All of us stayed at the afterparty until dawn. Connor and I played pool for hours with a couple of actors from the movie. Ronni and Alex worked the room together, charming everyone in their wake. Zane had a guitar circle going. Zoey and Ty were holding court in a corner looking cozy and happy. Her parents were dancing like they were twenty years younger. After a couple of beers, I realized my mind was completely free and clear of all responsibility and worry, and it felt amazing.
When the party began winding down, Zane and I were the last men standing. Alex was half-asleep, resting her cheek on her hand against the back of a VIP booth. Her honey hair was wrapped up in a messy bun fastened by a rubber band. Sliding in next to her, I traced her lips with my thumb, and she surprised me by sucking it into her warm mouth.
“Let’s get you to the hotel, sleepyhead.” I wiggled my thumb.
“We didn’t even hang out together tonight.” She released my thumb with a pop and promptly yawned. “Do you think I’m that easy?”
“You were flirting with Idris Elba.” I raised an eyebrow. “Don’t think I didn’t see.”
“He’s on my list.” She looked defiantly into my eyes.
I mimed ripping up a piece of paper. “Consider your list ripped up.”
“It was such a fun night.”
“Agreed.” I stood and pulled her up with me. “And now it’s time to get some sleep.”
Arm in arm we made our way to the front of the club. Texting my driver, I looked around for the security guard who had been assigned to me but couldn’t find him. Figuring it would be safe enough at the ass-crack of dawn, when I got confirmation from my driver we stepped outside to get into the car. Right into a flood of paparazzi. It was just getting light out, but the flashes blinded us.
Shielding Alex, I tucked her head into my chest and wrapped my arm around her while I tried to locate my car. For a minute, it was really scary navigating a hoard of media who held out phones and microphones shouting my name and asking for pictures. Luckily, Alex had some level of awareness and kept her face pressed into my chest, trusting me to get us to safety. Finally, I spotted the car and ensured Alex got inside before turning to address the masses.
“Great to see all of you, thank you for supporting LTZ.” I smiled broadly and waved.
“Who is the girl, Jace?”
“Is that your girlfriend?”
“What’s her name?”
“Did the band break up?”
“How much do you hate Zoey?”
“Where’s Ty?”
Ignoring all the questions being shouted at me, I waved and ducked into the car and shut the door. Alex was leaning back with an amused look on her face.
“Well, they know about us now,” I deadpanned, although fear permeated my body.
“They won’t recognize me.” Alex laughed. “I’m more known in the animal community than the influencer community now.”
I scrubbed my hands through my hair, thoughts of what happened to Zoey permeating my mind. “I’m so rarely accosted, it gets a little squirrely, but it can also turn really bad.”
“You definitely know the ins and outs of getting coverage and staying out of it.” Alex held her hands out to me. “But now I’d like you to cover me with kisses, please.”
Taking both of her hands in mine, I tugged her into my lap and placed soft kisses all over her beautiful face. Alex draped her arms around my neck and nestled against my chest. Not wanting her to move, I stroked her soft hair all the way to the hotel. The driver called ahead so we could drive into the private entrance and avoid the paparazzi that was no doubt waiting for us. We managed to make it up to my room without further interruption.
Our sex, as usual, was mind-blowing.
It wasn’t until early afternoon before I woke up with a start to find Alex sitting in the living room watching TV in my T-shirt.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” She held her hand out to me. “Or should I say afternoon?”
I yawned and stretched, my morning wood bobbing against my stomach. “Wow, I haven’t slept that good in weeks.”
“Your phone is going nuts; you should probably have a look.” Alex pointed at where it was charging on the desk.
Picking it up, I saw there were about two hundred messages and a ton contained links to news articles. Figuring it was coverage of Zoey’s grand debut, I clicked on a few of the stories to discover that one very clear picture of Alex and I had been posted everywhere. My hair was a bit matted from being at the party all night, but Alex looked beautiful. Almost like a supermodel.
“Jace Deveraux dating Influencer Alex LeRoux.”
“Zoey who? It’s all LeRoux.”
“Another one Bites the Dust: Influencer Alex LeRoux snags LTZ Drummer.”
All the press would have been fine, but the series of texts from Jessica stopped me cold. Escalating from demands to call, to accusations of avoiding her to downright threats if I didn’t get the paternity test done by the next day, it was the last one that stopped me cold.
Jessica: I’ve tried getting a hold of you all fucking day. I know you don’t take your daughter seriously, but if you don’t take care of this shit then I’m going to the press to tell them the REAL story. You dated my sister, cheated on her with that whore influencer, led her on for years until you slipped her a roofie, and got her pregnant, only to ignore your baby until she got drunk and got killed. I have the story ready to go Jace so fucking call me within the hour, or I’m going to go public.
Jessica: one more thing, if you are out with that bitch again, all bets are off. It’s time to honor my sister’s legacy. You did her wrong, and now it’s time to pay.
My heart stopped cold. Ice prickled down my hairline. I had to get help, find a way to stop this from turning into a bigger nightmare than it already was. Knowing that a story like that—even a lie—would end my career and destroy the band, I had to be strategic. But I didn’t even know what that meant. Wildly looking around the room, I focused on Alex, who was staring at me quizzically.
“Jace, what’s going on?” Alex was calm. “You look like you saw a ghost.”
“Alex, you have to go home,” I implored.
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes. Please” I stared her down.
“Oh hell no. I’m not going through this fucking thing again, Jace.” Alex crossed her arms. “I’m not leaving you. Don’t buy into any drama, you hate it.”
“I don’t want you here,” I said pinching my nose at the lie.
Alex stayed put on the sofa. Staring at me. Like she was trying to figure out what was going on. “I don’t believe you.”
“I need to sort this kid shit out, Alex.” I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for the mixed messages, but it’s for the best.”
“Stop, Jace.” She stood and gripped my forearms. “Just talk to me.”
I pressed my lips together to tamp down any emotion. “I can’t.”
“I love you.” Alex shook her head sadly. “You’re it for me, don’t push me away.”
I turned away, I had to. “I’m not it for you. I’m a fucking mess.”
“Shh… We will get through all of this.” She tried to comfort me by rubbing my back, which made me keenly aware that I was still naked.
“Alex, trust me when I say this.” I strode toward the bathroom. “I don’t want to fuck with you, it’s not fair. That little girl is mine; I know it. All of the plans we made are in the gutter, and I’m fucking devastated about that. But it’s not her fault, and I have to do the right thing for her.”
Alex’s eyes filled with tears. “And I’m not the right thing?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Right now, I just don’t have the bandwidth to think about it. Or factor your feelings or to worry about whether you’ll stay or go in. I have no choice. I’ve got to take care of this situation on my own.”
“You’ve never pushed me away, Jace,” Alex’s face crumpled. “Not like the past couple of months.”
I squeezed
my eyes shut. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I also didn’t want to get hurt either. “It’s for your own good, Poppy. I don’t want to make you any more promises I can’t keep.”
“Fine. I’ll go then.” Alex stripped off my T-shirt and put on her clothes from the night before. Like an asshole, I watched her, knowing it might be the last time I saw her gorgeous naked body.
She moved toward where I was standing, stopping next to me. Looking me directly in the eye, a tear slipped down her beautiful face. Then she did something I didn’t deserve. Pressing her soft lips to my scruffy cheek she kissed me and gave me the sweetest smile before she slipped out and shut the door.
Chapter 30
ALEX
After I left Jace, not bothering to collect anything from Ty’s house, I took a Lyft to the airport and caught the first plane home. Stoically, I thought about the past couple of weeks and Jace’s up-and-down moods and erratic behavior. When I arrived home, no one was there so I immediately went into the barn to see my horses.
Nothing made me feel calmer and more peaceful than grooming a horse. Grabbing a brush and curry comb, I spent an hour on Gloria and another hour on Banjo. My head cleared, sadness dissipated, and I knew what I had to do. Give Jace some space and hope he came to his senses. Me foisting myself on him and making it about me wouldn’t help anything.
As I was putting things away, Jen and Becca arrived, and we all went up to the house where I filled them in on the past week and my revelation.
“Alex, I think that’s very mature of you.” Becca hugged me. “The Devereaux’s are very cerebral.”
“Hey!” Jen poked Becca but deadpanned, “It’s true.”
“Jen, in all seriousness, I think Jace needs some help with this situation.” I took her hands. “For some reason, he doesn’t feel like I’m the one to help him, and I can understand that considering how adamant I’ve always been about children. But he won’t talk to his bandmates either.”
Jen squeezed my hands reassuringly. “I spoke to him earlier, Alex. My dad is helping him out. He has a lawyer and a plan to find out if the baby is his.”
“I love him, you guys. I hope he realizes how much someday.”
“He loves you too, his mind is a mess though.” Jen sighed; her face was etched with concern. “My baby brother has never been great at long-term relationships; he has a hard time letting someone all of the way in.”
Not wanting the conversation about her brother to go any further, I headed in the direction of my room. “I’m just going to get through the holidays, and I hope that once he knows one way or the other, then we will have some path forward together. I’m exhausted, I think I’ll go to bed.”
For the next few days, I didn’t hear a peep from Jace, and I didn’t call or text him either. As the hours and minutes ticked by, my peacefulness started to wane. Luckily, Jen fed me little tidbits of information so that I didn’t go crazy. I knew that he’d taken the test and that there was a lot of contentiousness between Helena’s family and Jace. He’d had to get a restraining order to keep them from releasing any of the allegations to the press.
As tempted as I was to show him my support, I persevered and kept my distance. Zoey had invited me over when Ty and the band were in some meetings, so I headed to Seattle to bake Christmas cookies. Not knowing whether Jace and I had a future, I’d started contemplating doing a little traveling in the new year as my backup plan.
When Zoey told me about her and Ty’s plans to travel for the next year, I thought it might be fun for us to be in some of the same places if schedules worked out. When she asked about Jace, I had to set her straight and tell her that it probably wasn’t going to work out with us. As much as I wanted to confide in her, I couldn’t bear to spill Jace’s secrets.
And as much as I was nervous to see him at Christmas dinner at Ty and Zoey’s house, a big part of me couldn’t wait. Since they were having nearly twenty people over, I arrived early in the morning to help out. Zoey’s parents were helping Ty prep the dinner while Zoey set the table.
Once we had everything ready, she and I took a few minutes to put on a hydrating face mask before the madness began.
“I really cannot believe that Ty and I are together and hosting Christmas.” Zoey’s happiness was evident. “A year ago today, I’d never have believed this would be possible.”
“I’m so happy for you guys.” I hugged my best friend. “We’ve come a long way since that night at the Mission.”
When I released our embrace, Zoey’s face contorted with uneasiness. “Will you please tell me what’s going on, Alex? I’ve never seen you so restless. So unsettled.”
Fuck it. I had to tell someone, or I’d burst. It might as well be Zoey. I spoke the words that I swore I’d never say out loud. “If I tell you something, will you promise to keep it to yourself?”
“I can’t keep secrets from Ty,” Zoey said solemnly. “We’ve made a promise because our secrets destroyed us, and we won’t do that to each other again.”
Squinting at her, I finally nodded my assent. “I can respect that, and maybe it’s for the best. Maybe Ty can help him.”
“God, what is happening?” Zoey looked scared.
“His ex-girlfriend had a baby, and then she was killed in a car crash. Her family made him take a paternity test.” I unloaded the secret. “What’s worse, is that he doesn’t remember even having sex with her.”
I almost had to use a finger to close Zoey’s mouth, which was open as wide as it would go. “How is this even possible?”
“He thinks she drugged him, he doesn’t remember anything and woke up naked in bed with her.” I shut my eyes, feeling really awful for saying anything but also a bit lighter for sharing something that was slowly killing me inside.
“Jesus. Ty drank himself into oblivion and that’s how he ended up in bed with Sienna. And it happened to Jace too?” Zoey shuddered visibly. “The lengths these bitches will go is disgusting.” In my haze of all that had happened over the past few weeks, I never connected Jace’s experience to Ty’s. “For Jace, it happened nearly two years ago. The little girl is a little over one year old. At least Ty didn’t have to worry about that.”
“Yeah, all he had to worry about was a video of her sucking his cock being played in a billion homes.”
Mentally, I thunked myself in the head. Yuck. And what a shitty friend, I forgot that the video was why Zoey had been injured.
I was about to apologize when Zoey spoke again. “Knowing Jace, he’s analyzing every part of this and leaving you out.”
Relieved that she wasn’t mad at me, I continued, “Yeah. And one big part of why he’s leaving me out is because he doesn’t think I want kids, or could raise one, or whatever.”
“When will he know?”
My voice broke and I burst out in a flood of tears. “I’m guessing he knows since I haven’t spoken to him since LA.”
“Wow.” Zoey pulled me to her. “I’m so sorry you’re going through something so intense.”
I gave her a pointed look. “Well, it doesn’t hold a candle—”
“Stop.” Zoey smothered me with a big hug. “It’s different but still intense, don’t diminish what you’re going through.”
She was such a great friend. “He broke it off after the show in LA. He told me he had to think of his daughter. I wouldn’t ever abandon him, but he left me anyway.”
“For someone who preaches against drama, he certainly is being a bit dramatic.” Zoey looked at me pensively.
“Right?” I nearly yelled. “I’m going through the stages of grief, and I’m kind moving toward pissed right now.”
“Try to talk to him tonight,” Zoey encouraged. “I bet when you see each other, it will all fall into place.”
“I miss him so much,” I cried. “I love him so much.”
“I know.” Zoey clung to me. “I totally know.”
“Zoey, the band doesn’t know, so could you please make sure that when you tell Ty, you let him know that he
can’t tell Jace he knows,” I begged. “Please, I don’t want him to know I’ve betrayed him, he made me promise not to tell you.”
“I’ll tell him,” Zoey promised.
On Christmas day, my mom and I went to Ty and Zoey’s together. We helped Ty set up some extra lights and decorations after Ty pulled me aside to tell me that he was going to ask Zoey to marry him. Genuine happiness filled my body. I decided that, no matter how Jace acted, tonight would be a fun night. I wanted to celebrate my best friend and her long-lost love finding each other again. Which we did in spades when Zoey gleefully accepted his proposal.
After getting caught up in their happiness I hoped that Jace would feel the same way. When my overtures were rejected, I was devastated. When he stormed out the door, it felt like it was the final nail in the coffin.
Chapter 31
JACE
When the door slammed behind me, I crumpled on the front steps of Ty and Zoey’s house. I’d never created a scene in my life. The past weeks had been so stressful, I knew I was falling apart. I wasn’t accustomed to being out of control and I hated it. Leaning against the stone wall, I burrowed under my warm coat and pulled out the envelope I was too scared to open.
I heard the click of the door and looked up to see Zoey approaching tentatively. Wrapped in a big puffy coat, she sat beside me.
“Hey,” she said, looking at me, trying to catch my eye.
“I’m sorry about my behavior in there, Zoey.” I pinched my nose. “I didn’t mean to ruin your engagement.”
“You couldn’t ever ruin it, Jace.” She nudged me with her shoulder. “I’ve only been waiting for nearly nine years; nothing could bring me down today.”
“Ah, well.” I tried to conjure up a smile. “I’m still sorry.
“Jace, you’ve always been a good friend to Ty. And to me.” She crossed her arms around her knees. “So, I’m going to be a good friend to you. Alex loves you. Really loves you. Like, she’s all-in. Whether you’re a dad or not, you’re it for her.”
LIMITLESS: A Less Than Zero Rockstar Romance: Book 2: Jace & Alex Page 28