“We’re rockers, Nat.” I fought the urge to take the tie and throw it across the room. “We don’t fucking wear suits.”
“Tonight you do.” Natalie stepped back and smiled at me. “You look like a hot executive, Beau. I could get used to seeing my handsome brother all fancy every day.”
I furrowed my brow. “Over my dead body,” I said. “Nat, you are breathtaking tonight, though.” And she was. She was wearing a gold, sparkly form-fitting dress with heels I couldn’t fathom ever having to take one step in. Her blond hair was curled around her shoulders, and her makeup was heavier than usual. I thought the girl was fucking beautiful with no makeup and a ratty T-shirt, but she would turn heads tonight. I wasn’t sure I wanted her to turn as many heads as she would.
“Thank you, Beau. That means a lot to me.” She kissed me quickly on the cheek. “Ready?” Natalie grabbed a small purse and tucked it under her arm. The dinner to kick off the fundraiser was being held in the ballroom of the hotel. It was just down the street from the hospital, where we’d put on the concert tomorrow.
“Let’s get this over with,” I said, holding my arm out for her. We made our way to the elevator. Just as the doors were about to close, a familiar hand stopped the door. As it reopened, my jaw dropped at the sight of Johnny and Bex stepping into the elevator.
“You could all be on the cover of GQ magazine,” Natalie commented. “Would you look at you rockers, all cleaned up.”
Bex was wearing a tight black sequined dress with a slit up one leg. Her long hair was piled on top of her head. Her makeup was dark and edgy, the only part of her that resembled Bex. Johnny was in a monkey suit like me, his hair perfectly styled.
“I hate this fucking suit,” Johnny said, making me nod in agreement. “Good thing the second I saw Bex in that dress, it hit the floor and I was bending her over the—”
“Johnny!” Bex interrupted. “Are you fucking serious?”
“What?” Johnny wiggled his eyebrows at us. “I can’t help it that you are the fucking sexiest woman on this planet.”
“They are my siblings!” Bex sighed, turning back to us. “Who would’ve thought, right? All of us dressed like professionals and shit. Where’s Tanner?”
I cringed. God only knows who Tanner had found. “Haven’t seen him since we finished rehearsing earlier.” Tanner had his own room, which was dangerous to the women of Orlando.
The elevator door opened, and we all stepped out, heading down the long hallway to the ballroom. Soft classical music pumped out of the open doors, and men and women dressed in formal attire like us milled around, drinks in their hands. Servers scuttled between them, switching out empty drinks for full ones and making sure everything was pristine. This was completely outside of my realm.
Tanner stood just outside the main doors of the ballroom in deep conversation with a breathtaking blonde. She had her hand on his forearm, and he his eyes crinkled at her in his All-American way. The way that made panties fall. Hell, for all we knew, he could’ve already had her panties in his suit jacket.
Bex saw him at the same time I did, and we made our way in his direction. He spotted us immediately and grinned. “There you guys are! Holy shit! Someone needs to take a picture of us all dressed up like prim and proper socialites. Honey, would you take one with my phone?”
I knew he called her “honey” because he didn’t have a clue what her name was—if she’d even told him one.
She laughed and took his phone. “Only if we can have a selfie first. I can’t believe I’m meeting Jaded Regret! That’s so awesome!” Before any of us could say a word, she held her phone up and smiled, forcing us all to cooperate with her selfie.
Once “honey” took a photo of just the band with Tanner’s phone, Bex gave him the look he knew meant lose the girl. He made an excuse about catching up with her later and walked over to us.
“Seriously,” Bex bitched. “Do you have any standards?”
“What?” Tanner watched as “honey” sauntered away. She peered back every few seconds to see if Tanner was watching, which he was, of course.
“Did she suck your dick already, or are you planning that for later? I guess it doesn’t matter how annoying one is when their mouth is busy.” Bex’s direct words sent me into a coughing fit. She never minced them; that was for damn sure.
“You want to know about my action, Bex?” He turned to Johnny. “Johnny, you don’t satisfy the woman enough so she wants to know about me? You wanna watch, Bex?”
Tanner always played with fire, and playing with Johnny would only get him burned.
“For your information, Tan, I fucked my wife six ways to Sunday on our bathroom counter, in the shower, while she was bent over the couch in our room and—”
Tanner held up his hand. “Just kidding. You can stop now.”
“Don’t you ever ask my wife if she wants to watch you fuck someone,” Johnny said.
“Okay.” Natalie stepped in between them. “Boys, put away your dicks. You both have big ones, all right? We’re at a dinner and are the guests of honor. This isn’t the time. They’re ready for us to go in.”
We fell in step behind Natalie, all of us silent in our thoughts. Sometimes I considered my life now and wondered whose life I was leading. I mean, all of this was because Bex and I decided to put together a band after we left the foster care system. We started it as a way to exercise our demons, and now it had become our whole life. We had more money than we’d ever thought possible, were recognized all over the country, had best-selling albums and a headlining tour coming up. All because two fucked-up kids played music together and asked a few others to do it with us.
“This way,” Natalie said, leading us all to a table near the front of the room. She must’ve recognized one of them because she waved as we approached. None of us had met any of the Knights yet, so we had no idea who we were watching for.
“Dr. and Mrs. Knight, this is Jaded Regret.” Natalie beamed, turning back to us. “Bexley Bryant-Gibbons, her husband, Johnny, my brother, Beau Anderson, and Tanner Hart.”
A tall and fit older man smiled at us as he stood, followed by a beautiful woman who must’ve been his wife. She was tall and slender with blond hair, diamonds dripping from her ears, neck, and fingers. I thought back to my simple mother, who wore only T-shirts and jeans, never any makeup or curled hair.
“What an honor to meet you.” He shook each of our hands. “Thank you so much for doing this benefit for our hospital. Because of you, we’ll be able to finish the last phase and get it open to our families.”
“It’s our pleasure,” Bex said, shaking hands with Mrs. Knight. “We’re glad we can help.”
“Our daughter spoke so highly of not only your band, but also your charity work with foster children in the state of Florida,” Dr. Knight said. “We couldn’t possibly pass up the opportunity to get to meet you.” He glanced around the room. “I’m so sorry; I’m not sure where April is right now. She’s co-chairing the event, so I’m sure she’s running around putting out last minute fires. Please, sit and enjoy the dinner. We’ll be starting soon.”
“Sounds great. We can’t wait to meet April,” Bex said, always the diplomatic voice of our band. Imagine that. Bex could be . . . charming . . . when she wanted to be. Natalie indicated for us to sit at the large table. I ended up next to the empty seat, which must’ve been for Dr. Knight’s daughter, April. Great. Just what I wanted to do, make small talk with a socialite I had nothing in common with all night. Natalie would better fill this seat. My sister was great at that stuff; hence, the reason she was our manager.
Just when I was about to whisper to Natalie to switch seats with me, I saw the same blonde Tanner had been talking to in the lobby walking up with two other women. It seemed as though they were headed right for our table. Oh, no. If Tanner’s floozy started propositioning him at the table with Dr. Knight and his wife, Bex would lose her ever loving shit. I could only imagine what would happen then.
My gut clenche
d as they stopped at the table. But then Dr. Knight smiled and stood. “Oh, April! You’re just in time. Jaded Regret is here!”
Oh, shit. Tanner’s conquest was April? His eyes widened as he realized “honey” was right behind us, standing so close I could smell her perfume. But then the dark-haired woman standing next to “honey” stepped forward, her smile directed right at us. My breath caught. She was . . . stunning. Her dark hair was swept up into some kind of twist, and she wore long earrings that touched her shoulders. She was dressed in a form-fitting black dress with silver accents around her low-cut neckline. But it was when my gaze reached her face that I swore the temperature in the room rose fifteen degrees. Her skin was porcelain and flawless, her eyes wide and accented by dark makeup. They were a light, unique, bright gold color that I’d never seen before.
“Nice to meet you,” she said, holding her hand out to Bex, who had stood up. We all followed suit. My throat dried out and my hands began to sweat. I wiped them on my suit pants, willing myself to knock it the hell off. So what, she was gorgeous. I had beautiful women around me all the time. “I’m a huge fan.”
“Thank you,” Bex said. “It’s great to meet you. We’re honored to be here. This is my husband, Johnny.” April’s eyes widened as she got the “Johnny effect,” as we called it.
“So surreal for you all to be standing here,” she gushed. “I can’t thank you enough for doing this.”
Bex nodded. “This is Tanner, our manager, Natalie, and her brother, Beau.”
April shook their hands and then turned to me. Her eyes met mine, and I swore someone punched me in the stomach. She reached her hand out, and I took it, shaking it as quickly as I could so I could stop touching her. “Nice to meet you, Beau.” Her voice was husky, and it made me wonder if she sounded like that with the others. Was I making shit up in my head? That wasn’t unheard of for me to create things in my mind that weren’t there.
Natalie cleared her throat beside me, and I broke my gaze from April’s. April seemed to realize her two friends were still standing behind her, gaping at us.
“Guys, these are my friends and co-workers, Camryn and Bella.”
Camryn, a.k.a. “honey,” stepped up and shook our hands, although her gaze remained only on Tanner. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Bella shook our hands but said nothing else, seeming shy. I could identify with that.
“Take your seats,” Dr. Knight said to the girls. “We’re about to begin.” With that, Camryn and Bella went off to their table, and April sat down . . . next to me.
As she sat, I smelled the floral scent of her perfume and closed my eyes. Her leg touched mine as she adjusted in her seat. Fire shot through my veins. Beau Oliver, get a fucking grip. What the hell is your problem?
I could sense her eyes on me, so I stole a glance in her direction. When she caught me staring, she smiled, her perfectly straight teeth gleaming. “It’s great to meet you,” she whispered as her father took the microphone in the front of the room, ready to begin the night.
I smiled but didn’t say anything, because I had no idea what to say. I wasn’t good at small talk. I listened as her dad talked numbers and statistics about the hospital and then introduced the band to the room. We stood and made our way up to the podium next to her dad. Bex stepped up next to Dr. Knight. I stood silently next to Tanner, grateful I didn’t have to speak.
“We’re honored to have been chosen to help this amazing hospital and the work they do with children in the Orlando area and beyond. We’re also glad to be a part of raising awareness about the amount of children in the foster care system in the state of Florida. We’re proud to be partnering with April Knight to expand our foundation here in the Orlando area for young teen girls. I once was a foster child, so I know the importance of these kids being ready for adulthood and getting the right support. We can’t wait to see all of you at the concert tomorrow night. Thank you for having us.”
Clapping followed her short speech, and we walked back to our table while they started serving appetizers and salad. I sighed. I wanted nothing more than to pull this damn tie off and unbutton my shirt. I felt like I was suffocating.
“You okay?” Natalie asked.
“Fine.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as the elevator doors closed behind me, leaving me alone to head up to the hotel room. I had no idea how I’d escaped without anyone coming with me, namely my sister, but I was so glad I had.
The dinner had been nice enough. Thankfully, the table had been lively with conversation, meaning I hadn’t had to talk to April much without others interjecting. I wasn’t much of a talker, and especially since she threw me off my game, I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. I hadn’t missed her watching me most of the night, but that wasn’t unusual. I was . . . different, and I was okay with that. Especially to a straight-laced doctor’s kid, I was probably as cool as any science experiment she’d ever seen. I was the most tatted member of Jaded Regret, not to mention my nose piercing and gauges.
My head swam with everything, and I just needed a moment or two to unwind. I untied the tie and ripped it off, then shrugged the jacket off. Next up was the top buttons of my dress shirt, and then the sleeves were unbuttoned and pulled up.
“Much fucking better,” I stepped off the elevator. I couldn’t wait to change into my Henley and jeans with my chucks. I’d heard there was an epic rooftop deck in this hotel, so I planned to grab a soda and unwind up there. I had to get my head right for the show tomorrow and being around all those people wasn’t going to do it.
The hotel door slammed behind me, and I threw the tie as far as I could, kicking off the uncomfortable dress shoes. Within moments, I was changed and headed back out the door, leaving a note on the table for Natalie. I didn’t want to take my phone, but if I disappeared, she would worry. I hated that she was always worried about me, but it was par for the course. I’d accepted it a long time ago.
I stepped back into the elevator, holding two cold sodas from our refrigerator in our room. I pressed the button to the rooftop deck and laid my head against the cool metal of the wall. What a day. At least tomorrow I could be in my element, behind my drums, banging the hell out of my frustrations. While I was still rather quiet on the stage, nowhere near some of the other rock drummers we knew, I was able to be a little more open while playing. As long as they never made me go up and talk to the audience. It was nice that I was more hidden than everyone else. If I concentrated hard, I could almost imagine I was alone on the stage.
I opened the door to the rooftop deck and noticed it was empty. Thank God. I didn’t want to have to make small talk with anyone or be recognized and end up signing things. I settled on an outdoor couch and propped my feet on the wicker ottoman in front of it. A slight breeze ruffled my shirt despite the warm and humid Florida night. It was so peaceful out here.
I popped open the tab to my soda and took a long pull. I didn’t drink alcohol; it just wasn’t a good idea with the meds I took. Unlike the rest of my band, which could put away drink after drink, I had to be careful.
I hadn’t been there long when I heard the door open behind me. I closed my eyes, hoping whoever it was would see they weren’t alone and leave. When I heard footsteps approaching, I knew I wasn’t that lucky. Okay, at least make it be someone who doesn’t recognize me.
If someone was a rock fan, I was very recognizable without trying to cover up. That’s what happened when you had tattoos as far as the eye could see and gauges in your ears. I didn’t do it for attention, though that was the assumption. Every one of my tattoos meant something to me. They helped me remember who I had been, who I was, and who I never wanted to be. Covering my skin in ink helped me keep my identity and not take on the one of my parents. I’d started getting ink right after meeting Robyn, and just got my latest one a few weeks ago. The gauges? Well, those were just because I thought they were fucking cool.
Natalie didn’t. She’d wrinkled her nose at me when I’d gotten my starter one. The size I
had them at now was where they were staying. They weren’t tiny, but they weren’t huge, either.
“Beau?” A voice came from behind me, and I cringed. I turned my head and my eyes connected with April’s. Fucking hell. She had changed also, now wearing a pair of form-fitting jeans and a low cut tank top that accentuated her full breasts and ample cleavage. Her hair was down in soft curls around her shoulders and the light from the doorway shone around her. She looked like an angel. Didn’t that fucking figure because I was the devil.
“Hey, April.” My face burned like it was on fire. Could she tell? Hopefully, it was dark enough so I didn’t appear like a fool.
“Sorry to interrupt. I didn’t know you were here. I just wanted some air.”
“Me too,” I said. “Want a soda?” I indicated the unopened can on the table in front of me, and she smiled. What the hell are you doing, Beau?
“Sure. Thanks so much. Are you sure I’m not bothering you?”
Yes, you’re bothering me. Go away. I don’t like where my head goes when you’re around me. “Of course not. Please, have a seat.” I moved over so she could sit.
When she settled next to me, I smelled that floral scent again. I wanted to bottle it up and take it with me, as well as the vision of her wearing those skin tight jeans, and take care of myself in the shower. Yeah, good plan.
“You ready for your show tomorrow?” April asked, making small talk.
“Always.” Talking about playing was easy. I could do that.
“Thanks again for doing this,” she said. “It means the world to me.”
I nodded, not having anything to say. This was all Bex. I took a long pull of my drink, trying to settle the nerves attacking my stomach. I was completely out of my element here. I had no business being on this deck with her by myself.
“You’re nervous,” April said, breaking the silence. I snapped my eyes to hers but didn’t speak. “You don’t have to be nervous around me.”
Snared (Jaded Regret #1) Page 3
