Page 58 of Perfect Composition

— Sexy&Social, All the Scandal You Can Handle

“Did you ever fall out of love with her?” Austyn asks me after the pilot announces we’re descending into a regional airport in Austin.

“What day is it?” I ask in return.

“Thursday.”

“Nope. It’s a day that ends iny,” I quip.

Austyn doesn’t even crack a smile. “If the two of you who had such intense feelings for each other can’t make it, I’m afraid for the rest of us. What hope is there for love?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where is this coming from?” I’m as unprepared for this as much as I was for the dick pic that appeared on her iPad when she was in the bathroom earlier and her cool “Please, Beckett. I’ve seen more of your naked ass in the tabloids than one child should see of their father. You seeing a random cock shouldn’t shock you in the least.”

“Nothing is ever forgotten once it hits the internet.” God, I of all people know that.

She shrugged nonchalantly. “And that’s why we have Uncle E.”

That piqued my interest enough to distract me away from the men’s genitalia on her Liquid Retina display. “What is Ethan doing these days?”

“Well, there’s what his storefront says he does, and then there’s what he really does.”

“What’s the difference?” I asked.

“One means I don’t ever have to worry about pics like these associated with my name. Ever.” She tapped her pad.

I barked out a laugh. Then. Now I’m not laughing as we eat up the miles in seconds, but it’s still not fast enough to get to Paige.

Long minutes go by before red-rimmed eyes meet mine. “There’s you and Mama, two people who each nurtured this unshakeable love, but other people who had nothing to do with it came in and managed to take it over. What kind of hope does that offer the rest of us?”

I school my face over what Austyn unwittingly gave away. I won’t know if she spoke the truth until we land and I’m standing in front of Paige again, but if she’s right… “You said it yourself.”

“What do you mean?” Confusion mars her beautiful face.

“Other people. I did it first, your mother next. We allowed other people to come into our relationship. If I’d just stuck to the plan, then the only two people to make or break us would have been the only two people who mattered. Her and me.”

The wheels of the plane touch down just as I finish. Austyn’s hands cover her face to hide her tears. “I just hope she’s all right.”

“I’m sure she is.”

“Thank you for bringing me.” Austyn drops her hand and reaches for mine.

I hold her hand until we’re given permission to deplane to the waiting SUV. As for me, it’s time to go find Paige and demand answers for what she put our daughter through.

Our daughter. A crazy smile lights my face. I’ve sung in front of tens of thousands of people, and yet, following Austyn off that plane, I don’t think I’ve ever quite felt quite so alive.

The caravan of SUVs comes to a stop on the outskirts of Kensington in a modest but pretty development. “Is this it, Ms. Kensington?” Kane calls from the driver’s seat.

“Yes. That’s her car.” Austyn reaches for the handle, but I quickly lean over and stop her.

“Kane, go.” The former Marine jerks up his chin before sliding from the car. The other Hudson agent remains in the car with us. Before the chambers of my heart can fully rotate in sequence, the locks on the car are engaged. Several other men from the other vehicles have done the same, breaching the fence to slip into Paige’s backyard. “I just pray like hell she’s not in the back.”

“I hope so too. What the hell is going on, Beckett?” Austyn shouts. Her fingernails dig into the skin of my hand.

“They’re making sure she’s safe,” I tell her brutally, not hiding the truth from her.

“But…why? Mama’s an audiologist. Why would someone want to…you?”

“Money,” I inform her succinctly. “I have quite a bit of it.”