Just as I'm about to hit the call button, Delilah breaks onto the sidewalk. When she notices me standing at the side, she saunters my way. My blood pumps even faster from the haughty expression on her face. She has a plastic smile, loving the rift she’s made between the executives of our label and the band.
“Nicholas Holt.” Her evil eyes float over my face before dropping to assess my body. With her lower lip caught between her teeth, she murmurs, “I can see a small family resemblance; pity you missed out on the gray eyes.”
Winking at the growl rumbling up my chest, she hops into the back of a black town car that has just pulled to the curb. I watch her leave, confident my earlier assumption was right. I knew I had seen her before, and her comment on the gray eyes makes sense. She must know Isaac.
Once Delilah’s town car disappears into the bustling street, I redial Jenni’s cell phone number and lift my phone to my ear. When my call goes to her voicemail, I leave a message.
After a few deep breaths, I reenter Destiny Records. Not wanting to make a decision about Delilah’s request without talking to Emily, Noah heads to Emily’s university while the band and I make our way to the studio. We’ve got a lot of tracks we can finalize without him, and it will give me time to settle my anger before discussing similar subjects with Jenni. I want to make our relationship public. Not just to the band—to everyone.
I'm in the studio, recording a solo portion of our new song “Tastefully Despised,” when Marcus informs me there’s someone waiting for me outside.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn’t praying it was Jenni.
As I exit the double glass doors of the studio, a pair of arms clamp around my neck before my mouth is attacked by painted lips.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Jenni
Idrive to Hopeton with tears streaming down my face and a shattered heart, confident there’s only one person capable of easing the pain shredding me to pieces. Nick will make everything better, then, once my tears have settled, we’ll work out where we go from here.
As I said earlier, he’ll be shocked to discover I’m pregnant, but I doubt he’ll respond in the manner my mom is claiming.
When I pull onto the curb at the front of the studio Nick has been recording at the past twelve months, I spot him standing outside.
Now, I wish I hadn’t.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Nick
It takes me less than a fraction of a second to realize the tongue sliding along mine doesn’t belong to Jenni. These lips tastenothinglike hers. They don’t have the same wicked sweetness her mouth has, and my body is recoiling from her touch instead of craving it.
I yank away while dragging my hand over my lips, aggressively removing the lipstick before locking my furious eyes with the person assaulting me in broad daylight. I’m at a loss on who the strawberry blonde is until she raises her chin.
Megan.
The fact her new hair color perfectly matches Jenni’s freaks me the fuck out. I rush into the studio, locking the glass door behind me. Even with her fleeing down the street like her ass is on fire, I call the police. Her level of craziness has reached a point I’m no longer comfortable with. It’s gone too far.
If I can’t convince her that I’m not interested in her, maybe the authorities can.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Jenni
Ihave nowhere else to go. Emily and Nicole are at school; my dad’s parents died years ago, and I’ve never met my mom’s parents, so a mere hour after leaving, I pull into my parents’ driveway with my tail firmly tucked between my legs. I sit in my car for several minutes, trying to muster up the courage to walk up the front stairs. I can’t bring myself to do it. My heart was shattered today in more ways than one. First, finding out my dad isn’t my real dad, then witnessing Nick kiss another girl outside his recording studio. I don’t know how much more heartache I can take.
I cowardly hide in my car for another thirty minutes before a tap on my passenger window startles me. When I hit the unlock button, my mom slips into the passenger seat. Even with tears flowing down my face, her angry glare doesn’t slacken.
“You were right.” I choke on my words, utterly confused by how much has changed in a few hours. I swear I could feel the love beaming out of Nick last night, but today, he kisses another girl in broad daylight. That’s not something a man in love would do.
When I drag my hand over my wet cheeks, my mom watches me with concern, but she doesn’t offer me any comfort. She keeps her cool, calm bitch façade firmly in place like she has my entire life. “You need to go back to New York. I’ll arrange everything from here. We will get this taken care of.” She speaks as if she's scheduling a doctor’s appointment for her client instead of killing her own grandchild.
No longer having the strength to argue, I nod. I’m riddled with what I now know is morning sickness, and I’m overwhelmed by fatigue. I’m too exhausted to fight.
“Your flight leaves in an hour.” She hands me a printed voucher for a prepaid flight. The time stamp reveals it was printed before I discovered Nick kissing another girl. “A taxi has been arranged to drive you to the airport.”
After briefly running her eyes over my face, she steps out of my car, leaving me utterly dumbfounded and wholly heartbroken. Not long later, a taxi arrives to take me to the airport. I hop out of my car to collect the suitcase from the trunk. The cab driver kindly assists me in placing my overstuffed bag into the back seat of his idling taxi.
