I nodded, unable to speak. The lump in my throat was too much, too big, too sticky.There were probably a thousand people on this beach. Every one of them was screaming and dancing except me.The only thing we had in common was that every single one of us was falling in love with Conor right now.But I was not falling for the first time.The flutters in my stomach, the relentless pounding of my heart, the quick, sharp breaths, they were not new to me.I was falling in love with him, all over again.Forever’s just a dream, somethin’ to imagine,Don’t deny me ’cause it hurts, don’t fight it ’cause it burns,You know you want me, I’ll give you everythin’,All I got to give, if you give to me . . .“It’s you, isn’t it?” Leah said above the noise of the screams. “It’s always you, isn’t it?&rdquo
“You’re crazy,” she whispered.“Only for you.” I kept swaying her hips, and she settled her hands on mine, shaking her head.I slid my hands around to her stomach and her hips still. “Why’d you come back?”“I needed to be the only person who loves you after that.”“They ain’t in love with me. They’re in love with my voice.”“Yeah, that’ll explain the panties that got caught on your mic stand.”“Yeah, that happens sometimes. Aiden puts the ones with numbers on them in his pocket. Obviously he never calls them because he has no idea who he’s calling, but still. They hope.”She shook her head. “It’s a whole other life, ain’t it? What you have away from Santa Monica. I don’t think I realized it fully until today. Some chick near us drove up from freakin’ Texas because she missed all your tour dates there.”“They’re crazy, but in the best kind of way ”“Crazy freaky. Crazy obsessive. Crazy relentless.”“I like your crazy beautiful better,” I reassured her. “Your crazy was made just for me.
I couldn’t believe I was doing this. I couldn’t believe I was about to get on a freakin’ tour bus and be their damn part-time PA until they can hire a full-time one. I swear that was Conor’s ulterior motive. He denied it, but I think he’s full of shit. “Bus, Mama!” Milka squealed as I lifted her out of the car. “Big bus!” “Sure is, baby girl. You wanna go on the big bus?” “Yeah!” She grabbed for it. “You can’t play with it, Milka.” Conor laughed from behind us, wrapping his arm around my waist and kissing us both. “You can live on it for a while, though.” She gasped in her overdramatic way. “Bunna, too?” “Bunna, too.” “And Dadda?” “Yep.” “And Mama?” She looked at me. “And Mama,” I clarified. Just how it should be. The three of us together, the way it should have always been. I knew Conor still hadn’t forgiven me entirely, and that was okay. He didn’t have to forgive me. I didn’t hold it against him, because we had trust now. He trusted that I wouldn’t run, and I trusted t
This chapter focuses on Conor's brother Aiden and his Secret Lover Elena.After escaping her abusing fiance during the wedding plans Elena applies for a job with the Dirty J. band on their tour in hopes of escaping her past lover and the abuses. during her time with the band she falls in love with Aiden one of the band members and conors brother. Will she be able to escape the past and hide it or will Aiden find out?ELENAThe Deep South—right now, it was all rolling green fields, cowboy boots, and barbecue. A million miles away from the bustling streets of Upper Arizon that I had lived in my whole life. The numerous state parks, the lakes, the mountains—they were all alien to me.And they were all, thankfully, so much more charming than endless summers.I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel and glanced at the clock on the dashboard.I was supposed to prepare for my wedding in five days.Yep. I was that girl. The runaway bride, the jilter, the disappearing act.I fully expect
This was truly crazy. I didn’t know the first thing about managing a band, much less four twenty something guys, and I sure as hell am not used to living on a bus and out of hotels. And if Martin finds out? I am done for. I am so, so done.I should probably run out of that door right away before Chloe got down. I should have probably run and make up some crazy lie about needing to drive to get something for the wedding and leaving my phone at home.Only . . . I couldn’t. I made my bed the second I drove away from the Diazs, and now I had to lie in it. No matter how uncomfortable the mattress.“Hi! Are you Elena?”I looked up at a blond-haired girl holding a toddler on her hip. From TMZ, I recognized the little girl instantly as Conor James’s daughter and the woman holding her as her mom.“Yeah. Hi.” I stood awkwardly.“Hi! I’m Chloe.” Chloe grinned and placed the little girl down. “Milka, stay here, okay?”“’Kay.” Milka followed it up by tottering across the lobby with a dolly trailin
“Hey, Elena? Are you ready? Apparently my daughter is screaming the place down for her pizza.”“Oh, yes. Sorry. Just . . . I don’t know.” I shrugged a shoulder and followed Chloe into the elevator.She glanced at me knowingly. “Scared?”“Uh, not in the way you’d think.” I smiled reluctantly. Because I was not.I was not afraid to meet America’s hottest crush. I was afraid to be in a room full of several men I had never met in my life, which was ridiculous, because I was not in danger here. I was safe, hidden away, in a world entirely different from my own.But my body wanted me to look over my shoulder, just in case.“They’re not bad. Well, most of the time. I promise. Come on.” She took my hand with a beaming grin and opened the door to the private dining room. Noise filled it—laughter, toddler giggles, loud, booming male voices—but they all silenced when Chloe yelled, “Hey! Hey!”Four sets of eyes landed on us.“Now y’all better be nice or I’m gonna kick some butt,” she said firmly,
AIDENLong, dark hair. Mesmerizingly dark eyes. Pouty pink lips. A soft jaw. Eyelashes longer than a doll’s.And a really great fucking pair of tits.This was my new PA? And I was expected not to fuck her. Good job, Chloe. Good damn job.I approached her, this Elena, and stopped in front of her. Her eyes climbed up my body until they met mine, and she held my gaze steadily. No wavering, no lip quivering, no blushing. If it wasn’t for the way her tongue was flicking against her bottom lip, I’d say she couldn’t give a shit she was standing in front of me.“Elena,” I said slowly, trying her name out. It rolled off my tongue perfectly. “Hey.”“Hello,” she replied demurely, holding my gaze for a second longer.Demure. Shit. I didn’t do demure. But then again, I couldn’t do her, so what does it matter?“You think you can keep up with a rocker’s lifestyle?”“I’ll give it my best shot.”My lips tugged to the side. “I’m sure you will, darlin’. Are you used to showin’ girls out of hotel rooms?”
“That, too. No—she’s quiet, don’t you think? I just tried bein’ a nice little boss and she fucked me off.”“That’s because you’re a jackass,” Bray said. “Watch and learn.” He turned his attention from me to Elena and tapped her arm.Slowly, she faced him with a hesitant smile. “Yes?”“Where’d you go to college?” Bray dove right in. “Sorry,” he added when she blinked harshly. “Just wanted to know more about you. That’s all.” He followed his words with a charming smile, and she relaxed.“Oh, I’m sorry. It caught me off guard.” She straightened in her chair. “I studied at Oxford and am preparing for school.”Conor choked on his beer. “No way. What the fuck are you doin’ here sortin’ our shit out for?”“Bad Dadda!” Milka gasped, pointing her finger at Conor. “Bad!”Elena’s smile widened, just a little. “I needed a change of scenery.”Dirty little liar.“All the boys in Los Angelkes too clean cut for you, darlin’?” I asked across the table.“Actually,” she responded calmly, folding her nap
I was kind of annoyed at his short response, but I was equally amused at his smugness about it. And his amusement—damn, I wanted to laugh while I slap it off his handsome face.For the first time, it stroke me that this fake relationship could be rather dangerous.I stayed quiet as we drove down the country road that’ll take us to Percival Town, a couple of miles up the coast. I had been before—it was the stereotypical little beach town, more so than Santa Monica, even—but it wasn’t my favorite place. For one, the size of the town and its population made Santa Monica looked like a minuscule village unworthy of a supermarket or school of its own, and almost everyone who lived there acted like they were from a city, when they were not.We also had a high school football rivalry, so that could play in, especially since I was head cheerleader and may or may not have gotten into a catfight with Percival’s head cheerleader in senior year.Who also happened to be Titus’s girlfriend at the tim
IVANA“You’re going out with Titus James? Like on a date? Or out out? Or just as friends?” Sussy’s eyes bugged out of her head. “And you didn’t invite me?”I paused from applying my mascara and looked at her incredulous expression in the mirror. “Come right on into my room, Sus. It was okay. I only might have been naked, or you know, masturbating or something.”“That’s gross.”“So is your obsession with Dirty J.” I gave her a sarcastic smile and went back to my makeup. “But no, it is not a date.”“Uh-huh . . .” she trailed off, and when I screwed my mascara brush back into the tube, she shoved her phone at me. “Then why does Twitter say you’re his girlfriend?”I shrugged and brushed my bangs out. “I saw this meme on Facebook that said Abraham Lincoln once said you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the Internet.”My sister looked at me like I was dumb. “The Internet was invented after Lincoln died.”“Precisely. It’s called sarcasm.” I rolled my eyes and grabbed my phone from the
“You really want me to say it again?”She rubbed her hand down her face. “Are you insane? She hates you!”I smirked.“Titus . . .” She rolled her eyes. “Okay, obviously not that much, but a fake relationship? Do you even know what you’ve gotten yourself into?”“Yep,” Aiden replied for me. “Because unlike the rest of us, he’s the only one who’s had a successful relationship.”“As evidenced by the fact I am currently single,” I drawled sarcastically at my big brother. “Get a load of that success!”“Don’t be a little prick.”“Every big prick needs a little one.”“Dollars!” Milka shrieked, stomping across the room with her hand out and her chubby fingers clenching in a “gimme” motion. Dutifully, we both dug dollar bills out of our pockets and handed them over. “Tankoo.” She narrowed her bright blue eyes, then pointed at the space between us. “No fight! Bad Uncy Aid and Uncy Titus!”Chloe smiled behind her glass of juice.“She’s real bossy, you know that, right?” I looked at Chloe. “She’s
TITUSHoly. Shit.I was never, ever fucking putting this chick on the back of my bike ever again.If her arms around me wasn’t bad enough, it was her tits pressed solidly against my back and the fact I knew her pussy was rubbing my ass. Fuck. And in the tiny shorts she was wearing right now? It was a mega mindfuck.In fact, it was a fuck, fuck, fuck, kinda situation.As in why the fuck did I kiss her this morning? Why the hell did I bring her close just to shut her ex up? I shouldn’t give a shit. I should’ve taken the damn coffees, paid, and gotten the hell outta Dodge. But no. I had to plant some fucking seeds in Dodge, didn’t I? And then I had to water them by telling that douchebag that I’m her boyfriend.I had the funniest feeling that wasn’t gonna go down well.In fact, I was almost certain it was gonna go down like a shit ton of loose bricks in an earthquake.Still, though—I could feel her arms wrapped around me tightly, holding her body flush against mine, and it was different
“I always wondered what it’d be like to fuck you. Now I know.”“Isn’t this a conversation for your right hand?”“No, but it could be for yours.”“Only if that hand is around your neck.” I snatched said hand out of his and placed it on my hip. “What do you want? Why are you here?”“Come with me,” he said, his shoulders rising and falling. “Please?”“A James boy saying please? Did I die and go to hell? ’Cause y’all sure ain’t goin’ to heaven.”His lips twitched. “Vanny.”I took two steps away from him.“Ivana,” he corrected himself. “Come on. Just for ten minutes.”“Take me home,” I demanded, turning back to him. “Let me get changed, and then I’ll consider it.”He took a deep breath, his eyes intent on me as he obviously considered it. “Fine.” He grabbed my hand once more and tugged me between two buildings and onto Main Street.I shielded my eyes from the sunlight before sliding my sunglasses down as we stepped from the shadows created by the alleyway, almost falling after him. He led
“A frying pan to the face? Sure. Be my guest.”“Coffee, Ivana. I’d like to keep my job.”“Nah, it’s okay. I’ve gotta face him sometime.”“Ken!” She yelled into the kitchen at the chef. “Keep the fryin’ pans away from Jessie here!”“Yes, ma’am,” he called back, laughing.I might have a temper.“Y’all are like pins and needles in my ass,” I mumbled, finishing my coffee and putting the mug into the empty dishwasher. Adrina’s laugh rung through the café as she danced her way to the front door with the key dangling from her pointer finger.Chelsea was the first person through the door, and I blinked harshly. “Don’t look at me like that,” she hissed, stalking toward me. “You didn’t come home last night, did you?”“Say it a bit louder, Chels. I’m not sure my mom heard you.”She rolled her eyes and, glancing at the people behind her, ordered. “Latte, please, to go.” One more glance as I grabbed the takeout cup and she continued, “Why didn’t you text me? You should have texted me!”“Dude, seri
IVANAIt shouldn’t bother me.But, really, he must have a serious lack of class to just disappear while I slept.What kind of son of a bitch is Titus James? He’s sure as hell a disrespectful little shit, his sexual promises be damned. The fact he delivered on them can be damned, too.He’s real lucky I’m the kind of girl who sticks to her word. When I said no stories, no second times, no whatever it was I said while under the influence of cosmos, I meant it.As long as we never have to see each other again. That’d be fabulous. So basically, Santa Monica needed to expand by another few thousand people. Several thousand would be great. Like, twenty thousand.The chances of this happening are, I know, slim. But a girl can dream. A girl’s gotta dream if she wants to stay sane.A last-minute tour for Dirty J. would be epic. An impromptu concert on Mars would be even more epic.Jesus, what the heck was I thinking? Sleeping with Titus James? Did I have a temporary lapse in sanity last night?
Blondie’s smile dropped. “Yeah. Why? She your assistant or somethin’?”I smirked. “No, but I’m hirin’.”“Well, how about this.” She stepped forward and ran her finger down my arm. “I give you my number, and when you’re ready to interview, you can call me.”“Or how about you come back here this time next week and if I’m standing right here, you’ll know you got the job.” My lips tugged up even more.Agreeing to call a girl.Fuck. That.That was an amateur move.“Well played,” she whispered in my ear before stalking past me, making sure her tits brush my arm. Her hard, fake tits.I prefer real.The bathroom door opened and I looked up straight into the eyes of . . . my little sister. Leah took a deep breath and held her hand up at me, touching two fingers to her temples. Her ponytail swung as she shook her head. “Aw, hell no. I am not going to think about the fact that I just helped one of my best friends out of Spanx so she can fuck my brother.”She opened her eyes, and I scratched the
TITUSIvana Lawson reached back and grasped my forearm firmly, shoving my arm away from her like I was fire and she was gasoline. “I mind you touching me,” she replied. “What’s takin’ so long?” she yelled to the bartender.“Chill out, Ivana,” I murmured, moving closer to her and meeting the bartender’s eyes. “Can you hurry with that, babe?”She nodded and within two seconds, a cocktail glass full of perfectly red-pink liquid was placed in front of us.“That’s—”“And a bottle of Budweiser, thanks,” I demanded before she said the price. “Put it on my tab.”“I can pay for my own drink,” Ivana argued, her eyes sparking with defiance.“Sure you can, but that don’t mean you’re gonna.”“It means I will.” She riffled in her purse and slammed a ten into my chest. “Thank you, Titus, but no thank you.”I took the crisp bill from her hand and crumpled it up, crooking my finger in the collar of her dress. She gaped at me in disbelief as I pulled the fabric from her body and dropped the balled-up n