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He’d argued that I didn’t need to pick him up at all. They had BMWs to cart him around as part of the service. But I’d called him a pretentious prick, and he’d agreed to let me pick him up.
I pulled up in front of the private entrance, and a second later, he exited, looking like the rockstar he was—Ray-Bans, leather jacket, and all. Campbell had always had his own style and never cared what anyone thought. But since he’d gotten famous and had designers working with him, he’d grown from a little punk kid into what he was now. And as ridiculous as it was, he could even pull off leather pants.
“Hey, fucker,” I said as he opened the door.
He shot me a look. “At least you keep me down-to-earth.”
“That’s what I’m here for.”
He slung his leather duffel and rolling suitcase into the back and dropped into the passenger seat. “Fuck, it’s good to be out of the airport. The last leg across Asia was rough. I’m going to be jet-lagged for days.”
“You up for this wedding?”
Campbell ran a hand back through his hair. “Yeah, sure. Why not? If I fall asleep on my feet, it’s not my fault.”
“I’ll be sure to let Peyton and Isaac know.”
Campbell yawned. “Wake me when we get there.”
“You’re going to want to be awake to hear this.”
He tipped his head at me. “Hear what?”
I explained to him what had happened with Nora, August, and Tamara. His expression went from puzzled to furious in a matter of minutes.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Nope. I saw it myself.”
Campbell’s face darkened further. “Where does he live?”
“Plotting an arson?”
“Ah, good call, brother,” he said. “I was thinking we beat the shit out of him, but sure, let’s burn his house down.”
I laughed sardonically. But Campbell looked serious. I’d told Piper that I was glad Campbell hadn’t been there. He had a temper. It always ignited around our dad. They’d almost come to blows a few times when he was in high school. I worried about his image out on the road if he ever lost it like that in public. But so far, I hadn’t seen anything. I hoped August wasn’t stupid enough to show his face. It would take a lot of effort to not let Campbell cave his face in.
“Nah, we’re not going to do anything else.”
Campbell ground his teeth together. “He deserves to pay.”
“Yeah, he does. But it’s not up to us.”
“How is she?”
“A mess.”
“Fuck,” Campbell said. “Well, I guess I won’t sleep then.”
I nodded at him. He understood in the way that only my brother could. Nora was a total wreck. She might try to play it off at work, but I was there when she came home at night and cried herself to sleep. It wasn’t healthy, and I didn’t know what to do other than be there for her.
“It’ll help to have you around. When are you going back to LA?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. The rest of the band went home. Michael was up my ass to get back to his wife and kid. As if it was my fault. We’ll see how long the record label will let me have downtime before demanding a new album.”
“You have any material for it?”
“Yeah. I wrote about a hundred songs on the tour, but they all suck.”
I laughed. “You say that about them all.”
“Because it’s true.”
“Whatever. Everyone loves your music.”
“Yeah. Just takes a lot more than my lyrics for it to become music. The group together makes it not suck.”
“No plans to go solo?”
Campbell shot me a look. “Ask me how often I get asked that in interviews.”
“Bet the band loves that.”
“Yeah, they fucking love it,” he said sarcastically. “And no, I have no plans for a solo career.”
He was on top of the world. I was glad that he wasn’t going to leave everyone else behind now that he’d gotten there.
I let him rest as I drove us to the winery. The wedding wasn’t until this afternoon, so I’d let him get a power nap to combat the jet lag, but I wanted Nora to see him first. When I parked, Campbell woke groggily and all but fell out of the door.
Nora was running around frantically, directing the event. But when she caught sight of Campbell, she dropped everything and darted forward in her crazy high heels. They collided, and he hugged our sister tight.
“Hey, shrimp,” he said with a laugh.
“I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too. Good to be on this side of the planet.”
“You look like shit,” she said.
He ran a hand back through his hair. “Thanks.”
“And leather pants?” She cringed. “Seriously?”
“Thank God I have siblings,” he said with a shake of his head.
“You’re not wearing them to the wedding, right?”
He snorted. “No. Hollin’s got me covered. I will be perfectly presentable.”
