by Maxa,L. P.
I took a long swallow. “We have an eight-hour drive ahead of us. I’m cool with just hanging back here until they are ready to go. One of us has to stay sober.” I collapsed on the tattered black leather couch, holding my arm out for Lex to join me. “Show me what you got.”
She fell against my side and held her camera out so I could see the screen. There was image after image of me playing. She’d zoomed in on this look of pure joy on my face. “You look so happy when you’re playing.”
I kept scrolling, every one of us looked fucking ecstatic, fucking thrilled to be up there on that stage. “Lexi, you are so damn talented.”
“Thanks.”
I handed her the camera back. “You need to be in New York, doing shoots for Rolling Stone or some shit. Not on this crazy tour with a bunch of dudes.”
She laughed and rested her head on my shoulder. “Nah, I’m pretty happy right where I’m at.”
I stopped playing with a crash of the cymbal. I had broken into a sweat and the glitter was plastered to my body. Smith pointed to my chest. “Lo’s going to think you’ve been at a damn strip club.”
Jacks chuckled. “No joke, man, glitter is the herpes of the craft world. Landry was using some last week and we’re still finding it all over the house. It’s even in the dog’s shit.”
Lexi handed me a damp towel. “Okay, guys, I want to do one more set. This one will be of you all together as a band.” There was a fully stocked bar in the corner; it wasn’t meant to be a prop, but Lexi had us all shirtless standing behind it. She turned on some music and then told us to make ourselves some drinks while she changed around her camera settings.
“So what’s the plan for tonight? We doing dinner together?” Smith filled four rocks glasses with ice.
“I’m getting so tired of eating out, let’s pile in one room and order a shit-ton of room service.” Jacks handed Smith the bottle of whiskey he’d been carrying around since his shoot.
“I’d be down for that.” Dash rested his forearms against the bar. “Halen has been incredibly cranky the last few days. She’s so far off her routine, it’s not even funny.”
Smith handed me a scotch on the rocks. “You and Lo in?”
“Yeah, I’m sure she’ll be cool with that.” I took a sip. “We’re going to have brunch with her dad tomorrow before we need to start getting ready for that stupid gala.” They were honoring our label; there was no way we could get out of it. And believe me, we’d tried.
“Wow, man. You’re meeting her parents? Good for you.” Dash clinked his glass to mine.
“She really isn’t very close to her dad and her stepmom. I think she’d rather get on another plane than go spend the morning with them.” I crunched on some ice. “Apparently he’s this really rich asshole who never spent any time with her.”
Jacks threw his arm around my neck. “So on top of the fact that you brought her on this press tour, you essentially bought her a puppy and you’re going with her to meet her dad? Is it still too soon to tell if she’s the one?”
I tried to tone down my reaction. I tried not to act like a chick. But I failed and broke out into a huge grin. The rest of the guys all made “aww” sounds and started to laugh. After I got a bunch of back slaps and macho man hugs, I held my hands up. “Okay, okay. Enough of the girl talk.” I looked across the space at Lexi. “We going to do this final shot or what?”
“It’s already done.” She gave us a small sweet smile. “All I wanted was to capture my boys, capture your bond. And I got it.”
The four of us got quiet. My throat couldn’t have been the only one thick with emotion. Lexi knew us; she knew our hearts. She knew our strengths and our weaknesses. She was the first woman to be there for not just me, but all of us, to love us instantly and without question. To show us what that even looked like.
In a lot of ways, she was all of our first love.
Chapter Thirty-five
Harlow
“Landry, can you hand me that diaper rag, please?” I had Halen on my shoulder and she’d just finished her bottle. “Thank you, love.” The whole crew was in Dash and Lexi’s suite, wearing pajamas and yoga pants. There was a huge table loaded down with what I assumed was one of everything from the room service menu. And Mrs. Doubtfire playing on the big-screen TV.
“Here, Pix, let me burp her.” Luke took the rag and his goddaughter from my hands. “You eat.” He stood automatically every time he held her; that little girl has him trained.
“Lo, did any of those dresses work for you?” Lexi shoved a large bite of ice cream in her mouth.
“Yeah, actually I found one, thank you so much for setting that up for me.” I shot Luke a look. He’d only informed me this morning that there was a charity gala that he had to attend. Luckily Lexi knew exactly what to do and had a stylist come to my room with several options. I chose the sexiest one as his punishment. He’d have to walk around shaking hands with a hard-on.
“Are you kidding me? Thank you. You totally saved all of us by watching Halen for me this afternoon.”
I looked over at Luke, swaying with the baby. I couldn’t help but love the image of him holding her. “Anytime, really, she’s the best.” New York had always been one of my favorite cities to visit. I’d taken Halen and Louie for a stroll around Central Park. The leaves were changing colors, which was something I never got to see in Miami.
Jacks wiped at his face with his shirt and I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Smith leaned forward. “Are you fudging crying, dude?”
“No. I got wasabi in my eyes. Why the hell is there so much sushi all over the place?”
Dylan shoved another piece in her mouth and then washed it down a large gulp of wine. “It’s so good.”
Bryan winkled her nose. “What the hell is with you lately? All you do is eat raw fish and day drink.”
“I’m on vacation.” Dylan grabbed the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and topped off her glass.
“I can’t wait for Crash and Dagger to meet Louie; they are going to have so much fun playing together.” Louie was currently stretched out on Landry’s lap, snoring.
Bryan slid the plate of cookies out of reach when Landry moved to get another one, her third I think. “Yeah, I’m sure they will have lots of fun. But remember that Louie will live with Lo, and she doesn’t live in Texas.” It was true, but the reminder stung a little.
Landry looked at me. “Why won’t you live with us?”
“Well, my home is in Florida.” I broke the chocolate chip cookie I was eating in half and gave part of it to her, ignoring Bryan’s scowl.
She shoved the cookie in her mouth before her mom could tell her no then spoke around it. “Home isn’t a place, it’s people. Right, Aunt Lexi?”
Lexi nodded. “Yes, sweet girl. Home is people.”
“See? And we’re your people now, Aunt Lo. And we all live in Texas.”
I teared up. I couldn’t help it. I wanted this wonderful group to be my people, I wanted to stay with Luke. I hated the thought of being away from him. But things were still so new, so delicate. I didn’t want to rush this and risk ruining it. I was at a loss for words, of how to explain any of this to Landry.
“We still have a few more stops to make before we get to go home. Aunt Lo just needs to go take care of some things in Florida before she can come see us again.” Luke smiled down at his niece. “But we’ll get her there soon, kiddo. Okay?”
“Okay.”
***
“Are you nervous about seeing your dad tomorrow?” Luke was naked underneath me. Landry had begged us to please let Louie stay the night in her room, and Jacks had eventually given in.
I rested my chin in my fists. “Irritated, resigned, annoyed. But not nervous.” We’d showered and gotten straight into bed. I’d crawled on top of him and we’d been lying like this for a while, just talking.
“I emailed you the schedule for the remainder of the tour, it’s over in another week.” He moved my hair off my shoulders. “The last three
stops are all in Texas.” I didn’t know what to say to that, what he expected me to say. When I stayed quiet, he grinned. “Would you like to come see me?”
“I thought we already established that I was going to come visit at some point soon.” I wasn’t going to make this easy for him. I wanted to hear what he was thinking.
“Would you like to meet me at my house, fly in the same day we get home?”
I did. I really freaking did. But I was bound and determined to play it cool. “Won’t you be tired? You’ve literally been traveling in some form or fashion for the last three months.”
He frowned. “I’ll be missing you like crazy, that’s what I’ll be.” He fisted his hand in my still-damp hair. “Say you’ll be there.”
I nodded. “I’ll be there”
Before I knew what he was doing, Luke rolled me to my back and proceeded to make me act totally uncool, as in heat me up until I was freakin’ on fire.
Chapter Thirty-six
Lexi
Today was one of the best days I’d ever had. Obviously, the day I got engaged and Halen was born was my number one. But still, today was amazing. I got to be with the band, with my boys, and I got to pick up my camera. From the second Dash dropped down on one knee in the sand, my life had been chaos. Beautiful, controlled, blissful chaos, but chaos nonetheless. When we were there in that warehouse though, I felt like my world righted itself.
“Thank you for calling me today, for letting me share that with you guys.”
Dash bent at the waist, laying Halen in her crib. He came over and crawled into bed next to me. “I remember the first time I saw your work. We were back on that first bus. Luke showed us all those pictures on his phone.” He turned me on my side and then pulled me against his front. “You’re so gifted, Kitten.”
“I’ve missed it and I’ve felt guilty about missing it.”
“Why would you ever feel guilty about that?”
“I don’t know, I guess because I have Halen now, and she’s my whole world. Maybe I felt like I shouldn’t need anything else to make me happy, other than you and her.”
He held me tighter. “I wish you would have told me that. I hate that you felt that way.” He kissed the back of my neck. “I’d go crazy if I couldn’t write, couldn’t make music. It’s who we are, Lex. We’re artists.”
I nodded. “I know that now, I see it.” I turned in his arms, throwing a leg over his hip so I could scoot closer. “Harlow actually said the same thing a few days ago.”
“You left Halen with her again today?”
“Yeah. B and Dilly had Landry out sightseeing and Lo is really great with her.” I ran my nails through his hair. “Lo is really great period.”
“Luke told us today that she was the one.”
“Shut. Up.” I squealed into my pillow. “When?”
“At the photo shoot.” He grinned. “You actually caught it on camera. Go back and look, you’ll see it. There’s only one thing that makes a grown man smile like that.”
“And that is?”
“Realizing you found the girl that sets you on fire.”
Chapter Thirty-seven
Luke
“Pix, stop fidgeting. There isn’t anything to be nervous about right now.” I put my hands on top of Lo’s in her lap, stopping her movements. We were just about to arrive at her dad’s brownstone. She’d been in a great mood when we’d woken up this morning, full of laughter and smiles. But the second we climbed into the car, all that faded away. I already disliked her father just from the things she’d told me over the last week. Add to it he had the ability to dull her light? Punching him seemed like a better idea than shaking his hand.
“I’m taking my boyfriend to meet my father, who is a stuck-up asshat, and his plastic underage wife.” She peered out the window as we slowed at the curb. “There is plenty to be nervous about.”
“Underage? Isn’t she like twenty-eight or something?”
“Uh, yeah, I think so.” She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and reaching for the handle.
I cocked my head. “Do you know what underage means? Do numbers make sense to you at all?” I took her hand in mine, bringing it to my lips for a kiss. “I am right here with you, baby.” I nipped at her wrist with my teeth. “We’ll eat, we’ll be pleasant, and then we’ll get the hell out of there, okay?” She nodded.
The brownstone looked like it had been recently remodeled. “Did you live here when you were younger?”
We climbed the steps, side by side. “No. We had this great pre-war apartment a few blocks away from here. I remember it being huge and open, with lots of light and wooden floors. From what I can recall, it was beautiful.”
“How very Sex in the City of you.”
She turned to me, a sad smile on her face. “Were Lexi and your sister the only friends you had growing up?” Before I could answer her, the large oak door swung open.
“Well, there’s our girl. Get in here, sweetheart, we are so happy you decided to come visit.” My eyes went wide. The woman standing in front of us with open arms was young as hell. She may have been twenty-eight, but she looked twenty-five or younger. She had shoulder-length black hair and dark eyes. She was both model tall and model thin. She was pretty, but she didn’t hold a candle to my girl.
Harlow stayed rooted on the stoop, so I gave her back a little push. She narrowed her eyes but entered the house and her stepmom’s arms. “Hello, Misti. It’s nice to see you.” Her tone was as flat as a pancake.
But Misti (I’d never met a Misti who wasn’t a stripper) didn’t seem to let it get her down. She squeezed Lo tight for another few seconds before backing away. “And what do we have here?” She dropped her arms from Lo’s shoulders and turned her attention to me.
I held my hand out. “I’m Luke Matthews, Harlow’s boyfriend. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh I know who you are, handsome.” I took my hand back and stepped closer to Lo, wrapping my arm around her waist. A forty-five-year-old loving mother calling her daughter’s boyfriend handsome? That was sweet. A twenty-eight-year-old stepmom calling her stepdaughter’s boyfriend handsome? That was bad news.
“Harlow, honey.”
“Hey, Dad. How’s it—”
“Henry?” I jerked back at the sight of Henry Miller coming down the stairs toward us.
“Hello, Luke.” His tone matched Harlow’s from earlier. He was less than thrilled to see me, but not at all surprised.
I grabbed Lo’s arm, gently turning her to face me. “Henry Miller is your father?”
She seemed confused, looking between us, finally settling on him. “Dad? You know Luke?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Of course I know Luke. I own him.”
My hackles were fucking raised. “You don’t fucking own me, or the band. We work with you, and we make you a shit-ton of money too so you better watch your damn—”
“Boys, boys. Let’s not discuss business right now, brunch is ready.” Misti stepped between us and then put her arm through mine, guiding me into what I assumed was the formal dining room.
Out of all the things I thought would happen here today, Harlow’s dad owning our record label sure as hell wasn’t one of them. Miller was our least favorite suit, the worst in a long line of talentless pricks. The label had been giving us shit about our new album for months on end, and Miller was behind ninety percent of it. They’d also made some questionable choices in the past about allotting money for things we never authorized. One of those being all the money they paid out to Landry’s mom, none of which ever went toward Landry. We sat down, Lo and I on one side and Miller and Misti on the other.
There was enough food on the table to feed a family of ten. We loaded our plates in silence, the only sound our silverware tapping on the dishes. It was loaded silence, so I knew Lo would eventually start to, yep, babble.
“When did you buy this place? Why did you move? Your old apartment had so much more character from what I can remember. Not t
hat I can remember much, I don’t think I’ve been back to New York in, gosh, ten years or so? It must have been worth a fortune in this market. I wish you would have let me know you were selling, I’d have loved to buy it.”
When she paused to take a breath, I held a fork full of frittata in front of her face. “You’ve got to try this, baby. It’s delicious.” She opened and I loaded the whole bite into her mouth then glared at her dad. “You knew who I was, why didn’t you say anything?” Dickwad.
He sat his knife down. “I tried to tell her.” He looked pointedly at Lo. “Several times. But she kept ignoring my calls, and when I finally did get her on the line, she interrupted me incessantly. I didn’t contact you directly because this is a family matter, this is between my daughter and me.”
I put my hand on her thigh under the table. “Yeah, well, she’s with me now. So it’s between all of us.”
“Can we please just all calm down? Let’s have a nice meal together and then afterward Harlow and her father can step into his study to talk.” Misti winked at me. “You and I can get to know each other a little better too.” Well, that seemed like an unsavory offer with trouble written all over it.
I gritted my teeth. “Fine.” The last thing I wanted to do was share a meal with this clown. I’d had to do it enough over the past couple of years with the Devil’s Share. Lo had described him to a T: pretentious asshole. If he got to run the conversation it’d be all about either his golf game or how much money he made this year.
Henry looked around the table before smiling politely. “I sold the other apartment because we need more space.” He held his wife’s hand on top of the table. “Misti and I want to start a family.”
Lo’s fork clattered loudly to her plate. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Harlow. Language.” His eyes darted to me. “I can see the company you keep is starting to rub off on you.”
Misti looked pissed as hell, and it was all directed at Lo. “We thought you’d be happy for us. You are a grown adult; we didn’t think you would be jealous of a baby.”
