by Susan Ward
I stare down as Krystal and her family alight the vehicle.
The metal security gate lowers.
“All clear. You guys can head out,” I hear Graham Carson say.
Head out?
WTF?
I lean over the seat, facing the driver. “Stop the vehicle. I’m getting out.”
Dillon’s gaze shifts to me. “No, Jake. You’re not.”
I stare at him in disbelief. “You can’t keep me in this SUV against my will.”
“You’re right, I can’t,” Dillon says calmly. “But you fucked up, Jake. You’ve got one direction to go to make it better. The direction this vehicle is going. Sit back. Shut up. This is going to be a long night.”
After two hours of driving in silence, the vehicle pulls to a stop. I look out the window. What is this? They took me to a nightclub?
“Come on, Jake,” Brayden says without looking at me before he levers his body from the passenger seat.
My door opens. “What the hell are you guys doing? Ha, ha, ha. You’ve had your joke. You’ve messed with my head. Can we all just fucking stop this?”
Dillon says, “Get out.”
I roll my eyes, letting my irritation show. “Fine. Can I go home after this? You’ve had your fun at my expense. This is nuts.”
They bypass the long line at the door and are waved through by the bouncer. It’s packed. Strobe lights, loud music. Bodies everywhere. Three floors. Enormous monitors. Exactly the kind of place Krystal and I never go, and I didn’t go before her. A chic, trendy watering hole for the fast crowd.
“You ever been to The Blue Light?” Dillon asks above the ear-piercing sound.
“No, I haven’t.”
He smiles. “It’s Alan’s favorite club in Manhattan.”
My stomach drops.
Oh, fuck me.
Through a crush of bodies, I see them.
On a giant blue velvet U-shaped sofa.
Drinking and laughing
Alan, Graham Carson, Jared, Jamal, Bobby Rowan, Ethan and Eric Manzone—what the fuck, they let teenagers in here?—and none other than Jackson Parker. Oh shit, it’s like doom and who’s who in the music industry assembled as a fuck me squad.
Alan’s mesmerizing, penetrating black eyes lock on me, and I can hardly feel my legs the last few steps toward them.
Graham breaks off from talking to Jack and says, “Sit down. We saved you a seat, kid.”
Reluctantly, I do as instructed, but really, I don’t know why I’m still going along with this.
Alan fills a shot glass and shoves it across a low table to me. He doesn’t talk, but he doesn’t need to. It feels like I’ve been dropped in boiling oil.
“Take the drink,” Jared says, leaning forward, elbow on knees. I down the shot. “Do you know why you’re here?”
“Yeah, I got a pretty clear idea.”
They all laugh, ratcheting up my tension.
“You’re fired,” Jared says without aplomb and I shrug because there’s nothing really to say, but hell, I’m sure this is the weirdest termination in the history of employee terminations. Maybe someday I’ll laugh over this. Right now, it’s awful and humiliating.
I wish they’d all stop staring at me.
“Do you have anything to say to me?” Alan asks suavely.
I shift my gaze to Alan. Crap, no words forming. I speak without thinking. “I’m sorry. No, wait. That’s not true. I’m not sorry. What do you want me to say? I’m in love with your daughter. We’re married. And that’s how it is. Get used to it.”
He smiles, half snarl and half I don’t know what, an expression I’ve seen a thousand times in glossy magazines. “There isn’t much Chrissie and I don’t know about our kids, but I’ve got to admit, this surprised me when Jared brought it to me two months ago. How long you kept it from us disappointed me. Krystal’s always been such a level-headed girl. There’s only one thing I can say about that…”
He lets his words trail off and every muscle in my body becomes a coiled spring.
“You can either be a man or a fuckup. No one can make you a fuckup unless you’re willing. Don’t be a fuckup.”
Oh shit.
What the hell does that mean?
“I’m sorry. I’m not following what’s happening here,” I manage to say through the pulsing muscles of my throat.
“It’s a family thing,” Jackson Parker explains, raking his silver hair from his face as he fixes his brilliant blue eyes on me. “It had to be said. Tradition. Right, Bobby?”
Bobby Rowan nods, jutting his chin. “The don’t-be-a-fuckup speech. A must in this circumstance.”
They’re all nodding as if that makes sense, but it’s unnerving. Like they get what’s happening here and I’m still in the dark.
I start to speak to Alan, but he cuts me off. “Sorry about firing you. It had to be done so we could welcome you to the family, Jacob,” he says before throwing back his head and letting out his thundering raspy laughter.
What?
In a second Dillon’s slapping me on the back.
Bobby Rowan leans into me as he refills my glass. “Alan’s been itching to fuck with someone since I eloped with Kaley.”
Graham Carson looks at me. “Gotcha, kid.”
Alan’s smile is happy and amused. “Let’s party. I haven’t been to a bachelor party since I married Chrissie. And fuck it. Who cares if you’ve been married over a year? We’re having a party.”
Chapter Forty
“Krystal”
“You were brilliant tonight on stage. Your mum cried from the moment the curtain went up. She squeezed my hand so hard I may never play guitar again. We both kept saying, ‘That can’t be our daughter. When did Krystal grow up?’”
I whirl from the concrete wall to find my dad standing on the terrace. “Are you proud of me, Daddy?”
Alan smiles. “Proud doesn’t touch it, baby girl.”
I nod, battling back my tears. “You’re not disappointed in me, are you?”
He laughs, sinking down on a chaise in a loose-limbed way. “Disappointed? No. Hurt?” He makes a small space with his thumb and index finger. “A little. To find out from Jared my daughter got married. Yes, that hurt. You and Kaley.” He does an affectionate growl. “Two peas in a pod, for all you both go on that you’re nothing alike. You seem very alike to me. When are you girls going to learn you can tell me anything?”
His expression brings home how wrong I’ve been to Alan—to both my parents. I settle on his lounger facing him, one leg tucked beneath me.
“Before we got married, Jacob wanted to tell you and I didn’t. I thought you wouldn’t approve and I didn’t want you to try and stop us. After we got married”—I crinkle my nose—“I think he felt bad and didn’t know how to tell you. He thinks a lot of you, Dad. Really respects you. It was my fault we didn’t tell you before, but he was the one who felt badly we didn’t. Then I think it took so long because we didn’t know how to fix it. Neither of us wanted you to be angry or disappointed.”
Alan shakes his head at me. “There’s only one thing Chrissie and I want for any of you kids: to be happy. Nothing else in life matters, love. Are you happy, Krystal?”
My smile comes quick and full. “Very happy, Dad. I love him. He’s a good man. I’m the lucky one. Not Jacob.”
Alan nods, his mouth scrunching up. “Then we’re happy for you, sunshine. That’s all you ever had to say and we would have welcomed him into the family.”
“You’re not going to do anything terrible to him, are you?”
He laughs. “No, of course not. But I need to have a talk with my new son-in-law man to man. We need an understanding between us. My expectations of him and what he can expect from me. That’s all I’m going to do tonight, baby girl.”
I alertly search my dad’s face, not sure if I should believe that. Separating us—not good. Having the security guys give Jacob a bad time. Alan’s up
to something. I can feel it.
“Don’t be mean to him. Jacob doesn’t know it’s show.”
Alan’s eyes widen as he leans close to my face. “I won’t be mean.”
I make a face at him. “You better not.”
Alan rolls his eyes. “Jack’s going to be there. How awful can I get? Hell, with your grandfather there I probably won’t even get a word in.”
I kiss my dad’s cheek. “Good. There’s going to be someone there to make you behave.”
He frowns. “No one needs to make me behave. I’m British. Politeness is inescapable.” My dad stands up. “We won’t be late, sunshine, but you should probably go to bed like the rest of the family has.”
My eyebrows lift. “I’m not going to sleep until you bring Jacob home and I know everything’s OK between you two.”
He rakes back his hair, staring out at the city lights. “You’re just like your mum. Suspicious. You have nothing to worry about.”
He presses a fast touch of his lips into my hair before he disappears into the apartment. I hear, “Let’s roll, Graham. We’ve let the kid drive around the city with Dillon long enough.”
They’re all laughing as they head for the door.
I slowly stretch my arms and upper body. I’m exhausted. It’s been a roller coaster of a day. Professionally and personally. My dad’s right, I should probably go to bed. But my languid limbs are anxious and my stomach is full of flutters. Anxious flutters, happy flutters, and oh shit, my dad is running loose in Manhattan with Jacob flutters.
Turning, I stare at the terrace door and wonder if I should go find Mom. We really haven’t talked much about my marriage. And she’d know what Alan’s up to. Instead, I recline on a pillow, staring out at the city.
The sounds of the street below are pleasantly hushed, the sky luminous with stars and a bright moon, and from the apartment comes silence. Not exactly how I planned to spend the night after my New York debut. Different than how I thought Jacob and I would pass the darkness hours tonight.
Rubbing my cheek against the cushion, I smile. I landed the audience tonight, but what mattered more to me was the look in Jacob’s eyes as he watched me dance. The fast glimpses of his face I caught throughout the performance. The way he stared at me. The look in his eyes landing as a jolt in my heart, and everything within me let loose.
If I was brilliant tonight, it was because of him. I would have never gotten this far in New York without Jacob. He taught me how to love and not be afraid to feel. Destroyed the belief in my head that I couldn’t have both a career and a relationship, and unlocked my heart. He helped me recover from the eating habits that nearly ruined my health. Never faltered through our lows. He loves me more than I love myself, and though it didn’t start that way for me, now that’s how I love him.
Frowning, I wonder if I should have told my dad that. No, those parts belong to us. They wouldn’t understand it anyway. I’m living it and at times I don’t understand how it can be so wonderful to love him. I thought I would never love anyone the way I love Jacob…
“What are you still doing up, K-bell?”
Kaley crosses the terrace and sits beside me on the lounger.
“I don’t trust Dad. I want to be awake when Jacob gets home to make sure everything went well. What are you doing awake?”
Laughing, Kaley stretches out beside me. “Waiting up for Bobby, but probably for different reasons than you.”
“What do you mean different reasons? You know what they’re doing, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. Bobby knows better after ten years of marriage than to keep things from me.” She yawns. “The guys are at The Blue Light getting loaded together. A belated bachelor party for Jacob.”
My eyes go wide. “What? They’re having a bachelor party tonight? I don’t believe you. Dad looked so serious when he left. Are you telling me that my father took my husband nightclubbing through Manhattan with him?”
She nods, amused. “It’s no big deal, Krystal. Like you said, your husband’s out with Dad.”
I give her the look. “Hello? No big deal? Did you just hear what you said?”
Kaley laughs. “Yeah. Bobby’s with them, too. You don’t see me tripping. Mom’s sound asleep in her bed. It’s nothing to get upset about, Krystal. It’s what guys do.”
My brows lower. “It’s not what my guy does. This is the last time Dad takes Jacob anywhere.”
Kaley turns on the chaise, facing me, one brow arched in a manner that makes her the mirror image of Alan. Black hair, black eyes, perfect features, and intimidating without effort.
“I thought maybe my kid sister was gone forever now that she’s married and a sensation in the ballet world. But this is the Krystal I know. You have nothing to be jealous or possessive about. Not if Jacob loves you.”
“He loves me.”
“Of course he does. How could he not? You have nothing to worry about, Krystal.”
I tense. Why does she keep saying I have nothing to worry about?
She climbs from the lounger and holds out a hand for me. “Come on. Let’s go to bed. It’s late. And I don’t think they’re getting back until morning. Dad didn’t leave here until after one.”
I let her pull me up.
As we go down the hallway, I ask, “Do you think we should say good night to Mom? She looked so happy that all us kids are together here.”
“No, she’s sound asleep. I already told you.” Kaley lays her cheek on my head. “She really missed you. Not coming home for a year, it worried her. Both of them. But I guess now we know why you stayed away from Pacific Palisades all that time. God, Krystal, an entire year and you didn’t tell them you got married. Mom cried for one week straight. It was Dad who kept her from coming here to confront you and said that she shouldn’t push and that there had to be a reason you didn’t think you could tell us. But I guess Dad got tired of waiting on you. I’m glad. Mom looked happy tonight. She hasn’t looked happy for weeks.”
Having her say that makes me feel awful.
“I didn’t do it to hurt them, Kaley. It wasn’t because I don’t love them.”
Kaley nods. “Well, whatever the reason, you hurt them, Krystal, and Mom has really missed you. More than you know.”
“It’s not like she didn’t see me. She came to New York and visited. Lots of times. They both did.”
“It’s not the same as you coming home. There’s a difference. They like having the whole family together. It’s important to them. You know that, Krystal.”
I lean against my bedroom doorframe, positive I should say something, but not knowing what to add because my sister pretty much put it all out there, everything I already know about Mom and Dad, and all the things neither of them said to me though they had a right to.
“Good night, Kaley. I love you.”
“I love you, too, K-bell.” She kisses my forehead. “And don’t give Jacob too much shit when he gets home. Whatever he’s done tonight is not his fault.”
“Wait,” I say anxiously at Kaley’s departing back. “What do you mean whatever he’s done?”
At her bedroom door she turns to face me. “Bobby didn’t sober up for three days after his son-in-law outing with Dad. He doesn’t even completely remember everything they did. But I saw the pictures. It wasn’t anything to have a fit over.”
“Pictures? Why didn’t you ever tell me this? How could you not show me the pictures?”
Kaley frowns. “You were like eleven or something when I married Bobby. I wasn’t going to show my baby sister pictures of my husband trying to take shots from a stripper’s breasts.”
My eyes flare open to their fullest. “They really did that?”
“No, Bobby did. From what I hear, Dad just sat there laughing and drinking all night. He brought Bobby home, dumped him in my living room, and said, ‘Princess, you don’t have to worry about him. He couldn’t even get the shot glass from her breasts.’ Like I needed Dad
to tell me that. They’re just going to take Jacob out to get a feel for what kind of man he is since none of them know him that well. Hopefully, Dad brings him home. It’s not good if Jacob doesn’t come home with them.”
I stare at her.
Her gaze meets mine, unblinking.
Narrowing my eyes, I shake my head at her. “Ha, ha, ha. You must think I’m so gullible. You’re full of it. Dad wouldn’t do that. Mom wouldn’t let him. And I know what you’re trying to do, Kaley. You’re messing with me like you did when we were little and it’s not funny. Nope, don’t believe you.”
She shrugs. “Fine, don’t. Ask Jacob in the morning. That is if he’s coherent. If not, check his phone for evidence. One of the guys is taking pictures on his phone. That’s what they did with Bobby. Left the entire night in his photo library so I could find it and give him shit.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not ten anymore. This isn’t going to work, Kaley. You can’t psych me out.”
She goes into her room, closes the door, and a second later I’m not sure if I should believe her or not.
Damn it, I hate when she does this.
It’s exactly like when we were kids.
She’s just messing with me.
Dad wouldn’t do that.
I go to bed.
* * *
I open my eyes and then shoot upright in bed. I’m alone and it’s morning. Jacob didn’t come home last night.
Jeez, Louise, this isn’t funny anymore.
What have they done with my husband?
Angry, I pull on the sweats I borrowed from my mom and head into the hallway. I hurry toward the great room and then halt at the edge to rapidly take in the scene.
They’re all here.
The bodyguards.
My entire family, minus Grandpa Jack, Linda, and Madison.
Jacob isn’t here.
“Sunshine.”
I shift my gaze to find my dad staring at me.
“You slept late,” he says, smiling, fresh faced and not a hair out of place. “What time is your call at the theater?”
“This afternoon since I danced last night.”
