn’t he left?”
I knew she would ask since I’m not in trouble anymore. I blow out a breath and peek my head back in the living room. “It’s Max. He needs to make sure everything is safe before leaving. He’s already vetted every security guard.” She nods slowly, weighing my answer in her head.
“I guess,” she says, unsatisfied with my answer. Shit, this is harder than I thought.
“Would you stop? I need to get my stuff together. No more talk about Max.” I’ve never been a good liar, especially around Addison.
Harper jumps off the couch. “Yes! We need to get ready because Preston Scout is about to meet his future wife and I need to look ah-mazing tonight.” My mouth drops open, mortified of what Harper plans on saying to Preston. I guess it won’t be any worse than he normally hears.
“Harper, don’t make me regret introducing you.”
“Regret? You watch, he’ll be thanking you tomorrow.”
We burst out laughing. At least she got the conversation away from Max.
“Hey Dallas, how’s everyone tonight?” The humid air fills with screams and it echoes across the seats all the way out to the lawn seats. Cool blue covers the stage from the lights burning above. Lights from phones twinkle all over the stadium. I have one more song left of my set.
I glance at the right of the stage where my friends are standing. Addison jumps up and down along with the crowd. Max flashes me a smile. I’m ready to scream at the top of my lungs that he’s mine. Instead, I turn my attention back to the crowd, a flurry of buzz flowing through my veins for what I’m about to do.
“I have one more song for y’all tonight. It’s a cover for a song that seems appropriate right now. Y’all know about rumors?” I tell myself not to turn toward Max. This wasn’t in our plan and I’m not sure how he’ll feel about it, I mean, he can’t be too mad. I’m about to be his wife. “Well, sometimes, there’s a little truth in them.”
As soon as the crowd figures out what song I’m about to sing, the place erupts. I can’t help the quick glance in Max’s direction and I wink when our eyes meet. He shakes his head, smirking, obviously not surprised.
The melodic words flow out of my mouth as I sing “Rumor” by Lee Brice.
Flashing lights pop off, ending my set and the stage manager hands me a bottle of water. I down the whole thing before exiting. The set breakdown happens instantaneously with the new set for the next artist.
The girls bum rush me, congratulating me on a great show. I’m waiting for the questions regarding my song choice when Max walks up and pulls me into his chest. “What do you say we make it true?” he asks, repeating a line from the song, before slamming his mouth against mine. Gasps surround us as the surprise sinks in, followed by hoots and hollers. I laugh against Max’s lips.
“It’s about damn time,” Aiden quips.
Max digs his head into my neck, whispering, “God, I love you. Even your mischievous little mouth.”
“Ready to face this crowd?” I ask, tilting my head toward our friends.
“Fuck, yeah, I’m ready.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Sydney
“You’re a horrible best friend.” Addison picks up her martini and glares at me over the rim of the glass. Putting it back down, she continues. “I don’t know if I should be furious or excited.”
“I pick the latter.” I softly smile. They still don’t know why they’re really here or that
we’re engaged. We’re all at dinner and about to announce it. If Addison’s mad now, she’s about to be livid.
“Of course, I’m happy for you guys.” She leans over and gives me a hug.
“Well, there’s more we have to tell y’all,” I say, trying not to choke on my words. A pang of guilt that I’ve been engaged to two of these guys’ friends kicks my nerves into gear.
“We’re getting married tomorrow,” Max burst out. My mouth drops. Way to break the ice. The entire table breaks out in so many questions, comments and gasps that I can’t decipher any of it.
“I take it back,” Addison says, pinching my side. Ow! I jerk my head to her and she’s crossed her arms tight across her chest.
I wince, shrugging a shoulder. “At least we’re not married.”
“Ooohhh!” She playfully growls. She’s not upset, slightly hurt, but I can see she’s ready to celebrate. “I would have told every dirty secret you had. To the tabloids.”
I pinch her back, laughing. “No, you wouldn’t.”
Chaos ensues after that. Question after question about how we got here. The one question no-one asks, the one I was most afraid of, is why so soon? I tell everyone how he asked me both times. We both talk about times we were together on the tour.
Addie grabs my other hand. “Lulu will be ecstatic that her favorite aunt and uncle are getting married.” She freezes and I cock an eyebrow up in question. “She’ll hate that she’s missing it.”
My smile widens. “She’s not. I already talked to Amy, and she’s bringing the kids up.” Amy was like a mom to me. There’s no way I wouldn’t invite her.
“She knew you were getting married when we dropped the kids off?” She huffs. I bite my lip and nod. Amy and Suzy were the only two who knew, and they were sworn to secrecy.
“How’s the living arrangements going to work?” Aiden pipes up over the crowd, his arm around Addison’s shoulders.
“When Sydney is on tour, I’ll be with her—”