Stand Close 1 Read online

  He took the beer I offered him and plopped down on my couch. “We had to meet her. We had to see for ourselves who she was. Now Sean’s taken a liking to her.”

  Picking my guitar up, I sat back on the ottoman and hit a few chords on a new song. “Of course you had to meet her. I would’ve been curious, too.” I flipped the page of the notebook and wrote down the chord change to f-sharp.

  He took a swig and looked into the memory. “She’s a piece of work. Acted like she didn’t care about the money. Can you believe it?”

  I raised my eyebrows, trying to picture what she must be like. Shaking my head, I strummed a bit. “No. I really can’t. So, he likes her? Why?”

  Jack’s eyes narrowed. “He believes her act. She said she didn’t want the money, didn’t want to take our inheritance from us, blah blah blah. He fell for it and then treated her like she was already part of the family, taking her side over mine. I shit you not. He did that. She’s not family! Family is earned through years of work, arguments, bad holidays...”

  I interrupted, “Spoken like a guy who needs to see a shrink.”

  He laughed. “Right? Okay, well, my family isn’t going to win the Leave It To Beaver award, but it’s mine. And this girl isn’t a part of it just like that.” He snapped his fingers and a loud crack echoed through the room. “Good acoustics.”

  “Yeah, that’s why I write here. It’s got a natural reverb.” I set the guitar on the floor next to me and got up to get another beer. “When do I get to meet her?”

  “You’re going to hate her,” Jack smirked.

  “You think so?” I opened up the fridge, one of four in my three-story house in the hills. The rows of beer are separated by ten different brands all neatly stacked by my maid, just how I like it. I opted for Dos Equis and popped the cap off as I returned to him. “What’s she like?”

  “Bland. Goody-two-shoes. Not your type at all.” He reached up his half-drunk beer to clink it against mine.

  Giving it a tap, I sat back down, taking a swig after I chuckled, “I’m not interested in dating your secret half-sister, fucker. What kind of friend do you think I am?”

  His eyes lit up and he leaned forward with an idea. “You want to make my fucking life?”

  My eyebrows rose and I looked at him warily. “I don’t like that look in your eyes.”

  He laughed and stuck his tongue on his bottom lip, shaking his head under the pure genius of his plan. I could see it formulating and I was beginning to get the drift of it before he even voiced the words. “Oh man, this is too perfect.”

  Picking up my guitar, I plucked a little. “Lay it on me.”

  “You’re going to break her heart. That’s what you’re going to do.”

  I blinked and paused, my fingers suspending above the strings. Looking at him from under my eyebrows, I asked, “You really want me to do that?”

  “I really want you to do that,” he leaned back with a satisfied smile. “She’s a liar, Alec, You’re going to find that out. You’re going to expose her, because I can’t. I’m her brother, and the way to make her melt is out of my power.”

  I grimaced at the thought. “Yeah, that’s gross, man.”

  He nodded. “But you! You’re free to make her beg. And so that’s what you’re going to do.”

  I chuckled and agreed to the plan. It might be amusing, I figured. And I was feeling bored lately. And honestly? I wanted to find out who she was. What better way to know if what he thought about her, was true? Was she acting like a good girl, or was she really one? And if she was, I’d let her loose. It’d be easy. Just turn off the switch and drop her like she didn’t exist. She’d get over me soon enough. They all did. Except Desiree, but that bitch is crazy. Biggest mistake of my life.

  And now here I am tonight, walking in a sea of women who at the snap of my fingers would drop their panties for me, and all I can think about is his secret half-sister. I’m glad they left. I’m glad Sean found us. I’m glad Jack didn’t. He might have seen it in my eyes that I was toast.

  What the fuck just happened to me?

  When I saw her sitting in the booth with Jack’s arm around her and she met my eyes, a part of me locked into place. I felt it viscerally hit my gut. I had to pull my eyes away from her and look out at the nonsense that surrounded us so I could get ahold of myself. Her face was a mess of smudged mascara and flushed cheeks and frankly, she looked like she’d just been fucked. Instantly, I suspected Jack of having done that, and jealousy made me want to punch his smug face. As I stared at a cluster of girls on the dance floor, I had to talk myself off jumping from the high-rise building I was on. I went through the possibilities and realized I was being crazy. Sean was there. He wouldn’t have let Jack do what I was thinking. It was impossible. Then why couldn’t I stop seeing green? It was brutal, and like nothing I’d ever felt.

  And just now? When I had her alone and she was looking up at me asking me to touch her?

  I wanted to take her against that wall in front of the whole world.

  I wanted to punch Sean for stopping me.

  I wanted to feast on her, and run from her, at the same time.

  “What?”

  I look up, with Joey staring at me from across the bar, his hands on the counter. “Hey Joey.”

  “You just said something about feasting…”

  I cut him off before he can finish. “Working out a new lyric. Get me a beer, would ya?”

  “Ah.” He nods, like it makes sense, my lie. “You got it.”

  I can’t believe I said that out loud.

  Fuck. I’m in trouble.

  He returns and hands me an iPhone and a bottle of Stella Artois. “Hey, Sean left this on the bar. This in the wrong hands…”

  “Yeah, right? Okay. Thanks.” I tuck it into my pocket and turn to face the club, my elbows on the bar as I lean into it, fingers around the bottle comfortably. Suddenly, I get an idea and pull his phone back out, sliding it open. “No password? Sean. Sean. Sean.” I flick through the contacts list until I find her. Phone number. Address. My cock pulls, getting hard again and I swig my beer, warning myself not to do what I’m thinking of doing.

  Fuck it.

  I slam the beer on the bar, toss a twenty with it, nod goodbye to Joey and take off.

  Chapter Eighteen

  RUE

  “Thanks for walking me up. I guess they must have gone home.”

  Even so, Sean glances behind a bush and makes a funny face to make light of reporters stalking us. Us. Wow. I’m an ‘us’ now…

  “You’re all good.”

  I laugh and glance behind him to the car waiting on the street with my less kind brother in it. “Not with him gunning for me, I’m not.”

  A cloud passes over Sean’s blue eyes and he says, quietly. “He needs some time. Let me work on it.”

  “Why are you being so nice to me? You have every reason to hate me.” I search him for an answer, truly astonished. He’s got the kind of trustworthy quality that can’t be denied.

  “It’s not your fault you were born, Rue. We all come with a cross to bear, but this whole thing, you didn’t know. It’s not like you made my dad… our dad…write that will, or keep that secret, or…”

  “Have an affair with my mom,” I finish for him. His lips tighten and we stand in my doorway, silent for a moment. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But still. I appreciate it very much. Thank you.”

  His long eyelashes fall to the ground as he thinks of how to take the gratitude. Looking at him now, sweet and without his brother next to him, he looks almost feminine. Before I have time to look any closer, he raises his head and abruptly knocks on the door. “Well, if you need anything. Just call. We’re going out again, but we’ll be in Hollywood, so it’s not that far.”

  “You’re going back out now?” Mashing my mouth together, I consider asking to come with them. But they dropped me off for a reason. “Oh wow. Yeah, I’m pretty tired.”

  “I figured,” he says, politely.

>   Are they trying to get rid of me? Suddenly, I’m feeling very, very left out. “Yeah, long day.”

  “Yeah. We’ll catch up with you later.” He smiles slightly and turns to go.

  “Sean?”

  He turns around, a couple steps down the cement path. “Yeah?”

  Biting down my feelings, I mutter, “Nothing. Goodnight.”

  He gives a short low wave then flips around, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “G’night.”

  Inside, I stand with my forehead pressed against my front door, wondering if I was too much trouble for them, what with the crying and the Alec thing. I guess they wanted to be rid of me so they could go have fun. Shit, why couldn’t I have been easier to get along with? Did I ruin things already?

  “Please don’t let me have lost them already. I just found them!” I say into the silence of my messy living room. Sighing, I head for the bedroom, beating myself up for all the stupid things I did today and tonight. Did I thank him for the makeover? For dinner? For any of it? I thanked him for being so cool, but when was I cool?

  A knock surprises me and I run back in to answer it, unlocking and swinging the door open wide. “I’m so sorry I was…Oh!”

  Alec glances to the street quickly and cuts his eyes back to me. “Can I come in?” He brushes past me before getting an answer.

  “Of course!” I close the door after sneaking a very quick peek to see if my brothers are still out there. The car is gone. My heart is slamming in my chest as I lock the door and turn to look at Alec Gabriel. We stare at each other, and I can feel my breathing change. The way he’s staring at me is so fucking hot, it takes me a second to realize what’s going on. “They don’t know you’re here, do they?”

  A thick lock of hair falls over his forehead as he shakes his head. He pushes it impatiently back, but it falls again as he strides to me quickly with a look in his eyes that makes my body scream. He pins me against the door, bringing my arms above my head before I even know what is happening. We’re inches apart again and I can feel the heat of his body. His breath has the faintest tinge of beer and his eyes are filled with pain. He brings his mouth just short of touching my lips. My breath is coming in short bursts and I tilt my head instinctively. We’re breathing each other’s air and his lips brush mine ever so slightly, sending a shiver down my rising breasts as I crush them into him. With force he releases me and propels himself across the room, holding his hand to his forehead, his back bent and his eyes on the ground. “I can’t. I can’t,” he mutters under his breath.

  Staring at him, stunned, I push myself off the door and run at him. He rises in surprise and his arms open. I fall into them, taking his face into my hands and kissing him hard as his arms encircle me. We kiss like we’ve never in our lives kissed anyone before now. It’s so fiercely beautiful that my heart aches as our mouths explore each other. We’re grabbing at our bodies, pulling each other tighter, mashing as close as we can get and it’s never close enough.

  “Rue?!” Sean says through the door, knocking loudly.

  Panicked, I push off Alec and he stares at the door, panting. I try to sound normal. “Yeah?”

  “Open the door.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  RUE

  A lec and I exchange a charged look, both of us straightening our clothes and running our hands through our hair. “Hang on! I’m not decent.”

  Sean’s muffled voice answers immediately, “Oh, of course. Take your time.”

  I point to the bathroom. Alec, shaking his head and angry with himself, barrels in with long strides. I run to the front door, unlock it and open it, but not all the way. Sean glances to my dress, his eyes narrowing in confusion. “It was right there, so I just slipped it back on,” I explain with a strange laugh. “Dresses. Only one piece. We’re so lucky.”

  He smiles. “I just wanted to say I saw your face when I left, and I know you felt badly we were going out without you. Like we were trying to get rid of you.”

  With my mind on that amazing kiss, I say on a laugh, “Oh, no. I was fine with it. Really.”

  Sean leans on my doorframe and cocks his head to the side. “No you weren’t. And it was rude of me to tell you we were going out again. We weren’t getting rid of you. It’s just we’re going gambling, and it’s a guy’s club.”

  I blink at this, momentarily surprised. “They still have those?”

  He gives a small chuckle, looking to the side. “Yeah. Anyway, it wasn’t about you. Okay?”

  Touched, I smile at him. I’m trying to take this sweetness in, but the obvious cause for distraction is really making that a challenge. “That’s really nice of you. I’m okay.”

  “We want to get to know you, Rue.”

  “We?” I ask, knowing the answer.

  “I want to get to know you. Jack will come around.” He pushes off the doorframe.

  Impulsively, I grab Sean in a big hug. He laughs and awkwardly hugs me back, which ain’t easy with how I’ve got his arms trapped in a vice grip. “Thank you, Sean. Really. Thank you.”

  He laughs and when I release him, he says, “You still smell like Alec. I’m going to have to tell him to knock off that cologne.”

  With my best attempt at a chuckle, I say, “Ha ha. Yeah.” Just as I’m about to close the door, he stops it with his foot.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, it’s fine. I’m fine. Really, everything’s…”

  “Fine?” He smiles, and I laugh, but then his eyes get very serious and his voice deepens as he touches the doorframe, peeling off a bit of old paint. “Look, Rue, it may not be my place to say anything. I know this brotherly kind of stuff is earned, but I don’t know. I feel protective of you. It’s weird, I know. And Alec… I know him. I know him very well. He’ll break your heart. And not just break it…it’ll be so brittle when he’s done with it that if you dropped it on the ground, it would shatter. He’s a rockstar, Rue. Everything you’ve heard about them is true. I love him, but he’s not ready for anything real. I don’t know if any of us are, but he most definitely tops the list. He wouldn’t be faithful. That life wouldn’t make you happy.”

  My stomach feels like someone’s squeezing it. I look at the floor so as not to look toward the bathroom, hoping desperately that Alec can’t hear this. Defiantly, I ask my new brother, “How do you know what would make me happy?”

  Sean frowns. “What person is happy with infidelity?” I meet his eyes, resisting the truth, but knowing he’s right. “I’m just trying to warn you. Steer clear of him, before it’s too late. Understand?”

  I nod. “Yeah. Okay, g’night.”

  “G’night.” He turns around and walks away as I lock the door again, haunted by what he said as I walk to the bathroom. But the door opens and Alec appears, clearly having heard all of it. He doesn’t look at me as he heads for the window, peering out the curtains and watching as they drive off. “Well, now I know what he thinks of me.”

  “He wasn’t trying to be cruel; he was just being protective of me… and I…” I stop on his abrupt shift of profile. It’s become steel-like–his jaw tight, clenched, angry.

  He walks to leave. “This is the worst thing I’ve ever done.”

  I cry out, surprising both of us, “Don’t say that!”

  He lays his forehead on the door and closes his eyes, just like I did earlier. His knuckles are white, gripping the doorknob. “You know how you said he wasn’t trying to be cruel? The thing is, words are only cruel if they’re true.” He turns the knob and leaves.

  I catch the door before it closes, and call after him, “Alec!” but he doesn’t look back, and with a few more long, quick strides, he becomes the darkness that surrounds him. I stare after him long after he’s gone, wondering from the pain in my heart if Sean was right. But the depth I saw in Alec’s eyes was beautiful. To be on the road all the time, never really connecting. Alec needs someone to love. That’s what I think.

  Chapter Twenty

  RUE

  Still
sleepy from a night of bad dreams, I rub my eyes and take a deep breath. Tap tap tap on the keyboard. The home page for Wells Fargo Bank springs onto the screen.

  I leap off the couch! Running around the room like there’s a spider on me, I stare at the laptop. I know the balance was $858.32, last time I looked, with a savings account of exactly $2,540.00. I was really proud of those twenty-five hundred and forty bucks. But now? I don’t know how I’ll feel if that’s all there is.

  “Okay, you can do this. Get your head out of the sand and take a look.” Determined, I march to the computer and pick it up.

  I sit down.

  I put it on my lap.

  Username: dancingqueen11.

  Password: Iwillmakeit33.

  The screen changes.

  “$50,000,858.32,” stares silently back at me.

  A scream rips out my lungs. Then another scream. I poke at the screen, tapping out the zeros to wrap my brain around it. Don’t I have to pay taxes? I must! Into Google I type, What is the inheritance tax in California? The answer comes up at once, and I scream again. There are only seven states that collect inheritance tax: Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

  I burst into tears, stand up, and throw the computer across the room. It breaks, but I don’t’ care. It was falling apart anyway. Dancing around like a crazy person, I whoop and holler and make strange squeaking noises I’ve never made before.

  My phone rings and I catapult myself across the room to answer it. I’m so glad it’s ringing! I have to share this! I have to tell someone what’s going on! Not recognizing the number, I swipe to answer, “Hello?!”