Sammi eyed Jamie apprehensively but didn’t miss his silent SOS.
“Yeah, she’s been getting on great with everyone,” she added. “I’ve been talking with her about the article, and it sounds like she and Jamie have a good flow.” Her voice lifted. “And it’s gonna be fun. You remember fun, right?”
Jamie Sr. grunted, flipping another page. “I remember we’re days out from what will be his biggest album yet.”
“If Sammi says we can trust her, I see no problem with it,” Tex said. “All press is good press, ain’t that right?”
“I’ll vouch for her,” Sammi said. Jamie cast her a grateful glance, and she nodded in solidarity.
“She should come,” Jamie said, a little louder. His father eyed him like he was a talking dog on a tricycle.
“Great, I’ll text her,” Sammi said, already tapping on her phone.
Tex crashed his hands together like cymbals. “I can’t wait to get out on the jet skis.”
“And I can’t wait to say I told you so when you wipe out,” Sammi cracked.
Tex hooked his stout arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry, darlin’. I’m taking you down with me.”
Sammi cackled as they ambled through the double doors.
Jamie shoved his hands in his pockets, ready to be anywhere but there. “All right, well, I guess I’ll see you later.”
Jamie Sr. shuffled his papers, then set them down. “One more thing. Anything you say, she’s gonna use it if it’ll serve her story.”
Unbeknownst to him, that was the whole damn point.
“I know.”
“Remember, she’s not one of us.”
That stopped Jamie cold. “Are you saying that because she’s Black?” he asked, rage percolating despite keeping his tone even. “For goodness’ sake?—”
Jamie Sr. scoffed. “Boy, don’t insult me. She’s not one of us because she’s looking for a weakness to exploit. Something that’ll look good on a cover and sell copies.”
“You don’t know her like I do,” Jamie said quietly, his nerves in a cage fight with his racing heart.
Jamie’s father leaned back, a dark smile on his face. “I know you signed a contract.” He rose from behind the desk and crossed to his son. “So, when you see Kendall, who I invited, take some photos together. It’ll be great for the album.”
Jamie clenched his fist as his father outstretched his hand. He shook it anyway.
His father turned back toward his desk, but not before twisting the knife a little deeper between Jamie’s ribs. “Oh, and happy birthday, son.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
It was a sticky ninety degrees outside, not a cloud in sight. The kind of day that demanded as little clothing as possible to be worn, drinking copious amounts of frosty beer, and then plunging into the chilled depths until the last streak of sunlight left the sky.
Jamie’s birthday party was lively inside the two-story boathouse, which was tucked along the shore. Crisp white linen daybeds anchored the wraparound porch on each level, ensuring that a bad view of the lake was impossible. Liza had catered Jamie’s favorites: tangy hot chicken sliders on glossed honey butter biscuits, crispy steak and jalapeño quesadillas, chopped salad, and charcuterie and fruit standing at attention on rustic wooden platters.
The pièce de résistance, however, was a seven-layer caramel cake with homemade butter pecan ice-cream. Icy buckets of beer were parked every few feet and makeshift bar stations slung top-shelf hospitality at every turn. A fleet of jet skis and a pontoon boat beckoned like a mirage, and plump inner tubes towered on the slated swimming platform halfway across the lake.
Tex and Sammi had truly outdone themselves. Jamie always appreciated them, but this show of love drove home how much of a family they’d become. Even if that family had a trove of secrets. But he wouldn’t dwell on that right now.
Jamie found Cory and his wife, Priyanka, perched on a daybed on the ground level. As Cory bounced their squealing daughter, Mia, on his knee, he looked so content. Priyanka laughed as Mia squished fistfuls of her thick, raven hair.
That kind of peace once seemed impossible. But that was before Brinton filled Jamie up with promise.
“Happy birthday,” Cory and Priyanka shouted in unison as Jamie plunked down next to Cory.
