by Thomas, C. M
“Mom is just a little overwhelmed with Alana’s name,” I told him.
“Why? You’ve known her name for weeks now, how come you are crying over it now?” he asked, totally clueless. It was kind of funny to see him so clueless.
“Well, we told everyone her whole name.” Evie smiled at my dad.
“You get one guess, Dad, what is Alana’s middle name?” Zane came over to us with a big smile on his face.
“You didn’t?” He looked, surprised, at Evie. She just smiled at him and nodded. “You named her after my wife?”
“I did,” Evie answered. My dad let go of my mom and came over and took Evie out of my arms and hugged her. He whispered something to her, but I couldn’t hear what.
“Mommy?” Alana looked up over from her place between Cole and Caleb. “You cry again?” She got up and ran over to Evie. My dad let Evie go so she could lift up Alana and give her a kiss on the cheek.
“Happy tears, baby girl, promise.” Evie smiled when she looked at our daughter, who had no idea just how much her name meant to this family, especially my mom.
“Okay.” Alana smiled.
“Not to interrupt all this crying fun, but we have guests,” Gia said, walking into the living room. Following her were Ryder, Dax, Mark, and Dax’s daughter, Harlow. “Everyone, I would like for you to meet Harlow,” Gia said with a big smile on her face. Harlow wasn’t as tall as I would have thought. Dax was really tall, so I thought for sure she would be tall too. Her hair was blonde and she had light blue eyes.
We all walked over and welcomed her, all of us but Caleb. He was still sitting on the couch, looking everywhere but at Harlow. Interesting. Alana ran over to him and tugged at his arm.
“Caleb come, you are rude.” Alana tried to pull him up from the couch.
“Princess, I’ve already met Harlow.” He pulled Alana up in his arms and started to tickle her.
“Stop. No, Caleb.” Alana grinned and tried to wriggle her way out of his arms, but he held her close. It was kind of funny looking at him with her; his normal hard-face attitude disappeared completely and instead he was loving, caring, and surprisingly smiled a lot when he was with my daughter.
“Caleb, be nice to my granddaughter,” my dad said with a smile on his face. I think both he and Mom enjoyed the “new” Caleb.
“I’m always nice.” He stopped tickling Alana.
“No, you’re not,” Amy said.
“Shut the fuck up,” Caleb snapped at Amy before looking over at Harlow. She blushed the moment their eyes met. Guess it’s not just Caleb who is interested in her. Or at least, I thought he was. You never knew with Caleb. He liked a challenge, and I’d never seen him with a girl more than one, maybe two times.
He was a lot like both Zane and Cole, or Zane before Anna. But I also knew he wouldn’t be so stupid that he would hurt Dax’s daughter on purpose, so if it was not more than just lust, then I hoped he would keep his cock in his pants.
“Language, Caleb.” Evie looked over at him. “Remember I will kick your ass if you teach her to talk like that.” She pointed at Alana while talking, or should I say lecturing Caleb. I put my arms around Evie’s waist and pulled her close to me, her back against my chest. I rested my chin on her shoulder.
“You’re hot when you turn into momma bear,” I whispered to her, before kissing her neck. I could feel her body shiver and I really wished we were alone right now.
“Shhh. Don’t say that here.” She turned in my arms and looked at me.
“Say what?” Zane asked.
“Nothing,” Evie answered, her cheeks turning slightly pink.
“Hmm. I’m not sure about that. But since I don’t want to get my ass kicked like Caleb, if I say something inappropriate, I will let it go.” Zane winked at her before turning his attention back to Anna.
“Since when does that hold you back?” Caleb asked him while walking over to us with Alana riding his shoulders. She held on tight to his hair with a big smile on her face.
“I’m a changed man,” Zane said, all serious.
“Since when?” Anna asked him before she burst out laughing. And we all joined her. Zane might be in a relationship now, but he still had a dirty mind. Although I would give him some credit—he kept it low-key around Alana.
“Remember who I was before I met you.” He pulled her close to him and gave her a kiss.
“Oh, I remember,” Anna said, smiling.
“When do we eat?” Cole asked.
“Dinner will be ready soon. You guys go sit down,” Mom said, and walked back into the kitchen.
“I will go help her,” Evie said, and gave me a kiss before she walked after my mom. The rest of us walked over to the table and sat down. Gia and Harlow were talking, and it looked like they were getting along just fine. Dax was sitting beside Harlow and Gia on the other side. Caleb sat down on the other site of the table, directly in front of Harlow. He put Alana in her chair beside him and I sat on the other side of Alana.
“So how long are you here for?” I asked Harlow.
“I leave the day before you go back on tour. I have to go back and get ready for school.” Right, she was studying in Europe.
“It’s too soon if you ask me,” Dax added. I understood him. From what we knew, he didn’t see her more than a couple of times a year. Not since she left to study in Europe. Before then, she lived with him in Colorado Springs.
“Don’t, Dad. I already told you I will be back home around Christmas, and next summer I will be home for good.” Harlow smiled at her dad.
“I know. But that doesn’t mean I won’t miss you.”
“You’re moving back?” Caleb asked her. By the look on his face, he didn’t mean to say that out loud. I loved seeing him so out of his comfort zone.
“I am. When I’m done with my education. I already told you this.” Harlow looked directly at Caleb.
“And when she moves back, I hope to see more of her,” Gia said with a big smile on her face. Whether she was happy about having a new friend or the fact that Caleb was so out of character around Harlow, I didn’t know. It might be both.
“Right,” Caleb said, looking away from Harlow. I couldn’t wait to see where this ended.
Moments later, Mom, Evie, and Amy walked in with dinner. We all talked, and it was nice to just have a nice dinner with family and friends.
“You’re a big idiot!” Amy yelled at Cole before she pushed her chair back and walked out of the room. We were just about done with dinner when something clearly happened between her and Cole.
“Amy!” my dad snapped at her. But she just ignored him and ran out of the room.
“What the hell was that about?” Zane asked Cole.
“I don’t know. Ask your sister,” he snapped before he walked out of the room.
“Sorry about that,” my mom said to Harlow.
“Don’t be. All families fight sometimes.” Harlow smiled back at my mom.
“I think it was more than a fight if you ask me,” Gia said.
I knew she was right. Amy had had a crush on Cole for years. I didn’t know if he knew it or not. But I thought he did. The way he looked at her when he thought no one was looking told me that he liked her too. As more than just a friend. But I didn’t want to get in the middle of that. They needed to figure that out themselves.
“I will go talk to her,” Evie whispered to me. I looked at her and kissed her cheek before she walked after Amy.
“By the way, your fans are all over that post of you and your girls,” Anna said, totally changing the subject.
“Good or bad?” I asked.
“Both. Some still think that Evie tricked you and that she’s just after your money. But surprisingly there was a lot of support, a lot more than Logan and I thought there would be.”
“That’s a good thing then?”
&n
bsp; “It is. And if you still want to do an interview about this, I will set it up. Are they going with us back on tour?” Anna asked.
“Yes. We need to make sure they are safe, especially Alana.” I looked over at Dax.
“She will be. I already talked with both Evie and Anna about this, you know.” He smiled.
“I know. She told me.”
“What about the gala event with Happy Childhood, is it just Evie, or is Alana going too?” Zane asked.
“We haven’t talked about it. But if everyone is going, Alana has to come with us. I won’t let some stranger babysit her.” At least not yet.
“Then we will stay home,” my dad said.
“I will talk to Evie about it first, okay?”
“You do that, but the offers stand. We will stay home if you don’t want her with you that night,” Mom said.
“Thank you.”
Chapter 25 :
Evie
“Can I come in?” I knocked on Amy’s door before I opened it. She was lying on her bed, crying.
“Sure. But don’t let him in here,” she whispered. I walked inside and closed the door behind me, then walked over to the bed and sat down beside her.
“Want to talk about what just happened?” I asked.
“There is nothing to talk about, I’m just a stupid little girl who has a crush on her brother’s best friend.” She shrugged. It was the first time she had actually admitted that she liked Cole as more than just a friend. I waited for her to continue, but she didn’t say anything else.
“What did he say to you down there?” I tried with another question and hoped she would open up.
“That he was looking forward to going back on tour.” Was that what made her yell at him? I didn’t get it. She knew they loved it on tour. Sure, they missed home, but they got to do what they loved to do: play music. “He is looking forward to all the girls wanting him,” she cried. “Why can’t I just get over him? He will never see me as more than Zane’s baby sister.”
“I don’t know, sweetie.” She was in love with him. I hadn’t thought she was. I knew she had a crush, but this was breaking her heart. “But if he can’t see how good you would be for him, then it’s his fault. You deserve better, girl.”
“I know I do. But every time I see him, I hope that he will at least see me for me. But it never happens.”
“Then you need to try and move on. Haven’t you met any cute guys at school?” She was studying to be an architect.
“I have, but every time I go out on a date, I feel like I’m cheating on him.” She sighed. “Stupid, I know.”
“Not stupid, but girl, you have to try to move past this. Or you have to tell him how you feel.”
“I can’t. What if he turns me down? It’s not like I never have to see him again. He lives here, he is a part of the family.” I knew this, and I knew that was probably also why she never acted on her feelings towards him.
“Then what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know, right now I really just need to cry this out. Maybe see a girly movie?” She looked up at me. “Do you have time to see a movie with me?”
“Of course, I will just go downstairs and tell Liam I will stay here with you for a couple of hours. Want me to ask Anna, Harlow, and Gia to join us?”
“Sure, but no boys are allowed.” She gave me a small smile. I smiled back at her before I walked out of her room.
“She okay?” Gia asked when I came back downstairs. Harlow and Gia were sitting on the couch, talking, but they both looked up when I walked into the room.
“Yeah, just needs some girl time. Are you guys up for a girly movie and girl talk tonight?”
“Sure, anything to help her.” Gia smiled and Harlow nodded in agreement.
“Great, I will just go and find Liam and Alana. See you in Amy’s room in about fifteen minutes?”
“Sounds great. I will go see if Mom has some snacks for us.” Gia winked at me. “They are all outside, by the way.”
“Thanks. I will go out and talk to Liam.” I walked outside and saw that they were all sitting out on the porch. Caleb, Liam, and Cole were talking to Coleen, Brent, and Dax. Anna and Zane were in the yard playing with Alana and the dogs. When Liam saw me standing by the door, he stood up and walked over to me.
“Is she okay?” he asked when he came over to me.
“Not really. I think she needs a girls’ night, with movies and girl talk. Is that okay?” I wrapped my hands around his neck and looked up at him.
“Sure. I will take care of our baby tonight.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. “Do I need to kick his ass?” he whispered.
“Not sure yet. I just think he is totally clueless about her feelings towards him.”
“I do too. But you girls have fun tonight. I will go home soon.”
“Okay. See you at home.” I kissed him. “I love you.”
“Love you more, Sunshine.” He kissed me one more time before letting me go. I walked over to Alana and squatted down in front of her. She looked at me, smiling.
“Mommy is going to stay with Amy for a while. You go home with Daddy, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy. Bear come home too?” Alana asked, and looked over at Bear. She really loved that dog.
“Sure, you, Daddy, and Bear. Then I will see you tomorrow morning.” I held her close to me and kissed her on the top of her head. “Sleep tight, baby girl. Love you.”
“Night, Mommy.” Alana kissed me right on the mouth. I looked up at Liam, who was standing in front of us and smiling. I smiled back at him before I stood up again. I looked over at Anna.
“Want to have a girls’ night with Amy, Gia, Harlow, and me?” I asked her.
“Sounds like fun.” She walked over to Zane and gave him a quick kiss before she walked inside with me. “Is she okay?” Anna asked when we were inside again.
“No, she has a crush on him. And he is being an ass towards her.”
“I think he has one on her too,” she said just before we reached Amy’s room.
“You do?” I asked her, and she just nodded her head. “What makes you think that?”
“Just something he said a while back when we talked about meeting the parents for the first time.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. I just walked inside Amy’s room with Anna just behind me. The other girls were already on the bed, talking.
“Took you guys long enough to get here,” Gia said teasingly.
“Had to say goodbye to your brother and my daughter.”
“Fine.” Amy smiled. Her eyes were still a little red from crying, but other than that you couldn’t see that she’d had a breakdown thirty minutes ago.
After we watched Pretty Woman, Amy’s favorite movie, Anna walked downstairs after more sodas and some more snacks.
“Are you going to tell us why you are mad at Cole?” Gia asked Amy.
“No. It’s none of your business.” Amy looked away from Gia and focused on the television.
“We all know you have a crush on him—okay, maybe Zane and Cole don’t, but the rest of us do.” Gia kept pushing Amy for an answer.
“Shut the fuck up. I don’t want to talk about it. It doesn’t matter anyway. He will never see me like that.” I could see the tears in Amy’s eyes.
“Sorry, sis, I didn’t want to upset you. I just don’t like seeing you like this.” Gia moved over and gave Amy a hug.
“I know. I don’t like feeling like this either.” Amy sniffed.
“We need to find you a nice guy, so you can get over him. He is clearly too clueless to see how you really feel.” Gia smiled at her sister. She was always so positive.
“What about your guy? Any news about him?” Amy fired back at Gia with a smile on her face. Clearly, she was done talking about her and Cole.
&nb
sp; “Nothing new to tell.” Gia shrugged.
“Who is your guy?” Harlow asked.
“She won’t tell us. But apparently he is older and thinks that she is too young for him,” I said.
“Is it anyone we know?” Anna asked, joining us again with a new bottle of wine. You would think that the three of us, Amy, Anna and me, would have enough with one bottle. But apparently Amy was trying to drink her sorrows away. Gia and Harlow hadn’t touched the wine. I knew they were not old enough to drink, but that wouldn’t stop everyone. But they both seemed happy with not drinking with the rest of us.
“No, and I don’t want to talk about him. I need to find a new guy too,” Gia said. “What about you, Harlow?”
“What about me? I don’t have time for a guy, and besides, I live in France. No point in meeting a guy here when I have to go back to France for another year.”
“What about Caleb?” Amy asked her.
“What about him?” Harlow avoided looking at Amy and was now focusing on the pillow in her lap.
“You like him.” Anna smiled.
“Do not. And besides, my dad will kill me if I hook up with Caleb. He is a playboy—my dad’s words.”
“Zane was too. But sometimes they can change. They just need the right woman to want to keep it in their pants.” Anna chuckled.
She was right about that. I never thought I would see Zane in a committed relationship, at least not until he was like forty, or maybe not even then.
“Caleb is not as bad as Zane and Cole,” Gia said. “He is just so damn moody that it’s almost only Alana who can put a smile on his face… And you.” She pointed at Harlow.
“She’s right, you know,” I agreed with Gia.
Harlow blushed. “Doesn’t matter. I’m leaving soon.” Harlow smiled, but her smile didn’t look very genuine. Maybe she did like him, or maybe it was just me wanting to see love everywhere.
“But you will be back next year. Maybe he will have grown up in a year,” Amy joked.
“I think it takes more time than that.” Gia laughed.