She inhales deeply, averting her eyes. “I think you expect me to be as strong as your mom, and that’s not me, Everett.”
My stomach drops as those words land like stones thrown at us from all around. “This has nothing to do with how strong my mom is.”
“Yes it does.Tears well up in her eyes. “You hold everyone up on a pedestal to her, and maybe you’re just now realized I’m not who you think I am.”
“Don’t do this to me, right now, Bri. I didn’t want to start this.”
“But you did.” She pulls away. “Because you can’t stand to let me have the feelings about myself I do.”
“That’s not true.”
“Yes, it is. You constantly have to be my protector. Even from myself, when I’ve dealt with this my entire life.”
“You shouldn’t have had to.”
“But not all of us had parents like you, EJ and that’s what I’m telling you.”
“So it’s EJ now?”
“It’s whatever the fuck you want it to be.” She tilts her head. “Because you won’t let this go, and I don’t want to be a part of this. There are things in my life you won’t ever be able to change, and this is one of them.”
“I refuse to believe it.” I reach out for her hand again, but this time she won’t grab hold of my fingers. She lets it drop, the sound loud in the room. Like a jail cell closing and the clank of the metal reverberating against the cement walls. It punches me in the chest, almost knocking me backward on my heels.
“Can you just help me get into my dress?”
She visibly closes off to me, making herself into the performer both of us know she is. Normally I wouldn’t allow it, but instead of arguing, I nod, grabbing hold of the dress sitting next to her.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Bri
Immediately EJ withdraws from me. It’s as cold as I’m assuming the weather outside is. The fixer I am, the person who always wants everyone to be happy with her, allows her throat to close up. Instead of letting the tears fall like I want them to, I push them back, putting a happy smile on my face. “Thank you, I can’t get it on by myself.”
Gone is the sultry playfulness we’ve always had with one another. When I turn around so he can zip up the back, there’s no slow knuckle up my spine, my neck misses the warmth of his lips where he usually steals a kiss. It’s all business as he finishes up.
“There ya go, I’ll be in the bedroom putting my suit on. Be out in about twenty.”
“Everett.” I reach out to grab his hand, but he doesn’t meet me halfway. “I want us to have a good night.”
“We will.” He gives me a slight grin, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. It’s not one that’s half-cocky, not like the norm. I don’t want to be treated like all the other women he’s had in his life, but as he turns his back to me and strides toward our bedroom.
Madison comes back in, along with hair and makeup. She immediately knows something’s wrong. Out of everyone, she can read me like a book. Coming over, she smiles at me, rubbing her hands along my shoulders. “This looks amazing.” She leans in. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” The lie rolls off like water on a duck's back. “Perfectly fine.”
Her eyes narrow and she tilts her head slightly to the side. “If you say so.”
“We’ll talk about it later.”
She nods, squeezing my fingers with hers.
“Okay.” The makeup artist turns the chair around for me. “Have a seat, and let me finish you up, make sure everything is perfect. Then you’ll be ready to go.”
My leg bounces as she does the rest of her work, and the hair stylist puts a little more product on before fluffing the strands slightly.
“All you need now is your jewelry.” I hear the voice of Hannah from the front foyer. “I brought you a little something.”
It takes everything I have to smile at her, because I’m a fraud. Everything she thinks about me isn’t the truth, and all I want right now is to sink into the floor. But I hold it together, the way I’ve been trained to do.
“Thank you for coming by.” I wave at her, wanting to hug her, but it’s too early in the night to wrinkle my dress.
“I haven’t been this excited since EJ’s prom night.” She laughs.
“The one I went to with Kristen?”
I hear his deep voice and the blow he delivers kicks me in the damn stomach. Turning to face him, I glare.
“Yeah, the one you went to with Kristen. How’s she doing? I haven’t seen her in a while.”
“Good.” He comes over to me, putting his arm around my waist. “She’s still happily married and a great mother.”
“Just like you.” Hannah is completely oblivious to whatever is happening between us. “Except for the whole parent thing, but maybe one day?”
“Maybe.” His voice is non-committal, and even that hurts like hell. “What’d you bring over for her to wear?”
“This.” She reaches into her bag, pulling out a necklace box. Her eyes are wistful as she puts it on the counter. “It’s one of the first things I ever bought myself. I figured the yellow diamonds would go well with the green dress.” She opens it and my breath hitches.
It’s beautiful, the yellow flashing against the metal.
“EJ, put it on her and then stand for a picture for me.”
I sink back into Everett’s embrace, welcoming it, even if he doesn’t give the warmth freely.
“Okay.” Hannah holds her phone up, turning it this way and that to get the best angle. “Smile for me.” She grins over at us.
The grin hurts my cheeks because it’s fake. How did this night turn into this? I wish I could go back and keep my mouth shut. There was a time when I would never have said what I did, but regardless of whether he wants to hear it or not, he gave me the strength to speak up, even if it wasn’t the right time.
Madison steps in between after she takes the picture. “Why don’t you get in there, Hannah. I’ll take one of all three of you.”
Together, we stand, all smiling toward the camera. Afterward, I barely hear EJ talking to his mom as I gather up my purse and the few things I need to put in it.
For a moment, I collect my thoughts, trying to compose what little bit I can. When we get out of the limo downtown, it’ll be time to be on, and we won’t be able to hide our real feelings. If either of us need to work on how we’re going to be perceived by the public, we have to do it now.
“Are you ready?”
“Yeah.” I take the jacket I’m wearing off the hook it’s hanging on. “Whenever you are.”
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about EJ, it’s that he’s a gentleman, even when he doesn’t feel like being one. He helps me into the jacket, making sure it doesn’t mess up what I’m wearing.
Headlights come up the driveway, flashing through the curtains. “That’s the limo,” Madison announces after she looks out.
“You two have fun tonight!”
I’m not sure who says it as we walk out, onto the front stoop. “Be careful,” EJ warns, holding onto my elbow. “I had it shoveled and salted, but it’s still gonna be slick.”
“Thanks for doing that.” It kills me how formal we are with one another right now.
“There’s nothing I won’t do for you, Bri, but you’ve got to let me in.”
“And I will.” The promise is in my voice. “Just not right now. Please don’t let this come between us.”
“My parents talk shit out, Bri. They don’t let the business side get in the middle of the personal. No matter how we came together, I plan to spend the rest of my life with you. I want that trust, I want the life they have. The love story they have. I want all of that with you, but I can only trust you as as you’ll let me. Let me be the person you come to with all the things that bother you. Let me be the person who puts these fears to rest.”
“You are,” I assure him. “There’s just some things I have a problem trusting myself with. It’s not about you, it’s about me, and
I can’t help that. I’ll grow, I’ll become the person you expect me to be.”
“I don’t expect you to be anyone other than yourself, Bri. I’m sorry if I gave you that impression.”
“You haven’t, but I need you to be patient with me. It takes me a while to be able to put my thoughts and feelings into words sometimes. I can write songs, no problem, but putting voice to the things that run through my head. That’s harder, and I need you to be patient with me. I need you to pull me out of my head when I let it get too far.”
“I’ll always be here for you.” He leans down, kissing me on the forehead.
I know this isn’t over, but for now. We’re good.
EJ
The two of us are tucked in tightly. The limo is warm, Bri flattened against my side, resting her head slightly against my shoulder. Her hand rests in my lap flipped palm up, my finger draws circles along her skin. “That feels good.”
The low glow of the lights don’t allow me to see her face, but I can hear the smile in her voice. “Good, my way of saying I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need for you to apologize. We both got upset with each other, it’s over now. No need for us to continue to bring it up. I promise I’m good, and as long as you agree to allow me time, I’ll tell you all about it.”
It’s hard for me to give her what she wants, but in the end I have to make exceptions. If I don’t, there’s no future for us.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
EJ
Downtown is packed as we turn onto Broadway. There are bodies as far as the eye can see. It makes me nervous; I would be lying if I didn’t admit it. The fact that Bri and I are going to be standing in front of a crowd, announcing what we’re about to. There are so many things that could go wrong.
But, my brain jumps in, there are so many things that could also go right.
As if she senses my stress, she reaches over, grabbing my elbow. “We’ll be fine.”
Part of me wants to admit my own vulnerabilities. Will we? In the end, will we be able to make it with so much pressing against us? That’s my fear, and for some reason, right this moment it comes down like a dark cloud, encompassing me. It takes a herculean effort, but I shove it away. My nod is stoic and to the point, how I’ve tried to live my life for the most part.
“Let’s do this.”
The limo comes to a stop, the door opening minutes later. Like I was always taught by Reaper himself, I put my body in between hers and the crowd. I’ll be damned if anyone gets to her on my watch.
The screams and shouts are deafening, the cameras going off blinding, making me glad I wore sunglasses. Bri and I turn this way and that, trying to allow the perfect angle for most of the press that’s gathered.
“What’s the big announcement?” Someones yells out at us.
“You’ll have to wait and find out.” Her voice is coy, playing with them.
“Bri,” another one shouts. “Are you pregnant?”
She shakes her head. “Do I look pregnant?”
The photographer goes to answer, but she shakes her finger at him. “You better watch how you answer.”
Laughter follows and I can’t help but be awed at how she holds them in the palm of her hand. The red carpet and dealing with the press isn’t something we’ve done much of in our short marriage. This is surprising to me, and I see now how she morphs into this other person when she needs to. I do the same, if we’re being honest. Most people in the public eye do. We all want to protect what’s ours, and the only thing we’re truly allowed to have is ourselves, our personalities, and our own thoughts. Protective and private is how much of us like to stay.
“Are you moving to California?” Someones else asks.
It’s obvious they’re grasping at straws, trying to see if the two of us are going to follow in my parents’ footsteps. Having a house here and a house in California, spending our time going back and forth.
“No.” I shake my head. “Nashville is home. I don’t foresee us going anywhere in the near future.”
“Y’all are so off base.” She holds on tightly to my elbow. “Just wait until we make an announcement.”
The producer of the New Year’s show moves us along, grabbing us around the shoulders and dragging us further along the carpet. “We’re running tight on time, and I don’t want someone to guess it,” she says, by way of explanation.
I don’t want anyone to guess what we’re going to announce either. We’ve been sure to keep it quiet since being hit with the breach of contract lawsuit, and I can’t wait to see what they do when we let them in on the fact we aren’t going down without a fight. I truly wish we had a camera in their living rooms tonight, because I know none of them thought we’d be this smart or this strong.
“Y’all ready?” she asks, as we’re being hooked up to mics.
“As I’ll ever be.”
And with those words, we hit the stage.
Bri
The crowd is mind-blowing. People standing as far as the eye can see. Broadway is packed from side to side and front to back. The energy level is beyond comparison and as they scream for us, it’s almost enough to make me fall back on my ass.
“How’s it going tonight, Nashville?”
This makes them scream even louder, I’m not sure I’ll ever understand why when you mention a city's name, people respond this way. It always cracks me up. “We hope you’re ready for a great night! I’ll be performing later on and so will Grey Skies, along with some special guests. We’ll even have a special announcement right before we ring in the New Year,” I pause, letting the crowd do their thing. “And now for our first special guests – Black Friday.”
Hours later, EJ and I stand behind the stage, both taking drinks of water. We’re a few minutes from midnight, and we’ve changed into our final clothing choice for the evening. Some country rocker by the name of Bryson has just performed, and we’re getting ready to be introduced again.
The artist comes backstage and EJ gives him a glare.
“What did he ever do to you?”
“Nothing, but there were issues with him when my parents were dating/newly married. My dad can’t stand him, and my mom refuses to make a declaration either way.”
“So you’re just taking your dad’s side?”
“Always.” He gives me a look of disbelief. “Wouldn’t you?”
“My allegiances probably lie more with Hannah, but you do you.”
“They’re ready for you.” One of the stagehands ushers us from behind the scenes and out into the open.
All night I haven’t really let anything get to me. Instead, I’ve put off thinking about why we’re here other than to do a job. But right now? It’s hitting me square in the chest, along the edges of my stomach and everywhere in between.
“So what did we want to announce, babe?”
It hits me that I’ve completely blanked out through EJ’s speech. We prepared this, and I was so totally in my head during all of it. But I know my part, I’m aware of what I’m supposed to do.
“We’ve formed our own record company. Nashvegas Records, and we’ll be releasing new albums tomorrow morning at eight am. They’ll be available everywhere albums are sold, or streamed. I have a new video dropping and Grey Skies has a new video dropping. Everything you’ve wanted to see from us, is coming in the next few hours. And something else super important to me – a certain percentage of my proceeds are going to the suicide prevention hotline. As many of you now know, that’s a cause near and dear to my heart.”
Looking over to my left, I see people already answering cell phones. I’m sure our old company is trying to get this stopped, but we’ve done our research; there’s no way to stop it, nothing they can do to prevent us from releasing this music.
There were clauses they didn’t expect us to find and execute. They thought they were going to fuck us. Instead, we fucked them. I’m beyond proud as the crowd screams their approval.
“Next stop,” EJ screams. “Platinum.”
With the two of us together, doing what we know we can? There’s no way we’ll be stopped. No way we won’t win.
Holding hands with him, we take a bow. Glancing over, I give him a grin. “Platinum?”
“Without a doubt, babe. Without a doubt.”
And who can argue with belief like that?
Epilogue
EJ
The gang is all here. The band, my parents, a houseful of friends, Bri and Madison. We’re all waiting for the eight am drop of our records. As artists we’ve never been able to see the behind-the-scenes shit about our release days.
Now that we own our record company, we can.
There’s a buzz in the house, we’re all excited to see how this goes.
“Here ya go.”
Mom is passing out orange juice to everyone, and we have a big spread on the table ready for when the initial drop happens.
“Thank you,” I smile up at her.
Bri situates herself on my lap, as we all crowd around the computer monitor set up on the bar of the kitchen. I’m not sure when our house became the one everyone gravitated toward, but I have a feeling this will last the rest of our lives. We just have to be cognizant of making time for ourselves.
This right here though? We want everyone involved in it.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous in my life,” RJ paces around the kitchen and living room area.”
“Nothing has ever meant this much in our careers,” I remind him. “This is our money, time, and reputations. If this fails, we fail.”
“I wouldn’t say you fail,” Dad comes up behind me, squeezing my shoulder. “It means you go back to the drawing board. Albums aren’t finite any more than books and movies are. If it doesn’t work, then you add a few tracks to it and call it a deluxe version. You play the long game, release a bunch of singles and see what sticks. If it doesn’t make a splash right out of the gate, you don’t have to worry.”
Breach of Contract: A Rocker Romance (The Nashvegas Series Book 2) Page 17