Rock Star Romance Ultimate: Volume 1

by Olivia Cunning, Jayne Frost, RB Hilliard, Crystal Kaswell, Michelle Mankin, Emily Snow, Athena Wright

Why hadn’t I ever noticed how beautiful she was before?

  “I’m not going to sugar coat it. Working out this schedule is going to be a challenge, but one I think you can handle.” She shook her head. “I’ve seen a lot in this business, but I’ve never seen anyone quite like you. Showing up at my office three weeks in a row (so she had known) shows you have courage and mental toughness. Bringing the money back and owning up to your mistakes demonstrates integrity on your part.” She stood and held out her hand. I grasped it. “You have talent, too. I’m really looking forward to seeing what you do next.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  * * *

  Bryan

  Holding the guitar by the neck, I slammed it into the wall, grunting with satisfaction when it splintered apart in my hands. Letting go where it joined the body, I watched it drop to the carpet, ruined like my life without her.

  I’ve done all the waiting I’m gonna do.

  What an arrogant ass I’d been.

  I swiped my beer off the table and sagged into the chair. I drained it, settled back, and closed my eyes. Alone with my thoughts, and they were all of her.

  What was she doing? And who was she with?

  I felt completely empty without her, a brittle burned out husk. It was all wrong. Nothing made sense anymore.

  “Bry? Are you ok? I heard a noise.”

  “Yeah, Mom.” I turned to see her stick her head into the doorway to the garage which I had converted into a studio. “Is it alright if I come in?”

  “Sure.” I ran a hand through my hair. “You don’t have to ask. This is your house. I bought it for you. I just put the studio in so I had somewhere to practice whenever I’m around.”

  “I know.” She pulled out a chair and sat beside me. Concerned eyes flicked to the broken guitar before they scanned my face. “I’m worried about you.”

  “Don’t.”

  “Bryan Hunter Jackson. I’m your mother. That’s not an option.” Her hands went to her hips. “I want to know when you’re planning to stop moping around and take charge of your life again.”

  I didn’t respond because I knew she was right.

  She scooted her chair closer, smoothing out the apron she wore over her scrubs. She must’ve just gotten home from work. Her hand dropped down on top of mine. “What are you going to do about Warren?”

  “What can I do, Mom?”

  “You’ve been friends a long time.”

  “I know.” For all his faults, I couldn’t just turn off how I felt. I was worried about him. It was like missing a limb not to have him around anymore. “I tried to smooth things over before he quit the band. When War shuts you out though, you’re out. He’s very black and white about things. You’re either with him or you’re against him.”

  “Hmm.” She folded her hands under her chin and looked thoughtful. I had a feeling where she was going before she spoke, and I wasn’t wrong. “Do you remember what I told you when you first got back from Orlando?”

  “I remember,” I whispered, thinking she was going to reiterate all the reasons that ending things with Lace made sense. In my mind those reasons still had some merit, but in my heart it felt all fucked up.

  “I’m afraid that maybe I gave you some bad advice.”

  Surprise widened my eyes as I looked at her.

  A frown creased her brow. “I think I’ve let my history with your father color my judgment. So many times he made promises. So many times he broke them. But I kept taking him back, hoping each time that things would be different.”

  “I know.”

  “I saw that same pattern developing between you and Lace. I’m afraid you love her too much and that she’ll hurt you like your dad hurt me.” Her voice caught.

  “He hurt all of us,” I admitted softly.

  She nodded.

  “Lace isn’t like him.”

  “I don’t know that for sure. But I realize now that’s not for me to decide. That’s up to you.”

  I was silent for a moment, letting that sink in.

  “I told you once that sometimes love means letting go. Maybe that was just my old bitterness welling up. I was trying to protect you, Bryan, when I should have been encouraging you to make your own decisions and live your own life. Take risks even.”

  My mom was right. Damn right. Lace was worth the risk. My pride had blinded me from seeing that. I should have admired her strength and how brave it was of her to want to prove herself before we moved forward together.

  Instead all I saw was that she was rejecting the glass slipper without even trying it on. Rejecting me. Putting up one more barrier between us. Anger made me throw the past back in her face. Selfishness kept me from agreeing to what was best for her. And sheer stupidity caused me to walk away from the only woman who had ever really mattered to me.

  I put my arm around my mom’s shoulder and kissed the top of her head. “The two of you are a lot alike. Both so beautiful. Both so resilient.”

  She smiled softly and laid her palm against my cheek. I covered her hand with my own. “I love you, son.” Tears sparkled in her eyes as she looked at me. “You’re a good man. You’ll figure it out. And whatever you decide, I’m behind you.”

  CHAPTER FORTY

  * * *

  Lace

  I heard the haunting acoustic melody as soon as I passed Black Cat’s reception desk on my way in to work. I walked a little faster, trying to balance the backpack on my shoulder and my coffee without spilling it. The somber sound compelled me forward directly toward its source.

  In studio six, I found him. His auburn head lifted. Gorgeous emerald eyes that I felt certain I’d seen before stared into mine. Comprehension dawned. No doubt about it. This was Avery’s twin. The physical similarities were striking.

  My heart rate kicked into a higher gear as he gazed curiously back at me. He was really good looking if you were into beautifully handsome men, like Michelangelo’s David. Dark and dangerous were more my speed, but I shouldn’t go there. I clamped my mind shut to keep his memory out.

  “Don’t stop on my account.” I stepped into the small ten by twelve room. My eyes slid to his guitar with the hummingbird pick guard. “That’s a nice guitar. Really sweet tone. And you play it very well.”

  “Thanks.” He slid off his stool with a grin, full lips around a flash of white teeth. “Justin Jones.” He held out his hand.

  Duh, I thought, dropping my backpack and moving my coffee to my left hand so I could take it. “Lace Lowell.” I returned his infectious grin, his callouses rough against my skin as our hands touched. If I hadn’t already heard him play, that alone would have clued me into the fact that Avery’s brother wasn’t a casual musician. “We’ve both got the alliteration thing going on with our names, haven’t we?” I laughed.

  “Yeah.” He leaned his head to the side as if he was intrigued by me. Well, I sure as hell was intrigued by him. It was really strange. As quickly as I’d taken a dislike to her, I found him to be inexplicably affable.

  “Oh, you’re both already here. Good.” Beth, the congenial PR woman for Black Cat, and Mary’s closest confidante as I’d come to realize after only a week around the studio, entered the room and insinuated herself between us. “Mary wants you to work together for a while. She feels that your voices and music sensibilities are compatible.” She handed me some sheet music. “Today she wants you to focus on some covers. Just basic stuff. Dalton will be here after lunch to record, and we’ll go from there. Sound good?”

  We both nodded. I turned back to Justin as soon as she was gone. He was looking over my shoulder. Way too close.

  “’Roadside,’ huh? Not too bad.”

  I took a step away from him. Better get this out of the way. He seemed like a nice guy, but I wasn’t going there. Not with him. Not with anybody else. Not ever again.

  Deep inhale.

  “Listen, Justin. I’m really looking forward to working with you, but I just need you to know that I’m not interested in anything else, ok?”
/>
  He didn’t say anything for a minute. His eyes scanned my face. “Bad breakup?”

  I snorted. “Breakup would imply there had been an actual relationship in the first place.” I’d tried for a lighthearted tone, but the ‘feeling sorry for myself tears’ were stinging my eyes. “There’s just a guy that I’m never going to get over, you know?”

  “No worries. I promise not to think of you as an entrée if you promise to think of me as a friend.”

  I grinned. “I can totally do that.” I’d been so lonely up here in Vancouver. Without the guys, without my brother… I even missed Bridget’s nonstop chatter.

  ***

  By the end of the second week, Justin and I had already cranked out a half dozen original songs. We were productive in the studio, and enjoyed each other’s company. Like me Justin didn’t seem to be interested in serious relationships. Though I couldn’t help but notice that he had a lot of one-nighters. Anywhere we went women would come on to him and slip him their phone numbers.

  We fell into an easy pattern of hanging out together whenever we had free time. Justin was staying at the Sutton also, and I discovered that he felt just as isolated in Vancouver as I did. His sister lived in an apartment near the waterfront, just far enough away to be inconvenient for day to day visiting. Plus she had a busy schedule, thank God. His dad was living on Vancouver Island with his soon to be in-laws.

  I shared most of my story with him. We had the common background with substance abuse and appointed ourselves each other’s accountability partners. Since our personalities were a lot alike I wasn’t sure if that was a plus or a minus. We both liked to shop. He was really into men’s fashion. If it hadn’t been for the aforementioned one nighters, I might seriously have wondered which way JJ swung, if you know what I mean.

  The only thing I kept from him was the nitty gritty details about Bryan. Those I held tightly to myself. Though the way Justin looked at me, when I got myself tangled up again in the past, when I didn’t want to do anything but sit in my room, and when I just wanted to stare at the wall and remember, made me wonder just how much more he knew about me and Bryan than he let on.

  Today, we’d finished up another song and were in the break room at Black Cat, negotiating our afternoon plans. Justin had his hip leaning against the counter in front of me while I stirred creamer into my coffee.

  “Mintage Vintage,” I insisted, my voice a little whiny. “We did Armani Exchange yesterday. Speaking of that…” I bit my lip. Maybe I shouldn’t mention it. Justin already gave me a lot of grief about jogging alone. But yesterday at the Exchange, I’d gotten a feeling that someone was watching me. The hair had stood up at the back of my neck and everything.

  “What?” Justin prompted.

  “Nothing,” I mumbled. What could he do? It was just a feeling after all. I’d never actually seen anyone. It was probably just my imagination.

  “You don’t look like it’s nothing.” He suddenly stopped, his face brightening with a huge smile. “Avery.”

  I spun around just in time to catch her disapproving frown.

  “I thought you were visiting Dad. When did you get back in town?”

  “Today.” Avery looked back and forth between the two of us. Her expression was as tight as that stick up her ass. “Can I talk to you for a minute, in private?” she asked her brother.

  He nodded, following her out into the hall. Even though I couldn’t make out what they were saying I didn’t need to be a genius to figure out that it was about me. And knowing Miss Perfect, I could imagine that it wasn’t complimentary.

  When Justin came back in, he was alone. His expression was as cloudy as Vancouver during a rain.

  “Where’d she go?” I asked looking over his shoulder.

  “To work on some solo material.” He scrubbed a hand over his face, something I knew he did when irritated.

  I quirked a brow. “She thinks I might be a bad influence on you.”

  “I told her more like the other way around,” he confirmed. “She’s just being overprotective.”

  “Oh.” I put my hand on his arm. “Don’t worry about it. She and I just don’t get along.” I peered up at him through my lashes. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think your sister’s a stuck up bitch.”

  “Hmm,” he murmured in response. “Why do I get the idea that you and Avery are a cat fight just waiting to happen?”

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  * * *

  Lace

  I squinted at my cell. It lay like a cobra on the beige couch beside me, ready to strike. I needed to make the call, but imagining the reception I was likely to receive had me recoiling.

  I’d been putting this off for weeks. He would probably hang up on me. And if he didn’t there was likely to be some yelling. It wasn’t going to be easy to atone for past mistakes with him.

  A big sigh.

  Past time to get it over with.

  I selected his number and hit send.

  He picked up on the first ring. “Lacey?” His voice was as smooth as it’d ever been but there was a hard edge to it that he’d never used with me before.

  Well, at least he wasn’t shouting. Not yet. “How are you?” I swallowed nervously.

  “I’m fuckin’ great” A loud sigh on his end. “What do you want?”

  Ok, not yelling, but close. I’d better get right to it. “I want to apologize, War. I really messed up with us, with you, and with Bryan.” I stumbled on his name. I never said it out loud anymore. Ever. I pulled on my running shoes and went jogging whenever I found myself even starting to think about him.

  What was he doing? Who was he doing it with?

  I ran a lot.

  War didn’t respond. I could hear him breathing through the phone.

  “I’m sorry. That’s all I called to say really. Except for one other thing.” I bit my lip. “Warren, you and Bryan are best friends. You need him. He needs you. You need each other.”

  “He put you up to this?”

  “No.” My chest burned. “I haven’t seen or heard from him in five weeks.” A short pause. I couldn’t stop myself from asking. “Have you?” My voice squeaked desperately.

  “No.” A pause on his side. I could hear music in the background, and a female voice speaking in Spanish.

  “Where are you?”

  “I gotta go, Lacey.”

  Dead air in my ear.

  I didn’t miss that he hadn’t accepted my apology.

  ***

  My cell rang at two in the morning. It quit before I could locate it. I stumbled back to the bedroom and crawled back under the covers.

  Just as it started again.

  Shit. Shit.

  I found it this time, between the cushions of the couch. It must have fallen in there earlier after I’d called War. I redialed the missed call.

  “Hello.” I recognized the musical voice right away.

  “Bridget? Is everything ok?”

  “Everything’s fine.”

  Very few things are fine at two a.m. “What’s going on?”

  “Listen Lace,” Bridget sniffed. “Could…would it be ok if Carter and I come and stay with you for a little bit?” I remembered Carter was her five year old son.

  “Sure,” I told her without hesitation. “But I’m in Canada now. Do you have a passport?”

  “Yes.” Another sniff.

  I heard a boy’s voice. “Mommy, why are you crying?”

  “I need to go now. I’ll call you back when I have the flight information. And Lace?”

  “Yeah?”

  Thanks. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

  “No problem. That’s what best friends are for.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  * * *

  Bryan

  Dizzy and I sat in the club chairs waiting for Lace.

  I saw her silhouette as she passed by the gold framed lobby windows. Finally. My heart began to pound hard against my ribs. I couldn’t wait to be close to her ag
ain, maybe very close if things went the way I hoped.

  She breezed into the marble foyer and stopped in front of the table that always held a large vase of fresh cut flowers. She wasn’t alone. She was with him. Again. My rapid heart rate screeched to a sudden stop. My gut twisted into a tight knot. I had wanted to give her the time she needed to regain her confidence before making my move. But maybe I had waited too long.

  Dizzy jumped up and flew across the room to greet her. I’d spilled my guts out to him weeks ago before leaving for Vancouver. I’d told him the way I felt about her, and what I was planning to do. He’d been cautiously supportive of my decision, but he hadn’t given me any indication how I would be received by her today.

  I held back, hands in my jean pockets almost shaking with the control it took not to grab her, throw her over my shoulder and just run off with her. I watched the brother and sister reunion. She looked good. Fantastic in fact. Cheeks glowing and rosy from the cold, wearing the same vintage pea coat she’d worn on the tour. The short hair still gave me pause. But I could see that the style was actually extremely flattering. The waifish cut emphasized her beautiful amber eyes which had always captivated me.

  Hell, all of her captivated me.

  Those eyes widened as she spotted me. Her gaze locked with mine and her face drained of color. The guy at her side that I’d momentarily forgotten seemed to sense her distress and moved closer and glanced in my direction.

  Justin Jones. Avery’s twin.

  Fuck me.

  I was getting a taste of my own medicine I guess. At least Marcus Anthony wasn’t around to gloat. For once in my life, I empathized with the dude. But just as I’d seen him do with Avery, I was going to do whatever it took to get Lace back.

  I gave Justin the ‘you better move away from my woman or I’ll take you out in the back alley and work you over,’ return glare.