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“I’m glad this won’t be completely wasted.” Fee’s face is stoic as she hands me a plate.
The food looks stunning. “I’m so sorry, Fee.”
She bites her lip. Clearly holding back tears. Her phone rings and buzzes, nearly launching itself off the table. She grabs it just in time. “Zaney, talk to me.” She moves briskly to the kitchen for privacy.
Ronni hands a plate to Connor and takes one for herself. “We need to eat this food. She worked her ass off for this and now it’s ruined.”
The three of us eat. Not because we are hungry. We do it for Fiona, who put her heart and soul into this night. I’m halfway through my meal when Alex texts me.
Alex: “Can you let me in? I’m out front.”
When I find her just outside the door, I cuddle my fiancée tight. “God, Poppy. What the fuck?”
“I know.” She grabs my hand. “I have some news.”
The four of us huddle together. Alex whispers, “Carter is in ICU. He’s beat up pretty badly. He had a heart attack. Zane wouldn’t tell me anything else until he talked to Fiona.”
“She’s a mess, understandably.” Ronni hands Alex some food. “We’re eating what she made for us in solidarity.”
By the time we finish, Fiona still hasn’t returned. Her kitchen staff takes it upon themselves to clean everything up. Pokey offers to take the band’s gear back to the secure storage space. Connor lets the rest of the crew go.
“The police are gone. I think we should go straighten up the dressing room.” Ronni looks pointedly at Alex. “You boys take a rest; it’s been a long day. Get a drink, there’s some phenomenal shit in the bar.”
Our girls leave us. I check the time on my phone. Fuck. If the evening had gone as planned, we’d just be taking the stage now.
“Are you calmer?” Connor pours us each a shot of Midleton, his favorite Irish Whiskey.
“Yeah. I texted Mike Pearson, he’s working on getting Ty out of jail. Apparently, Carter and Zane aren’t pressing charges.”
“Good. Good.” He swirls the liquid in his glass and takes a sip.
We move to the waiting area at the front of the restaurant and sit in the oversized couches. Neither of us say anything. I mean, what is there to say at this point.
“Alex is pregnant,” I say quietly and look up at him.
He nods.
“She’s been having serious health issues.”
“We all have things we’re dealing with outside the band, my man.” He takes another sip. “That’s life, isn’t it?”
I lean back and shut my eyes. “I was looking forward to playing tonight.”
“We all were.”
“Don’t move back to LA.” I point at him with my glass, opening one eye to see what his reaction is.
He’s about to speak when Alex runs toward us holding up a piece of paper. Ronni is hot on her heels. She skids to a stop and thrusts the paper at me. “Holy hell you guys, we’re not supposed to know this, but Carter is Ty’s father. This is an official DNA test.”
We all look at each other, astounded.
“We’ve got to assume this is going to get leaked. Jace, you should call Katherine back.” Connor nods at me.
I hold up my hand. “No, we aren’t supposed to know about this. It’s their private business. In fact, none of us should say anything. We can’t embarrass Carter, Zane, Ty, and Zoey like that. With all of that said, what the actual fuck?”
Alex takes the paper from me and folds it up, tucking it back in the envelope. “Ronni and Jace, I know you are better at all of this celebrity damage control stuff than I am. I should be the one to bring this to Zoey. She deserves to know about this before anything else happens. I’m going to head back to the hospital and give this to her before she’s released. It’s what any best friend would do.”
“Okay, Poppy.” I stroke her hair. “I’ll drive you. We’ve done all we can do for now. At some point, the chips are going to fall where they fall.”
