Why would he say that to me? There is no way she confided in Dylan with details of our situation. He must have figured it out on his own. Leila watched our exchange from across the room. She mouthed, “I love you.” I smiled weakly, wanting to rewind the last hour of our night and make it go away.
After the party was over we all boarded the bus to begin our tour. Leila knows something is wrong but she hasn’t asked me to explain myself yet. I need to tell her the whole truth tonight. I can’t start this journey until I tell her everything.
As I’m cowering in my bunk waiting for her to get changed, I run through my conversation with Jessa, and wonder how I will be able to find the courage to tell her. When she approaches, her face reveals that she knows something bad is about to happen.
“Hey.”
“Hey. Did you have a good time?”
“I did. Are you ok?” she asks.
“Not really.”
“You were awesome tonight, Jack.”
Caressing her face, I silently a say a prayer that she forgives me. I can’t lose her. I just can’t…
“So were you.”
I sit up and take her hands in mine. “Can I talk to you?”
She nods weakly and I lead her to the bedroom.
Once inside, I close and lock the door.
“Leila, I need to tell you something.” She sits heavily on the bed and doesn’t meet my eyes.
“Is this about that girl?”
“Yes. She’s my ex.”
“Oh.”
“Babe, we need to talk.”
The color drains from her face. She outstretches her arms as if holding on to the bed will prevent her from collapsing.
“Jack, you’re scaring me.”
I need to touch her. I feel like an hourglass filled with our time together, is down to its last few grains of sand.
I can’t bring myself to say any of the words I’ve been reiterating in my head. I gently sit on the bed next to her and take her hand.
“Lei, she came to warn me about our old bassist who is pissed that we kicked him out of the band years ago. She felt it was necessary to tell me about his grudge. He’s a lunatic, and I don’t take her news lightly.”
Leila brings our hands to her lips, kissing mine gently. “Jack, is he after you?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m more worried about you. I’m glad you and I haven’t gone public yet. I don’t want him even putting you on his radar.”
Leila’s relief causes the bile to rise in my throat. She thinks this is all I have to say. What I’ve admitted to is nothing compared to what I still need to admit.
“Babe, Jessa also came to tell me she’s pregnant.”
Leila predictably pulls her hand out of my grasp. “What?”
“It may not be mine. I was with her a few months ago. It was a huge mistake. I told her I want proof.”
Tears immediately fill her eyes and slide down her face.
“Baby, I’m so sorry. This changes nothing for me…nothing. I love you more than anything and I …I can’t lose you.” Holding her hand again I plead for her to stay. “Please babe, please don’t give up on us.” I try to pull her closer but she shrugs away from me. My heart feels like someone is driving a steel rod right through it.
“I don’t…Jack …please don’t touch me. I need you to let me be…please. I need to be alone.”
I nod and stand reluctantly. Even so, I ignore her plea and step closer. I wipe away her freely falling tears and place a soft kiss on her lips. “Please promise me that you won’t shut me out. We have to talk about this.”
A simple nod is all she gives me as she steps away from my touch. I leave the room and close the door to give her the space she asked for. Hours later, sitting on the edge of the bed, I watch her toss and turn in her sleep until daylight starts to filter in through the slats of the blinds. I quietly close her door and return to my bunk.
I’ve been up all night, recanting all the mistakes I’ve made that led to this. I can’t bring myself to leave my bunk. I can hear the guys all chatting up front, reliving details of last night. I don’t hear Leila’s voice in the mix.
“He emerges.” Hunter calls out when he sees me.
I ignore him and knock on Leila’s door. She opens it slowly, barely looking at me when she does. It’s obvious she’s been crying. My heart breaks from the pain I’m causing her. I can’t lose her. I would give everything up to avoid losing her.
“Can I come in?”
She moves aside and opens the door to allow me access. I move to the bed and immediately sit in preparation for the heartbreak I’m about to feel.
“Leila, I wish I could un-do what I did. It was a huge mistake and now the person I love the most has to pay the price. I’m so sorry.”
Without warning, she launches herself onto my lap and into my arms.
“I love you, Jack.”
I cling to her as if I was drowning and she was my life vest. I’m afraid if I let go she’ll change her mind.
“I’ll support you, no matter what the results are.” She pulls away from my embrace. “Jack, I’m not going to lie, it hurts more than anything I’ve ever felt before, but it’s because I love you so much. I don’t want you keeping anything from me. No matter what it is, I need to know. No matter how bad. I’ll need you as much as you need me during this nightmare.”
“I promise, no matter what.” I tighten my hold on her. “Leila, I don’t deserve you.”
I’ve never thought how blessed my life was until now. I would move heaven and earth to make her happy. I would do anything, to keep her safe, anything.
I love her.
Leila and Jack’s story continues in Front & Center.
Acknowledgements
Writing this book seems very surreal to me. Reading romance novels is definitely something I happen to be a professional at. The books I’ve read, allowed me to escape the stress and daily struggles of my busy life.
I am a textbook hopeless romantic. I am also a stickler for realism. I love all the books I’ve read, but many left me thinking, “That would never happen.”
So I began imagining a love story that could happen. I filled it with all the factors I love in a romance, specifically, hot rock-stars. But most importantly, I wanted to create a book that was filled with fun, compelling and realistic characters that you could fall in love with.
The story of Back-up began in a dream. Once I got serious and put words to paper, they flowed relentlessly. Every spare moment I had was used obsessively writing this book. Laundry, cooking, and other chores took a back seat, and I apologize to my family for the un-intentional neglect.
I have so many people I want to thank for helping me finally put my dream into motion.
I thank my fantastic husband, who has been my best friend for the last twenty-six years. I thank my boys, who encouraged and rooted me on once they “accidentally” discovered my new project and obsession. I love these three men in my life more than life itself.
I thank my family who unknowingly supported me through this process. Their love is a constant in my life. Thank you to all my friends who are the best group of people one could ever know. You have touched me in ways I’ll never be able to express. I love you all, and you all know what you mean to me. A huge thanks goes out to my reading buddy and romance novel confidant. Your opinion and advice during this process has been invaluable to me.
Thank you Tres Cunningham at custombookcover.com, and Sarah at Sprinkles on Top Studios for creating covers that captured my feelings perfectly. Thank you to Kathleen Y. at Swept Away by Romance Book Blog. Your advice and pointers are priceless to me. Our relationship began as a blogger who loved this new author’s book, but it blossomed into a true friendship. I adore you girl. To Nikki B. at Bookaholics Blog, Geri at Ever After Romance Book Blog, and Kathy at Panty Dropping Book Blog, thank you all so much. Not only were you the first to read and review my book, you all gave me invaluable advice. To Jake Bonsignore at Five Star Editing,
I stumbled upon you and it was kismet. Thank you for editing Back-up. To all the authors who have fueled my love for a perfect romance, thank you for writing stories I became lost in. There are too many to name, but each and every book I’ve read touched my life in one way or another. Some helped in my own romance department, and my husband thanks you for that as well.
Thank you to all the musical inspirations that are a part of me. Bruce Springsteen’s music has influenced me since I was twelve years old. My Darkest Days, Linkin Park, Every Avenue, Journey, Pat Benatar, Led Zeppelin, you music and lyrics helped me get through my long commute, every day for over two decades.
Finally, thank you to my readers. If you walked away feeling as if you knew Jack, Leila and all the others, if you fell in love with them as much as I did, and if you enjoyed their story, then my goal as a writer has been met. I can’t wait to continue their journey with you. Please remember to leave a review at the sight of purchase.
~ A.M.
Connect with A.M. online!!
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http://www.ammadden.com
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Author Bio
A.M. Madden is a wife, a mother, an avid reader of romance novels and now an author. A self-proclaimed hopeless romantic, she loves getting lost in a good book. She also uses every free moment of her time writing, while raising teenage boys.
Alec
The Wilde Brothers
Rose Francis
THE BILLIONAIRE’S DESIRE
BOOK ONE
About ALEC: The Wilde Brothers
Just a few bored billionaire brothers having fun. But at whose expense?
The Wilde brothers have spent the past few years reaping the rewards of their youth, good looks, and massive wealth. They can acquire whatever ‘toy’ or amusement they desire, and fly wherever they want, whenever they want, with practically whomever they want. Still, they want more—at least Alec, the eldest, does, and he has an idea how to get it.
To alleviate their eventual boredom with the easy life, the brothers propose specific games—dares, chases, and challenges—to each other every year on their birthday. They’ve bedded supermodels, famous actresses and pop stars, but this year, Alec proposes they go after someone from their past—someone ‘normal’ yet elusive—and give them the time of their life.
Brandon and Connor have to think hard about their prospects, but Alec knows exactly who he wants go after: Dahlia Bridges—a girl who has haunted him since their playground days. He thinks she could be the missing puzzle piece in his otherwise full, decadent life and he will do everything in his power to make her his.
But how much will it take?
Part One
Reunion
Chapter One
The Game of Love
Alec knew it would strike him again, yet he was still unprepared for the force of the jealousy and longing that seared through him when the lovely bride appeared on the lawn, then began walking up the petal-covered aisle toward his grinning, waiting friend.
Alec had had doubts about the integrity of the relationship between the blond beauty and his friend, Jake; he had wondered if they had the real thing or an arrangement. But in that particular moment, they both looked genuinely ecstatic to be legally joined.
Alec wanted nothing to do with the beaming blonde in white—merely what she represented, and what being outside in formalwear on a stunning beach with a tropical wind kissing their faces in this moment meant.
No matter how much Alec had tried to drown out his longing with every luxury that money could buy, he knew exactly what he was missing, and it was a moment like this.
He also knew that he had no right to feel resentment toward Jake and Laura for discovering what he had been unable to uncover. How dare he feel deprived? How could he feel anything but joy in Bora Bora, surrounded by heavenly island beauty?
It was not his first trip to the paradise, and likely not his last, since it was one of his favorite locations for a love affair, and by the look on one of the three bridesmaids’s faces, the dawn of a new affair was on the horizon.
The pretty bridesmaid kept glancing at him—a brunette with unusually long black hair, dark eyes, and dimples—with a look that he recognized all too well. She was cute and obviously willing, but this time, Alec felt no desire to take her up on her silent offer.
She would probably look amazing naked with all that dark hair draped over her curvy body and tickling her hips, but Alec’s emotional funk prevented him from getting roused by the possibilities.
He figured that once he broke his strange fever, he would get back to his usual business and there would be no loss; even if he came back to his senses when the brunette was no longer around, it would be no problem finding another girl like her who was willing to give all of herself to him for whatever reason she had—whether it was merely the satisfaction of sleeping with a billionaire, or the silly hope that their fuck session could turn into something more.
Alec could not believe the number of women who thought sleeping with him nearly immediately would make him more interested in them; he didn’t get the logic at all. They women didn’t whet his appetite; they merely satisfied his temporary hunger, and once that was done, they had little more to offer him—at least, he never really got the chance to see if there was more to them since he lost interest so quickly.
The few he remembered made him work for it a bit, and it gave him enough time to get to know them a little, and grow to appreciate some of their unique qualities.
Still, none of them stuck, and damn it, he wanted a woman who would stick.
“You think this could be you someday, man?” Jake said when they got a moment, the ceremony melting into a light reception.
Alec nodded. “Actually, I do.”
Jake’s face transformed into shock. “You know I wasn’t serious—are you really ready?”
Alec just looked at him with an expression he was sure communicated just how serious he was.
Just then, the bridesmaid who had been making eyes at him made her way over.
“Dance with me,” she said, her dark eyes twinkling, and he obliged.
All the while they spun and dipped, Alec’s mind kept drumming something up—a memory, an impression.
Eventually, the churning stopped, and a face emerged clearly—a face that represented all that he had been looking for—and he knew exactly what he had to do.
Alec was grateful for the excuse of having to leave the reception almost immediately to fly out and meet his brothers for their annual birthday celebration. He looked forward to seeing them and hearing their stories about everything that had happened since the last time they saw each other. And he definitely couldn’t wait to hoist his proposition onto them.
Throughout the entire plane ride, he thought about how he would propose this year’s game to them. He considered just mentioning his long-term plan to his brothers, but no doubt, they’d laugh. They were only two years behind him, but in maturity, he felt like they lagged at least five years. Alec decided that the only way—besides not mentioning his plan at all—was to frame it in the terms of the game they had been playing for the past three years.
As his jet made its way toward the Hawaiian beach house he shared with them, Alec ran over the plan in his mind, trying to anticipate any objections and arrange his words in a way that would set off no alarms.
Even if his brothers didn’t agree to his proposition, he knew he had to go forward with his scheme. His urge had overtaken him; in fact, he had a hard time flying to their usual meeting spot instead of setting his plan into motion right away, but it would be good to see his brothers again.
Alec smiled as he
took in the signs of his brothers’ arrival. For so much of their lives they repeated events in their birth order: his younger brothers always arriving at the beach house later than he did—Brandon slightly ahead of Connor like twenty-four years ago, when they slid out of their mother’s womb two minutes apart.
He didn’t know how their mother did it—if it was fate or if she induced it—but he was grateful she managed to give them all the same birthday, and an easy reason to see each other at least once a year in their adulthood.
Alec stood, ready to embrace his brothers as they burst through the door.
Brandon’s smile was wide as he entered, a surfboard at his side and wearing only cargo shorts and sandals. Clearly, he had imminent plans for the ocean a few hundred feet away.
“Happy Birthday, brother,” Brandon said as Alec embraced him.
At six feet one, Alec was no shorty, but his younger brother dwarfed him by a few inches.
“Happy Birthday,” Alec replied. “Heard from Connor?”
“He’ll be here soon. He stopped to chat up some chick.”
Alec grinned. “Of course.”
“You mean you don’t have some chick around?” Brandon asked, looking about the house with exaggerated movements.
“Come on, Brandon, you know this place is sacred ground—at least for today.”
Brandon chuckled.
“What about you?” Alec said. “Still no lucky lady in your life?”
“Come on—plenty of lucky ladies.”
“You know what I mean.”
Brandon looked at him strangely. “You mean like a girlfriend? Why the hell would I do that?”
Alec didn’t answer.
Just then, they heard giggling and Connor entered the beach house with a grinning, bikini-clad cutie.
What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 7) Page 118