Outside, the doorman was already ready to open the door to the limo that was waiting on us. Liam’s hand grasped my elbow as I went to step inside and I lifted my head in confusion. His face looked stormy and I didn’t like when he got that look on his beautifully masculine face.
“What’s wrong?” I murmured, aware of the others already in the limo. We were all arriving together and everyone else had already been picked up. Their laughter reached my ears and I realized at least one member of OtherWorld had already been drinking tonight. Probably Devlin and Zander from the way those two were howling like drunken idiots.
Releasing my elbow, Liam cupped my face and dropped a soft kiss on my lips. “You’re with me tonight, okay? Not Ax. I know the media is going to assume that you and he are back together when you walk down the red carpet, but make sure you correct them when they ask if you two are back together.”
I lowered my gaze so he wouldn’t see my eyes and tried to get my heart under control. Over the last four months, Liam and I had tried to keep a low profile about our relationship. The few times we’d been spotted out together had been when we were out with the other members of his band. Each time there had been a picture in the trashy magazines speculating if I was back together with Axton Cage.
I’d ignored the magazines and hadn’t bothered to comment when the paps would ask if I was dating Axton again. Until now, Liam hadn’t wanted to go public about our relationship. That he was tonight of all nights, had my heart pounding with excitement.
“Okay?”
At the uncertainty in Liam’s voice, I lifted my eyes to his and let him see the pleasure on my face. “Yeah, Liam. Okay.”
He let out a relieved laugh and urged me into the back of the limo. As I slid across the bench seat to let him in, my eyes started to adjust to the dim lighting. Devlin and Zander were sitting on the bench seat directly across from us. Each had a tumbler of bourbon in their hands, their drink of choice. Devlin’s long hair was down around his wide shoulders and his dark skin looked exotic matched with those mesmerizing aquamarine eyes. Zander looked sinful in his suit with his hair styled carelessly and his ink standing out on his hands.
On the bench seat to my left sat Wroth with Marissa and I gave her a warm smile when I met her blue gaze that was so much like her brother’s. She looked beautiful in her ice-blue evening gown and her long glossy hair in soft waves falling to her waist. Marissa Bryant might possibly have been the most beautiful chick I’d ever set eyes on. She and her brother shared some of the same facial features that they had to have inherited from their father since they didn’t share the same mother, but where Liam’s were distinctively masculine, Marissa’s were very feminine. It wasn’t her exquisite looks that made Marissa so beautiful, however. It was her sweet, loving personality that shined through her eyes that bespoke her true beauty.
Beside her sat perhaps the scariest man on the planet. Wroth Niall was a broody motherfucker with a soft spot for only one person—Marissa. If his size didn’t intimidate you, his rough voice surely would, but it was the look in his eyes that had always warned me to stay clear of this particular rocker. There was darkness in his eyes, and I didn’t mean just their color. Wroth was ex-marine, a deadly weapon who had used his skills to survive a tour of active duty overseas. I was brave and didn’t care who I ran my mouth to, but even I knew to stay clear of enraging that sleeping beast.
To my right, Axton was sitting by himself. As usual he was messing on his phone, texting away. I didn’t need three guesses to know who he was talking to. Even when we had been trying to make a go of the disaster that had been our relationship, Axton hadn’t been able to go more than a few hours without talking to Emmie in some shape or form. She would text him just as much and they had usually been random things that would make Ax laugh.
I frowned at him as he continued to type, wondering if it had been because of his need to constantly be in contact with Emmie that had ruined his relationship with that Dallas Bradshaw chick. He hadn’t talked about it, especially not with me, but I couldn’t help wondering what had happened to make them call it quits. I’d actually kind of liked her.
Liam’s arm draped over the back of the seat and his fingers cupped around my shoulder, pulling me against his side and drawing my attention back to him. The doorman shut the door and moments later the driver pulled into traffic.
“You look beautiful, Brie.” Marissa offered me a bottle of cold water and a kind smile. “You and Li look so good together.”
Pleasure curled in my chest. “Thanks, Rissa. That dress is lovely on you. It makes your eyes sparkle.”
“Yeah, Riss. You look beautiful,” Liam told his sister, causing her cheeks to heat with pleasure. “Did Wroth take you shopping?”
“No.” She shook her dark head. “I went with Emmie and Layla when I got into town two days ago. It was fun, and today they invited me over to get ready at Emmie’s.” She gave a delighted laugh. “I love hanging out with those two.”
I gritted my teeth and tried to keep my smile in place. It wasn’t Marissa’s fault that I detested Emmie. Layla, I could just about stomach, but Emmie… Yeah, I wasn’t going to open that can of worms tonight of all nights.
“Harper and Lana weren’t there?” Axton asked.
“They didn’t get in until last night, and had things to do, but they will be there tonight with Shane and Drake.” Marissa took a sip from her own bottle of water. “I hope we all get to sit together. I would love to catch up with Harper.”
“You will see her later at the after-parties,” Liam assured his sister. “Did Dallas come?”
I saw Axton stiffen out of the corner of my eye. When Marissa shook her head, his shoulders seemed to droop for a moment before he straightened them and turned his attention back to his phone.
“No, she and Linc couldn’t make it out for this. Dallas has school and Linc had to work.”
I couldn’t help the curiosity that filled me. “School?”
“Dallas is going to nursing school to be a registered nurse,” Marissa informed me with excitement in her sweet voice. “She’s always wanted to be a nurse and she’s finally going to become one. Emmie and Layla said that Dallas is working her butt off to stay at the top of her class, but I know she’s going to make an amazing nurse.”
“I bet her mother just loves that,” Axton muttered.
“Her mother?” I sat forward slightly, eating up all the details like I was watching some kind of soap opera or something. The way he’d said ‘mother’ told me that whatever relationship Dallas Bradshaw might have with the woman who had given birth to her wasn’t a pretty one.
“Total bitch, that one.” Axton didn’t look up from his phone as he spoke. “Attention whore.”
Zander snorted. “Tell us how you really feel, Ax.”
“Take my mom and multiply by two,” Axton grumbled and everyone around us sucked in a deep breath but didn’t say anything more about the subject.
Of course my curiosity began to eat at me even more. I’d never met Axton’s mother, or anyone else from his family for that matter. He never mentioned them and the one time I’d brought up the subject when we’d been together he’d just said the only family he needed or wanted was Emmie and the Demons.
The fact that he hadn’t said OtherWorld had told me just how much of an outcast he still felt with his band-brothers. I’d felt bad for him. It had always been apparent to me that the other members of OtherWorld didn’t include Axton in their lives outside of the band very often. The others were close in one way or another, but Axton was the outsider. All the stories of them growing up had never included Axton at all.
My brow still furrowed, I took a small sip of my water before offering the bottle to Liam. He took a thirsty swallow just as the limo slowed and moments later the door was opened by some skinny guy in a nice suit.
Wroth and Liam both held out their hands to help Marissa out before anyone else had even moved. I hid a smile as Liam took gentle care to assist his sist
er from the car and then climbed out behind her before offering me his hand. I wanted to stop and kiss him but, between the guys complaining to get out behind me and the skinny guy urging us to move forward, I wasn’t able to.
Sighing, I turned and got my first look at what the red carpet at the Grammys was like. Cameras were flashing from all angles, fans and paps alike crying out to everyone who got out of a car. Entertainment television hostesses were stationed at various spots along the carpet leading into the Staples Center.
Picture after picture was snapped as we made our way down the red carpet. We were asked random questions like Who are you wearing or Who do you think will win a Grammy in blah-blah genres. No one asked if I was with Axton and I think Liam actually breathed a sigh of relief when we got to the last stop before entering the building.
As we were ushered toward the entrance, someone called out to Axton and I lifted my head to find Emmie in a gorgeous gray dress iced out in the most amazing diamond necklace I’d ever set eyes on walking toward our group. Axton stepped away and wrapped his arms around her before giving her a kiss on the cheek. I didn’t hear what they were saying but she pulled him back down the red carpet where Drake Stevenson was standing with his wife and Cole Steel. I assumed it was for publicity for America’s Rocker and dismissed Axton from my mind as we were ushered to our seats.
Over the next hour, the chairs around us filled up. Axton sat a few seats behind us with Drake, Lana, and Cole with the other Demons and their wives/girlfriends to our left. People stopped to speak to us and at one point Wroth escorted Marissa to the ladies room. We were pretty close to the stage and I was starting to get a little nervous.
As if sensing my anxiety, Liam caught hold of my hand and gave it a little squeeze just as the lights were dimmed and the award show began. “Relax, little Brie. I’m going to be right here beside you all night.”
I gave him a small smile and bit the inside of my cheek to keep from uttering the words that were almost choking me tonight. I hadn’t dared tell him that I loved him yet. Who knew how he would react if I told him right then? Our relationship was perfect at the moment and there was no way I was going to risk fucking it up by saying three little words that packed the power of a category-five hurricane.
***
I was exhausted after the Grammys, but apparently we still had several more hours to go before I could even dare go home. After-parties were where all the big deals were made in the rock world. I hated them, but knew I had to grin and bear it for at least a little while longer.
Sighing, I lifted my glass of champagne to my lips and took a small sip as I glanced around the extravagant home of some big-shot record label exec. I didn’t remember the guy’s name and really didn’t care, but I did know that refusing to show up at the dude’s party could make or break someone’s career. Of course, the OtherWorld guys knew him.
The little enthusiasm I’d had for this party vanished the second that Emmie and her Demons showed up. They had won the Grammy for Best Rock Single and were ready to party. I’d excused myself and gone to the bathroom when the other rockers and their wives/girlfriends—minus Drake and Lana—had come over to shake hands with the OtherWorld guys. When I’d come back, everyone had been spread around the room and I hadn’t been able to find Liam.
Figuring he’d been off with friends he knew, I’d grabbed a glass of really good champagne from a passing waiter and found a corner to people-watch from. That had been half an hour ago and I was on my second glass of champagne. I didn’t know where Liam was and hadn’t seen anyone else from our group in that time.
Pulling my phone from my clutch, I found I didn’t have any texts from Liam letting me know where he was, and I grimaced. Muttering a curse under my breath, I tossed back the rest of the contents in my glass and exchanged the empty glass for a fresh one.
“Maybe you should try something a little stronger.”
I lifted my head to find Axton walking toward me. There was a grim smile on his face and two tumblers of some kind of amber liquid in each hand. Swallowing the rest of my fourth glass of champagne, I set the empty glass on a small table and readily took the offered liquor from Axton.
Taking a cautious sip, I realized that it was a well-aged whisky and smiled my thanks as I took a bigger swallow.
“Saw the bottle of Macallan and thought of you,” Axton muttered as he took a swallow from his own glass. “I hope Petrova doesn’t get pissed that I opened his 1945 bottle.”
I coughed and nearly spit the whisky out through my nose. Axton’s hand slapped me on the back roughly several times before I could breathe again. When I could, I glared up at him. “You…opened a 1945 bottle…of Macallan?” I wheezed.
He shrugged like it was no big deal and I had to fight back the need to scream at him. I knew how much a bottle of well-aged whisky could cost, and because of my grandfather’s tastes for perfection in his liquor, I had an idea how much a bottle that old of what was perhaps the best whisky on the planet would cost. A bottle of the 1946 had been sold at auction a few years ago and had brought in a hefty four hundred and sixty thousand dollars. All the money had been donated to charity.
I was pretty sure that Petrova wasn’t going to be at all pleased when he found his bottle of 1945 open, whoever the hell Petrova was.
Axton’s grim smile turned warmer and he actually chuckled. “Of course I did. They were out for anyone to taste.”
“Oh, my God,” I groaned.
“Relax, Brie.” Axton laughed. “I’m just kidding you. Petrova poured this himself. He’s got another bottle in his safe somewhere.”
I was ready to throw my glass at my ex’s head, but realizing how rare and expensive the liquid was, I decided to savor the whisky first.
Still grinning, Axton glanced around the room that was almost overflowing with musicians from every genre. “Where’s Liam?”
“No clue,” I told him honestly. “Figured he was off catching up with a few other rockers.”
Axton lifted a brow and his face tightened, but he didn’t say anything else about it. For a long while he stood there beside me, keeping me company in an odd sort of way. I was actually kind of glad to have him there. It made me feel a little more like I belonged at the party. I wished it had been Liam standing there with me, though.
After a while, someone called out to Ax and he excused himself to go speak to the guy who obviously looked like he wanted to talk to him. Left alone, I took the last small sip of my Macallan and decided it was time to find Liam and head home.
The house was even bigger than I’d first assumed, something that was made blaringly obvious to me as I searched both the first and the second floor for Liam. I’d already sent two texts asking where he was and if we could go home yet, but hadn’t gotten a return message.
I was about to give up when I heard Liam’s distinctive laugh coming from behind one of the bedroom doors at the end of the east wing of the gigantic house. I stopped outside the door and pressed my ear against it.
My heart clenched when I heard a female giggle. Clenching my hands at my sides, I was ready to barge in and start scratching eyes out when I heard another laugh that caused me to pause. I was sure I knew the laugh, but couldn’t place it.
Confused, I eased the door open and peeked my head around. Liam was sitting on a chair across from a king-sized bed. Across from him was a girl I didn’t immediately recognize, with dark hair pulled back into an elegant twist and diamonds dripping from her ears and neck. Beside her sat Cole Steel.
I opened the door a little farther and stepped into the room. “Liam?”
His head snapped up and when he saw me standing in the doorway, his face split into a grin. “Hey, Brie. Come in and say hello to Cole and…” He paused and frowned at the chick beside Cole. “What was your name again?”
Disappointment flashed in the chick’s eyes but she gave him a bright smile. I narrowed my eyes on her. Who the hell was this bitch? “Sonja,” she said with a slight accent that I couldn’t p
lace right away. Swedish or maybe even German were my closest guesses.
“Yeah, Sonja. She’s Petrova’s sister or some shit.” Liam stood and I crossed to him, sending the bitch a smirk as he wrapped his arm around my waist.
That’s right, skank. He’s mine.
“It’s good to see you, Cole,” I told the old rocker, not even bothering to acknowledge the chick with a greeting. She wasn’t worth my time or the energy to as much as blink at her.
Cole Steel chuckled. “You too, Gabriella. Saw you drinking some of Petrova’s whisky a few minutes ago with Ax. How was it?”
I shrugged. “Probably the best whisky I’ve ever tasted,” I told him honestly. It was still singing through my blood. “You should try a glass. If Axton hasn’t drunk it all.”
“I might do that.”
“I’m tired, Liam,” I murmured as I snuggled against his side, fighting back a yawn. “Can we go home now?”
“Of course, babe.” He pressed a kiss to my temple before offering his hand to Cole. “Good seeing you, man.” When he turned his blue eyes to Sonja, I instinctively moved even closer to him. I recognized the look in her eyes as hunger and wanted to grab her hair and rip out a few patches to make sure she understood that all she would ever get to do was look when it came to Liam Bryant.
He was mine.
“Nice to meet you, Sonja.” Liam gave her a small smile before grasping my hand and linking our fingers together.
It didn’t take long before we were in the back of the limo heading toward West Hollywood. I curled up against Liam and closed my eyes. All in all, the night hadn’t been bad. I’d received a Grammy and gotten to go home with the man who owned my heart.
Yeah, that made it just about perfect.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Gabriella
TWO YEARS AGO
Jordan’s giggles could be heard from somewhere in my bedroom. I grinned to myself as I took my time searching for him. He loved to hide in my closet and I always let him think he had me fooled for a good five minutes before giving up and pretending to cry because I couldn’t find him. Jordan loved it, ate it up like cake, and always gave me big, wet kisses to console me because I couldn’t find him.