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Since Luca had destroyed her, however, Vi wasn’t completely trustworthy, and I was questioning the feeble promise she’d given me earlier that afternoon.
The next day was going to be nonstop busy with first a photo shoot and then a commercial for the same client in the afternoon, so my parents had asked to borrow Aunt Emmie’s company jet so we could travel without having to worry about all the curious people and the risk of delays with a commercial flight.
But I should have realized we wouldn’t be the only ones using it.
I’d barely flopped inelegantly into a seat and fastened my belt when Uncle Nik came on with Dad. The adults took a seat on the sofas that faced each other, and I held my breath, hoping beyond hope that Uncle Nik was the only one joining us, while my heart pounded with anticipation at the thought of who else might be accompanying us on this trip.
Around me, the flight attendant was offering everyone drinks and snacks, while the pilot kept us updated that we would be ready for takeoff momentarily. Just as I was starting to relax, Jagger came strolling on to the plane. He had a baseball cap on backward and aviators that covered half of his handsome face. His jeans rode low on his hips, and his blue button-up matched the color of my eyes.
“Thanks for joining us,” Uncle Nik snarked as he turned from his conversation with my parents. “Two more minutes and I would have been going to New York without you. While I don’t mind filling in for your commitments, I think your mom would have been pissed.”
Jagger shrugged as he dropped down into the seat directly across from mine. Even with his sunglasses shielding his eyes, I could feel his gaze burning into me. “Yeah, just making sure no one had time to make a run for it if I showed up too early.”
While the others weren’t looking, I flipped him off, earning me a smirk.
“Where is Aunt Emmie?” I asked, turning my gaze to Uncle Nik.
“She’s handling something for the Tainted Knights guys this weekend,” he informed me. “Otherwise, it would have been her going with this dipshit this weekend, and I could have stayed and snuggled with my Little Em.”
“Why not send Shaw to be Jagger’s assistant tomorrow night?” Mom suggested, and I shot her a glare. She only winked and turned her attention to Jagger’s dad. “I mean, we’re old. We would only cramp their style—or whatever the hell parents do to embarrass kids these days.”
Dad snorted as he accepted the mug of coffee from the flight attendant. “What the hell is he doing anyway?”
“Performing on SNL,” Uncle Nik said with a grimace.
I gasped then quickly pressed my lips together, while Mom and Dad laughed. They thought it was hilarious that Jagger was performing solo on the one show my brother had always coveted performing live on. To them, it was one more thing my brother was missing out on because he’d fucked up. It was one more punishment they felt he deserved.
It wasn’t that performing on SNL was a make-or-break kind of thing that would put my brother on the map. He and Jagger were already on top of the charts. There were already talks of the two of them headlining tours, which was where the real money was in the music world. But for my brother, he’d always said that one of his top ten things to do once his career took off was perform—or even guest star—on his favorite show.
Part of me wanted to text Cannon and rub it in his face that his best friend was going to do one of the things he’d always hoped to do. But another part felt sorry for the poor dumbass.
I hadn’t seen him since he’d left for military school. He was supposed to come home for Thanksgiving, but he’d gotten into some trouble. I had no idea what he’d done, but Mom said he was supposed to spend the entire Thanksgiving break cleaning every toilet on campus.
Then for Christmas, he’d gotten into trouble yet again, and Mom and Dad had flown out for a few days after Christmas to be with him. I’d flown to Knoxville to spend some time with Kenzie and Bishop, not wanting to give Cannon the gift of my time. My parents h
adn’t said anything about my decision. I figured they didn’t want to push either of us where our relationship was concerned in case it made things worse. Knowing those two, they probably thought we would eventually hug and make up if given enough time.
But while I would admit I did kind of miss the asshole, I had zero plans for ever forgiving him for what he’d put Violet through. My loyalty was first and forever with her. Maybe if she forgave him one day, I would think about doing the same. But until that small miracle happened, Cannon was out of luck.
“Shaw should definitely be my assistant tomorrow night,” Jagger told Mom. “Then you three can just chill at the hotel all evening.”
“Or not,” I muttered. “I’m going to be exhausted after working all day.”
“If she has to be your assistant tomorrow night, then you should be hers all day tomorrow,” Dad cut in.
“Seems fair to me,” Uncle Nik agreed.
“Deal,” Jagger said before I could pick my jaw up off the floor where it had fallen at my father’s ridiculous suggestion.
“Perfect,” Mom said as she sat back and crossed her long legs.
“But—” I broke off, trying to figure out a plausible excuse that would get my mom to relent. “What if I need help with my wardrobe changes? Jagger can’t just…”
“That’s what the seamstress and stylist are there for, sweetheart.” Mom waved off the excuse before I could even fully form it. “And he’s seen you in a bikini plenty of times.”
“Yeah, Dimples,” Jagger agreed, his eyes skimming over me hungrily. With him sitting in the seat facing me, his back was to our parents so they couldn’t see the provocative way he was looking at me. I felt my body responding to his appraisal, my heart pounding against my rib cage. “Didn’t I see you in one just the other day?”
Muttering a curse under my breath, I kicked out my leg, connecting with his shin.
