“Yeah, and that was fucking dumb. So shut up and let me help you this time, you prick.”
“Hey! Why’d you scare the girls off,Antonio?” Steve’s laugh interrupts us, then he looks over to the stage where someone is murdering Hozier. “When does Dev get here? I wanna do karaoke and you fuckers won’t do it unless he’s here to make an ass out of himself.”
“His stuff is getting here next week; he’ll be here as soon as their away stint is over.” Fun Chase had slipped away somewhere during our conversation. He’s pulled his hat down lower and he’s hunched over his beer, making it harder for people to see him. Elle scares the shit out of him, mostly because she hasn’t messed with him yet. That’s partly because of his amazing agent who watches out for him. He’s had one scandal in his whole life, and it wasn’t even his fault, but the media storm after it happened was more than he could take. His agent wants to keep it from happening again.
Steve orders another round of beers, then he notices Chase hiding from the crowd. “What the fuck? Why are you two all serious and messing up my blow job high? Paparazzi again? I’m self-employed; I’ll go punch that motherfucker in the face.”
We look at each other, not sure we should even bring it up, but someone has to warn him, and it’smysister. “Elle is in town. She said she went by the house the other day.”
“What?!” He yells it so loud that several people look our way to see if a fight is about to break out. The color drains from his face and it’s like he becomes a different person as he falls back against the wall. “What the fuck? When did she get here and why am I only just now hearing about it?”
It’s completely justified for Steve to be mad. The last time Elle was in town, she nearly got him arrested, sent his then fiancé to the hospital, and cost him a huge client all because he kicked her out of my dad’s funeral. It’s the other reason we put up with Steve’s crap. He stuck with me through all of that. We also recognize that he acts like an absolute dickhead because of the mess Elle made of his life. It’s his way of coping, pretending he doesn’t care about anything or anyone. That way, they can’t get close enough to hurt him again. I hate that it’s my fault. The guilt is part of why I keep playing along with his game.
“I’m going to make some calls in the morning and get a lawyer to check this contract shit out,” Chase answers. “If she’s stalking you and sending pictures, we should probably get out of here. This bar is a little too public. It might be good for you and your girl to get out of town for a while.”
“Already working on that. Luckily, it’s part of the job.”
CHAPTER25
SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL
THE ROLLING STONES
Screaming ‘more’sounded good when James and I were in bed, but now? I can’t even walk right. The dull ache and emptiness combine to make it almost unbearable. He’s broken through so many of my walls in the best possible ways and he’s all I can think about. We can count our time together in hours, but he’s not sitting next to me right now, and it’s pulling my heart in a million directions. I need this to slow down, but someone cut the brake line when we met. Now, we’re picking up speed as we careen down the mountain together. I miss him. The way he talks, the way he smells, the way his tongue does that?—
“Ali? Are you paying attention?” My mother’s voice is sharp, as if she knows what I was thinking about while I wasn’t listening to her. “Mrs. Harper asked you a question.”
“What? Oh, I’m so sorry. I swear my mind wanders sometimes.”
“Well, Ms. Harper wanted to know if we should hold off on the printed brochures until the deal goes through on the new church?”
“New church?” I furrow my brows. I don’t remember anyone mentioning that.
“Oh, right, you missed that meeting because you were…working.” My mother’s voice is nothing but disappointment and shame. If she could, she’d slap a scarlet letter on my chest letting everyone know I’m an embarrassment. “Your father is expanding the church. We’ve just put an offer in this week on a lovely piece of land in Orange County to enlarge our congregation. He’s even found another pastor to help him spread the good word and recruit new members into our humble arms.”
Humble, I fight back a laugh when she says that. Psychotic cult is more like it. Although Orange County could be a exactly the thing to keep them busy. “Oh, uhm, then yes. You could wait for that to be final before we run those.”
“Fantastic. Oh, I nearly forgot, we’ll need you to go to the new site this week. We’ll need signs and other elements you can help out with. We agreed you should be there in person to let the beauty of the Lord’s work really speak to you when you decide on the colors and other decor.” Her mouth curves into a wicked grin. I’ve told her more times than I care to remember that I’m not an interior designer. She never listens. My degree doesn’t mean shit to her other than getting me to do free work for them. “You’ll be accompanying your father there on Thursday. He should be by shortly to introduce you to Pastor Noah.”
My blood runs ice cold, and I have to steady my breathing. “I will have to check my schedule. I can always go over another time without him if my availability isn’t convenient.”
“Oh, darlin’, I’m sure we can work something out.” My stepfather steps out from one of the back rooms with a grin that turns my stomach. My memories of James are gone, tucked away where I can protect them. “I wouldn’t want you to drive all the way out there by yourself. You might get lost. Besides, it would be nice to have your company on that long ride. Our new pastor even offered us a place to stay the night so we don’t have to rush.”
Another man, younger but not by much, follows him into the room. His plaid shirt and short, all-business hair screamsdivorced father of four and devout follower. My stepfather is walking him right over to me, and the closer he gets, the more I recognize that gleam in his eyes. It’s the same one my stepfather has. There’s no way in hell I’ll be in a car—let alone a house—with these two alone.
“Darlin’, this here is Pastor Noah. He’s going to be heading up the new church.”
The new guy sticks his arm out. I’m hoping he’s just going to shake, but the second my hand touches his sweaty, clammy palm, he’s pulling my hand to his lips. I want to throw up. “My, my. You are even lovelier in person than Pastor Ron described you. An absolute angel, to be sure.”
Using James’s words against me is cruel. I look at my mother and she’s busy fussing with her nails and a part of me wonders what they’re planning, because they are clearly up to something.
“Thanks.” I force a tight-lipped smile, pulling my hand back and shoving it in my pocket.
Ronnie moves behind me, putting his hands on my shoulders so tight I wince. He kisses the top of my head as I stare at Noah. “She’s agoodgirl. I’m sure you two will get along once she settles down.”
“Settles down?” I try to turn toward Ronnie, but he tightens his grip, keeping me facing forward. Facing Noah.
“Darlin’, help your mother. I’ll finish showing Noah around and then you come by for dinner after. It’s time you and Noah became better acquainted.”
