Landon and Jason exchanged glances. “I think you just answered your own concern,” Landon told him, placing a hand on his shoulder for support. He knew Tanner had a shitty upbringing and understood his concern, but Tanner was one of the best men he knew. “You would never do that to your kid.”
“Of course not. I’m just … I’m fucking scared.” He dropped his hands and lowered himself to the nearest bench.
Joining him, Landon sat down beside his friend. “You’ve got this. You know that, right? I mean, if you want to get into the ring and pound something, go ahead, but before you do, I have a question. What did you do when Scarlett told you?”
He swallowed hard. “Said I was excited. Kissed her.”
“And ran for the gym?” Jason asked from where he leaned against the ropes.
Tanner ducked his head.
“Okay, you’re going home to talk to your fiancée, so gloves off.” Reaching over, Landon yanked at the laces, releasing the tight hold. “Scarlett knows you, so I’m sure she’s okay, but you two need to deal with this together.”
Jason nodded in agreement. “I also suggest you think about setting a wedding date. I know Scarlett is a workaholic and you indulge her but–”
“I already planned to do that,” Tanner said. “After I released my panic in here. But you’re right. I need to be better for Scarlett.” He held a hand out for Landon to pull off his first glove, after which he jerked off the second one. “I’m going home.”
Landon grinned, glad his good deed was done for the day. He wanted to get back to the club and catch Vivi after her rehearsal.
“But before we go, is everything okay with you?” Tanner asked as he repacked his gym bag.
He’d been hoping to avoid this conversation, but he might as well lay it out there. “I took Vivi swimming at my folks’. They were supposed to be away for the weekend but they came home early.”
“Shit,” Jason muttered, rocking back on his heels. “Did you introduce them for real?”
“I wanted to. Hell, I was about to when she jumped in with an explanation about working at our club. She did not want be outed as Vic’s sister. And when we got into the car, she broke down. Totally fell apart because of what telling my parents would do to them and remind them of.”
It’d killed him to see her like that … and though thinking about Levi was always like a knife in his heart, he’d learned to live with the emptiness and pain. How to explain to Vivi that she was starting to help him heal in a way he never had before? He’d never believed he’d be able to live a full life without his twin, but she’d given him back music, warmth, and love.
Love? He mentally reared back. He couldn’t possibly be there just yet with her … could he?
Tanner pulled out a sport drink bottle from his bag and took a long sip. “Shit. I really misjudged her. I’m sorry, man.”
Landon tipped his head. “I know it’s hard to wrap your head around my feelings for her.” He was struggling with understanding how he could fall so hard so fast himself. “But she’s empathetic and understanding. And this whole situation is eating away at her. She doesn’t want to get involved with me because of it,” he muttered, frustrated.
“So what’s your plan?” Jason asked. “Because you always have a plan.”
With a grin, Landon glanced at his friends. “I’m going to pull her into my life despite her fears. First up, I plan to talk to my parents, give them time to come to terms, and then let them get to know her. If she’s leaving at the end of the summer, I want all the time I can get with her before she goes.”
He saw the way his friends looked at each other. Heard the words they didn’t say because he was thinking them himself. Why was he investing so much time and effort into an affair that had a built-in end date?
Because he didn’t want it to end.
Long-distance relationships could work, couldn’t they?
After leaving, the guys went their separate ways and Landon headed to the club. As he thought, he’d missed rehearsal, having been busy this morning meeting with a supplier, then the trip to the gym, so he headed up the elevator and knocked on Vivi’s door.
He thought he heard sounds inside but after the knock, silence. Frowning, he banged harder, wondering if she’d really ignore him or if she’d gone out.
“Vivi!” He knocked harder.
When she didn’t answer, he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt that she wasn’t home. Not that he really believed it.
But he wasn’t giving up.
* * *
“You’re an idiot.” Ellie popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth and followed it up with a sip of water. “That man obviously cares about you and you ignored him. Explain.”
Narrowing her gaze, Vivi put the television back on because she’d shut it off when Landon began knocking. “I already explained this to you. The sight of me can only cause him and the people around him pain.”
“Obviously he doesn’t think so.”
“Well, he hasn’t told his parents yet. And I’m guessing his partners are tolerating me for his sake. Look, I’m not trying to be stubborn. I am a living, breathing, walking reminder of Victor and, as a result, of Levi Bennett’s death.”
Ellie curled her legs beneath her on the sofa and frowned. “I don’t deny that his parents may not be overly accepting at first–”
“Or at all.” She twisted her fingers together until they hurt. The very thought of facing his parents’ grief-stricken faces… “Even after all this time, one look at me will bring their pain rushing back.”
Ellie’s expression softened. “You may be right. I just feel like you’re giving up too easily.”
“You want me to forget what my brother did?” she asked, horrified.
She shook her head. “I want you to remember you didn’t have any part of it. And admit you deserve to be happy. Wherever you find that happiness.”
Happiness. Deserving it was one thing, but finding it with the man whose heart was so big he was willing to see her and not her brother? How was that fair to anyone?
“Do you want to miss out on this chance with Landon?” Ellie eyed her with that all-knowing gaze.
“Of course that’s not what I want.” Settling into the opposite side of the sofa, Vivi curled into the corner and wondered if her friend had a point.
She wasn’t responsible for her brother’s crimes. She knew that. She just didn’t want to bring up bad memories for Landon and his family. But for the summer, should she reach for the man she desired? Give herself some wonderful memories of her own before she left for wherever she and Owen decided was best for her career?
“Well?” Ellie tossed a piece of popcorn at her.
Vivi picked up the popped kernel and slipped it into her her mouth. “I’ll think about it,” she promised, meaning it. Because she didn’t think she could stay away from him no matter how much she thought it was best for him.
* * *
Landon had a plan. But as he approached his parents’ house, his certainty that they’d ultimately come to accept and understand he had feelings for Victor Clark’s sister wavered. Shoring up his nerves, he parked his SUV and headed up the shrub-lined path leading to the front door, where his mom greeted him.
“Landon! I was so surprised when you asked if you could talk to us. You don’t need a reason to come home.” His mother embraced him and he hugged her back, inhaling the familiar scent that he associated with his childhood.
His mom was a creature of habit, and he supposed it was a good thing that the company still manufactured her favorite perfume. It also made her birthday and Christmas easier on him.
He stepped back, taking in his mom in her dark jeans and pink blouse, matching shoes on her feet. She looked younger than her years and … happy. Was he going to burst the bubble of sanity she’d finally managed to find? Was Vivi right about keeping them in the dark?
“Landon? Obviously something is bothering you?” his mother said, shutting the door behind him.
“Come on. Let’s go into the kitchen. That’s always been our place.” Smiling at him, she turned and led the way into the sunny room with an eat-in breakfast nook.
He pulled out a chair and sat down, not surprised when his mom walked over with a plate of home-baked chocolate chip cookies and put them down in front of him. “Your favorite.”
“Levi’s, too,” he said, remembering how his brother would steal a few and take them into his room despite the no-eating-in-the-bedroom rule.
He picked one up and bit into it, unable to stop the moan that came from his throat. “God, they’re still warm.”
“You said you were coming for a visit. I baked.”
“I love you, Mom.” A lump formed in his throat, more because of his twin’s absence than the statement he’d just made. God, this was going to be so much harder than he’d thought.
Carrie settled into a chair beside him. “Is this about the woman you brought here?”
He looked up, surprised although he shouldn’t be. His mother always had a sixth sense when it came to her … boys. “Yeah, it is about Vivi.”
“Pretty name,” his mother said. “Beautiful woman.”
“Yes.” He ran a hand over the top of his head. “Umm, I think Dad should be here for this.”
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “You’re not getting married, are you?” Her hand came to rest on her heart, maybe in hope, maybe in panic.
He couldn’t be sure, but he burst out laughing. “No, nothing like that.” But his gut said telling them about impending matrimony would be simpler than this.
“Samuel!” she called. “Landon’s here and wants to talk! He’d just gotten out of the shower when you arrived.”
A few minutes later, footsteps sounded from the stairs and his father joined them. After the father-son greeting and his mother instructing her husband to take a seat, they both looked at Landon and waited.
Unable to sit still, he rose to his feet and began pacing. “So Mom already figured out this is about Vivi. The woman you met the other day,” he clarified.
His father shot him an amused grin. “Figured that out already, son. What is it? Did you knock her up?”
“Samuel!” his mother said before the words obviously sank in and she turned to Landon. “Did you?” she asked hopefully.
The woman did want grandchildren. That much he knew.
“No, I did not get her pregnant. Jesus.” Although the thought didn’t bother him as much as it should, which reminded him why he was here, putting them all through this. He cleared his throat and faced them. “You met Vivi the other day.”
“Yes. And from the few minutes we spent with her, she’s lovely,” his mother said.
“Right. The thing is…” He shoved his hands into his front pants pocket. “You met her as Vivi Zane. That’s her mother’s maiden name. Her birth name is Vivienne Clark.”
He dropped the name and waited to see if they put two and two together on their own.
His mother narrowed her gaze and looked to Samuel, but neither said a word. Unable to wait, he blurted out the rest. “Clark, as in Victor Clark. She’s his sister.”
Shock registered in his parents’ faces. Obviously they’d been struggling to make the connection before. After all, it wasn’t like they went around thinking Victor’s name all the time. If anything, they tried to forget. And Landon hadn’t told them about the situation with Victor and their club, protecting them … the way Vivi had wanted to do now.
God, what had he been thinking? “You know what? Never mind. She’s leaving at the end of the summer and you won’t have to be in the same room with her again,” he rushed to say.
“Landon, sit down,” his father said in his stern, parental voice.
“Yeah. Okay.” He lowered himself back into his seat and decided to lay it all out for them, sparing them asking questions. “When Vivi and I first met, neither one of us knew who the other was. She made the connection first and tried not to take the job we’d offered, but I pushed because she was that talented and good for the club.”
He tapped his foot against the floor while his parents listened in silence. “And probably because I was really attracted to her. When I found out, I lost my shit. Trashed my apartment. Tanner and Jason had to come calm me down.” His mouth ran dry, and he picked up the glass of water his mother had put down at some point and took a long sip.
“Why didn’t she tell you once she knew?” his father asked in a gruff voice.
“It’s complicated. I’d insinuated her taking the job could help us out of a bind we’d been in… She thought she could sing, bring in customers, and then leave after the summer ended with no one figuring it out.” He swallowed hard, his hands entwined on the table. “Look, I was going to bite the bullet and tell you the truth the day you met her, but she panicked and I could see she wasn’t ready. She doesn’t want to dredge up pain and bad memories for you.”
“Smart girl,” his father said bitterly.
Landon didn’t blame him. “But she’s not her brother. In fact, neither she nor her mother has a relationship with Victor at all. Vivi is different. She’s special. And I can’t seem to stay away from her.” His heart thudded painfully in his chest as he faced the two people who, along with his friends, had been his lifeline when his twin was suddenly gone, brutally taken from him. From all of them.
“God, Landon. Of all the women in the world, you fall for the one whose brother was responsible for Levi’s death?” his father asked. How could you went without saying.
“The heart wants what the heart wants.” His mother, who’d been silent until now, spoke up, her words taking Landon off guard.
“Seriously, Carrie? You’re okay with this?” Samuel rose to his feet, shoving the chair roughly under the table, the noise causing a rough squeak.
“I didn’t say that.”
His mother’s sad eyes were filled with tears, and guilt swarmed inside him for bringing this to them at all. “Maybe Vivi was right and we can’t work.”
Landon’s heart squeezed in his chest at the thought of losing Vivi, but choosing between her and his family? That wasn’t a notion he’d considered. Damn, but he’d been naïve in thinking he could explain and his parents would just understand.
He and Vivi had other obstacles, and he would deal with the end of the summer when it came, but making the choice to let her go? He couldn’t do it.
Reaching out, his mother put her hand over his. “Landon, you think this girl is that special?”
He closed his eyes and pictured Vivi’s beautiful face, freckled nose, and wide, hot-chocolate-colored eyes. The hauntingly beautiful sound of her voice. What she’d given him back in life. More than that, he thought about her big heart and the fact that she was trying to do right by his parents in staying away. “Yeah, I do.”
With a growl, his father started to walk out.
“Samuel, stop.” Carrie’s order echoed in the room.
Pausing, he looked back at his wife.
“We have one son left,” Carrie said, meeting Landon’s gaze. “And his heart is obviously invested in this woman. I’m not saying I’m happy about the situation, but I’m not going to make him choose.”
Landon shot a grateful look at his mom. His strong mother, who always held his family together through the most awful of crises.
“I need time to digest this,” Samuel muttered.
“I understand.” Landon expected his father to storm from the room, but taking him by surprise, Samuel pulled Landon into a fatherly hug.
“You aren’t making it easy, son.” Samuel slapped him on the back.
“I know, Dad. Believe me, I know.” But with everything in him, he believed Vivi was worth it.
Chapter Eight
Vivi loved the stage. She loved singing to an audience and the live feedback she received when she performed. It didn’t matter if she closed her eyes or looked out over the people clapping and singing along, the music floated through her, the words coming out with p
ower and feeling.
As the weeks at Club TEN29 passed, more and more paparazzi and reporters began following her when she left the club, snapping pictures of her wherever she went. Her Instagram followers soared, and Owen urged her to be more open about herself online.
Life was changing at a crazy fast pace.
When she was younger, her mother took her to festivals and she used YouTube to perform for people online, slowly growing an audience. At sixteen, she would find bars willing to let her sing, but she wasn’t lucky enough to be discovered then. Her mom needed to work, and though she’d wanted to audition for the singing competition television shows, she’d had no one to take her. By age eighteen, she’d decided to work at coffee shops during the day and perform at night where she could, just enjoying having music in her life. And then her viral moment of fame happened. The nights at Club TEN29 were like a dream, and she didn’t take any one of them for granted.
Two weeks had passed since Landon banged on her door looking for her, and he hadn’t returned since. The nights she played at the club, he sat at the bar or walked the floor, always watching her, his eyes devouring every inch of her body, but he kept a physical distance that had become painful. And though she was the one who’d insisted they didn’t belong together, this separation wasn’t working for her. Not if she had to see him all weekend and long for him during the week.
So she came to a decision. For the duration of the summer, she wanted to be with him. She needed his hands on her bare skin and his lips hard on hers. She wanted time to talk to him, to curl up in his arms, and to take advantage of the very limited time they had left. But it was her turn to convince him that she’d changed her mind.
After her last performance of the weekend, she headed upstairs, showered, and cleaned up before sliding into a club-appropriate short dress and high heels and taking the elevator back downstairs with every intention of seducing her man.
* * *
Every night Vivi took the stage, her performance was more stellar than the evening before. Landon watched Owen eyeing his prize possession, as he no doubt viewed her, and taking meetings while she sang. Axel Matsen, the douchebag, had become a weekly fixture at the club, no doubt reminding Owen he was in the bidding for whatever choice he brought to Vivi for her future when her time at Club TEN29 came to an end.
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