“I’m just a guest,” I insist.
“You can be so fucking stubborn sometimes,” she complains.
“Did you seriously call me to chastise me?”
CHAPTER 31
Holt
Mrs. Talbot just left to go back to her place. Naomi and Luna are both nestled in bed and zonked out to the world. After an animated dinner, Beckett and I are at my place kicking back in the living room. Our former bandmate Rod, the Halsey brothers, their cousin Lochlan Berkshire, aka Loki—who happens to be Rod’s business partner—and a few good friends gathered to celebrate my brother’s return. After Hawaii, Beckett had to fly to Argentina for business. He’s been gone for a couple weeks and it’s good to have him back. We ended up in a private room at Boa—one of the best steakhouses in the city. There’s so much going on in my brother’s life. Same with all the other guys. Since we don’t see each other as much as we used to, it was good to catch-up.
Although it was an evening filled with great conversation and laughter, I miss not spending Saturday movie night with Everly and my girls. It’s been a steady run for the past three weeks and tonight, for the first time in a long time, I won’t see her beautiful face.
“Another one?” I ask Beckett, getting up to pour myself three more fingers of whiskey.
His blue eyes lift up to mine. “Absolutely.”
Beckett and I are as close as identical twins could be… if he wasn’t two years younger. It’s uncanny, but when I look at him, it’s like looking in a mirror.
“It’s good stuff, huh?” I ask, heading to the trolley bar.
“It’s pretty badass. Which brand is it? I have to stock up.”
“This, little brother,” I say, grabbing the bottle by the neck, “is a rare vintage. We’re talking Scotland’s finest.”
“As in?” Beckett asks.
“Johnnie Walker’s 25-year-old Mortlach Single Malt. It goes down easy and it should. At eleven hundred dollars a bottle, you wouldn’t expect any less.”
“Whoa! Bro, you’re living like a fucking rock star. Don’t forget, you’re retired now. Shouldn’t you be more careful with your pennies? I don’t want my niece to go without. Those university years will be here before you know it,” he grins from ear to ear.
“Idiot. If it wasn’t for the fact I haven’t seen you in a long time, I’d kick your ass out of my house.”
“I’m being a good uncle. I have Noni’s best interests at heart.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Considerate. We both know I could afford to splurge like this every day if I wanted to, but I choose to spend my money elsewhere.”
“Yeah, you’re loaded.”
“Funny.”
I walk back to the couch and hand him his drink.
“Thanks.”
“No problem,” I say as I sit on the oversized chair across from him.
His eyes are filled with concern when they meet mine. “Seriously though, are we sampling this whiskey for market research?”
I clench my jaw.
For a few short seconds, we just stare at each other.
“Nah. I have competent people in place for that. They know their jobs far better than I do,” I say.
“Okay.” He nods and takes a sip of his drink. “I still can’t believe the turn of events.”
“I haven’t wrapped my head around it and I doubt I ever will.”
“What are the odds?”
“The lawyers keep telling me they’ve never seen anything like this. Even after doing extensive research, they say it’s unheard of.”
“I bet,” Beckett says. “When do you think she––”
“We’re having such a good evening. I don’t want to think about that right now.”
“Fair enough.” Beckett nods, his lips pursed tightly.
I offer him a sympathetic smile.
Silence settles over us as we both take another swig of our drink.
“To answer your question, I didn’t buy the whiskey. It’s a gift from Brody Chuetlemen after the SteamTunes Awards––”
“The award-winning songwriter?”
“The one and only.”
“Wow. My big brother is rubbing elbows with bigshots.”
“You just clued in?”
“Good point,” Beckett laughs. “Is Chuetlemen trying to court you?”
“I think he wants to steal some of Jagger’s thunder since our cousin wrote the songs that landed Misty Ace her multiple awards.”
“When big record companies try to poach your talent and Brody Chuetlemen sends you expensive gifts, you know you’ve arrived. I’m proud of you, Holt.”
“Thanks, Beckett.” He’s supported my crazy dream from day one. “It’s been a hard run, but it’s been worth it.”
“Yeah, but you’re back with family now, so you don’t have to carry it all on your shoulders.”
Every so often my baby brother opens his mouth and wisdom comes pouring out. There’s more to the bad boy persona he so carefully hones.
“Naomi is going to lose her mind when she finds out you’re here,” I say.
Since Beckett just got back, we decided he’d sleep over at my place tonight. Sure he lives close by, but this way we can catch up and he can spend Sunday with his number one fan.
“I can’t wait to hug Noni,” Beckett smiles.
“You won’t have a minute’s rest tomorrow. Luna will be after you as well.”
“Bring it on! I can handle those girls.”
We both laugh.
“Speaking of girls…” he lets his words trail.
I cock an eyebrow.
“Seems like it’s getting serious between you and your girl,” he says. “I wish you would’ve told me. It cuts deep that I had to hear the big news from a third party.”
I look up from my glass. “What?”
“Everly. The girl you’ve been seeing.”
“Who told you?”
“Jace pulled me to the side as we were stepping out of the restaurant and let the cat out of the bag.”
I shake my head. “I swear Ryder is better at keeping secrets than his father.”
“Actually, since Jace was on a speaking tour for the last three weeks, his son is the one who spilled the beans.”
“Like father, like son,” I roll my eyes.
“Are you saying your little nephew is lying?” Beckett challenges.
I don’t answer.
He lets out a dramatic sigh. “I didn’t want to go there, but you leave me no choice. Your daughter betrayed you.”
I frown. “What are you talking about?”
“Naomi can’t stop raving about how much fun Daddy’s lady friend is to her cousin. Ryder simply passed along the news to his father.”
I grumble under my breath.
“Holt has a girlfriend,” Beckett singsongs.
“What are you? Five?”
“Give it up.”
“Okay,” I concede.
For the next few minutes, I give my brother the highlights of my relationship with Everly.