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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Jade

The last few days since the incident in Tennessee have been a whirlwind.

The media is completely out of their minds with the idea that country music sweetheart Jade Cantrell is involved with rock and roll bad boy Royal Ewing.

Not to mention him punching out an autograph seeker.

It seems like everyone on the street that day got it on video, but in this case, that’s turned out to be a good thing. Anyone watching can clearly see the guy grabbing me and then he swings at Royal first, so at least everyone knows Royal didn’t start it.

The whole thing was jarring, and I have to admit I do feel safer here in L.A.

Not only do we have a security team whenever we go anywhere, but Royal has made it clear that he can protect me too. Which is hotter than hot. I’m not a fan of violence, in general, but there’s something sweet about the way he reacts when anyone gets near me without my permission.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it.

Today, however, is something else entirely.

Sunday Dinner with Royal’s family.

I won’t even pretend I wasn’t intimidated when we first arrived.

Royal doesn’t have to spell it out for me to know this is a big deal.

He doesn’t bring girls home to the family.

Ever.

And yet, here I am, sitting around a table playing Connect Four with a very competitive three-year-old who isn’t planning to go down without a fight.

Her little face is scrunched in concentration, her chin resting on her fist as she levels narrowed eyes in my direction.

“You’ve played this before,” she says, a slightly accusatory tone to her voice.

“I have,” I say solemnly. “My grandpa used to play with me when I was your age.”

“That’s not fair. You’ve been playing for years.” She sighs dramatically.

It’s all I can do to bite back my laughter.

She’s beyond adorable.

Smart and sassy but also sweet and curious about everything.

And she adores her Uncle Royal.

It’s incredible to watch them together.

He probably doesn’t realize it, but he will make an amazing father.

Which gets my ovaries practically swooning with excitement.

Not that I want a baby any time soon, but Royal’s baby?

Oh, yes.

With my light hair, his blue eyes, and definitely his height. And my vocal chords.

It’s all I can do not to giggle at the thought.

Except Frankie is waiting for me to make my move.

And when I do, I’m going to win.

I meet Royal’s gaze across the table, and he seems to understand my hesitation. He gives me a barely perceptible nod so I go ahead and declare victory. Frankie looks shocked at first, and then to my surprise, everyone starts laughing.

“She lets everyone win the first time they play,” Royal whispers, grinning. “Then she moves in for the kill in game two.”

I roll my eyes. “Fine. We’ll see.”

“All right.” Briar looks at Frankie. “You need to get cleaned up before dinner and let us adults have a little time with Jade too. You’ve monopolized her since she arrived.”

“But she’s my friend!” Frankie protests.

“She’s our friend too,” her mother responds. “You’re going to play guitar for her after dinner, but now, we’re going to have grown-up talk.”

“Fi-ine.” Frankie makes a face but gives in good-naturedly.

“She’s so cute,” I say when she’s taken the Connect Four game back to her room.

“Full of piss and vinegar sometimes,” Briar grins, “and she keeps all five of us on our toes.”

“Imagine how boring it would be if she didn’t,” I say.

“There’s that,” Briar agrees.

“I hope this little one is a little less interesting as I get later in my pregnancy,” Aspen murmurs, rubbing her belly. “I’m so tired of being nauseated.”

“Do you need anything?” Mrs. X asks her. The older woman, who seems like a cross between housekeeper and mother hen, has been bustling around the kitchen, refusing to let any of us help. She’s finally sitting down, but I notice how she hovers around Aspen.

Well, they all seem to.

“I’m fine,” Aspen says with a soft smile. “I took the anti-nausea meds because I didn’t want to spend the whole day puking in front of poor Jade. Except I forgot how sleepy they make me.”

“Don’t worry about me,” I say, shaking my head. “You can puke or nap or whatever else you need to do. I’ll probably just be in Frankie’s room losing at Connect Four anyway.”

Everyone chuckles.

Aspen nestles into Banks’s side, her eyelids heavy, and I can’t help but notice how much love there is in the room. It’s almost palpable, the way they care about each other.

I’ve never had relationships like this one. Not since my grandmother died. But even then, it was different. She loved me to pieces, but she was from a different generation, where she worried about appearances, behavior, manners, and lots of other things that kept her from being physically affectionate.

That’s not the case here.

“I’m going to check the brisket and put some bread in the oven,” Briar says, giving Mrs. X a look. “You stay right there.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Mrs. X winks at me as I get up.

“I’ll help,” I say, following Briar into the kitchen.

“You don’t have to do anything,” she says over her shoulder. “You should spend time with Royal.”

“Royal and I spend plenty of time together.” I laugh. “I came here to spend time with all of you.”

“I’m sorry if Frankie has been monopolizing your time,” she says, pulling a loaf of bread out of the freezer. “She’s really excited that you’re Royal’s special friend.”

I laugh. “To be fair, I’m kind of excited about that too.”

We laugh for a moment before she sobers.

“We’ve been so worried about him,” she says softly. “He hasn’t been the same since the accident, and now, finally…well, he seems like himself again. I mean, he won’t ever be who he was before, but at least he’s living again.”

“Wasn’t he living before?” I ask curiously.

“Not really. The only time he left the house was to come to family dinner or spend time with Frankie. Occasionally, he’d meet the guys up at The Sapphire Room, but other than that, he was a hermit. It scared me. Scared all of us. But we couldn’t seem to reach him.” She pauses, smiling again. “And then came you.”

I flush. “Well, he’s special. I’m sure you already know that.”

“I do, but the two of you as a couple caught us by surprise. After Amber?—”

She cuts off as Mrs. X comes into the kitchen.

“I’m just here to be nosy,” she says before Briar can say anything. “Not to fuss with dinner. Aspen fell asleep so the guys are talking hockey, and you know I’m only good for about two minutes of that slap shot crap before I get bored.”

Briar laughs. “That’s okay. We were just about done in here. Dinner won’t be for another half hour or so.”

We head back to the family room, and I pause in front of the fireplace mantel.

“Good golly, Miss Molly, who is that ?” I ask, staring at a framed picture of an incredibly good-looking man.

“That’s Colt,” Briar says softly, coming to stand next to me.

Colt .

Royal’s friend who died.

The one they honor every year on his birthday.

Whoa Nellie, he was easy on the eyes.

“Well, he was hot,” I say.

“He was.” Briar is almost wistful as she stares at the picture.

“That Colt was one hell of a tall drink of water,” Mrs. X says loudly, playfully fanning herself.

“Ew.” Dash makes a face. “Did you just call Colt a tall drink of water?”

“What if I did?” Mrs. X asks, arching a brow. “You think just ’cause I’m old I don't have eyes? I bet the ladies were falling all over themselves to get to him in college.”

Banks snorts. “That they were.”

“Did he have a girlfriend when he died?” I ask, looking over at the guys.

Atlas shakes his head. “He was way too busy playing the field. He said he never wanted to settle down.”

“He just hadn’t met the right woman,” Mrs. X says. “Someone eventually would have snatched him up.”

“Not Colt.” Banks shakes his head.

“You realize you used to say the same thing, right?” Dash nudges him.

“Fuck off.” He scowls at his friend.

They trade a few insults, and Briar tells them to shut up so they don’t wake Aspen.

Royal gets up and comes over to where I’m perusing the rest of the photos on the mantel.

Briar and Frankie at what appears to be a christening ceremony.

Briar, and the guys—all five of them—at her college graduation.

Royal holding Frankie as a newborn.

“When was this?” I ask, pointing to the picture.

He smiles. “She was just a few hours old. I couldn’t stop staring at her. Holding her. She was just this perfect, tiny little angel.”

“Were you in the delivery room with her?”

He nods. “I was. Her parents were stuck out of the country, and Dash was too grossed out about seeing his sister’s vagina to do it. Atlas is too much of a control freak—he knew he couldn’t handle seeing her in pain like that. And Banks was on a road trip. Which left me. One of the best moments of my life, watching Frankie come into the world, holding Briar’s hand…It was an emotional day, less than six months after Colt died, so we were still pretty raw. Frankie helped us heal.” He clears his throat. “I guess she’s still helping. Especially with me.”

I slide my arm through his. “She’s a special little girl. And you’re a very special man.”

He looks down at me. “If you keep saying stuff like that, I might start to believe you.”

“You should.” I lean against him, and he wraps an arm around my waist.

“I’m really glad you’re here,” he says. “With me. With us. Everyone likes you.”

“And I like them.”

I could get used to being part of a family again.

This family.

Royal’s family.