The fantasy carried me, like it always does, right to the end. The sun was peeking around the edge of my building again as I looked up from my screen, eyes raw and aching.
5:14 in the morning, New York time, and I finished the latest Liliana Grace masterpiece. I typed my favorite words—THE END—and stood up, still punch drunk from my own self-inflicted book hangover.
The buzz of my phone vibrating against the desk nearly gave me a damn heart attack.
When I saw the number, I rolled my eyes. My father had no concept of normal, human bedtimes, a trait I’d apparently picked up from him. "Hi Daddy," I croaked into the phone, my voice hoarse from disuse.
There was a crashing clatter in the background, the whoops and hollers of a party still raging on the West Coast. It was a noise that was familiar down to my bones—the sounds of the after-party. But this one seemed more raucous than normal.
"Lil Bit!" My father was shouting over the noise, sounding more than a bit drunk. "Baby girl, she said yes! Annie said yes!"
I was too damn spent to understand what the hell he was talking about. "Annie said what, Dad?" I shouted back.
"She's gonna make an honest man outta me!"
There was a roar of laughter and the sound of muffled applause. My father yelled something I couldn't hear that was met with shouts of approval. But I was still standing stock still, trying to process what he was saying.
"You and Annie? Getting married?"
There was a scrabble for the phone, and then Annie's smoky-rich voice suddenly filled my ears. "Liliana, he finally did it, the rat bastard. Tryna tie me down, after all these years.”
I smiled weakly, pulse hammering, because I knew what she was going to ask me next.
She inhaled—maybe a cigarette, probably a joint—and dropped the bomb right in my lap. "Can you make it out here for the wedding?"
My hands were shaking and I had the urge to run away, though I wouldn't get far in this shoebox I called my home. "You and Daddy are having a wedding?"
"Oh, we're too damn old to have a big thing," Annie said. "Just a few friends and relatives. And our kids."
A million thoughts vied for space in my brain—the thought of Annie and my Dad finally tying the knot after an on-again, off-again relationship that spanned my entire time on this earth—the thought of seeing them all again; Bash, Diggs, Crusty Pete, Greg Fingers…
But the thought that took up the most space was I'm going to see Jax again.
And right after it, the horrified realization that Jaxson Blue, third generation rock royalty—the cocky asshole who took my virginity and then broke my heart in the most public way possible—was going to be my stepbrother.
Chapter Four
Jax
"Thanks for today, Bev." I gobbled the last dredges of my soggy sandwich.
"I'll call in the morning with your itinerary," she replied, flipping through her phone. "Busy day."
"When is it not?" I grumbled. The label had me running all over the place for these appearances when the songs I was supposed to be promoting weren't even half finished yet. It was annoying as fuck. I slunk out the back entrance of the building, unwilling to risk running into anyone who might want something from me.
And ended up running into someone who wanted something very specific.
"Mr. Blue, I'm sorry to bother you, but I felt like things were a little… unfinished up there."
The little blogger was lying in wait in the alleyway behind the building. Canny little thing. She sashayed her way up to me and slid those horrid glasses off of her face.
Well, fuck it. "I'm staying at the Plaza," I told her gruffly.
Her eyes shone, but to her credit, she didn't say another word—just raced back to her car and peeled out with a squeal that would have been comical if I was capable of laughing anymore.
So there was tonight. A bottle, a blogger, and some pleasant distraction. Life could be worse, I reminded myself.
She was waiting for me in the lobby, and was on her knees the second we got into the private elevator.
"I'm just such a fan of yours," she cooed, stroking the length of my cock and licking her lips. "I've wanted to meet you for so long…"
"Slow down, honey," I gritted. She was tugging so hard it felt like she wanted to wrench the whole thing off of me.
"Ooh, sorry. Let me kiss it better."
The doors dinged open and I came face to face with my mother.
Annie looked from me to the girl on my cock, and then back to me, her eyebrow cocked in that stupid, signature snarl she always pulled. "Get up, honey," she finally drawled.
The blogger squeaked and jumped back from my cock like it was on fire. "Miss Blue! Oh my God, I am so sorry, but I am your biggest fan. I have all of your albums, even the stuff that came out before I was born. You're a legend!"
"Thank you, honey," Annie flashed her the smile that graced a million magazine covers, then turned to me, her wayward son. "Jax, if you'd put your cock away for a minute, there's somethin' I want to tell you."
"You can call me!" the blogger bleated as I stepped out of the elevator into the penthouse. The doors shut before I replied, which was fine.
"What?" I asked Annie, folding my arms.
She rolled her eyes at me. "You have a good night?"
"It was going to be," I retorted, "until my fucking mother crashed my room. What are you even doing here?"
"I paid for this. That means it's mine." Annie said it like it was obvious… and it fucking was. But not for much longer.
"What did you want to tell me?" For the first time, I took in the scene in front of me. The whole fucking entourage was here, all of the old farts that have been my mother's road team since before I even existed. Crusty Pete, Bash, Diggs, Gregory Fingers, the guys I used to call uncles and sometimes wanted to call Daddy.
Just then, Nails wandered up and slung his arm around Annie. "What the hell did you do to your hair, Jax?" he grunted by way of greeting.
I grinned back. "What the hell did you do to your face? That thing looks like you're hiding a bird's nest, or something."
Nails stroked his beard. "Nah, I cleaned it out this morning. Had the eggs for breakfast."
I laughed as he extended his hand. We clasped forearms for a moment before I realized something. "Hey, why are you being so nice? You're usually a complete asshole."
I expected Nails to grunt and swear at me, walking away in a surly mood like he always does. Annie's on-again, off-again boyfriend was a big, moody fucker who only seemed to like three things, none of which were me. Nails Nesbit like loud guitars, Kentucky bourbon, and my mother, possibly in that exact order.
"Let's have a drink," Annie interjected. "We've been waiting for you."
"Like hell you were," I muttered. By the way she was slurring, Annie was half in the bag already.
"It's a fucking celebration," Nails boomed, returning with three shot glasses. "Down the hatch." He slammed his own back before I even brought mine to my lips, then slung his arm around Annie, who giggled. She fucking giggled. My mother doesn't giggle. What the hell was going on?
"What are we celebrating?" I asked. My hackles were up. Annie invading my personal space like this, that was nothing new. But Annie bringing the whole crew over and then giggling? That was fucking weird.
The two old farts looked at each other with such goopy expressions on their faces that I nearly vomited the bourbon right back up again. "Your mother here has decided to stop stringing me along," Nails said gruffly, his tone a lot gentler than his words.