Page 3

CHAPTER THREE

S quinting at the bright lights, I blinked a few times and then focused on the man sitting behind a table. He was laughing at something someone said, not even looking my way, so I got to study him. He looked just as I remembered, only better.

No one else in the room existed but him.

My throat felt tight. I reached up and wrapped a hand around it, squeezing.

Breathe, Swan. Breathe.

I shouldn’t have done this. I shouldn’t have come.

Yet my feet moved me towards the table like they had their own brain.

When I got close, he glanced over at me.

My heart spazzed out when his eyes widened.

I froze when he stood abruptly, which made his chair tip backwards.

“Swan,” he said. “Fucking Swan. What the hell?” He walked around the table and right up to me.

I let out a sound as he picked me up and hugged me tightly.

Tears filled my eyes. I wrapped my arms around him to return the embrace, completely and utterly stunned by his actions.

He placed me back on my feet, our eyes studying each other. He looked tired. No, exhausted. Yet he was smiling big and truly seemed happy I was there.

My heart skipped a beat.

I never thought this would have been his reaction.

“I didn’t think you’d come.”

A huff escaped me. I nearly hadn’t. “Why?”

“You ghosted me for fucking years, Swanny. What else would I think?”

Scrunching my face up, I shook my head. “No,” I whispered quickly, urgently. “ You ghosted me. I didn’t think you’d want me to show my face.”

His head jerked back. “What? I texted, rang, emailed, and nothing.”

“Lock, I did the same and got nothing in return.”

My brain threatened to short out. He did what? He tried to contact me?

What the hell had happened? Where did we go wrong?

He blinked slowly and then clenched his jaw as he looked over his shoulder. Whatever he thought, he obviously didn’t like.

But then he shook himself and faced me again, smiling bright.

“Doesn’t matter now. I have you back in my life, and I want it to stay that way, Swan. Hear me?”

“Yes.” I nodded, my body warming from the certainty in his tone.

He cupped my cheeks, making my belly flutter. “Missed you like crazy, Swanny.”

I sniffed. “Missed you too, Lock.”

He grinned and hugged me again.

There was a commotion near the door, and I heard, “You can’t look in. Wait your turn.”

I laughed, glancing back towards the entry and then to Lockland. “I’m not sure if you remember them, but that’ll be Maya, Texas, and Josh, who goes by Ruin.”

Lockland nodded. “He joined the club?”

“He did.”

“Cam, let them in,” Lockland called.

The security shook his head. “Can’t, sir. The rules are one person?—”

“Cam, I know them. Let them through.”

Cam nodded and opened the curtain.

Maya was in first, then Texas, Ruin, and Wolf.

“Maya and Texas are married. Ruin and Wolf are also married,” I told Lockland.

“Exactly, he’s a taken man,” Ruin said, holding up Wolf’s hand and pointing at Wolf’s finger where the wedding band lay.

Lockland chuckled. “Got it.” He curled an arm around my shoulders and held his hand out to Texas, then Ruin, and finally Wolf. Maya and I shared a quick look; both of us flared our eyes at each other, which made us laugh. Lockland winked at Maya. “Hey, Maya. How’s the family?”

“Really well. So,” she drew out. “You stopped talking to Swan. Why?”

“Maya,” I said.

“No, it’s fine.” He chuckled. “And understandable. We were so close for many years. The best of friends, and then nothing. It crushed me when I thought Swan ghosted me, and I can only presume Swan felt like that too.”

“How did this happen?” Maya asked.

“It’s something we’ll have to figure out with time. But now that I’ve seen her—” He smiled down at me. “—you’re not getting rid of me again.” He hugged me once more. “Fuck, Swanny, I’ve missed the hell out of you.”

Tears welled, and my throat thickened, but I managed to get out, “Me too.”

“Mr Humphrey, sorry, but we need to move this along.”

“Fuck,” he clipped but nodded. “Let me actually get your right number,” he said to me and took out his phone. I told him my number, and he saved it in there. “I’ll text you later. Are you still in the same place?”

I nodded.

“Can we get a photo still?” Maya asked.

Lockland grinned. “Yeah, of course.” We went and stood in front of the table. Lockland still had his arm around my shoulders as Maya, Texas, Ruin, and Wolf all closed in around us for the photographer.

I wasn’t even sure I smiled when he called for us to. I was too busy staring up at Lockland, worried that if I looked away, none of this happened.

He was thrilled to see me.

He had my number.

He was going to text.

He wanted to see me again.

We could get back to what we were and then maybe more.

* * *

I paced my room and kept glancing at my phone on my bed. Earlier we’d left Lockland in the room and waited in the next one for the photo. My face ignited when I saw myself gazing up at Lockland in awe. After that, Maya, Texas, and I said goodbye to Ruin, Wolf, Ryo, and Link. They headed back to Melbourne, where they lived, while the three of us went to grab some food before they dropped me home.

Reaching up, I touched my lips.

I was smiling again.

Maya had even commented on how happy I looked when we’d been eating.

I couldn’t stop the joy from showing after seeing Lockland.

His reaction had blown me away. I was still in shock. I told Maya how grateful I was for her friendship and forcing me into going.

If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have known it was a miscommunication between us.

We just couldn’t reach each other.

It was strange, but we’d figure out how it happened.

A knock sounded on my door.

“Come in,” I called.

Dad opened it and leaned against the frame. He crossed his arms over his chest and raised a brow.

“Mum told you who I saw. Did she also tell you that he’d been trying to contact me while I was trying to reach him? We’re not sure how it happened, but miscommunication wasn’t meant to happen. All these years he still wanted to talk to me, Dad.”

“I won’t kill him. But, sweetheart, guard your heart still.”

“Dad,” I whispered. The worry in his tone softened my reaction, but he needed to remember I wasn’t a little girl anymore.

“No, listen. You two haven’t seen each other in years, Swan. You’ve both grown up. Things that happen in our lives change us, and no doubt, with what he’s had to deal with, it’s changed him. Get to know the person he is now. Don’t rely on him being the boy you knew back then. Yeah?”

I smiled. “I will, Dad. Promise.”

He looked pained when he clipped, “Fuck me.” He straightened up and added, “He doesn’t sneak into your bedroom like he did back in the day. Thank your Mum that I didn’t kill him back then like I wanted to. If he comes here, he does it through the front fuckin’ door, Swan.” He huffed out an annoyed breath. “I wanna talk to him too.”

“Dad—”

“No arguing about it. I know you’re an adult now, but you still live under my roof. I’m always gonna be lookin’ out for my baby girl.”

“Okay, Dad.” I could give him that. He worried a lot about all of us, and I didn’t want to concern him more when it came to Lockland. I needed Dad to be okay with him.

“Love you, kid.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

He tipped his chin up at me and pulled the door closed.

Wow . They’d known Lockland used to come into my room. A laugh escaped me. I wondered how Mum had managed to keep Dad away. Then again, Lockland and I had only ever been friends. We’d been so young too. Mum also knew I didn’t understand my feelings for Lockland until it was too late and he was gone.

There was another knock at my door. “Yeah?”

My brother stuck his head in. “I heard Lock’s back. Do you think you can get an autograph for me?”

Smirking, I asked, “I didn’t think you liked his music, Nicky.”

“ I don’t, but Aeila does.”

I sat down on my bed and grinned up at him. Even at sixteen he looked older since he was nearly six feet.

“Is there anything I need to know about you two?”

He stepped into my room with a glare. “No. We’re just friends. Friends do shit for each other.”

“Hey, I’m not hinting at anything, just asking.”

He shrugged. “Sorry. I’m just sick of people sayin’ crap at school about us when it ain’t true.”

“It’s okay. I understand. But you know you can tell me anything, right? Even about the annoying kids.”

“Yeah, I know.”

My phone chimed. It was embarrassing how quick I dove on it.

Which Nicky found highly amusing if his laughter was to go by.

“Shut up,” I told him as I stared down at the unknown number. My heart and belly fluttered together. Opening it, I dipped my brows in confusion. “Come outside?” I read aloud. I gasped, looking up at Nicky. “He’s here?”

Nicky’s eyes rounded, and he was the first out the door, but I was close behind him as we raced downstairs.

Mum and Dad were curled up together on the couch in the living room watching something. Their gazes switched to us when they heard us coming.

“What’s goin’ on?” Dad asked.

“Lockland’s outside. You gonna kick his arse, Dad?” Nicky asked. That was all he was rushing for?

Dad’s jaw clenched. “Bit late for a visit.” He stood from the couch.

“Dad, I’m going out to see him.”

“Grady,” Mum said. He glanced back at her.

Dad sighed, and I knew he was about to give in and let me go out there. That was until we all heard a car door slam as someone shouted, “You fucking followed me here.”

Dad stalked to the door and threw it open. I stepped onto the front porch after him, and Nicky and Mum followed. We stopped when we saw Lockland throwing a hand towards his mother and the car she’d come in.

“Leave. I have nothing else to say to you.” He sounded the angriest I’d ever heard him. Lockland had always been laid-back. He got annoyed, but he never held a grudge.

“Lockland, I’m your mother. All I do is look out for you.” She clicked her fingers, and guards got out of her car.

Lockland laughed without humour. “You going to get the guys to drag me back to the hotel?”

They hadn’t even noticed we were watching.

“I’m only looking out for you,” she repeated.

Alisa Humphrey did love her son. But I always knew she gained more out of Lock’s fame than he did.

“What the fuck is goin’ on?” Dad asked before he jumped down the porch steps and approached.

Alisa turned to my father and curled her upper lip in disgust.

As soon as she had that expression on her face, my mother reacted, just like I knew she would.

“What the fuck are you screwing your nose up at my husband for?” she demanded, leaping down the stairs and overtaking Dad’s approach. Nicky and I raced their way too. Worry twisted me up, but there was a large amount of annoyance as well from Alisa’s reaction. Nicky just grinned like a fool.

“Ah, Deanna, I see and hear you’re still your charming self.”

“Mum,” Lockland snapped.

My mum laughed. “I don’t need to be charming around a money-hungry w?—”

“Babe,” Dad clipped, curling an arm around her waist. “Let’s hear what’s goin’ on before the name-callin’ starts.”

“Fine,” she bit out. She waved a hand at Alisa.

Only it wasn’t Alisa who explained; it was Lockland. “It was because of Mum we lost contact,” he told me as he walked my way and stopped at my side. “She blocked your number and email and then replaced them with slightly altered ones.”

My eyes widened as I looked at Alisa.

She scowled at me but said to her son, “I did it for your own good. You missed this backwards town too much. I knew communicating with her would drag you back here, and you’d turn out to be like the rest of them. You can do so much better than that fat cow?—”

Lockland stepped towards his mother. “Don’t you fucking dare talk about Swan like that. Get the hell out of my sight. We’ll finish this shit when I want to see your face again. Don’t count it’ll be anytime soon.”

“Son—”

“Leave,” he bellowed.

Alisa took us all in. She opened her mouth, but Mum got there first. “Whatever you want to say, don’t. Not after the shit you’ve just spewed.”

“You—”

Dad moved Mum to the side and took a step forwards. I saw the guards tense. “Fuckin’ leave,” Dad snarled.

Alisa huffed but turned and ordered, “Let’s go. Lockland, you have an interview tomorrow morning.”

“Cancel it.”

She spun back. “Lockland, you can’t do that at the last minute. Think of your reputation.”

“This is what you get when you try and control my life.”

She sneered at me. “This is your fault?—”

Lockland snorted. “There’s no one else to blame but yourself, Alisa .”

She slammed her mouth shut and winced.

When Lockland and I were close, he’d never called her Alisa. She was always Mum.

Now she knew how upset her son really was.

But I also didn’t want him to say anything he couldn’t take back, and the way his chest heaved told me he was getting more worked up.

Taking a step forwards, I reached out for his hand. When he glanced back, I said, “Inside?”

He nodded, and together we walked away from her.