by Max Monroe
Not to worry. I draw the line at murder for hire. I have too much good stuff to lose.
When Ellie eventually tuckers out and Rocky nurses her to sleep, the woman of my dreams and I finally get the alone time I’ve been waiting for.
Normally, we’d find something both salacious and satisfying to do with it, but today, the sexual tension will have to stop at the meeting of our lips.
I taste and taunt and then pull away to fluttering eyelids.
When she ultimately forces them open, I turn her palm over with my free hand and settle the weight of her phone into the cradle of it with the other.
“It’s time, Rock. Call Luca back.”
She shakes her head, and the heartache in her eyes makes me pause. But I know I’m doing the right thing here. They both deserve to have each other.
“I don’t even know what to say.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I assure her. “You can be mad or accusatory, or you can be civil and distant. All I know is that you have to be something. This conversation might not be the best, but eventually they’ll get better. They just have to start somewhere.”
She sucks her lips into her mouth and nods, flipping the phone over and dialing before she can turn back.
My brave, forgiving girl.
She chews at her lip as it rings, and I reach out to take her hips with my hands. No matter what, I’ll be here to steady her.
“Hello?” I can barely hear Luca’s voice when he answers, but at the sound of it, I’m immediately catapulted right back into our childhood in the Weavers’ backyard. Both Luca and me climbing trees, while Rocky chased us. Only, eventually, she got big enough to make it up the trunk along with us.
She followed me right into the tree and plopped down on the branch next to me. Impressed, I’d tossed my arm around her slight, five-year-old frame and shaken her into my side. Luca started singing instantly.
Harrison and Rocky sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage!
I never could have imagined just how right he was—or how wrong he was about the order.
“I know,” Rocky says forcefully, cutting into my trip down memory lane. “But calling a hundred times all of a sudden doesn’t make up for not calling at all for eight freaking years, Luca! I know you needed to leave. I know you needed a clean start, but did you really have to cut me out, too?”
My chest squeezes at the hurt in her voice, and a knot forms in my throat as I listen to her go on.
“You know about the baby? I didn’t realize you could get news in the middle of nowhere,” she says sarcastically, and I can’t help but laugh. Mostly because there’s just a hint of a smile starting to curl the corner of her lips.
The call is good. Things with her brother will be good. At least, eventually.
Relief fills my chest.
“Yes, it’s a girl,” she says into the phone. “Ellie. She turned four months old last week.”
She listens for a bit, a little bigger smile creasing the skin at the corners of her eyes. “If you knew about her, I guess you’ve heard about the father then too.”
She smiles fully now, and it’s only after she says, “Harrison Hughes,” that I know why. She’s happy to be reconnecting, sure, but she’s even happier to have something to stick it to Luca right in the gonads—his archnemesis from childhood, now the father of his only niece.
“That asshole is the only reason I’m even calling you right now, Luca, so you can cool your jets.”
I hear Luca then, but only because his voice has risen to a roar. “What the fuck, Rocky?”
“I can see your anger is still a problem, so we’ll talk later, when you’ve had time to calm the hell down!”
Without missing a beat, Rocky pulls the phone away from her ear and hangs up immediately. My eyes widen, but I can’t help but laugh. My God, I feel like I’m nine years old all over again. Granted, there’s a little bit saltier language being used now than there used to be, but the gang is most definitely back together.
The formerly knobby-kneed girl looks back at me with perfectly violet eyes, and my whole heart jumps to tell her I love her.
We are in control of our own destiny.
Whether it’s a plan we’ve had forever or a plan we never saw coming—it doesn’t matter.
All I know is I sure as hell picked a good one.
Two months later…
Raquel
“I’m sorry, Rocky,” Luca says, and his voice shines with honesty. My brother’s blue eyes are genuine and earnest as he apologizes for what has to be the tenth time since I arrived at his and his fiancée Billie’s home in the Hollywood Hills.
Ever since I finally called him back a few months ago—and he calmed down about an hour later—we’ve been in constant contact. When Harrison and I finalized our plans to make a trip out to LA to settle a few things with our old apartments, we knew getting together with my brother needed to be a part of it. Given the fact that he can’t take a shit without someone wanting to know about it and my step back from Hollywood has made me scantly accessible to the paparazzi, dinner at my brother’s house seemed like the best option.
It’s the first time we’ve seen each other in what feels like an eternity, and I can’t deny, it feels good.
“I was a selfish dick,” he continues. “I know that. But I was also a big fat fucking mess.”
It’s just the two of us outside on the patio now, beside a gorgeous infinity pool that showcases one hell of a view of LA. It seemed like Luca couldn’t wait to get me alone as soon as Harrison and I arrived with Ellie in tow.
I’m not entirely sure if it was because he wanted the bad blood between us settled or he wanted to be away from his biggest childhood enemy, but I can’t be picky about the reason either way. Because whether their youthful rivalry still lives on or not, at least no punches were thrown in the entryway. And we’re mending fences.
Harrison took Ellie into one of their guest bedrooms to change her diaper, and Billie is working on finishing up dinner. Luca’s loveable dog Bailey greeted us at the door but quickly excused himself to cling to Billie’s every move. Apparently, the dog favors her unabashedly.
And Luca is apologizing relentlessly to me. He wants me to forgive him, that much is apparent, and truthfully, I already have.
Life is too short to hold grudges against people who are clearly good on the inside.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t have a little fun with him for a little while longer. I mean, he was MIA for eight years; surely I can screw with him for another ten minutes.
“You were definitely a dick,” I agree with a little smile. “Probably the biggest dick ever, to just leave your sister behind.”
His responding sigh is forlorn and even kind of pathetic. And I probably shouldn’t be enjoying it this much. But man, it feels good to be having a conversation with my sibling at all. “Do you think you’re ever going to be able to forgive me?” he eventually asks, and I shrug.
“I guess that depends.”
“On what exactly?”
“If you can promise me you won’t turn into fucking Houdini again and disappear for another eight years.”
He smiles at that. “That’s a promise I can definitely keep.”
“And even though I’m in New York and you guys are in LA, you need to call me. And visit. Especially once my niece or nephew is born. I want to see you at least once a month.”
That’s right. My big brother is going to have a baby. His fiancée Billie is almost three months along. It’s certainly not the life I ever expected to see for him, but damn, does it make me happy.
“Twice a month,” he responds without hesitation. It’s a hefty promise while living on opposite sides of the country, but his willingness to make the effort is what counts. It feels so good to know he’s missed me too.
“God, I still can’t believe you’re engaged and you’re going to be a dad.”
“I still can’t
believe you had a baby with Harrison fucking Hughes.”
Now would probably be a good time to tell him that Harrison fucking Hughes is also my husband—that we eloped at city hall about a month after Ellie was born in a little ceremony with just the three of us, and once we said our “I do’s,” we met our whole crazy group of friends for a pancake breakfast at Kline and Georgia’s house. That it was private, quiet, and intimate, and that the boy he hated so much when we were kids turned into the best damn man on the planet.
But it’s going so well, and there will be plenty of time to talk about it later. Maybe during dinner or something. You know, when I can really give him a good shock. No, no, that’s not an evil smirk you see.
“A beautiful baby, I might add.”
“On that, we can certainly agree. Speaking of which, I need to hold her, so can we skip to the end of this powwow for now?” He pouts dramatically, and I roll my eyes. “Forgive me, Rock? I promise I won’t do such a shitty job of being your brother this time.”
“I forgive you,” I say with a laugh and reach out my arms to pull him into a tight hug. “I’ll probably never stop giving you shit for this for the rest of our lives, but I definitely forgive you.”
“Love you, sis.” He chuckles and squeezes me tightly one more time before letting go.
“Love you too, you big jerk.”
Just as we walk back toward the inside of the house, he pauses and stops our progress.
“Mind if I ask what ended up happening with Heidi?” he asks, and a devilish smile crests his lips. “I always hated that woman, and I’m really hoping some fucking justice was served for the bullshit she pulled.”
Even back in the day, Luca never liked Heidi. I can still hear him in my head, all those years ago, calling her a total fucking bitch.
Harrison and I tried to keep the whole Heidi Morris thing private, but she made it pretty much impossible. Shortly after she got word that we were not going to let her off easy—aka drown her in lawsuits and legal fees—she tried to turn the tables on us. Acted like I fired her for no reason, countersued for wrongful termination, and even tried to pretend I was some kind of evil-witch boss who made her life a living hell and treated her unfairly while she was working with me.
Yeah. I really wouldn’t be surprised if her house is filled with 101 Dalmatians and closets of fur coats.
But with Caplin Hawkins and the team of lawyers he put together for us, Heidi Morris will never be working in Hollywood again. Once they started digging really deep into the case, they found that, not only had she been illegally toying with my phone and messages, she’d also been stealing money from me.
Legit stealing money from me. As if her ten percent wasn’t enough! No wonder that wench was always wanting me to work as much as possible.
Needless to say, between all the emotional damage of her deceit and the actual financial damage I incurred from her, Heidi is quite possibly looking at a stint in prison and the stark reality that she has to pay back everything she stole.
“Oh, trust me.” I grin over at Luca. “Justice is going to be served.”
“Thank fuck for that.” He chuckles. “Besides you forgiving me, that might be the best news I’ve heard all day.”
“Dive in, everyone!” Billie announces with an adorable grin as she sets the last dish on the large dining table and all of us take our seats. Bailey curls up in the corner of the room and lays his head down on his paws while I concentrate on the feast in front of us.
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob—hot damn, I think I’m in love with my soon-to-be sister-in-law already.
“It smells amazing,” I say, and Harrison agrees.
“It sure does.”
“Thank you. The chicken is my Granny’s recipe. It has enough butter in it to grease a wheel bearing, but it’s so good, it’s worth it,” she says through a little giggle.
I smirk a little at the reference I in no way understand, and Luca shrugs. “She’s from West Virginia.”
“What?” Billie asks him, but he’s quick to distract her with compliments. “This looks fantastic, princess.” Luca smiles at her like the sun literally rises and sets from her ass, and she forgets all about his comment.
There’s no doubt about it, being happy and in love looks good on my brother.
I reach out and squeeze Harrison’s hand, and he flashes a soft smile my way.
With Ellie sleeping in her car seat at Harrison’s and my feet, we all dive into the food. Since I’m still breastfeeding and feel like I’m starving all the freaking time, I don’t hesitate to load up on all the goodness. Momma ain’t got time to be worried about her weight and all that.
The food doesn’t disappoint, and truthfully, I’m so invested in the meal that I hardly hear the sounds of someone walking down the hallway and into the dining room. Apparently, none of us does until she’s right in front of us, wide-eyed and apologetic.
“Oh shit, I didn’t know you had company,” Birdie Harris, one of my favorite country music singers and Billie’s older sister, says.
She’s just as pretty as she looks in magazines and on album covers and in interviews on TV, and unlike my Hollywood persona, it looks like every bit of it is natural.
“It’s fine, Birdie,” Billie says and waves her off. “Sit your butt down and grab a plate. I made more than enough.”
“No, no, no—”
“Birdie, sit down and eat,” Luca says with a smile, jumping up to grab another chair for her. “You know your sister always makes enough to feed an army.”
Billie flips my brother the middle finger, and I grin.
Yeah, I definitely like her. She’s the exact right kind of woman to keep Luca in line.
Billie takes it upon herself to stand up from her seat, grab a plate, hand it to her sister, and force Birdie to sit down. When Birdie’s ass is finally planted, Billie takes the time to introduce her—an introduction I in no way need. “Everyone, this is my sister, Birdie. Birdie, this is Luca’s sister, Raquel, and her main squeeze, Harrison, and their sweet little baby, Ellie, is down there sleeping in her car seat.”
“Birdie, can I just say that I am a huge fan,” I squeak, no chill or patience in my game. Her eyes go wide.
“Are you being serious right now?”
I look around the room. “Uh…yes?”
“The Raquel Weaver is a fan of my music?” she questions back on a laugh. “Okay, yeah, thank you for basically making my whole life. And if you ever want to go to a show, you let me know.”
“Oh man.” Harrison chuckles. “There is no doubt she’s going to take you up on that. This woman right here has been listening to your newest album on repeat. And I mean that literally. It never stops.”
“Wow. Way to play it cool.” I slap him on the chest, and he just laughs.
“Honey, I think the cat was already out of the bag. You didn’t even wait a full second to fangirl on her.”
“You know,” Luca chimes in, “Birdie is in LA because she’s auditioning for a movie. Maybe you two should talk. I know you’re out of the business now, but she could use some advice from someone who’s been there. A woman who’s been there.”
“Of course!” I respond and look over at Birdie. “What movie?”
“Grass Roots.”
“Oh yeah. I know that movie.” My eyes meet Luca’s again. “Your old pals Andrew and Howie are working on that one, right?”
He nods. “Yep.”
I may not be in the Hollywood scene anymore—thank everything—but before I left for good, I heard a whole lot of buzz about Grass Roots. And I know that Howie King is directing it and Andrew Watson—aka Mr. Infamous Playboy and Heartthrob—is already cast as the lead.
Back in the day, Luca used to be real good friends with both of them.
“Are you still close with those guys, Luca? Andrew and Howie?”
“I guess you could say we’re getting back to being close.” He shrugs and pops a bite of chicken into his mouth.
“Something like that.”
“Have you told her about Andrew, then?”
Luca chokes on his potatoes, and I take that as an unequivocal no.
“What?” Birdie says. “What about Andrew?”
“In terms of being wild and untamable, Andrew Watson gave my brother a run for his money. I’ve never worked with him before, but I’ve heard enough stories to know that he is trouble with a capital T.” Birdie’s eyes widen slightly, and I nod. “My advice?”
She nods.
“Be careful with him and keep it as professional as possible.”
“Rocky,” Luca chides. “Don’t scare her about Andrew. He’s not that bad. You’re getting him wrong.”
I don’t know why, but right now…well, it feels like the very best time to drop one last bomb on my big brother.
“Oh yeah? It’s possible to get a person all wrong?” I challenge.
“Yes,” Luca confirms, walking right into my trap.
“Good. Then you’ll be glad to hear Harrison and I are married. We eloped shortly after Ellie was born.”
“Oh shit,” Harrison mutters as he chokes on his wine.
I smile.
Luca glares.
Birdie looks around the table, mostly just confused.
Billie bursts into giggles, and Bailey picks his head up at the sound.
But then Luca looks toward his fiancée. “You find that funny, princess?”
“Oh yeah,” she retorts, completely unfazed. “I think your sister has quite a way with delivering news. I like it.” Billie flashes a wink in my direction.
“You like that she’s fucking with me right now, princess?”
“Uh-huh. Because then you get all caveman angry, and I think it’s hot. Although, I don’t think you should get all caveman angry this time.” A soft smile covers her face. “I think you should just be happy for your sister.”
