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“I don’t know,” I tell her. “Not after what I saw today. He was a mess. I’ve never seen him so low. He couldn’t even walk straight, plus he was angry. Like a deep, profound kind of anger, not just pissed that I walked in and disturbed his peace. He’s broken.”
“And so are you,” she reminds me as though that thought hadn’t already occurred to me.
“Yeah, well, two broken halves don’t make a whole. It just makes an even bigger mess.”
“Cheers to that,” she says before noticing a candle at the end of the bar. Her brow arches and she rises from her seat like a magician and moves across the bar. She picks it up, holds it to her face, and sniffs for all she’s worth. “Ohhhh. It’s a good kind.”
I roll my eyes and watch as she steals the candle and brings it over to me before shoving it in my face. “Smell.”
“Ughhhh. You know, I haven’t missed your messed-up candle addiction,” I tell her, sniffing the damn thing because I know better than to resist.
“Don’t be silly. Of course you have,” she says, settling it between us and turning our birthday drinks into a romantic night for two with our new mood lighting. “Anyway, so because you’re not stupid and you’re obviously taking this job, I’m assuming this thing you have going with this dude will be coming to an end?”
I cringe, needing another shot. “Yeah . . . about that.”
“I FUCKING KNEW IT!” she says before I even get to tell her what’s up. “There is no guy. You made him up so I wouldn’t be worried about you. And as for that job promotion, there wasn’t one.”
My eyes widen. “How the fuck did you know that?”
“Because I know you, Raleigh Stone. I know when you’re actually excited about something, and I know when you’re just trying to placate me because you feel like your life is falling apart.”
“Why the hell didn’t you say anything?”
“Because you were too far away for me to push you on it and be there to get you blind drunk when you finally admitted it and then turned into a sobbing wreck, but now that you’re sitting right in front of me, those reservations no longer exist. You should have been honest with me since the beginning.”
“I know,” I say with a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t want you to know how far I’d fallen. I’ve been so embarrassed about my situation. I’m barely hanging on, but I’m not your problem to try to fix anymore, and you and I both know you would have been worried sick if I’d told you the truth.”
Her shoulders sink. “Just how bad is it?”
“Trust me,” I whisper, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. “It’s really best you don’t know. But if I accept this job with Louder Records, maybe everything will turn around for me. And even if it doesn’t, at least I would have had a chance to see—”
A noise at the door catches my attention, and I glance up in time to see Dylan and Rock striding into the hotel bar, looking more than ready to cause the best kind of havoc.
“To see who?”
“Those two,” I mutter, nodding behind her shoulder.
Madds glances back, and her eyes practically fall out of her head as she notices the boys striding toward her, and I can just imagine the scene playing out in her mind. This is her ultimate dream, only I’m sure there are a few key differences, say like in her dream, I’m not here, the bar is a bed, and everybody is naked.
“Be cool,” I warn her, knowing not a damn thing has changed with her unhealthy obsession with Demon’s Curse. “They’re just here to have a good time.”
“I am so cool,” she mutters, already swaying from the few shots of tequila.
The boys reach us, and within seconds, Rock is dragging me off my stool and pulling me into the warmth of his strong arms. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” he cheers, and without a doubt, I know it was Ezra who reminded them that today was my birthday, and while he hasn’t said happy birthday to me over the past eight years, I know it’s him who’s responsible for the texts I get every year from the guys. Axel was always terrible with remembering special dates.
I pull out of Rock’s arms and try to balance on my feet, but Dylan is right there, pulling me into his wide chest. “Happy birthday, Rae.”
“You’re on my shit list,” I remind him just in case it slipped his mind.
“I know, but I’m hoping we can get you drunk enough that you don’t remember what an asshole I am,” he says as Rock starts listing off drinks for the bartender to get working on while also taking a moment to let Madds fangirl over him.
“There’s not enough alcohol on the planet that could make me forget that,” I tell him as a wicked grin stretches across my face. “But I might consider forgiving you if you strip naked and do the chicken dance up and down the street.”
Dylan’s face falls. “You’re not serious.”
“I hope you’re up to date on your manscaping.”
“Fuck, Rae. Can I at least keep one hand covering the junk?”
