Brynne
Present
“ A re you sure you have to go?” Mason whined, batting his lashes at me. I rolled my eyes, a grin playing on my lips.
“You know I do. School starts next week. I have a lot to get ready.”
Sunlight streamed in through the overly tinted car window. The driver sat silently in the front, and Mason’s bodyguard, Micah, sat beside him. They stayed perfectly still, silent, as if they weren’t even there.
Honestly, it was creepy.
But that came with the territory of having a famous rockstar for a brother.
“What am I gonna do now?” Mason groaned dramatically, dropping his head back against the seat. A baseball hat hid his mop of shaggy dark hair. “I’m gonna be all alone.”
“You have plenty of friends.” I flicked my fingers dismissively. “Or you could come back to Cedar Ridge with me.”
He shrugged a shoulder noncommittally. “Maybe.”
“The guest room is made up and ready for you.” I reached across the seat, resting my hand on his forearm. “No one will bother you?—”
“I’m not worried about that.” He sighed. “I’m just…” He took his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair. “I can’t go anywhere or do anything without a pap following me, or a fan spotting me. I can’t just…”
“Live,” I finished sympathetically, and he nodded. His eyes flicked to me—the same honey-brown as mine, as our mother’s. I squeezed his arm before pulling my hand away. “You know no one will bother you in Cedar Ridge.”
He sighed again, like the weight of the entire universe rested on his broad shoulders. “I know.”
The words were said softly, almost inaudibly. I wasn’t sure what was weighing so heavily on him, why sadness seemed to pour out of him. He wasn’t always like this—he hadn’t been like this all summer. And surely, it wasn’t because I was going back home.
There was something else going on, but I had no idea what .
My phone chimed, breaking the silence in the car, and Mason turned his attention out the window. Messages from the Caldwell Family group chat lit my screen, and it took me a moment to realize what they said.
And once the words penetrated, I had to blink. Reread. Reread again.
THEO:
So, I have some news…
BESTIE:
You’re pregnant?!
THEO:
Close…
I’m a dad now…and we’re moving back to Cedar Ridge.
“What the fuck?” The breath in my lungs left me in a fatal whoosh. I felt Mason turn his attention to me, but I was too busy staring at my phone. “What the fuck ?”
I wasted no time calling Trinity. She answered on the first ring.
“What the fuck?” I repeated.
“What’s going on?” Mason whisper-hissed, but I waved him away.
“I don’t know,” Trin said. “I don’t—Mom said she knew. But why wouldn’t she tell me? I don’t know. Oh my god.”
I held in my groan. “It was a matter of time before someone showed up at his place with a baby in tow,” I said, pinching between my eyes. “Fuck. I haven’t left the city yet. Should I go to his place?”
Trin was silent for a moment. “No,” she finally said. “I—I think Mom is talking to him.”
“What’s going on?” Mason repeated, but I pressed my finger to my lips, shushing him.
“Let me know if you need anything,” I said softly. “I’ll be home in a few hours.”
“You coming by the house?” she asked, but her attention was elsewhere.
“I think I’m just gonna go home.” I slid the small diamond along the gold chain on my neck, back and forth. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Text me when you land.” She hung up before I could say anything else. I dropped my phone into my lap and turned toward my brother. His eyes were huge as he stared at me.
“Did someone die?”
A laugh bubbled up my throat. “No.” I took a deep breath, the humor fading from my chest. “Theo has a baby.”
The words tasted like ash coming out. He had to be pranking us—that was the only logical explanation. Because there was absolutely no way Theo Caldwell was a father.
Mason blinked. “ What ?”
“I know.”
“What?”
“I know .”
I ran my fingers through my hair, jostling the messy strands.
The last time I saw Theo was three months ago. He’d been flirtier than usual. Not that being flirty was weird for him—he’d flirt with a donut if it meant he could stick his dick in it—but he wasn’t usually so flirty with me .
We’d always toed that line between too much and not enough, mostly because his sister was my best friend and the thought of hurting her made me want to claw my heart out. But the last time I saw him, there was something different about him, about our interactions.
Years ago, I’d had the smallest crush on him, but after I learned about his playboy ways, I quickly moved on. A guy like that was not someone I wanted to spend any of my time with. Yet, for the last three months, I couldn’t get the oldest Caldwell sibling out of my head.
He’d taken up residence in all my late-night fantasies, my shower thoughts, my wet dreams. It was a real problem.
And now this?
Disastrous.
“What’s Demi going to do?” Mason asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
“I mean, he’s thirty-seven. What can she do?”
My phone dinged again and I let out a soft sigh. What now?
I glanced at the screen, my stomach tightening at the name.
I’d gone on a date with Sean once two months ago, and he’d been trying to convince me to go out with him again ever since.
He was weird, and too pushy, and I had my guard up around him all night.
I ignored his texts, calls, and messages on Pulse—the dating app we met on—and he still hadn’t gotten the hint.
Tapping on the screen a few times, I blocked his number, choosing peace instead of his constant barrage of texts. I flipped the phone screen-side down and turned my attention back to Mason.
“Did he say anything else?” he asked, and I shook my head. “How old is the baby? Boy or girl? And the mom?”
My stomach fell to my feet. I hadn’t even thought about who the mother could be, or if she was now with Theo. His text just said they were moving back to Cedar Ridge—but who was they ?
“I have no idea.” I sighed. “He didn’t say.”
Mason shook his head. “Man, that’s insane. I can’t imagine what he’s going through.”
I eyed him, my lips pressed tightly together. “You always—you know…wrap it, right? We won’t have to worry about a crazy fan coming out to some tabloid saying Mason Hughes knocked her up, will we?”
He snorted as he shook his head. “Absolutely not.” I opened my mouth, but he waved his hand, slicing it through the air and silencing me. “I’m not talking about my sex life with my sister, Brynne. All you need to know is that I definitely do not have a kid out there.”
I stared at him for a moment longer, then let out a long sigh. Micah turned in his seat, flicking his gaze between us.
“We’re here, Ms. Hughes,” the driver said, his soft voice at odds with his hard exterior. I looked past him, through the windshield at the private jet sitting on the runway, waiting for me. I gripped Mason’s arm again.
“You’re sure you don’t wanna come back with me?” I muttered. “It’ll be fun. I can parade you around the school like a show pony.”
He chuckled as he shook his head. “I’ll see you soon, alright?” He turned very serious, his hand finding mine. “Will you be okay?”
I scoffed. “Of course, I will be. I always am.”
His eyes flicked between mine. I waited for him to say something else, to call me on my bullshit, but he just sighed, his chest deflating.
“If you need me?—”
“I’ll call you,” I finished. Mason’s lips turned up into a soft grin.
“And let me know what the fuck is going on with Theo.”