“Jesus Christ,” Connor snarled, folding his arms. “Here we go—”
Ty’s gaze locked with our grumpy bassist. “Connor, I’m not sure what the fuck your problem with me is, but it ends here. While I’m sure you’re rightfully annoyed by my latest scandal, rest assured it’s the final one. Finito. And, for the record? I didn’t fuck Ronni. Okay? I never fucked Ronni. She’s become one of my best friends, so deal with it. And if you don’t mind, I’m going to get Zoey home, I’m going to fuck up Sienna and Andrew so badly they’ll never work as publicists again, and then I’m going to spend every single day doing the right thing to be deserving of the love that woman gave me. Even if I never get her back. No matter what happens, for the next year, I’m going to make sure as many kids as possible can play music.”
Katherine, Zane, and I all stared at Ty with our mouths agape. He ignored us but addressed all of us in succession.
“Katherine? Are we good?”
She nodded in the affirmative.
“Jace?”
“Yep?” I mumbled, exhausted.
Ty pointed at me. “Thank you for holding down the fort. Again. Your services with respect to me and Zoey are no longer required. I appreciate all that you have done, but I will take over from here. Go take care of yourself. I love you, man.”
My eyes threatened to swell, but I tamped my emotions down and gave him a small salute.
“Zane?”
Zane got up and embraced Ty, holding his cheeks in his hands, looking him in the eye. “Yes, my brother?”
Ty embraced him and mumbled something I couldn’t hear into his ear. They clapped each other’s shoulders and Zane strode out.
Connor got up to follow Zane, but before he left turned to Ty. “I’ve been a dick; you haven’t deserved it. Well, all of it. Take care of her, she’s worth it.”
Katherine and I followed the others out, hugging Ty before we left. Not more than a half-hour later, we piled into a couple of cars and managed to avoid detection of the media that were still camped outside the hotel. None of us spoke on the way to the private airstrip. All of us slept the entire way home. And there wasn’t much to say when we landed. Everyone was still fried.
When I unlocked the door to my condo at just after 9 a.m., I knew she was there. I could smell her. Tiptoeing down the hall, I peered into my bedroom. Alex was curled up in a ball, knees almost to her chin. My comforter was half-covering her, half off. She clutched her phone, as though she was waiting to hear from me. I stood staring at her for what seemed like an hour before her eyelids fluttered open. She blinked a couple of times, almost like she didn’t believe I was standing there, then she smiled.
And she held her hand out to me.
God help me, I reached out and took it.
Chapter 26
ALEX
With Zoey laid up and the guys scattered around the city, I was counting my blessings that Jace was still living with me. To say things were back on track would have been a lie. He was so in his own head; we barely had a conversation. Our sex life, on the other hand, was off the charts. I spent my days doing chores around the property. Jen and Jace built a covered garage for the work vehicles with an attached shed for extra storage.
At night, we vegged in front of our respective devices.
Jen begged him to get some counseling and to deal with Jessica once and for all, but he refused. Anytime I tried to bring up the paternity situation, he shut me down. He wasn’t acting like the man I knew, the responsible guy who had such a sly sense of humor. But going through hard times was part of being in a relationship, as was giving him a certain amount of space. So I persevered.
One thing that niggled at the back of my mind was Jace had completely stopped bringing up going public with the band. Completely.
We also didn’t spend Thanksgiving with either of our families. Claiming that we had the flu, we spent the holiday weekend together but with little fanfare. And no turkey. Or stuffing. Or fun.
Once a week, I’d go into the city to sit with Zoey and help her do her PT. She hadn’t seen Ty, but she was also so drugged that she barely remembered anything we talked about at my visits. Afterward, I’d visit my mom. And while she’d give me some great perspective, I couldn’t exactly tell her about Jace’s situation. Because he’d sworn me to secrecy.
Basically, I was being forced to keep two very big secrets about my life from the people who were closest to me, and I was feeling really bad about it. Bad enough that I didn’t want to go down to LA for the holiday show, even though Jace said he wanted me there.
Then the stars aligned and the angels sang from the heavens because Zoey was off the strong painkillers, and she and Ty finally were able to reunite. And move in together. I was so thrilled, that it gave me new energy with my own relationship with Jace.
I had just finished setting the table when he came in for the day.
“Whoa! Are you actually cooking?” Jace banded his arms around me.
“Yes, dinner is served.” My mom had given me a couple of really easy recipes that I’d always loved as a kid, so I’d made
