Men In Control (Smith Brothers Complete Series)

by Brenda Ford

At first, I focus on the beat, on getting my drumming exactly right, but as soon as I get in to my stride, I dart my eyes over the crowd to find the one person who I really want to see. It’s weird to think that when we used to play in small bars without the biggest audience, it was hard to get Angelo to even look my way, but now we have loads of fans screaming our names and singing our songs, it’s me trying to find him. I don’t need to worry because I know when I do spot him, he’ll be staring right at me with the same love he has been doing for the last six months. Now, there isn’t a worry in the world about how he feels about me, I know.

  I don’t find him. Not for a while. We actually get through three songs before the lights come up enough for me to notice anyone, but when I do my heart sings with happiness. There he is, the love of my life, the man that I have always wanted. He’s here for me, loving me with everything.

  “Give it up for our drummer, Rachel Weston!” Alex suddenly yells in to the microphone, causing screams and cheers from the crowd. The loudest ones undoubtedly coming from my boyfriend and friends. “Now, we weren’t going to do it this early in the gig, but since she’s very nervous, I think it’s best to start right away.”

  My eyes almost bug out of my head as I realize what is about to happen here. I’m not ready for this! I wanted to get in to the swing of things before we even mentioned my song. And even then, I’m not sure I was going to do it. But Alex has started talking now and I don’t see how I can get out of it.

  “She has written an original song and we’re going to play it for you as an exclusive here tonight.” I feel sick. I clutch my stomach hard. I shake my head at Alex, silently begging him not to carry on with this, but he does regardless. “She has written this for someone special in her life and we want to know what you think.”

  There’s more cheering, but all that does is make me panic even more that I might let them down. I feel weak, my wrists hurt, my body aches, but it’s far too late for me to back out now. It’s time to put my head down and sing. As the spot light shines on me, I do my best to grin my way through it. Then I begin…

  The lyrics burst out of me, emotion flowing with every single word. I connect with the music, the words, the atmosphere, all of it. Plus, I connect with my man standing out there, supporting me to the end.

  As I look at him right at the moment I get to the chorus, I notice a shining in his eyes that I’m pretty sure has nothing to do with the lights. He’s crying, which makes it extremely challenging not to cry myself…

  A hushed silence fills the room as the song comes to an end, which is a massive challenge since there are so many people in here. My insecurities immediately come to life, I imagine that everyone hates it, I almost leap up from my seat and run from the room… but then everyone explodes like fireworks. Cheers erupt from every corner of the place. I don’t know if one person starts it and the others all join in or it’s just a time delay, but I love it.

  Alex and Gary both turn and give me a thumbs up, which just proves that everything has gone well. This is good news, it might lead to me writing even more songs for the band, which is amazing…

  “Give it up for Rachel Weston!” Alex yells, starting it all up again. Once it subsides a little for the second time, he continues to speak. “Now, as I said at the beginning of the song, Rachel wrote this for someone special. Someone important to the both of us. My twin brother – not that you’d know because I’m a lot more handsome…” He pauses for laughter and whopping. “And Rachel’s boyfriend. I will let you all judge for yourself who’s the best looking one, because Angelo is actually about to join us up on stage now.”

  Before I even realize what I’m doing, I leap up from my seat behind my drums and I grab Alex’s arm. “What are you doing?” I hiss. “Angelo isn’t going to want to come up on stage. You know that…”

  But as my eyes drift out in to the crowd, I realize that Sheri and Luke are alone there now. Angelo has gone. Has Alex’s stupidity driven him right out of the building? Or is he actually coming up here? I can’t imagine it being what he wants, he definitely isn’t the sort of person to seek the lime light, but it seems like something is going on. I eye Alex suspiciously, but he isn’t giving anything away with that knowing smile of his.

  “Rachel Weston.” Angelo’s voice makes me jump as it booms out from a microphone somewhere. I spin around so rapidly that I almost topple over in my biker boots, but I just about manage to remain upright. “You are the love of my life. I don’t know if I tell you that enough. You really are the best thing to ever happen to me.”

  “What are you talking about?” I race towards him. “You tell me that all the time.” Luckily, my microphone is attached to my drum kit so no one else can hear my side of the conversation. “What are you doing up here?”

  “You just sang me the most amazing song ever,” he continues, ignoring my protests. “A song that you wrote just for me to celebrate our love. I must be the luckiest man alive to get that from you.”

  The crowd cheers again, reminding me of their presence. Why don’t they seem as confused as to what the hell is going on? I know that I am. They are just happy to go with the flow which is weird.

  “Now I want to give you something in return, and this is something that I have wanted to give you for a very long time.” To completely curb all of my doubt and to finally let me know what on earth is going on here, Angelo drops to one knee and he pulls out a little ring box to show me. “I want to give you a ring to solidify our love and to show you how much you mean to me… but of course, this isn’t just any ring. I want you to be my wife.”

  “Are you asking me to marry you?” I blurt out thickly through the emotion.

  Angelo chuckles in that adorable way of his. “For those of you in the audience who can’t hear this beautiful woman who I hope is my fiancée to be. She just asked if I want to marry her.”

  “Of course, he does!” someone yells.

  “Say yes!” Another person joins in. “Marry him.”

  “Are you for real?” I gush, my hands clutching to my chest as I try to get enough air in to my lungs. “Is this really what you want? I know that you were worried about moving too fast.”

  “I wouldn’t be up on stage in front of all these people if I wasn’t.”

  I nod. I nod so hard I’m sure that my head is about to fall off. “Of course. Yes, I would love to marry you.”

  “She said yes!”

  As everyone cheers, Angelo slides the gorgeous diamond ring on to my finger, and I feel like I’m his. Really his. Everything has really been worth it to get us to this moment, hasn’t it? It’s been an incredible ride that brings us to this point and now I’m his fiancée. I’m going to be his wife. His wife!

  Angelo drags himself upright and we kiss wildly, probably inappropriately considering there are loads of people watching us, but they are all invested in this wonderfully romantic moment regardless. They haven’t been along for the crazy ride that brought us here, but they are happy for us anyway.

  Over joyed for me and Angelo and our happy ever after… at last.

  Epilogue

  Angelo

  One Month Later…

  “Is that the Vegas chapel?” Wesley yells, as if he thinks he needs to shout for us to hear him over web cam.

  “Yes, it is.” I wave the laptop from left to right. “Can you see it all properly?”

  “Just about. Where are you going to sit us once you go inside to get hitched.”

  “I don’t know.” I roll my eyes and laugh. “It isn’t exactly my top priority. I have to tell you all, this doesn’t exactly feel like we’re eloping just the two of us to have a sweet romantic Las Vegas wedding with you lot first insisting on joining us over web cam, but then being a massive pain in the ass about it.”

  Wesley laughs, not at all bothered by my insults. “Hey, you marry a Smith brother, you marry us all.”

  “What a horrifying thought! I only want the one, thank you very much. Oh, and there he is now.”

&nb
sp; Angelo exits the chapel and gives me the thumbs up, showing me that we’re all good to tie the knot at last. I race towards him almost dropping the laptop as I go. As far as I’m concerned, it wouldn’t be the worst thing.

  “You really do look stunning in white,” Angelo murmurs as I get closer to him. “I can’t wait for you to be my wife at last. Rachel Smith. The rock and roll queen belonging to me.”

  “I won’t be Smith unless you take this laptop from me. Your brothers are driving me nuts.”

  They protest, but they can’t exactly bother me through a screen, so I tune them out and kiss my husband to be. It’s probably a good thing that we get called in to the chapel before we can really get in to the kiss. We probably should wait, shouldn’t we? Really explore one another when the deal has been sealed at last.

  “Is there anywhere I can rest my brothers?” Angelo asks the confused looking officiant – one who isn’t dressed as Elvis Presley, much to my surprise. “Unfortunately, they won’t let me get hitched without them.”

  He points to the chairs and Angelo leaves the laptop behind before waiting at the end of the aisle for me. This isn’t exactly a traditional ceremony, even the music that I’m walking down the aisle to is something that I’ve never heard before, but I’m still walking towards my man, the love of my life, to become his wife. That’s enough for me. I don’t need all the trimmings to make this the best day of my life. Only him.

  “You’re beautiful,” Angelo whispers as soon as I reach him and take his hands. “I can’t believe that I’m marrying you today. I’m going to be all yours and you can do what you like with me.”

  I giggle as I feel a heat traveling up to my cheeks. “Well, I have been all yours forever. Now it’s just official.”

  The truth of that hangs between us as the officiant introduces our ceremony and the weight of it hits me hard. Sometimes, it feels incredibly natural to be with Angelo. Most of the time actually. But every now and again it hits me that I have him. I really have him. The love is no longer unrequited. How wonderful is that?

  Then it’s time for us to say our vows. We were going to write our own, but since this wedding has been a bit of a spur of the moment thing because we were in Vegas anyway, we haven’t planned anything. So, we simply repeat the traditional vows after the officiant, promising to love one another through anything, no matter what, not letting anything else get in the way. Not that we should face any issues in that department ever again.

  Still, it doesn’t stop me getting all choked up with joy as I think about having a forever with this man. Kids, growing old, the whole lot. By the time the magical words ‘you may now kiss the bride’ come around, causing all kinds of yelling to come from the web cam, I am more than ready to jump on my man and claim him forever more. Sealing our happy ever after with our lips, I just know that destiny has finally delivered.

  Rock Hard

  Blurb

  Freya Brown…

  She is simply perfect…

  That sweet face with those platinum blonde hair, and piercing green eyes with perfect curves pulls me in.

  But I should not be going anywhere near her,

  After all she is the pop princess who just tagged along.

  But soon, things start to happen…back stage.

  And I thought I’ve found my love…

  I think my life is coming back in order,

  Only to realize that I messed up again,

  Only to see her walk away.

  But I’m too obsessed to let her go,

  And I’ll do everything to make her mine

  But this girl just doesn’t know it yet!

  Chapter One

  Freya

  Sheer joy rockets through me as I stare at the picture Nathan is showing me. I look good in it! Certainly less ‘pop princess’ than I did on the cover of my first album, which is perfect. Just what I want. This new look will fit the raw direction that my music is going on. I am so lucky to have a manager that listens to me.

  “You are a genius, Nathan,” I squeal while clapping my hands together with excitement. “The pink streaks in my hair are just as awesome as you said they were going to be. They look great with the platinum blonde.”

  “It’s the make up as well!” He grins. “The darker, edgier black really brings out the green of your eyes.”

  My lips stretch from ear to ear. The grin is almost cracking my face apart. I have to admit that I was afraid when I first signed with Nathan’s agency. Singing is all that I have ever wanted to do since I was a little girl. I even used to put on shows for my friends and family. Much as it was now a dream come true, it was a scary thought though to give myself over completely to someone else. It was basically like signing my life away. I have seen all the horror stories of talented women having their dreams destroyed by managers who want them to be a certain way. Basically, a cash cow with their breasts hanging out and their music taking second fiddle to their sexuality. But Nathan has proven himself not to be that. He has listened to me and respected me all along the way.

  “The fans that you already have will love all of this,” Nathan continues. “But as we discussed before, we need to stretch out and show the rest of the world who you are. These new songs that you have written will attract a new audience and increase your sales… if we can get you in front of the right people.”

  I clap my hands together with excitement. “I can already tell that you have a plan for this, Nathan.”

  “Yes, I’m in touch with a few bands. I will find one for you to support on the tour. Now, this will be a much bigger and rowdier crowd than you’re used to. So I need to check before I proceed with that, if you will be okay with it? The last thing that I want is to put you in a position that you’re uncomfortable with.”

  I grab Nathan on the arm and stare in his eyes. “Trust me, I’m ready. I’ve been ready ever since I signed with you and I want to keep getting bigger and bigger. I want this, I need it…”

  “Alright, alright…” He stops me in my tracks. “I get it. I know. I will get this sorted for you. You don’t need to worry; you can trust me to get this sorted. You know that, don’t you?” I nod while chewing down on my bottom lip. “Right, so you have the “Good Afternoon with Sarah” interview in a moment. You all good for that?”

  Ooh, I like “Good Afternoon with Sarah”, she has always been very supportive of me, right through the beginning.

  I leap up and salute him playfully. “Like I told you, I’m ready for anything. Is the car outside?”

  “It is. And I have Linda there waiting for you in the hair and makeup department. She’s got you a kick ass outfit for this performance, complete with a leather jacket, just to show people that this is a new Freya.”

  I clutch my hands to my chest, so pleased. This is wonderful. I loved the last album that I worked on, but this one definitely feels like more me. More of the songs that I used to perform when I was a child.

  “I hope you’ll be watching.” I pat him on the back. “Because I’ll be killing it just for you.”

  Nathan pulls me in for a hug. “The public loves you, Freya. Of course, you will kill it. Honestly, I have managed many acts, but no one has ever been as marketable as you. I haven’t met a damn person who doesn’t like you.”

  “You obviously haven’t ever looked at my Twitter account then!” I laugh. “Because as much as there are a hundred comments and mentions of people who love me, there are still dozens who don’t.”

  “Yet you don’t ever let that bother you, do you? It’s so impressive how you always rise above it.”

  “I can’t.” I shrug. “If I do, then I will fall apart at the seams. I just focus on the positive.”

  “And that’s why everyone loves you. Now, it’s time for you to start making the people who haven’t really heard of you to love you as well.” Nathan smiles. “I have absolutely all the confidence in the world that you will do that.”

  I practically skip to the car that is waiting for me outside Nathan’s off
ice, flickering my new hair behind my shoulders. As the car takes me to the TV studio to sing my new song, I allow my eyes to slide closed to just experience a bit of gratitude for the position I am in right now. When I was a young teenager, praying that this would eventually become my life, I vowed to myself that if it ever did happen, I wouldn’t take it for granted. Even now that I’m in the middle of the inner pop star circuit, I see others who I consider as having it all acting like divas because it isn’t enough. They have become greedy and will always want more… but that isn’t ever going to be me. I won’t let my head float in the clouds and start thinking that I’m better than what I am. I will always have my feet planted firmly on the ground. Never let pride come in my way to ruin myself.

  Sweat might be dripping from me, my voice might feel raw, my body aching, but I’m on top of the world. The interview at “Good Afternoon with Sarah” followed by the performance of my new song went really well. Amazingly actually, better than I what I had hoped, and now judging by all of the comments made online, the public loved it fully. I’m seeing brand new names in my Twitter, which is wonderful.

  “You kicked ass!” Linda declares while brushing out my hair. “Honestly, you have such talent, and I love your new music. It’s amazing. I definitely feel like we’re seeing the real you. More so anyway.”

  “Oh, you are,” I giggle. “And since I’m already writing album number three, you should see even more!”

  “You’re like a never ending battery!” she chuckles. “You don’t stop, do you? I don’t think that I have ever seen you rest. Even when you have one project doing well, you are on to the next thing. But then I guess that’s why you have found success so quickly and why you will keep on growing all the time.”

  I part my lips, about to thank her for her kind remarks when my cell phone blasts out and I notice Nathan’s name on the screen. Without me even needing to ask her, Linda excuses herself just in case this is a conversation that I need to have in private. I hit the answer button, hoping that he hasn’t spotted a mistake.