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When I opened my eyes again, Jace was snuggled up against my back and sunlight was flirting through the blinds on the window. I blinked a few times, trying to get my eyes to focus, and glanced at the clock on the bedside table.
It was nearly eight in the morning, and my bladder was screaming. Untangling Jace’s arms from around me, I ran for the bathroom. After I was finished, I washed my hands and used his toothbrush to get rid of my morning breath. My hair was a tangled mess because I hadn’t had the brain power or the energy to brush it the night before while it was still wet.
Yawning, I turned on the shower and stepped under the hot jets once it warmed up. I took my time, letting the steam ease the last of my tense muscles.
I wasn’t surprised to find all the stuff I’d left there still in its usual place. I had a hair dryer and an entire case full of makeup under his sink that I made use of. Once I was ready, I walked out into the bedroom and grabbed a change of clothes from my case. Jace was still sound asleep, and I didn’t want to wake him, but I had things to do.
Leaning over him, I kissed his cheek. “Call me later,” I murmured at his ear. “Love you.”
“Love you, baby,” he grumbled, turning onto his stomach, and I knew he hadn’t even woken up.
Laughing softly to myself, I got my things and headed home. After dropping off my case and tossing my laundry into the washer, I went to Aunt Emmie’s office. She had a list of bands I needed to listen to and would bring in the ones I liked the most to audition with me. I was nervous but also excited. If I could get over my stage fright, then maybe this whole touring thing might actually be fun.
“What’s different about you?” Aunt Emmie asked the second she saw me. “Girl…” She shook her head, her green eyes narrowing on me. “You got back with Jace, didn’t you?”
Grinning, I nodded.
“Of course you did.” She sighed heavily. “You sure about this?”
My grin dimmed slightly, and I lifted my shoulders in a slight shrug. “No, but I missed him so much, it was physically hard to breathe at times. You know?”
“Yeah,” she said, her eyes darkening with memories. “I know what you mean.”
“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” I told her as I sat in front of her desk. “I’m taking it day by day.”
“Makes sense,” she agreed. “And it will probably make the winter tour go smoother. I hope, at least. I’m sending out three of my best road managers to help Amara, so I’m sure everything will be okay.”
I pushed my hair back from my face and leaned forward. “You said you had some bands for me to listen to?”
“I do, but I was hoping you would just come home with me and listen to them with Nik. We can have dinner, and it gives me a reason to skip out on work for the rest of the afternoon.”
“So you’re using me,” I said with a smirk.
“Shamelessly.”
“What’s for dinner?” I asked with a lift of my brows.
“Nik is making lasagna,” she said with a moan. “I’ve been so hungry all morning thinking about it, too.”
“Damn, that’s a hard bargain to turn down.”
She rolled her eyes. “Invite Jace.”
I already had my phone out, sending him a text. “Have you forgiven him for what happened when he was arrested?”
“Please. I’ve dealt with guys like him all my life. I didn’t hold a grudge.” My brows lifted even higher. “Much,” she grumbled.
Laughing, I put my phone back in my bag. If Jace wanted to join us, he could, but I wasn’t going to wait around for him.
Aunt Emmie shut down her computer and grabbed her bag and phone. “My driver is downstairs. Ride with me?”
Seeing I had a text from Jace saying he would meet me there, I nodded and followed her out.
“Jagger is over at Axton’s for the night, and Mia has extra dance rehearsal, so it’s just going to be us,” she told me as we climbed into the back of her SVU. “She’s Clara in The Nutcracker again this year, and after last year’s performance, she could probably dance it in her sleep, but her teachers are pushing the entire dance company for perfection.”
“She did so well last year,” I praised. “Are you sure you won’t let her go to New York?”
“She doesn’t want New York,” Aunt Emmie said with a grimace. “She doesn’t want to focus on just ballet but every dance anyone is willing to teach her. Dancing is her life, but she doesn’t want to settle for one school and focus on one style. This past summer, Nik took her to India, and last year, we all went to Ireland for the summer. She loves the new experiences, and then she comes back and dives straight into ballet again.”
“Is she going to turn it into a career?” There was no doubt Mia had the talent. She’d had offers to study at some of the most prestigious dance academies in the country with a full scholarship. Yet, she’d turned them all down. I’d always wondered if Emmie had talked her out of it. But I knew Mia almost as well as I knew her mother, and something told me there wasn’t anything anyone could do if the girl set her mind on something.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” But there was pure pride for her daughter glowing out of Aunt Emmie’s eyes.
“Are any of the Demons’ kids going to follow in their fathers’ footsteps?” I mused aloud.
“Maybe,” she said with a secretive smile. “Jagger is definitely interested, but Jesse’s boys are too into sports to care about music. Violet has no musical inclination, but there’s always Mason. And Drake has five that could always go down that road. Well, four,” she quickly amended. “We all know Nevaeh is way too smart for this shit.”
“You don’t seem too disappointed,” I observed.
“I’m not. Whatever any of them decides to do with their lives, I’ll support a hundred percent.”
My phone buzzed with a text. Glancing down, I saw that it was from Derrick, asking if we could have drinks. I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth. Lucy and Angie both knew Jace and I were back together, but I hadn’t mentioned it to Derrick.
I shot him back a quick reply, telling him I’d see him later in the week then put my phone away.
“Something wrong?” Aunt Emmie asked, and I lifted my gaze to find her watching me closely.
“Just a friend wanting to have drinks,” I evaded.
“A male friend?”
“Scott’s soon-to-be brother-in-law,” I gave in and told her.
“Derrick Stewart?” I shrugged. “He’s an up-and-coming real estate genius. Shannon is pretty cool, too. Hell of a lot better than Jillian.”
“I don’t disagree,” I muttered. I’d only met Shannon the one time, but she showed me more warmth and compassion in those few minutes than Jillian had the entire time I’d lived in the same house with her and my father.
“Did the divorce get finalized?”
“Wasn’t it announced in the papers?” She shook her head. “Then I guess it hasn’t happened yet. The paps know more about my father than I do.”
She patted my leg. “Fuck him. You got me, kiddo.”
My heart lifted. “I know, Auntie Em. Love you.”
Her eyes softened. “Love you too, Kin.”
Chapter 26
Jace
The drive home from Malibu after spending the evening with Emmie and her husband was quiet. Kin seemed distracted as she scrolled through her emails while I drove us back to LA.
“Want me to sit in on your auditions tomorrow?” I asked, wanting to help her as much as she would let me.
“If you can spare the time, that would be great,” she murmured as she typed a reply to a message she’d just gotten.
“Even if I couldn’t, I would make time for you, baby.”
Her fingers stopped typing, and I could only assume she’d sent her return message since I had to switch my gaze back to the road. “I would appreciate your input.”
“Did Emmie find y
ou a drummer for the first few weeks? You’re still using the legends?”
“Yeah. Wroth Niall will be my guitarist. Shane, Zander, and Liam are going to alternate to fit their schedules, but I still don’t know who will be my drummer.” She dropped her phone in the cupholder, turning in her seat so she could face me better. “I really don’t want to bother Jesse or Devlin, but I’d feel more comfortable with either of them.”
“We’ll figure it out,” I promised her, reaching for her hand.
Her phone vibrated, and she quickly snatched it up before I could entwine our fingers. I shot her a glance and saw her brow pucker with a frown as she read the message.
“Something wrong?” I asked when she started typing furiously.
“Derrick asked me to meet up with him for drinks earlier, but I told him I was busy and would see him later in the week. But he’s insistent we meet tonight.”
My fingers clenched around the wheel. “You were going to meet him without telling me?”
“I would have told you.”
“Before or after you two went out?”
“Before, because I would have invited you to join us,” she snapped.
Appeased by that answer, I stopped for a red light and leaned over to kiss her. It was a quick, hard kiss, but she tried to make me linger. Grinning, I rubbed my thumb over her full bottom lip. “Let’s meet him now, then.”
“I’m not in the mood,” she grumbled.
“If he’s being insistent, then maybe he wants to discuss something important. Get it over with.”
“Fine. Let me text him, and we’ll meet at First Bass.”
When the light turned green, I changed lanes and turned us toward the club. As usual, there was a pack of paps outside the club, but Kin and I ignored them as I turned my car over to the valet attendant and we went inside.
Tiny greeted us with a nod, letting us pass up the stairs to the VIP floor without comment. I kept my hand on Kin’s hip as we walked over to the bar.
“You want a beer or something else?” I asked as we waited for Nate to come over to take our orders.
“Just ginger ale,” she told me, glancing around distractedly. “My stomach is bothering me.”
“You barely ate earlier,” I commented, worried about her. She’d been skipping meals all week and didn’t finish anything when she did finally eat.
“I’m just nervous about the tour,” she dismissed. “I’ll be fine.”
I cupped her face, making her focus her attention on me. “You’re going to do amazing,” I told her when she lifted her gaze to meet mine. “You’re the most talented person I’ve ever met. And no, I’m not saying that just because I love you. It’s true. Stop stressing over your stage fright, baby.”
She sighed but nodded. “Easier said than done, but I’m trying.”
I brushed a kiss over her lips, felt some of her tension leaving her, and hugged her against me. “I’ll be right there beside you the whole time,” I vowed. “Just keep your eyes on me.”
“What can I get you two?” Nate asked as he leaned on the bar top, his eyes shifting from Kin to me and back again. “You two sorted out now?”
I tightened my fingers on Kin’s waist. “Yeah. Sorry again about your ribs.”
He lifted his shoulders in a careless shrug. “Don’t sweat it, man. We’re cool. You want a beer?”
“And a ginger ale for Kin,” I told him, tossing a few bills on the bar.
He handed both over, and Kin sipped thirstily at her drink, going back to watching everyone around us.
“You nervous about seeing this guy?” I asked, studying her closer.
“No, why would I be?”
“You look nervous.” I leaned back against the bar, cradling her between my legs.
She blew out a sigh. “I haven’t told Derrick we’re back together yet.”
“So? It isn’t his business if we’re together or not. You don’t answer to him.” I didn’t know why her answer was pissing me off, but it was. “Does it matter what he thinks?”
“Why are you getting mad?” She set her glass down on the bar top before rubbing both hands over my chest.
“Why aren’t you answering my question?” I countered, locking my hands around her wrists to stop her from caressing me. It was distracting as hell.
“Because it’s a stupid question,” she snapped. “It doesn’t matter to me what he thinks about us being together, but he is my friend, and he is important to me.”
“Why?” I gritted out.
“Why, what?”
“Why is he so important to you?”
She pulled her wrists free and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Because he’s going to be part of my family. Please, let’s not argue about this, okay? You don’t need to be jealous.”
I swallowed a curse and hugged her, letting go of the anger that wanted to push through my sanity. Jealousy over the other guy was already eating at me, but I didn’t want to fight with Kin over it. The past few weeks had been great with us, even with the stress of Alicia’s illness and treatments, and Kin had been beside me the entire time. I didn’t want to fuck things up between us again over petty jealousy.
Over Kin’s head, I caught sight of Derrick. Spotting Kin, he started toward us. I dropped my head, kissing her possessively. Her fingers tightened in my shirt, kissing me back. I felt Derrick stop beside us, and I lifted my head, triumph in my eyes as I pressed my lips to Kin’s forehead.
He cleared his throat, and Kin jerked, startled to find him right beside her.
Clearing her throat, she pushed away from me to greet him. “Hey.”
Derrick’s eyes drilled into me for a few more seconds before he looked at her. When his gaze floated over her face, his dark eyes softened. “You’ve lost weight.”
She hmphed at him. “I haven’t seen you in over a month, and that’s the first thing you say to me?” She rolled her eyes, leaning back against me and crossing her arms over her chest.
“I missed you too,” he assured her.
“That’s more like it.” Smiling, she gave him a hug then turned to me. “I think you two should be properly introduced this time. Jace, this is Derrick, my future uncle. Derrick, this is Jace, my boyfriend.”
The other guy held out his hand, and I knew if I wanted to make Kin happy, I needed to shake it. Clenching my jaw, I grasped his hand, squeezing. Derrick squeezed back, a smirk on his face. “So you won her back. Good.” The smirk disappeared. “Break her heart again, and I’ll break your neck. Clear?”
“I won’t break her heart again,” I growled. “She’s mine, and I’m not letting her go again.”
“Good. You keep her happy, and I’ll be happy.”
Kin reached around me for her glass, sipping it again as she watched our exchange. Nate came over, producing a beer for the newcomer before moving on to other customers.
“What was so important it couldn’t wait until later in the week?” Kin finally asked as she set down her now-empty glass.
“Jillian is trying to stall the divorce.”
“Of course she is,” Kin muttered. “I told you she’s an attention whore.”
“Shannon is upset,” Derrick told her, his face clouding with displeasure. “She thinks this is a sign she shouldn’t marry Scott, after all.”
“If she’s smart, she won’t. He’s only going to break her heart in the end.”
“She loves him, Kin. He makes her happy, and I think he’s happy with her too. Is there anything you can think of that can help them?”
I stood there, watching them quietly, waiting for the other guy to look at her with that hunger I’d seen in his eyes the first night I’d caught him watching Kin. But it didn’t happen. His eyes were clear of lust and want. He looked at her like Caleb did, with brotherly affection.
That made me relax a little, and I stepped into the conversation with them. “Maybe you could talk to Carolina,” I suggested. “Get her to talk Jilli
an into backing off.”
“Caro doesn’t talk to her mom,” Kin said with a regretful shake of her head. “Jillian cut her off when she didn’t give in and change her mind about going to Virginia Tech.”
“Maybe if you could have dinner with Shannon and Scott, show my sister you’re on board with their marriage, Shannon will relax a little.”
Kin went still, her eyes narrowing on the other guy, but her voice was full of hurt when she spoke. “Oh, I see now. You’re just trying to get me to see Scott.”
“No,” he said with a grunt. “This has nothing to do with you and Scott and everything to do with my sister’s future happiness. Please, Kin. One dinner, that’s all I’m asking. A single meal where you’re nice to Shannon and tell her everything will be okay. You don’t even have to look at Scott if you don’t want to.”
“You want me to lie to her, and I won’t do that.”
Frustrated, Derrick held out his hands pleadingly. “You wouldn’t be lying to her. I believe Scott really loves her. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t even bother trying to keep them together. I think those two are good for each other. My sister has never been as happy as she is with Scott.”
“My opinion wouldn’t matter to him,” Kin told him, her shoulders stiff.
“It’s not his opinion I’m concerned with.” Derrick glanced at me, imploring me to help him.
“Having dinner with your dad won’t kill you.” Kin glared up at me, but I didn’t backtrack. She needed to sit down with her dad and sort out their relationship. And if he did or said anything that upset her, I was going to knock his fucking ass out. “I’ll go with you.”
“Fine.” She gave in, her voice tight. “Friday night. If he doesn’t show, I’m done.”
“I’ll make sure he’s there,” Derrick promised, relief flashing across his face. “Thanks, sweetheart. I owe you big-time for this.”
“You’re damn right you do,” she grumbled. Pushing me out of the way, she waved at Nate for a refill, and he left the three NFL players in front of him to attend to her. The bartender’s eyes scanned over her face. “You okay?” he asked as he set her fresh glass in front of her.
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