UNBROKEN (Friends, Lovers, or Nothing Book 5)

by Jackie Chanel

  “But this is your wedding!” Erica shouted. “This is the biggest day of your life. Being the Maid of Honor is more than just standing beside you. I should be your number one just to show you that I can be loyal and trusted and all those things that you obviously doubt I can be.”

  I took a deep breath and put my hands on the irrational drama queen’s shoulders.

  “I’m not doing this with you, Erica. I agree that the Maid of Honor is a big deal. However, you’re failing to remember that when it came to your wedding, you didn’t even send me an invitation, let alone ask me to be your Maid of Honor. You didn’t even tell me that you were engaged. Aiden told me. So, best friend, marinate on that bullshit and just be a bridesmaid in this damn wedding.”

  I dropped my hands from her shoulders as her eyes widened with the realization that she didn’t invite me to her wedding hit home. Aiden didn’t invite me either. Both just assumed that I was going to attend. Of course, she had no response to my statement so I left her on the patio to ponder what a lousy friend she was and how lucky she is that I’m letting her be in the wedding at all.

  I joined the wedding planning committee just in time to hear my babies’ daddy comment that our wedding reception would be a great time for him, Paulie, and Aaron to play as a trio again. I shut that down immediately.

  “You have that guitar strapped around you or music on your mind 24/7,” I said as I eased into my seat. “I just want one day that has nothing to do with your music. Our wedding reception is not going to be a free show for your celebrity fans. You’re the groom, not the entertainment. I’m dead ass serious. If you, Paulie, and Aaron want to debut as a trio, do it on your own time.”

  Delilah giggled. “I’m glad you said it and not me.”

  Aiden looked disappointed but he’d get over it. He didn’t have a choice. He might be more hands-on during this wedding planning business than the average groom but, at the end of the day, I’ve been dreaming about my wedding day since I was a little girl. And in no scenario was the groom standing on stage playing guitar with his buddies.

  Chapter 13: Friends, Lovers, or Nothing

  MY WEDDING DATE IS SET. My tour dates are almost nailed down. Life was moving along at a faster pace than even I was used to. Thank God for Mom and Peaches. If not for them, Sunny and I wouldn’t have gotten our child enrolled in Pre-K on time. Begrudgingly, I had to throw in the towel and put Jess, Summer’s part-time nanny, on the payroll as a full-time employee. There was no way we were going to survive wedding planning, a high-risk pregnancy, and our busy schedules without a nanny.

  Peaches and Kat, who I can’t usually get on a plane without bribing her, were in LA every few days helping Sunny plan the wedding from the confines of her house. Our last appointment with Dr. Margolis didn’t go that well. She thought the kiddo was underweight and Sunny’s blood pressure was sky-high. She has a couple big meetings in New York next month so Dr. Margolis and I agreed that she should stay off her feet as much as possible until it was time for her trip. She wasn’t happy but it was best for our child.

  “Aiden, where are you?” Delilah screamed through the intercom inside my house.

  I’d been avoiding her calls and texts for the last hour because I was working. I wasn’t sure who was the culprit who programmed her fingerprints into my security system so she could get into the gate—Mom probably—but Delilah was the last distraction I needed. Christian, Carson, Dreamz, his tech Ray, and I were in the studio putting the final mixes on some of the tracks for the Final Hour album.

  “That your girl?” Dreamz asked without looking up from the soundboard.

  We were making serious progress on some pretty important music and Delilah was killing our vibe. This album is damn near perfect. It’s a smooth mix of Christian and Carson’s R&B vocals over my live band and some of Dreamz’s beats. Joey hasn’t heard much more than the tracks I gave him a couple of months ago because Dreamz doesn’t like people hearing his work before it’s done. However, this was Grammy material, a surefire Top 10 comeback album. Those boys were about to drop an album like they hadn’t been gone ten years.

  “No, that’s my little sister,” I answered.

  As if my answer was a direct summons, Delilah burst into the studio. Her blonde hair flowed down her back and shone like the sun. Her eyes were excited and clear. Since Sunny was on house arrest, Delilah’s been running the S.T.Y.L.E.Z studio and I watched my little sister flourish outside of my and Sunny’s shadow. All thoughts of asking her to come back to work for me were lost. The last time we talked, she was thinking about going to design school. My baby sister is growing up. So why was she bothering me at nine o’clock at night?

  “Yo, she’s fine,” Dreamz said just loud enough for me to hear. “She got a man?”

  “Yeah. She’s married.”

  Delilah entered the control room. The first thing I noticed was that she wasn’t wearing her ring.

  “The center stone was loose so it’s getting fixed. But my ring is the least of your worries. Hey Ryan,” she said to Dreamz. “How are you?” She waved to Christian and Carson in the booth then said, “I know you’re working but have you talked to Sunny tonight?”

  “I talked to her earlier. She said Erica was coming over. Why?”

  “You need to see this.”

  Delilah opened Facebook on my Mac and a video was the first thing in my newsfeed. What the hell?

  “I’m the one acting like a bitch?” Sunny was screaming at Erica in the middle of Mr. Chow’s. “You’re the one who’s acting like a goddamn child! This is my wedding so either do what I say or don’t bother being in it!”

  “Bitch, you can’t be serious!” Erica screamed right back. “Don’t come at me with that bullshit. I don’t give a shit if your little feelings are hurt. I meant what the fuck I said!”

  “Turn it off,” I said through gritted teeth. I couldn’t watch that bullshit. The fact that some random person filmed their dumb ass fight and posted it online had my blood boiling. I picked up my phone and called public enemy number one.

  “What?” Erica snapped when she answered the phone.

  “Get your ass to my house right now. I mean now, Erica.” I hung up the phone and looked at my sister. “When did that happen?”

  She nodded. “About an hour ago. It’s all over the Internet.”

  I picked up my phone and sent a text to Tracey. She replied right back.

  Tracey: I know. I saw the video. But I don’t work for either of them so it’s not our problem.

  Dreamz started laughing. “Damn, Aiden! I got twelve chicks back in New York for a damn reality show and you still got more drama than I do.”

  He was laughing but I didn’t find any of that shit funny. I had so many questions but I didn’t want to stress Sunny any more than she already was. I’d only get real answers from Erica anyway.

  A half hour later, I excused myself from the studio and met Erica in the driveway outside of the gate. I didn’t even bother having her pull all the way in. I walked over to the driver’s side of her Range Rover and told her to slide over. We were going for a drive and she was not driving. She moved without protest and I pulled out of the driveway and started heading away from my house.

  “Start talking,” I said as I hit a left on Elevado.

  “What do you want me to say? That your fiancée is a bitch and I don’t think that we’re going to be friends anymore? Or that I don’t think I can be your touring sax player or be on your label since she’s always going to be around? Where should I start, Aiden?”

  “Do I look like I have the patience for you and Sunny’s dramatics right now? You don’t think I have enough shit on my plate? You and Sunny don’t have to be friends again. I really don’t give a shit. You, on the other hand, I do give a shit about. You aren’t leaving my band and we’re not dropping you from the label. That’s number one. You haven’t been the same since we came off tour. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. What’s going on with you, Erica?”

&nbs
p; “I’m just going through some shit and Sunny pissed me off even more tonight,” she answered quietly.

  I pulled to a stoplight and pressed the brake. “Fuck this dumb shit between you and Sunny!” I yelled. “I’m talking about you! Lately, you’ve barely wanted to work. You’re not writing. You’re never around the group. Erica, look at me. What’s wrong? What’s going on with you?”

  Erica wouldn’t look at me. Instead, she looked down at the floor mat and was quiet while I continued to drive and wait for her to talk. I knew something was wrong with her months ago. Erica and I used to be really close; at least I thought we were. She wasn’t just someone I could talk to about Sunny; we used to talk about everything.

  “Erica, please talk to me. What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know what’s wrong. That’s the problem, Aiden.”

  I pulled her Range Rover into an empty shopping center parking lot and parked in a dark spot away from the bright spotlights in the lot. Erica sat in the passenger seat and began to cry. I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to me. I was determined that whatever the problem was, we were going to get to the bottom of it before the sun came up.

  “Are you feeling some type of way about me and Sunny?” I guessed.

  “Aiden, puh-leeze,” Erica scoffed. “If we’re gonna do this, then you need to know that I want you and Sunny to be together. You and Sunny are not my problem. I’m my own goddamn problem.”

  Erica turned in her seat. With her back against the passenger door, she faced me.

  “I’m a fuck up, Aiden. I make bad decisions without thinking of how they affect other people. I have commitment issues, no work ethic, trust issues, and I just feel lost. But if there’s one thing I’m absolutely sure if in this shitstorm I call my life, it’s that I’m happy that the two people I love most in this world love each other and are building something beautiful. What makes me mad is that the thing I’m happiest about in my life is a relationship that I’m not even in.”

  “That’s fucked up, E.”

  “Don’t I know it? You know about my parents. You know Roxy and Joey damn near raised me. I remember how happy they were together until Roxy ruined it.”

  That I didn’t know. Her personal life wasn’t something that Roxy and I talked about often. Roxy and Joey’s previous divorce wasn’t on my list of things to go digging in to.

  “What happened with that?”

  “Roxy kept trying to push him down this path to superstardom but Joey didn’t want that. He fired her as his manager and that ruined their marriage. Roxy just couldn’t let that go. She became the woman she is now, the ambitious, self-made businesswoman, a shark in a male dominated industry, fearless, ballsy, and I thought that was how I was supposed to be. I thought she was the perfect example of how to live without a man.”

  “Is all this about that Matt guy...Clay’s brother? Are you trippin’ over a dude? You?”

  Erica stared—no—glared at me in such a way that I wished I could jam those words back down my throat. But that was the only explanation, wasn’t it?

  “You say that like I’m not supposed to be a mess over a guy.”

  “You, Erica Steele, aren’t. I’ve know you since I was nineteen and I’ve never seen a dude jack your head up, even me.”

  Erica shook her head. “Don’t do me like that.”

  “Alright, so this dude has your head spinning and got you questioning your entire life. Why? How is that possible?”

  “Aiden,” Erica said seriously. “I’m about to tell you something and it better not leave this car. I swear to God, if you tell anyone, I will make sure that you never make another baby in your life. Got it?”

  I didn’t want to laugh. I couldn’t laugh. Erica was dead serious and needed a friend at that moment.

  “Got it.”

  “So.” She paused then started over. “Since I met Matt, we’ve been kickin’ it almost every day. He’s great, Aiden. I’ve never been with anyone who makes me feel as special and wanted as he does. He’s just...awesome. The way he looks at me. The way he listens when I talk...it’s been over six months and I’m not sick of him. But...”

  I gasped, involuntarily of course. I just couldn’t believe that Erica was telling me this.

  “You love Clay’s brother? Are you serious? Matt?”

  I’d only met Matt a couple of times and never did I think he’d be someone on Erica’s radar. He’s not in the entertainment industry. Unlike Clay, he doesn’t have famous friends. He doesn’t party like we do, and he’s not rich. For all intents and purposes, he’s an Ivy League frat boy.

  “Yes, Matt,” Erica grumbled. “And I don’t know what to do. On one hand, I feel like I would be okay with committing the rest of my life to this man, but on the other , I want to block his number and fly to San Diego to hang out with Adrian and hope that Matt finds out so he’ll stop liking me. Aiden, are you hearing me?” Erica cried. “I’m ready to sabotage my own happiness because being in love scares the living hell out of me. I’m totally fucked in the head, right?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, that’s fucked. But you have your reasons and I’m not judging you. But the relationship with Matt is only six months old. Is he asking for your total commitment?”

  “He’s moving back to Boston to the run that branch of his father’s firm. He asked me to move with him.”

  Whoa! But Erica kept talking so I couldn’t fully express my surprise. As far as I know, no one has ever asked Erica to move in with them. I didn’t even ask her. She just kind of took it upon herself to never leave my house.

  “I see you and Sunny acting like adults now, getting married and raising your kids,” Erica continued to pour out her thoughts and feelings. “Roxy and Joey are back together. I’m 99% sure they’ll be remarried soon. Everyone I know is getting married, is married, having children, or in real relationships, and I’m just out here acting like I’m still in college. Then there’s this perfect man who swears he loves me and wants to build something with me, and I’m still hookin’ up with guys from Instagram.”

  I held Erica’s trembling hands in mine and wiped the tears from her eyes with my thumb. I hated to see her so disgusted with herself and so obviously in love with this guy and scared to be.

  “First of all,” I said softly. “Stop cheating on Matt before he does find out. Next, move to Boston with the man.”

  Erica started to protest but I shushed her.

  “Hear me out. One missed opportunity and plenty of bad decisions kept me and Sunny apart for years. I had so many chances to tell her how I felt and I blew each and every one of them because I was scared. It’s by sheer luck that I have her now. The point I’m trying to make is that you don’t know what the future holds. So many stars had to align for me and Sunny to end up on that island together but there are too many what-ifs for me to ever be truly comfortable with knowing that I’m going to have her forever. Too many mistakes have been made.

  “You love this dude so act on it. Yeah, that shit is scary but what’s the worst that can happen? The relationship doesn’t work out? It’s not like you’re poor and would be stuck in Boston. Come back to LA or go back to Atlanta. You’ll have options. But don’t let fear ruin this. Not doing something that would make you happy is a punk ass move and we both know you ain’t no punk ass bitch. Love is a risk, E. But fear will have you lonely as hell and fighting with your best friend in the middle of Mr. fuckin’ Chow’s.”

  Erica sighed. “I need to fix this shit with Sunny, don’t I? I truly messed that up.”

  “Yeah, fix that. But make a decision about Matt first. That’s number one.”

  “When did you get so good at this shit?” Erica laughed.

  “I’m not good at it. I’m just speaking from experience. Don’t make the same mistakes I made.”

  I hoped that Erica took my advice. LA might not be right for her anymore. She’s been so adamant about not being in relationship that maybe being in one with someone who truly loved her and changing cit
ies was exactly what she needed. We’ll find out, one way or another.

  Chapter 14: Pretty Girl

  “AIDEN?”

  Mona peeked into my guitar room where Spence, my guitar tech, and I were checking out my collection to decide which of my girls were coming on the road with me.

  Even though LiveNation, and more importantly Roxy Steele, was okay with pushing the tour to after my wedding and birth of my kid, prepping for an international tour is a lot of work. We usually start getting the guitars and set list chosen months before we pack the tour buses because rehearsal starts soon. My show isn’t a huge production like some artists but there is more work than a little bit when it comes to an Aiden Tyler tour. I have to audition backup singers and a backup band if something happens to Erica, Eddie, or Mike. I will not repeat the disaster that occurred when Erica refused to come out on the road for two weeks. Now my band members know that they are replaceable.

  I also have to work with the lighting and set designers and all that stuff. It’s a lot of work, especially with Sunny in New York and Summer around while I’m trying to create a set list. Since I have such limited time on stage, I have to be very selective. In the beginning, I played the same songs every show but I quickly got bored. Now I spend weeks perfecting a mix of songs that I won’t mind hearing and playing every night for the next four to six months. Choosing the guitars I want to take helps me create the set list. Can’t play a song if the guitar for it isn’t on the trailer.

  “What’s up, Mona?”

  “There’s this girl at the gate. She says her name is Shay and she wants to audition for you. I keep telling her that we’re not holding auditions yet but she’s very persistent. Do you want me to call police?”

  From the aggravated expression on Mona’s face, I could tell that my assistant would rather meet Shay in the driveway herself and not get the police involved until later. Mona is short and petite but she is definitely more Doberman than Chihuahua when it comes to keeping groupies away from me. However, I can handle this one on my own.