Chapter 4
“I can’t believe you just slinked away like that,” Star says into the call, clearly pissed off.
“I didn’t slink,” I protest, rushing to catch up to the crowd of pedestrians crossing Seventh Avenue.
“There was definite slinkage,” she insists.
I give a wry shake of my head. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye. It was barely three am and I had to get to the plane.”
“It’s a private plane, Jasper. It would have waited for you.”
Damn, she’s using my full name. She really must be pissed.
“It already did wait,” I inform her. “It was ready at eleven.”
“Oh. Well, I guess I should be glad you didn’t leave at eleven,” she sighs.
“Yes, you should.” She doesn’t have to know I didn’t learn about the jet until hours later.
“So, what’s the big rush?”
“Piper wants to talk to me,” I explain. “She said it has to be face to face.”
“Ohh…so will you be coming back after you’ve spoken to her?” Star presses, sounding hopeful.
“No…”
“Jazz—”
I sigh. “Star, you knew I was never seriously considering moving out there,” I say as gently as I can—which, admittedly, isn’t very gentle because I’m not exactly known for being a warm and fluffy guy, as we’ve already seen.
“I really appreciate everything, but that whole LA lifestyle isn’t something I want. My life’s here.”
“But all your friends are in LA,” she pushes.
Unfortunately for Star, that particular fact is no longer the carrot it was a few weeks ago.
I manage a wry chuckle. “Believe it or not, I do actually have friends outside of you, Jace, and Cody. Besides, my family’s here.”
She lets out a resigned sigh. “Fine. And I’m sorry for pushing so hard. I just really miss hanging out with you all the time.”
I know it’s not the partying like we did last night that she’s referring to; she can do that perfectly fine without me. It’s the down time; the off-screen moments when she can just be Star and not “Star Bryant.”
“I miss that too, but LA’s just not for me, and I think it’ll be a while before you can get me back there. You’ve always got a room here whenever you want to visit, though,” I remind her.
“I guess that’ll just have to do,” she says with an exaggerated sigh, before adopting a more chipper tone as she says, “at least it’s only a few weeks ’til Thanksgiving.”
The words cause me to pause in my step just as I’m rounding the corner to my bar. Thanksgiving. Tahoe. Fuck.
“Do you know which days you’ll be staying?
” Star chatters on, completely oblivious to the dread now coursing through me.
“I need to be there for a photo shoot the Wednesday after the holiday, so I was hoping we could make it a week-long thing. Unfortunately, Jace has a fight on the Monday night, so I guess the boys will be leaving Sunday.”
“Uh, I’m not sure,” I mutter. “I’ll let you know. I’d better go. I just got to the bar and Piper’s waiting.” It’s not a complete lie; I can see a Birken bag sitting on a chair next to the bar’s front window and I’m making the reasonably safe assumption that my sister is its owner.
“Okay, well, let me know when you figure out your plans,” Star says. “And tell Piper I say hi.”
“Will do.”
I end the call and take a moment to master my frustration.
I’ve never bailed on Thanksgiving at Lake Tahoe before; even after the rest of my family stopped going I held up the tradition.
So, despite deciding to leave LA earlier than expected, flying back to California for the holiday should be a no-brainer.
Except for one problem… “Fucking hell, Cody,” I grumble under my breath, raking a frustrated hand through my hair.
Unless something happens in the next few weeks to dramatically alter the current situation I won’t be going to Tahoe this year.
I’m not capable of tiptoeing around other people’s feelings at the best of times; I’m certainly not going to be able to do it for an entire holiday weekend while we’re under the same roof.
It’ll only be a matter of time before I lash out and make this whole situation even worse. Definitely best to stay away.
I let out a steadying breath and shove my frustration aside, closing the remaining distance to the front door of my bar.
I smile at the familiar sight of the neon sign reading “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” before shoving the door open and walking inside.
I’ve technically owned this place since I was twelve and it was left to me by my mom, who’d inherited it from her father, but I actually started running it once I turned eighteen.
I wasn’t legally allowed to drink, but I could run a bar. Go figure.
It’s not a huge place, although it can get pretty crowded on the weekends.
But for the most part I’d probably use the words “relaxed” and “low key.” It’s the kind of place people can come to relax, chat with their friends, or even just sit on their own if they want to and enjoy a good quality drink.
And, of course, listen to the nineties songs expertly performed by the incredibly handsome and talented resident musician (AKA yours truly).
As the name suggests, we specialize in whiskey, but everything we serve here is top notch.
I give the bar a quick once over, checking that everything seems to be running smoothly, before wandering over to a corner near the window where I spy my sister nursing a glass of pinot gris.
“So, what’s the big emergency?” I ask as I set my bag down and remove my jacket and scarf before taking the seat opposite her.
Before she can answer, we’re interrupted by a familiar voice calling my name. “Jazz, you’re back!”
I glance up to find Gia, the senior bartender and assistant manager rushing over to us, a bright smile stretched across her face.
I grin back at her. “Hey, Gia. Everything go okay while I was gone?”
“Like clockwork. The regulars are all missing you, though—they’ll be glad to have you back.”
“Well, that’s to be expected,” I say with a shrug. “I am very missable.”
Gia and Piper both roll their eyes, as though they’ve synchronized their reactions.
“You want me to put that in your office out of the way?” Gia asks, gesturing to the small suitcase currently sitting next to the table.
“Yeah, that’d be great thanks.”
“No worries. And I’ll be back with your usual.”
I grin at her as she grabs the handle of my bag and starts maneuvering it away. “Thanks, Gi. You’re an angel.”
She rolls her eyes again, shaking her head wryly as she walks away.
I turn back to Piper, finding her shaking her head in exasperation. “Why are you always so nice to her?”
“What are you talking about? I’m nice to everyone.”
She snorts. “Yeah. Right.”
Okay, maybe she has a point. I can definitely be an asshole sometimes.
But it’s not on purpose; I just can’t do the fake pleasantries thing.
I shrug. “Gia’s an easy person to be nice to.
She doesn’t piss me off as much as most people do.
And besides, you have to be nice to your employees or you’ll have no more employees. ”
“Fair point, I suppose,” she allows, taking another sip of her wine.
“So, are you ever going to tell me why you dragged me back here?”
She rolls her eyes, tossing her long brown hair over her shoulder. “Don’t even start. I didn’t need to drag you back here. You wanted to come home. I don’t even know why you went over there in the first place.”
“Star’s my best friend—” I start, but Piper cuts me off.
“She used to be your best friend. Back when you were in high school and she was all sweet and actually fucking genuine,” she says with way more passion than I’m used to seeing from my big sister.
“Before she turned into this influencer bitch who cares more about how many likes and follows she gets than anything else.”
“That’s not fair,” I argue, feeling my hackles rise in defense of Star. She’s far from perfect but she’s not nearly as shallow as Piper’s making her out to be. If she was we would have well and truly parted ways by now.
Piper holds her hands up, clearly registering that she’s gone too far. “Okay, okay. Fine. I’m just glad you didn’t get sucked in to all of that.”
I let out a derisive snort. “Yeah, like that was ever going to happen.”
Gia approaches the table and sets my drink down—an incredibly smooth-looking whiskey sour—and I thank her, before taking a sip. I all but moan as the drink touches my lips because, damn, that’s good.
“Should I leave you alone with that?” Piper asks dryly.
I set my glass down and eye her pointedly. “I’d rather you just spit it out. What the hell’s going on?”
She sighs, taking another sip of her wine before setting her own glass down and squaring me with an intent look. “It’s Dad. He’s a total mess right now.”
“Why?” I narrow my eyes as a thought hits me. “Please don’t tell me this has something to do with that devil woman. I thought you said this wasn’t about Izzy?”
Actually, associating my stepmother with the devil is probably an insult to the devil.
The only good thing that bitch has ever done was give birth to Izzy, and she was too selfish and stupid to even see it as a good thing.
Instead, she checked out from day one before finally giving up and leaving three years ago.
But instead of agreeing to the divorce settlement—which was way too generous if you ask me—she’s been holding Dad to ransom with the threat of a custody battle until their pre-nup kicks in. Fucking psycho bitch.
“This isn’t about Natalia,” Piper assures me. “There’s someone else. Someone new.”
I groan in apprehension. “Please don’t tell me it’s another Playboy mansion reject who’s only after him for his money.”
“Well, I don’t know about the money part,” she says. “But it’s definitely not a Playboy wannabe. It’s a guy.”
My brows shoot up in surprise and I suddenly remember the text she sent last night, taunting me about never being able to guess the news she had for me. Well, she was right. “Seriously?”
As far as I’ve always known, my dad is straight. Although there was that strange conversation the day before I left for LA…
Piper nods. “Seriously. It’s…” she gives a sharp shake of her head, clearly frustrated. “I don’t know what to make of it. Dad’s clearly head over heels, but I don’t know how that’s even possible. He’s a guy. Dad’s not gay. He’s never been into guys before.”
“How do you know?”
She blinks at me in surprise. “What?”
I shrug. “How do you know he’s never been into guys? Has he told you about every single sexual encounter he’s ever had?”
Her face screws up in distaste. “Ew. No!”
“So how do you know he hasn’t been with a guy?”
She looks utterly bewildered now. “I guess…I don’t know. I just kind of figured…”
“Well, he’s never given us any reason to think otherwise,” I allow, letting her off the hook. “But that doesn’t mean whatever’s going on with this guy isn’t legit. Maybe he’s bi. Or maybe he really did identify as straight until he met this guy and just fell for him—that’s been known to happen.”
“Huh…I hadn’t really considered that.” She gives a little shake of her head.
“Well, regardless of how it started, they’ve broken up now and Dad’s a total wreck about it.
I’m really worried about him, Jazz. He skipped work yesterday and when I went to check on him he was covered in Cheeto dust and maple syrup.
And he was watching…Pretty Woman,” she finishes in a hushed voice, as though revealing some deep, dark secret.
“And I’m worried about Izzy as well,” she continues.
“You know she doesn’t like when people around her are upset. ”
I nod, feeling a frown touch my face. Izzy’s such an empathetic child; if Dad’s upset, she’s going to pick up on it no matter how hard he tries to hide it from her.
“So, what do you want me to do?” I ask.
She shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe you could talk to Dad or something?”
I quirk an eyebrow at her. “Why? So, we can bond over how we both love dick?”
She scowls at me. “No, of course not. It’s just…
” She lets out a heavy sigh, looking dejected.
“I’m sorry, okay? I’m just having a little trouble getting my head around this whole Dad being into a guy thing.
I know I should be totally fine with it, and it’s really uncool for me to be acting this way, but it’s just a little weird for me right now. ”
I cut off her tumble of words by reaching out to place my hand over hers. “Pip, it’s okay. This is pretty big news. You don’t have to be a hundred per cent okay with it right away.”
“I’m worried I’m going to say the wrong thing and he’s going to hate me,” she admits in a small voice.
I offer a soft smile, squeezing her hand gently. “He is never going to hate you. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll talk to him.”
She offers a smile full of relief, and I feel a moment of joy to have made her feel better.
But then the trepidation sets in. Fucking hell, what am I going to talk to my dad about?
If Piper’s to be believed, he has real, serious feelings for this guy.
I can’t relate to that. I’ve never had feelings for anyone.
I take another sip of my drink, marveling for a moment at how smooth and silky it is. Whoever made it is my new favorite person.
Gia walks past us then, offering her characteristic bright smile. “Everything good here, guys?”
“It’s great,” I tell her. “Is this one of yours?” I gesture to my glass.
She shakes her head. “Nope. That was Damon.”
My brows shoot up. “The new guy? He’s here?”
I scan my eyes across the bar, my curiosity piqued. From what Gia’s told me this guy really knows his stuff, even though it’s been quite a while since he’s worked in a bar. If the sour he just made me is anything to go by, I wholeheartedly approve of her hiring decision.
When I spot the unfamiliar face behind the bar my glass nearly falls from my hand. Because holy fucking shit, the hottest man alive is now working in my bar.