“But—” I tried to stop her.
“No buts. Pull your head out of your ass and take a lesson from me and Ty, don’t waste precious time. Love doesn’t come around often and when it does, don’t throw it away.” Zoey smiled and gave me a side hug.
“It’s complicated.”
Zoey cocked her eyebrow. “About as complicated as the poppy tattoo on your shoulder?”
“Well—I didn’t say that I didn’t love Alex.” I leveled my gaze at her. “We’re just never on the same page at any given time.”
“If you guys work on things together, you’ll be fine,” Zoey assured me.
We sat side by side in the cold for a few minutes.
“These are the results.” I showed her the envelope. “I’m petrified to open it.”
“Jace, come back inside and go to Alex.” Zoey stood and held her hand out to me.
“I’m so embarrassed, I really fucked up.”
Zoey kept her hand held out, she wiggled it at me. “One more piece of unsolicited advice. You have saved every one of those guys from some of the most embarrassing situations imaginable. You are not perfect, and no one expects you to be perfect. Man up and figure your shit out.”
“You’re bossy.” I laughed ruefully, but still took her hand. She yanked me up.
“That’s why I’m a good lawyer,” Zoey patted my shoulder. “C’mon.”
Tentatively, I followed Zoey back inside where everyone was seated around the table except for Alex. I gave a little wave as I went in the direction that Zoey pointed to where Alex was. Heading down the hall, I quietly opened the door to a guest bedroom. Alex had her back to the door and seemed to be stuffing some things into a duffle bag.
“Poppy,” I said quietly.
Alex swung around, her were eyes red with tears. My heart clenched.
I walked over to her. “I keep saying it, but I’m sorry.”
“Don’t do this again, Jace.” Alex openly cried. “My heart is already broken. And bleeding.”
“Shhh.” I pulled her to me and banded my arms around her. “I’m a mess, but I don’t want to live another day without you.”
“What?” Alex looked at me with surprise.
“I have the results.” I showed her the envelope. “I haven’t been able to look at them, and my nerves are on edge. The only person I want to be with when I find out is you.”
“Okay.” Alex seemed wary.
“If she’s my daughter, my life is going to change,” I said seriously. “Are you really ready for that?”
“Yes,” she said simply.
“I’m not.”
“Well, I guess we’ll need to grow up a bit.” Alex stared at me.
“Me, you mean.”
“Jace, the past few weeks have been really awful. I’ve been trying to give you space, but there are a lot of things we have to talk about and you freezing me out isn’t going to work for me.”
“Jessica has been threatening me, Poppy.” I reached up and traced her hair by her temple. “She saw all of the pictures from the premiere and threatened to release all sorts of stuff about Helena and how she was conceived to the press. Lies. My lawyer thinks her family is going to try and milk this situation forever.”
“What?” Alex was shocked, and I felt like a douche for not telling her sooner. “What a total bitch! Why wouldn’t you just tell me that?”
“She knew about you from the paparazzi shots, and I didn’t want you to get caught up in all of this until it was sorted. My dad helped me get a restraining order, and we negotiated the terms of the paternity test,” I tried to explain. “She was texting me earlier, trying to get me to come over for Christmas, so I’m pretty sure of what’s in the envelope.”
Alex didn’t seem super impressed with my explanation. “And keeping this information from me helped how?”
“Um—” I was at a loss to explain something that seemed so obvious to me.
Alex sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her. I sat. Turning to me, she combed her fingers through my hair with both hands, massaging my temples with each pass. Gently, she pulled my head to her shoulder and draped her arms around me, still stroking my hair. My hands rested on her thigh. We sat that way for a few minutes and before I knew it, I released a massive breath and sank against her, the tension in my body releasing.
“I love you, Jace,” Alex whispered against my head. “Let’s forget about today and the past few weeks. I know how hard this has been on you for so many reasons. From now on, and from this point forward keeping things from each other has got to be a dealbreaker. We are going to get through this and move forward with everything together. If you are on board with that, everything will be okay.”
“Done,” I agreed. “I mean it.”
Wrapping my arms around her waist, I squeezed her and then sat back up.
“Okay.” I grabbed the envelope. “Let’s find out.”
I ripped open the edge and pulled out the report. Alex looked over my shoulder and we read the results. After it sank in, I enfolded her in my arms, and she clung to me.
After a bit, she looked up at me. “Are you okay?”
“I am.” I kissed her forehead. “I will be.”
“Let’s go to see your folks.” Alex stood. “They’ll want to know.”
“Should we say anything to the guys first?”
She headed toward the door. “That’s up to you.”
Hand-in-hand we went back out to where everyone was sitting having dinner. When Ty saw us, he stopped what he was saying mid-sentence, and all at once everyone turned to look at us. Standing in front of my bandmates and Alex’s dad, I turned and kissed her fully on the lips and turned to address everyone.
“Everyone, I know that I’ve been acting weird lately, and I’m sorry. Ty and Zoey, I’m sorry for yelling and causing a stupid scene at your engagement party, that was a dick move and please know that I’m very happy that you guys have found each other again.” I took a deep breath and held up our joined hands. “I’m sure it comes as no surprise that Alex and I are in love, we’ve done a terrible job of trying to keep it secret. But you may be surprised to know that we have been living together at her house in Bainbridge Island since summer.”
“You sly fox!” Zane clapped his hands. “Awesome!”
Alex squeezed my hand and nodded to me. “We have some other news.”
“We had a long break where we didn’t see each other a couple of years ago, and when we were recording in LA, I went out one night with Cassie and Jessica. Whom I hadn’t seen in years.” I swallowed. “Cassie thought I wanted to rekindle our old relationship, but I turned her down. The next morning I woke up in bed with her, but I didn’t remember a thing.”
Alex’s mom shot daggers at me, and I didn’t blame her.
“Jay-sus,” Connor bellowed.
I puffed out a long breath. “So, anyway. Cassie was killed in a car accident a couple of months ago and left behind a baby girl.”
“She’s not Jace’s daughter,” Alex jumped in. “We just read the paternity results.”
“Her sister and family have been trying to force the issue for a few weeks, I got a restraining order against them, but now that the results are in—” I shrugged.
“Holy shit, Jace.” Carter got up and embraced him. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“He’s too busy taking care of all of you,” Alex interjected. “Now I’m going to go take care of him.”
“Good.” Ty and the rest of the guys had surrounded us. “Jace probably needs a break more than any of us.”
“Guys, I’m fine.” I felt uncomfortable with so much attention directed at me. “I know everyone means well, but if you don’t mind, we’re going to head over to my folks’ house now.”
“I’ll leave with you.” Connor got up and stood from the table.
After we said our goodbyes, Alex and I were about to get into her Range Rover when a sudden urge overtook me. I swept her into my arms and whirled her around. Sh
e giggled and clung to my neck. Setting her down gently, I softly pressed my lips to hers. Her mouth opened for me, and we touched tongues and deepened our kiss.
“I love you, Jace.” Alex smiled as she got into the driver’s seat.
“You have no idea, Poppy.” I took her free hand. “You’re never getting rid of me now.”
Epilogue
ALEX
Five months later
Rushing out of the barn, I sprinted across the gravel pathway up the porch steps, stripping my dirty clothes off along the way. With only a half-hour until our visitor arrived, I had to shower and get appropriately dressed. When the water warmed up, I quickly soaped up and washed my hair, hoping I would be able to pull myself together in time. Just as I was rinsing out the last of my shampoo, the shower door opened.
“I couldn’t resist.” Jace grinned through a few days of scruff, his shaft bobbing against his eight-pack abs. Ranch life had kept my sexy drummer more cut than ever.
“I’m going to be so late.” I laughed as he cupped my boobs and leaned in for a kiss.
“We can be quick.” He licked my neck and hitched my leg over his arm, grabbing my ass with his other hand to keep me stable.
I braced myself on his shoulders. Jace backed me against the tiled wall of our walk-in shower, canted his hips and impaled me with one thrust.
Jace breathed into my ear as he surged inside me. “Rub your clit, Poppy.”
Furiously, I flicked over my nub as we chased a quick release. Jace cupped my ass and lifted me up holding me against the wall, rolling his hips. I clawed at his neck to keep myself stable. Our foreheads touched; rivulets of water ran down our faces as the rain shower fell around us. Using his strong, muscled arms and shoulders, Jace rocked me onto his hard cock, shifting to find the right angle, and when he hit the mark I screamed in ecstasy.
“That’s it, there it is.” Jace sucked my earlobe, which sent jolts right to my pussy and I convulsed all around him.
“Jesus!” I cried.
“No, Jace!” He laughed and then groaned, his head lolling back as he climaxed inside me.
We were drying off when the distinct crunch of gravel on the driveway let us know a car had arrived.
“Shit! They’re here!” I started panicking.
“It’s fine, I’ll go out first.” Jace shook out his hair and pulled on his jeans, commando. He grabbed a T-shirt from the closet, toed on some flip-flops, and headed out to greet our guests.
Quickly, I dried my hair and put on a long-sleeved, blue T-shirt and black leggings, my new black Frye boots, and headed into the living room to the most heartwarming sight in the world.
Jace held Helena tenderly in his arms, her big blue eyes staring into his intense green ones. She tugged at his wet hair, and he blew a raspberry on her cheek. Lost in the little girl’s sweet face, Jace cupped her head and held it against his chest as he turned to watch me cross the room.
I held out my arms. “Give me the baby.”
Jace held her out to me, and I settled her on my hip. Helena’s honey-blond hair curled slightly around her collar. Her black-and-white striped T-shirt had a mouse decal embroidered by the collar, and she wore tiny black Frye boots over black leggings.
She pointed to the bananas in the kitchen. “Ba-ba?”
“I’ll cut one up for her.” Jace headed for the kitchen.
“So, this will be the last weekend before the hearing,” Janice, the social worker said. “I don’t see any reason why the adoption won’t go through within the month.”
“Awesome,” I said, kissing my daughter’s head.
After we learned that Jace wasn’t Helena’s biological father, Ty insisted that Jace attend a few special counseling sessions with him. Ty was still working through some of his abandonment issues with his mother, and Jace was still feeling really conflicted about the Cassie situation. Years before, Ty had worked with a therapist in Los Angeles who specialized in counseling just for musicians. It had done him wonders.
Lisa Kinkaid was smart and gorgeous with a punk-rock sensibility, her raven-haired, waist-length hair had pink and violet streaks throughout. I should have hated her because she was so trendy and cool, but she was also unwaveringly professional. She had insisted that Zoey and I sit in on a group session and afterward, both of us were sold.
Neither of us really comprehended the physical and mental demands of being on the road and how much it took a toll on our men’s physical and mental well-being. Both expressed feelings of extreme loneliness and depression while they were touring, and we learned how closely it was tied to their cortisol levels. During a live performance, they would be on a high, almost like skydiving, only to be let down once the show was over. These extreme feelings became more pronounced as their success increased, rather than the other way around.
Combined with lack of sleep, bad food, no set routine, and being away from family, it was no wonder so many musicians struggled with substance abuse and infidelity—they were conditioned to chase an artificial high.
Lisa’s work with Ty had been instrumental in how they changed up their routine on their last tour. Once Jace began participating in sessions, he was so blown away that he planned on having group therapy with all of LTZ before they went out on the road again.
Another thing that helped Jace was our horses. When I had thought about it objectively, volunteer work at rescues had been very therapeutic and changed me. Not just because I wanted to save as many horses as possible. Taking care of them healed my own soul and made me a calmer, better person. After doing a little research, I found out that horse therapy was actually a thing. My own plan was to eventually become certified.
In the meantime, Jace and I wanted to keep things simple. Enjoy our own horses. Reap all of the soul-healing rewards. Adopt Helena.
Which is why we added Beanie, a gorgeous chestnut pony, to our stable. It seemed like the right thing to do when we decided to pursue custody of Helena. Jace took lead on her rehab and was doing an amazing job.
Our decision to adopt originated out of one of Jace’s sessions with Lisa and Ty. Jace hadn’t known the depth of how awful Ty’s childhood was and how living with a mother who couldn’t—and wouldn’t—take care of him negatively affected his life. My Viking drummer had a wonderful, supportive, and loving family and so did I. We wanted to share that love.
It was incomprehensible the great lengths Cassie’s family had tried to manipulate Jace. Once the relief that he wasn’t Helena’s father wore off, we both began to worry about what would become of her without Jace in her life. Jace hired a private investigator to check on her well-being, and when we got the report back, there was no question of what we hoped to do.
Jace offered to take full custody of Helena and put his name on her birth certificate, as long as Jessica and her family gave up their rights. Not surprisingly, they jumped at the offer, especially because it came with a big check. Zoey’s old law firm handled all of the legal paperwork, and the uncontested process only took a few months. Soon, Jace and I would officially be her parents, and Lena, as we nicknamed her, wouldn’t know any other life.
“Here you go, miss Lena.” Jace gave her a piece of banana, which she promptly smashed on my cheek.
“In your mouth, not my face.” I laughed and kissed her sweet head.
Jace wrapped his arms around us both and smiled. “God, I love my girls.”
Devotion resonated deeply in his green eyes. It made my heart swoon even harder than it had back at the Mission all those years ago.
He was mine and I was his, and we were hers.
“Let’s go out to the barn so Lena can meet Beanie!” I made a move outside. “Lena, let’s go meet your horse brother and sisters.”
My family, I thought to myself as we walked down the gravel pathway surrounded by pink, blooming cherry trees, tall evergreens, daffodils, and tulips dotting the perimeter of the pasture. Lena walked between us holding both our hands.
All it took was nine long years to hav
e everything I ever wanted, and so much more.
Every step of the way had been worth it.
THE END
LESS THAN ZERO is a series of interconnected standalones. Please read the rest of the books in the series!
IF you haven’t read Ty & Zoey’s story, get ENDLESS now!
Book 3: FEARLESS – coming 2021
Book 4: TIMELESS – coming 2021
Liner Notes
Limitless was such a joy to write, mostly because I love to travel, and it was so fun to see Alex and Jace enjoying some of my favorite places in the world.
Alex and Jace’s story couldn’t be more different than Ty and Zoey’s tale, but I wanted to give readers an entirely different perspective—and another epic love story in the same time frame.
When you first met Jace in Endless, he is always the one taking care of business. Did you notice, he’s great at making everyone the center of attention, but he’s content to be in the background.
Alex is my spirit animal. She’s everything I wanted to be in my twenties—bold, decisive, caring, and knows her worth. She sets her sights on Jace and gets him, only to realize that he needs to hold her in equal esteem for them to have a chance. And she doesn’t back down.
I hope you were surprised at their HEA—because I was! Sometimes things just write themselves, and their happy ever after was destined.
Next up is broody Connor and bubbly Ronni—I’m already loving everything about them.
As a new fiction author, I can’t express how much it means to me that you’ve read this book. I would LOVE and APPRECIATE any feedback you have about the Less than Zero world—you can write to me at [email protected] and visit my website Rocker Romance: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rockromance/
I can’t tell you how super important it is for authors to receive as many reviews as possible. If you have time, here’s a link to my author page on Amazon amazon.com/author/kaylenewinter, Please leave a review about Endless and follow me (and the band) on social media so you will be the first to know when the other books in the series are released!
So grateful to all of you,
LIMITLESS: A Less Than Zero Rockstar Romance: Book 2: Jace & Alex Page 29