AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter One
Brianna
Every time I see Jesse Pike perform, my heart nearly explodes.
He’s on stage now at the Snow Creek Cinema singing with his band, Dragonlock, which now includes my future cousin-in-law Rory as a co-lead singer. The two of them are pure magic together.
But the real magic on the stage is Jesse himself—tall and handsome with long dark hair curtaining his shoulders and those amazing dark eyes. I’ve been pining for him since I saw him perform with his band when I was a mere fourteen years old. He was twenty-four at the time, and anyone else would have told me it was a simple girlhood crush. Puppy love.
Even then, I knew it wasn’t. I’ve compared every guy I’ve dated to Jesse Pike, and they’ve all fallen short.
The song ends, and once the applause dies down, Jesse takes the mic. I gaze at him, stars in my eyes, the perspiration on his forehead making him even more attractive to me. I can almost smell his musk from my front-row seat.
“Thank you all so much,” he says in his deep voice. “You all know the band, but I’ll introduce them anyway. We’ve got Jake Michaels on guitar. My cousin Cage Ramsey on keyboard and bass. Dragon Locke, our band’s namesake, on drums. And the beautiful Rory Pike, my little sis, on lead vocals. I’m Jesse Pike, the other lead vocalist.”
More thundering applause. The band members are all handsome, and my cousins all have a thing for Dragon. He’s hot in that dark way of his, but he doesn’t compare to Jesse.
No man does. Not in my eyes.
He doesn’t know this yet—and neither do my parents—but I’m going on that international tour with them in January. I’ve finished my college degree early, though I’ll walk at graduation in the spring with the rest of the awesome foursome—my cousins Gina Steel and Angie and Sage Simpson.
Mom and Dad think I’m going to begin working with Dad come the first of the year. Of the four of us—my brothers, Dale and Donny, and my sister, Diana—I’m the only one who shares our father’s interest in our orchard of Palisade peaches and apples. I’ve been following my dad, Talon Steel, around the grounds since I could walk, asking questions, learning about the trees and the fruit, and assuring him I’d never leave his side.
That’s still my plan—with a slight detour along the way.
Getting Jesse Pike to fall head over heels in love with me.
The applause dies down again, and Jesse continues, “We’ve got a major treat for you tonight. As you all know by now, Dragonlock has the honor of going on tour as the opener for the amazing Emerald Phoenix.”
Clapping and shouting. I know what’s coming. My brother Donny is engaged to Jesse’s sister Callie, so they let our family in on the secret. Emerald Phoenix ishere. Jett Draconis and Zane Michaels and the rest of the band. Rockers galore, all gorgeous, though Jett is happily married to his wife, Heather, who’s also here.
And not one of them makes my heart race the way Jesse Pike does.
I never cared that he was a struggling musician. I’m a Steel heiress. I don’t have to marry for money. Not that I would, anyway. I’ve watched both my brothers, my cousin Ava, and my cousin Brock—the biggest womanizer on the planet—fall in love in the last year. They’ve all found something truly special. Something way more important than money. And two of them, Donny and Brock, are marrying into the Pike family.
I aim to be the third.
“It’s our privilege to introduce to you, for a special engagement… Emerald Phoenix!”
Wowza.
If the crowd was excited about Dragonlock, they’re about to wet their pants over Emerald Phoenix. They’re going batshit crazy with their screams and hoots and stomping.
The members of Dragonlock exit the stage, and Jett Draconis and his band take their places.
“Thank you,” Jett says into the mic. “We’re thrilled to be here tonight as a favor to Jesse, Rory, and the band. We’re excited to have Dragonlock come on tour with us. We know they’re going to be a smash. Now…let’s rock!”
“Your arias were wonderful,” Angie says to Rory during the after-party at my parents’ sprawling ranch house.
Mom and Dad offered up their house as a favor to the band since it’s way bigger than the Pikes’. They have a small ranch adjacent to ours and unfortunately lost most of their vineyards in a brush fire earlier this year. Jesse and Rory are excited about the opportunity the tour gives them to make some money to help. Our family has offered, but the Pikes turned us down.
“Thank you.” Rory smiles, fidgeting with the red star sapphire ring on her left hand that once belonged to my aunt Melanie’s grandmother. “I’ll miss singing opera, but that was my swan song. I’m devoting myself to rock and roll now.”
“Good call,” I say. “You’re fabulous at both, but you and Jesse together… Justwow.”
Rory squeezes my hand. “Thanks, Bree.”
Rory’s a classic beauty, and she’s always been considered the most beautiful woman in Snow Creek. Jesse looks just like her in male form. He’s a freaking god.
