by Shain Rose
REVERIE
Shain Rose
Contents
Foreword
1. Vick
2. Jett
3. Vick
4. Jett
5. Vick
6. Vick
7. Jett
8. Vick
9. Jett
10. Vick
11. Vick
12. Jett
13. Vick
14. Jett
15. Vick
16. Jett
17. Vick
18. Jett
19. Vick
20. Jett
21. Vick
22. Vick
23. Jett
24. Jett
25. Jett
26. Vick
27. Jett
28. Jett
29. Vick
30. Jett
31. Jett
32. Vick
33. Jett
34. Vick
35. Jett
36. Vick
Epilogue
INEVITABLE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Newsletter
About Shain Rose
Acknowledgments
Copyright © 2020 by Greene Ink Publishing, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the copyright owner and the publisher listed above, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
* * *
This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or coincidental.
* * *
Cover Artist: BookCoverKingdom.com
Photographer: Sophie Weilguni
Cover Model: Martin Migschitz
Editor: Survivorbunny.com, KDProofreading.com
Formatting: Porcelain Paper Designs
Created with Vellum
Description
Vick
Rude. Harsh. Severe. Jett Stonewood.
The billionaire businessman refused to even crack a smile while vacationing in paradise. But I broke him down, introduced some fun into his life.
If we had a bit too much by sleeping together, so be it.
The overly practical man revealed that he could also be caring, thoughtful—and before long he was the one wrecking me.
He pulled me into a complex dream I needed to forget when we returned home.
* * *
The problem: Jett acquired my company.
* * *
He’s everywhere now, a constant reminder of the unattainable.
* * *
Jett
Bubbly. Airy. Wildly optimistic. Vick Blakely.
She needed a lesson in safety precautions. Not that she would have followed it if our recent tumble in the sheets was any indication.
She was too peppy ... so naive it was dangerous. Someone needed to break down her fortress of positivity, teach her that warnings weren’t meant to be invitations.
* * *
The solution: I took on the job. I infiltrated her life and began disassembling it.
* * *
The little pixie flutters around in reverie.
Let’s see how well she flies when I reduce her fairy-tale bubble to dust.
To Gladys Tesmer,
Your never-ending love, your unsurpassable beauty, your quick wit, and the exceptional brilliance of your soul still shines as bright as the sun. You will always live on through each and every one of us.
Cancer was never, ever a formidable opponent in extinguishing your dazzling light.
1
Vick
“You’re fidgeting,” the man with eyes as dead as stone but as piercing as a sharp knife pointed out.
“I am not.” I squirmed one last time in the black dress. The tulle hung loosely over my waist and down to my mid-thigh. Unfortunately, the corseted lace across my bodice left little to the imagination.
I should have ordered a size up.
My best friend, Brey, was marrying a musician-turned-music-app-nerd and every person was recognizable past the lush, expansive row of bushes. If I was going to walk down the aisle as a bridesmaid, I needed to look freaking amazing doing it. I just didn’t know how if I couldn’t take a breath. I pulled at the strapless sweetheart neckline digging into my cleavage one last time.
“Are you about done? You’ll look fine if you just stop squirming like a bee flew up your dress.”
Jett Stonewood. The groom’s brother. And the devil of a man who Brey paired me with for this ceremony. The other bridesmaid had been paired with Jaydon, the younger, fun-loving brother of the groom. Jett, on the other hand, was who you talked with if you wanted humor to die, your smile to disappear, or your belief in all things joyful to disintegrate.
Still, my knees buckled a little when I saw him in his suit. Stonewoods wore suits better than any other men on the planet. Jett wore his best. His broad shoulders set a perfect line for the jacket to sit on, accentuating his thick neck and strong jaw. Every part of him screamed masculinity and my body responded.
I licked my lips, turned toward the ceremony, and pointedly ignored him as best I could. The music started, a soft instrumental version of one of Jax’s songs. His one album had gone triple platinum, an album he admitted he wrote just for Brey. Then he effectively retired, saying he wanted her to hear it and didn’t care about the rest of the world.
My eyes watered thinking of their story.
Lush green rolling hills swelled up from the horizon of the private golf course. Clouds as white as cotton fluffs spotted the blue sky. The centerstage’s gondola overflowed with stargazer lilies and roses. The backdrop of it all was the sea, lapping at the sand. The sun hit the clear water in such a way that it looked as if diamonds sparkled everywhere.
I peeked around the corner to get a glimpse of everyone before Jett and I had to walk.
Jett growled, “What are you doing?”
“Just trying to see how it all looks,” I whispered.
“Probably about the same as it did when we rehearsed.”
I wasn’t sure if he was trying to be rude. So I shrugged. “The wedding planner said the sun would start to set over the ocean. The shimmer on the lilies with the Swarovski crystals would be out of this world.”
He looked toward the sky and took a deep breath, like my presence was an annoyance he could barely handle.
Yup, definitely trying to be rude.
Before I could say anything more, the wedding planner cued us. I gripped Jett like my life and reputation depended on it as my heels sunk into the sand with each wobbly step.
I did not want to fall face first in these heels when my best friend was about to get her happily ever after.
When we passed the wall of lush shrubs, I closed my eyes.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
It was a sound I heard only in my head. The same rhythm every time. The same high note, sounding off that I was still alive.
Barely.
I opened my eyes and drowned out the beeping with what was right in front of me. The sun shined on precious stones that had been positioned in white-and-red bouquets along the aisle. The flower arrangements stood tall in glass vases. They’d decorated pillars with more crystals and draped tresses of flowers around and above us. The sun basked every guest in their best light. With the waves crashing in the background, the music couldn’t have sounded better.
“This is stunning,” I whispered to Jett, choking back a sob.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said under his breath.
His words were so final, and filled with such anger, I forgot where I was. I halted to glare at him.
He nudged my arm, widening his eyes. “What are you doing?” he whisper-yelled at me.
“How can you say that?” I said behind a forced smile as I took measured step after measured step. “This is the perfect day with the most amazing couple.”
“You’re just as delusional as everyone else.”
My jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”
“This marriage is bound to be chock-full of problems. Probably won’t last. Most of them don’t. And we’ll have to pick up the pieces when it falls apart.”
“Marriages last when they’re meant to be together and those two are soulmates.”
A chuckle—dark and bleak—rolled out of him.
As we neared the altar, I tried one last time to change his mind. “This is going to be a moment in your life you’ll never forget. This is your brother and your future sister’s happily ever after.”
He made eye contact with me for the first time. I gasped at how strikingly blue his eyes were. The blue was direct, cutting. It sliced away at my happiness, so vivid and so stark that it seemed to mock anyone who dared to dream of anything. “Vick, everyone should know by now, there’s no such thing as happily ever afters.”
With that, his arm dropped mine like I was a very hot, very diseased potato. He turned to make his way over to the groom’s side.
I twirled toward the bride’s side and made sure I strutted with extra pep in my step.
I’d get him to change his mind by the end of the night.
I could make anyone believe in happily ever afters.
2
Jett
Everyone cried as Aubrey and Jax said their vows.
Everyone except me.
Maybe I wasn't meant to be a groomsman. My eyes were as dry as the Sahara in a drought. Shit, even my father shed a tear.
Senior Stonewood, the man who’d molded me into who I was, stood next to my mom looking prouder than ever before.
It was quite possible that everyone had amnesia. My father leaned down to say something my mom smiled at. People would have said they looked in love. Yet, I remembered the year my mom kicked my dad out. They'd screamed at each other about his long hours, about the business coming first.
My mom broke down, crying so many nights, her depression nearly overtook her. She begged him to let her be his first love. My dad swore she was. Still, he couldn't commit to anything but his enterprise. The investments pulled him away time and time again.
On those nights, I remember soothing her as she cried on my shoulder while shielding my brothers from her pain and despair at the same time.
Then I grew up. My mother had been so determined to keep us away from my dad’s business that I gravitated towards it. Wave after wave of arguments ensued over my staying with my father. My mother had overcome the sadness and morphed into a ferocious woman who could match my father’s ruthlessness one-for-one when it came to the job of raising her children. She didn't want me to turn out like him but also didn't want to suppress my dreams because she feared history repeating itself.
Today they held hands like they missed one another, like they had forgotten the past.
Love hadn't conquered all with them, and somehow everyone thought it would conquer all for Jax and Aubrey.
The bar presented the only solution to my problem. I needed to catch amnesia with a drink or two. The outdoor hut with long stalks of hay and twigs for a roof held every type of alcohol, and I could smell the fruit mixed with rum as I approached. The bartender welcomed me with a wide smile across his tanned face.
The groom and my baby brother, Jaydon, walked up next to me.
Jaydon questioned Jax as they both leaned onto the bar. “When do you think the reception music will start?”
Jax chuckled and nodded out at the guests mingling on the sandy coast we’d reserved for a happy hour. “Are you planning something?”
“I might have one or two people crash the party.” He smiled like we had nothing to worry about, like just anyone could show up.
“You can’t have some girl off the street come to the reception, Jaydon. It’s asking for trouble. They could be the media or …” I started in on him.
“Lighten up, man. We’re in Kauai. The media’s not trying to fly to the island to get a shot.” Jaydon waved me off.
“You’re the most famous person here,” I ground out, trying to keep my frustration at bay. He’d been acting for years now and tabloids loved to put him center stage. “You should understand how detrimental crazy paparazzi can be,” I responded.
“Oh, I understand. I’m just not going to let them dictate my fun,” Jaydon said.
Jax sighed. “You’re not having strange women at the reception, Jaydon. Aubrey will kill you and then me for allowing it.”
“I’ll ask her.” Jaydon scanned the crowd.
“If you do that right now, I promise I’ll help her kill you,” Jax grumbled.
Jaydon didn’t seem to care because he started texting someone. I snatched his phone away.
“What the fuck, Jett?” He made a grab for it, but I held the phone out of his reach.
“You’re not bringing a girl that hasn’t had a background check into this event. Everyone signed an NDA. No one outside our circle comes in. End of story.”
Jaydon stared at me a second longer and then slumped into the bar. “You two are fucking buzzkills. Brey would let me bring someone in.”
Jax snorted.
Jaydon continued, “She might have married you, but she’s still my best friend. She’s nice enough to give me the opportunity to get laid here.”
“Yeah, she’s too fucking nice to you. And everyone. Which is why we have to speak up for her.” Jax tapped the bar and the bartender appeared, aligning three hand-cut crystal lowball glasses on the shined wood. He poured whiskey in each.
“She’s not always that nice.” I broached the subject everyone had been avoiding.
Jaydon laughed and sat down on one of the barstools. “She can be a sass pot. Girl knows when to lay down the law.”
“If you say so. You’re already married but it’s still something you should consider, Jax,” I said and slid Jaydon’s phone back to him.
Jax turned to me and handed over the glass of liquor. His blue eyes held a warning when he asked, “Consider what?”
Maybe I should have backed off. “Her dad’s in prison. You and I both know the media can twist a story.”
Jax turned to set his glass on the bar and faced me again. This time, I saw the anger. His muscles bunched with it, and his jaw ticked. Behind him, Jaydon stood up—his phone forgotten—with the same look in his eyes that Jax had.
They both wanted me to retract what I’d just said. They wanted me to apologize and say I didn’t mean to talk badly about Aubrey Whitfield.
Aubrey Whitfield, the love of his life, was intelligent, inspiring, and driven. In fact, I’d offered her a job investing with me at Stonewood Enterprises after she’d graduated. My team consisted of extraordinary people and she’d overcome her father burning down her childhood home. She took risk after risk. The girl was strong. Perfect for him and for our family, considering the media that followed it.
But they were naive to think the media wouldn’t have a field day with how quickly they were getting married. And stupid to think it wouldn’t take a toll. I needed them to last, not crumble under the pressure.
And most people folded under the institution of marriage because the titles, the expectations, the compromises—they pushed people to the brink. My parents were a perfect example of that.
If I had to be the one to consider every angle, I would. Fact was, her father was in prison for arson and the homicide of her mother. My brother was a Stonewood and a retired musician. With his fame and her father’s notoriety, the press loved to watch their every move.
“She has done well with being in the news, Jax. I’ll give her that
. But what happens when she gets stressed? What then?”
“Then she gets stressed, and we handle it,” Jax replied, his tone flat and void of emotion.
“You have to consider that fifty percent of marriages end in divorce—” I started.
He cut me off. “I went to visit her father for years, Jett. I made it my business to be there, bring him to his knees, and make sure he never bothers us again.”
Jax had climbed a metaphorical Mount Everest to make sure Aubrey’s father never had the money or authority to come in any contact with his daughter again. I didn’t agree with the amount of money he’d lost by disassembling her father’s company, but I understood that he’d done it for her. “If you say so.”
His eyes narrowed, a glare meant to wither me. "I’ve considered every aspect of this relationship more than you can ever imagine. Repeat what you just said and you’ll regret it.”
“Someone has to protect the family …”
Jaydon snorted and crossed his arms. “Brey’s never tainted our name and she never will. If anything, she’s lowering her standards by marrying Jax. He doesn’t deserve her.”