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He obviously knew about the charity event and the fact I’d plunked down a million bucks to spend the weekend with his daughter. Everyone on the fucking planet knew, thanks to social media and the public’s insatiable thirst for celeb news. Shit, even Bodhi got in my face, and he didn’t give a crap about anything. When the hell had he joined Team Echo?
Axel also knew about our past.
“You understand me, son?”
“Yeah. Got it.”
That was it. There was no more conversation. He’d disconnected before I could even say goodbye, and
I’d been left staring at my cell phone, half pissed off and half relieved.
I turned into the driveway and felt the years fall away as I applied the brakes and took a few moments to take it all in. The entrance to the estate alone was as impressive as hell, but the antebellum mansion it led up to was something out of the movies. It had wide sweeping verandas with massive potted palms, large windows, and the ghosts of an era long gone. I wasn’t a kid anymore. I could appreciate what it meant and what it stood for.
Family. Longevity. Perseverance and hard work.
I slowly accelerated once more and parked my truck next to a purple Volkswagen that had seen better years. The door to the veranda swept open as I headed for the steps, and I spied a young woman with shoulder-length dark red hair and a smile on her face. She pushed wide-framed glasses up her nose and took a few steps forward. Dark blue eyes. Cute-as-hell mouth. Killer legs.
“Georgia.”
Her smile widened as she stepped down. I scooped her into a bear hug, genuinely happy to see her. I hadn’t laid eyes on Marta’s daughter since a couple of years back, when I’d come to hide out after a few months of rabble-rousing—the kind that kept the gossip sites busy. I ended up staying for weeks and did some recording. We kept in touch, but I hadn’t heard from her in a few months.
“Hey,” I said, taking a step back. “This is a nice surprise.”
She laughed. “Is it? The last time you were here, we drank too much tequila and I backed into the side of the studio with your truck. If I remember right, you lost about two days’ recording time.”
I grinned. We’d raised some hell, that’s for sure.
“Aren’t you in school?”
“Taking a break.” She looped her arm through mine. “Decided to visit Mom.”
I knew Georgia well enough to know her showing up here had nothing to do with missing her mother and everything to do with Echo and me. The girls had never gotten along, and, even as a seventeen-year-old, I’d been smart enough not to get tangled up in their shit.
She frowned. “What the hell are you thinking, Boyd? Echo is toxic. You know that.”
“Echo is Echo.” I shrugged. “This isn’t what you think.” Hell, to be honest, I didn’t know what this was about, other than getting Echo all to myself and exploring some things. Music, for one. Her body for another.
“A million dollars?” She made a sound close to disgust. “Don’t you think that’s overkill?”
“It’s for charity.”
“Um, did you forget who you’re talking to?” She shook her head and gave me a look that said, You’re fucking crazy. “Charity is writing a check and going about your day. Or volunteering at an animal shelter if that’s what you need to do. This is next-level stuff. A grand gesture of epic proportions. When did you fall for her crap again? I thought you were smarter than that.”
I like Georgia a lot. Had since the first day I met her. But I wasn’t doing this with her. I knew if she thought I was interested in Echo, in the way that I was interested in Echo, she’d be in my face the entire weekend. I didn’t have time to deal with her shit and mine. ’Cause trust me, there would be shit, and lots of it.
I was about to tell Georgia to butt out when she moved closer and put her hand on my arm. “Boyd, all I’m saying is that—”
The screen door banged open once more, and the girl in question appeared.
Echo stood there dressed in a simple white T-shirt, faded blue jeans, the loose kind that hid her curves, feet shoved into an old pair of Birks. Her hair was tied back, she didn’t have any makeup on, and the look in her eyes would castrate most men. Yet all I could think was, She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
I’d come here determined not to let her get under my skin. To teach her a lesson and break her control. To make her see the things she was blind to. And yet…
The air thickened with something hot and heavy, and I damn near choked on it. How in hell did the girl turn the tables on me without opening her mouth? I needed to get my shit together, and I needed to do it fast. No way was she controlling this situation I’d started that night at the charity event. I just needed a moment to get my game plan in order.
She leaned against the large white pillar, her expression now bored, her tone of voice more so as her eyes landed on mine.
“You might want to move your truck.”
