Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
“I see.” So I’d been right. He must’ve had some new woman who’d given it to him. Perhaps an actress or a model, another musician even. But then, just as I was certain I’d figured everything out, he read the connections my mind had made, a smile pulling at his lips.
“A gift from my mother. She and Dad picked up some things in duty-free on their way home from their holiday in Ibiza last month.”
Chagrin set in, my spine straightening and annoyance building at the knowing look in his eyes. “It’s nice. Your mam always had good taste.”
“Uh huh. You thought it was from a woman, didn’t you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I stepped away and began walking towards the school entrance. Jace fell into step alongside me.
“I’m not seeing anyone, just in case you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Uh huh.”
“Quit uh huhing me, Lister,” I snapped, only after I said it realising I’d used his old nickname. His smile grew wider.
“What about you, then?”
I shot him an irritated glance. “What about me?”
“Are you dating?”
The question made me even more tense than I already was. I didn’t want Jace knowing anything about my romantic life or lack thereof. So, I simply replied, “That isn’t your business,” before quickening my step and hurrying into the school.
2.
Jace
Shannon had always been the most beautiful girl to me. It wasn’t just her pretty face, the delicate dimples beneath each cheek, her curvy body, her dark, wavy hair, or her equally dark eyes that I could just fall into and get lost in. No, it was everything about her. The way she spoke, her mannerisms, how her presence had this way of calming me down and silencing the demons in my head.
And fuck, I hadn’t seen her in over a year, but somehow she’d become even more stunning. The girl I knew was still there, but she’d grown into a graceful, strong yet delicate woman, and I had a difficult time keeping my eyes to myself.
It was extra difficult when she approached her seat in the concert hall next to my parents and removed her light brown coat. Fucking hell. The plain black shift dress that was form fitting and pristinely clean, borderline conservative, had me thinking of all the ways I could dirty it up.
The irony about my life was that I was the lead singer in a rock band with millions of fans across the globe. I could have a different woman in my bed every night, but I’d always been a one-woman man. Shannon had come into my life when we were only kids. We’d been best friends, and as the years wore on, I started to fall for her in a desperate, obsessive sort of way. It was a miracle we didn’t have more than one kid because when we were together, I found it impossible to keep my hands off her and vice versa. I loved how buttoned up she always was, and how much I enjoyed undoing all those metaphorical (and sometimes actual) buttons.
Shannon was the most put together person, but when she was alone with me, she was wild and passionate and free, a complete contrast to the reserved woman most people knew. It had made me feel special, that I was the one she’d shed her layers for. The wall she’d erected since the divorce was all the more painful, remembering how we used to be together.
I took the last remaining seat, the one right next to her, and noticed her shoulders stiffen. I couldn’t blame her for being tense. She hadn’t been expecting me to be here tonight. And her more recent memories of me weren’t so favourable. Those memories were of me messed up on drugs. I’d lost control, allowed the demons Shannon had quieted to take over, and lost myself in opiates. But that wasn’t me anymore. I’d been in recovery for over two years. I went to meetings. Saw a therapist once a month. Had regular meet ups with my sponsor, Bren. I was on a much better path in life and had no intention of ever going back to those dark times. The only thing missing was my woman, the love of my life. I’d lost her in the carnage of my addiction, and the selfish bastard in me wanted her back.
I knew the likelihood of that happening was very, very slim, but it wasn’t zero. Not if the look in her eyes back at my parents’ house was anything to go by. It was the look she got when she was thinking about how attractive she found me. I held onto the hope that look created because letting it go wasn’t an option.
“I only asked about the dating thing because I think I should know who’s spending time around my daughter,” I said, leaning closer and speaking quietly. The concert hadn’t started yet, but I was excited to see Zara’s choir perform. My little girl was just like me in a lot of ways, and she loved to sing.