Lennon Reborn
Page 21
“Well, I’m her father. And family business doesn’t concern you,” he said stiffly.
Like fuck it didn’t. “I figured that much. But what I don’t get is why you are pretending to have her permission to sell her property. In fact, why don’t we just give her a call and ask her?” he said, pulling out his phone. He deliberately switched it to conference mode so they could all hear it ring.
The other men in their suits looked at each other, then at Lennon. “We should leave,” the taller of the two men said nervously. “We’ll wait for you to be in touch, Mr. Starr.”
Georgia’s father sidled around the room and Lennon smirked. Probably thought he was being cool, but Lennon could tell the snake was on the run.
“I’ll leave with you,” he said, collecting his coat from the back of the chair and sliding his arms into the sleeves as if he had all the time in the world.
Lennon shook his head. “Why don’t we talk to Georgia?” he shouted over the landing as all three men walked down the stairs. “If this is aboveboard, there shouldn’t be any issue in you staying here until she gets home, right?”
The door slammed before he’d got out the final word.
* * *
Removing a brain stem glioma from a child always gave Georgia pause. It wasn’t just because the surgery was invasive. It wasn’t even just because it was a child. After all, the majority of brain stem gliomas occurred in children and young adults. It was because it was the ultimate twofer: brain surgery and cancer. Even after many surgeries like this one, she found herself praying that the cancer in the brain was the primary site because it crushed the deepest parts of her soul that she could do her very best work yet the child could still die.
She wouldn’t be the first surgeon to feel that failure was never an option, but she was pretty certain that it hurt her more than most when it happened.
Her next patient was already being prepped, so she went to grab a quick snack and coffee before she’d change and head back into surgery. She ran through her packing list in her head. Excitement didn’t even begin to describe her feelings about stealing a few days away with Lennon. The hospital had been very understanding, and her colleagues were pinch-hitting to fill in. The suitcase was packed at the foot of her bed, ready to go. In a little over twenty-four hours, they’d be on their way.
The coffee was strong and rich, just how she liked it. As she went to take another sip, her phone rang. She smiled at Lennon’s face on her phone. He’d had his therapist appointment, and she’d been anxious to know how it had gone.
“Hey, sweetie,” she said.
“Angel, I need to talk to you about something.” His tone sounded off. Dark. “Sorry to interrupt, but it felt kind of urgent.”
Her heart dropped in her chest. His therapy mustn’t have gone well. Perhaps he’d realized he needed some space to work these things out by himself. She braced herself for the worst. “Of course. What’s up? Are you okay?” She thought of her patient who was being prepped. It was her last surgery of the day, but she’d planned to work on the paper about the separation of the twins with the surgical team later. She would rearrange that, though, if he needed her.
“I swung by your condo. I’d gotten you a gift I wanted to leave for you to find tonight. And your dad was here.”
Oh, shit. She hadn’t introduced them, hadn’t even told her father about Lennon’s existence. She could only imagine the look on her father’s face when Lennon opened the door. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry. Was he shocked when you let him in?”
“Well, here’s the thing. He was already in here with two guys from a real estate company. I overheard him say that he has your permission to sell the condo.”
“What?” Her voice was loud enough that the people in the coffee shop could hear. “No, that’s not . . . are you sure?”
“Definitely. But Gia, I . . . are you sure? I mean, listen if you want to cool things between us, or are having second thoughts or something, you could tell me. I . . . I don’t want you to think you have to stick around because . . . you know.”
Georgia gasped and put her hand over her mouth. She could only imagine how confusing it must have been for Lennon, of all people, to hear that. “No, Lennon,” she said softly. “I promise you that if I ever have any concerns about you and me, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Thank fuck for that,” Lennon muttered, relief flowing through his words.
“If my father got in, it’s probably because my grandfather gave him a set of keys and an elevator pass at some point when he was sick. God, I wonder how many times he’s been there before while I’ve been out,” she shivered. “I’m going to call building services to change the locks and codes. I’ll get you keys and a new elevator pass. And I’m going to need your help. Tonight. I’m going to try to get out of here a little earlier than planned, and I wondered if you’d come with me to my dad’s place.”
“I’m sure he’s gonna be super excited to see me again,” Lennon said with a sad laugh.
A lump formed in her throat. “I think the number of family members I have in my life is going to decrease in size tonight.”
“I’m sorry. You’ve got me, if that helps,” he said softly. The words wrapped around her like an invisible hug. “I have an idea. You know we were meant to fly to the UK tomorrow. How about we fly out tonight? After we’ve spoken to your dad? Let me figure out the logistics.”
“I’d love that,” she replied as a warmth settled in the pit of her stomach. So many times she’d handled her family on her own, but now she had someone who had her back. It was the greatest feeling.
Three hours later, a couple of minutes past seven, Lennon and Georgia pulled up outside her parents’ home. “Nice pad,” Lennon commented dryly as he stepped out of the limo he’d arranged to take them straight to the airport. He offered her his hand as she got out after him.
They left their luggage in the trunk. The driver already knew he was to wait as long as it took.
“I’ve underestimated the limits he’s willing to sink to,” she said as she walked up the steps. She stopped at the top and turned around, coming face-to-face with Lennon, who slipped his arm around her waist. “Where does it end? I’ve done everything he’s ever wanted. Grades, med school, job, career, family name, New York. Yet he was prepared to sell my home out from under me. I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to trust him again. I don’t even want to talk to him, but I know I need to.”
Lennon pressed his lips to her forehead. “That’s your call, Gia. But from where I am standing, you don’t owe him shit.”
With Lennon beside her, she almost believed his words that she didn’t owe her father a thing. Georgia knocked at the front door.
“I’m right here with you,” Lennon said, squeezing her hand. “Just say what you’ve got to say, and then let’s get out of here.”
She nodded and braced herself as Susan answered the door, still in her black-and-white uniform. Her face looked stricken. “Your father says I’m to only let you in, no guests.” She looked toward Lennon. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Even though she’d expected her father to be difficult, it still hurt. “It’s okay, Susan. I know what he is like. Would you mind letting him know that I am not stepping in without Lennon, so he needs to come to the door?”
Susan’s eyes were red. “I will.”
The door clicked shut, and Georgia let out a large exhalation as she wrapped her hand around his arm and rested her head on his bicep. He placed a kiss on top of her head. “Whatever happens, we’ve got this.”
The door opened, and this time Susan stepped forward and hugged Georgia.
“He’s not coming, is he?”
Susan shook her head. “No. I’m so sorry. He said to say that you could expect a letter from his lawyer as he is going to contest your ownership of the apartment.”
Georgia squeezed her hand. The bastard. A part of her just wanted to give him the damn apartment and have it done with. But it wasn’t w
hat her grandfather had wanted, and honoring him, honoring his wishes, meant more to her than the apartment.
“Let’s go, Gia,” Lennon said. She let him lead her to the limo as thoughts rushed around her head. She was now on her own, except for the man next to her.
As if sensing her need to process, Lennon was quiet yet ever present with gentle kisses and touches, reassurances that he was there. She boarded the plane on autopilot, but it was only when the plane began to descend a little over an hour later, way too short a time span to have flown across the Atlantic, that she realized that the plane was too small to get them all the way to England.
Her heart raced as she looked out of the window, a mixture of nervous energy and anticipation. “What’s happening? Why are we descending?”
Lennon took hold of her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Because we’re making a stop before we fly to England tomorrow.”
She looked out of the window just in time to see the city illuminated against the night sky. “Is that the CN Tower?” she asked.
“Yeah, babe. We’re spending the night at our other home.”
Our other home.
The words made her smile. They were in Canada.
At a little after nine thirty, they pulled up to the curb of a busy road outside a multi-story apartment building, which could by no means be called a skyscraper. “It’s really nice,” she said as he lifted their suitcases out of the car.
Lennon put the two handles of their cases together and rolled them into the building. “Wait until you see the inside,” he said.
They arrived at the penthouse. “You aren’t the only one who likes the top floor,” he said with a wink. “And I can’t wait to show you my bed. Although, I gotta be honest, I don’t even remember if I made it before I left.”
He pushed the door open and suddenly all the lights came on. People jumped out from behind sofas and walls and curtains, all of them screaming, “Welcome home!” Or at least that was what it sounded like. Lennon stepped back against the doorframe, his mouth open, his hand reaching for hers.
“I only asked you to pick up some shit for the fridge for breakfast, you turd,” he said as Nik marched over and gripped him in what looked like a backbreaking hug.
His hand slipped from hers, which was fine because she needed her hand to press her palms to her closed eyes to stop the tears that were threatening to fall.
“Is everyone here?” she heard Lennon mumble into Nik’s shoulder.
“Of course they fucking are. There’s nowhere else they’d rather be.” Nik moved toward Georgia and tugged her into a hug. “Thank you for bringing him back to us. Literally,” he added. He kissed her cheek and took both of their suitcases.
Over the next thirty minutes, she met everyone all over again. She was hugged and kissed and was shoved out of the way by the adorable little girl from the tour bus who looked completely recovered in her black-and-purple tulle dress. Apparently Unky Lennon was off-limits to everyone except her. Elliott’s cast was now off his leg, and everyone else was up and moving. What was most apparent was the love in the room, and she wondered if Lennon could finally see the beauty of it. He had more family than she did, if only he’d let himself accept it.
Lennon rolled up the sleeve of his T-shirt to show Jordan and Dred his compression sock, clearly explaining the process of readying his residual limb for his prosthetic.
“I’ve prayed every day that he’d come home,” Maisey said, stepping alongside her. “I can’t express how worried I was that I’d seen him for the last time. And that was before the band ever left for this tour.”
“I don’t know,” Georgia said. “From what I’ve seen of Lennon over the last couple of months, I think his connection to you and Ellen is made from stronger bonds than that.”
Maisey looped her arm around Georgia’s. “That’s sweet of you to say, but I think you should take a little bit of credit for this. I always hoped the Lennon would meet somebody who’d crash through that wall of his and show him love in a way he’d understand. And I always hoped that person would read the subtext instead of the actual words to realize he loved her too.”
Georgia smiled. “That’s very much a work in progress,” she said coyly. But even though their relationship was still very new, she knew they were both in deep, and what they were building was as real and true as any relationship could be.
Maisey tilted her chin in Ellen’s direction. “Relationships always are,” she said. “But when they are meant to be, they’re always worth the effort.”
As if sensing that she was being talked about, Ellen looked in their direction and smiled softly at Maisey before continuing her conversation with Pixie and Jenny. Georgia sought out Lennon, who gestured for her to join him, and he stood as she walked toward him.
When she reached him, he softly brushed his lips across hers and pulled her close. “I’m sorry about this. I thought we’d have a quiet night before all the craziness of seeing these guys tomorrow.”
Unable to shift her gaze, she stared straight into his eyes. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” she said. “I’ve loved meeting your family.”
“I’ve loved you meeting them too.”
People were looking at them, she knew it. Could feel it. But she didn’t care. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You’re lucky so many people love you.”
Lennon looked around the room, taking a moment to look every person in the eye before looking back at her.
“I think so too.”
She knew he wasn’t ready to say he loved them yet, but as steps went, it seemed to her a pretty damn big one.
* * *
He’d missed his apartment and was relieved his lawyer had held off on selling it. He’d missed the way the front door opened into the large open-plan space. He’d missed the way the giant poured-concrete kitchen island doubled as a fantastic bar. He’d missed the way the long glass wall concertinaed open onto the large patio. He looked in the direction of his bedroom, which held the bed he’d missed . . . a bed that was currently occupied by Georgia’s sweet-as-fuck naked body.
But most of all, he’d missed the men who currently sat sprawled on his furniture. Dred sat sideways in the chair closest to the unlit fireplace, his legs over one arm. Jordan and Nik sat on one sofa, and Elliott sat on the floor, his leg still strapped up even though it was now free of a cast. Lennon lay stretched out on the other sofa, his heart filled to fucking capacity.
Everyone else had left, and it was simply the five of them, sitting quietly.
Suddenly he remembered the text message he’d received that night when he’d cooked dinner for Georgia. “So, what’s your big news?” he asked Elliott.
Elliott grinned. “Lee’s pregnant.”
Lennon’s chest squeezed. Honestly, he didn’t feel like he could feel any happier, “Holy fucking shit. That’s . . . fuck! You must be stoked. But I thought she couldn’t have more kids.”
He shook his head. “It’s been rough. We went to see a specialist straightaway. It was eight months of tests on ovarian reserves, and shit that isn’t the least bit sexy. Subcutaneous injections for luteal stimulation protocols. Fuck, I know way more about biology than I want to. But somehow our second IVF cycle worked. So, I’m going to be a fucking dad.”
“It’s amazing. You guys deserve the chance to grow your family,” Lennon said honestly.
“What? No smart-ass wisecrack about my swimmers or kids that look like me infecting the planet?” Elliott said.
Lennon looked Elliott in the eye. “No. This is too important.”
Elliott allowed his head to flop back on the sofa and started to laugh. “Who knew it would take losing an arm for you to become a decent human being?”
Jordan looked across at Elliott, horror written all over his face. “Did you really just fucking go there?” he asked.
Then Dred laughed. A guilty snigger. Which made Nik crumple.
Elliott opened one eye and looked at Lennon. “Still nothing?” he sai
d.
“No. Because you might be right. I’ve been so stuck in what I’ve lost that I never appreciated what I had. Which is you guys.”
“I don’t know that I can deal with sincere Lennon,” Nik said. “It’s fucking weird.”
This time Elliott laughed. “I kinda like it.”
“It’s good to have you back,” Dred said. “As long as we’re being pussies, I’ll say this and then I’m going home to fuck my wife-to-be. You’re more than just the beat of the band, Lennon. More than just a fucking brilliant drummer. Our rhythm’s been off without you. Not as Preload, but as a five. As brothers. You keep us grounded. You are the heartbeat of our family. It hasn’t been the same without you.”
The heartbeat.
Tears burned the back of his throat, and he swallowed hard. He thought back to what Jack had said about vulnerability, about putting yourself in a position to dig beneath the layers. So instead of hiding the tears, he let them fall, putting his head in his hand. “I’ve always felt like an add-on,” he admitted gruffly. “I know your friend had to die for me to even have a place here, and it’s shitty that it happened. But while it was a curse for you, it was the best kind of fucking blessing for me.”
It had always been impossible to reconcile the dichotomy . . . even worse now he realized how much he’d pushed them away, how much they’d had to deal with from him over the years. For the first time in his life, things seemed . . . clearer. So fucking clear that the beauty of it took his breath away.
Someone sat next to him on the sofa and pulled him into a tight hug. “You were never a fucking add-on,” Jordan said gruffly. “You were always meant to be ours.”
“You can be a dick sometimes, but little brothers are meant to be, right?” Nik said as he squeezed his shoulder.
When he opened his eyes, Jordan was sitting to his left, Nik standing to his right, and Dred on the edge of the coffee table right in from of him. Elliott was on the floor by his feet.
“This is us,” Elliott said. “Our family is growing. I never thought I’d see the day someone would want to marry Jordan, but for some completely fucked-up reason Lexi does.”