Chapter 2 Mabel #2
Sav and I both laugh at his botched attempt at an English accent.
“That was a terrible impression. You sounded like a leprechaun,” Sav says.
Jo narrows his eyes at her, but then Claire comes into the kitchen and wraps her arms around his waist. The irritation melts from his features, and his expression goes all lovey-dovey. It always does when she’s around.
“A leprechaun?” Claire tilts her head up to smile at him. “Were you mocking Crue’s accent again?”
“He tried and failed.”
Jo starts to flip me off but catches himself and puts his hand behind his back. Can’t have Teddy learning how to flip people off at the ripe age of two. It makes my grin widen, and I stick my tongue out at him, then turn to Claire.
“We were talking about which Caveat boy is likely to make a pass at Ham’s niece first.”
Her brow furrows. “Hammond’s niece?”
“She’ll be tutoring Brynn in English,” Sav explains. “She’s nice. Kinda quiet and nervous, but I’m used to that.”
I smirk at her. “Because you’re such a big, breathtaking star?”
She throws a grape at me. I yelp and bat it away, making Teddy giggle again.
“Aunt Sav is such a bully,” I tell the baby, giving a marginally clean spot on her forehead a little boop, then I look back at Sav. “That’s why I’m the favorite.”
“Anyway,” she says with a dramatic sigh, trying like hell to suppress a smile. She likes to act like she’s annoyed, but she’s not. “I talked to her a few days ago just to go over expectations and stuff. She seems legit. Has a degree in English lit and creative writing.”
“Where’d she go to college?”
Sav shrugs. “Does it matter? We didn’t even finish high school.”
I laugh. She’s got me there.
“I still feel bad that I can’t help,” Jonah cuts in.
Sav turns to him. “Jo, you’ve been great. You did so much more than you had to, but you’ve got a whole-ass kid now. You don’t have time to tutor Brynn, and you shouldn’t have to.”
“What else do you know about her?” Claire asks.
“Not much, honestly. Her name is Aurora. She’s twenty-three and fresh out of undergrad.”
“Twenty-three? She’s practically a baby.” I always forget that Hammond’s only in his early forties. He looks young, but he acts much older. I grab the last grape out of Jonah’s bowl and shake my head. “We definitely need to keep her away from Ezra and Crue. We can’t let them corrupt her.”
Sav smirks just as Torren walks into the kitchen. “Who would have thought we’d become the mature, responsible ones?”
Tor throws his arm over my shoulder. “Not me.”
“Not me,” I chime in.
Jonah laughs. “I thought I’d be dead by now, so I definitely didn’t see it coming.”
I raise my brows and nod slowly. “I hear no lies.”
We all were worried about Jonah for a while. We came close to losing him for good more than once. I shoot Claire a soft smile, and she returns it. We don’t talk about it much, but we all know she saved him. I don’t think anyone else could have done it but her.
Just before we climb into the SUVs to head to the airfield, Claire sidles up beside me and bumps my arm with hers.
“I’m sorry Kat couldn’t make it. I know you were looking forward to it.”
“What did Sav tell you?”
“Nothing, but Kat’s not here, so I made an educated guess. Was I wrong?”
“No, you’re not wrong.” I sigh and attempt to force the disappointment from my voice. “It’s fine, though. Her manager got her an invite to a launch party for a new makeup line. She wants to be a brand ambassador for them, so she couldn’t turn it down.”
I leave out the part that she’ll be attending on the arm of Hollywood heartthrob Kaz Storm.
It goes without saying, though. If it’s a public event, you can bet money that they’ll be there together.
Kaz and Kat, America’s favorite celebrity “couple.” The media loves to speculate about them.
Are they dating or aren’t they? Will they or won’t they?
The masses love them, and I admit that they photograph well together. Even if it sucks.
Claire gives me a small smile. “Well, that’s good for her. I hope she gets the ambassadorship. Will she be meeting us after?”
“Not until Auckland.”
She hums, her next words full of positivity. “We’ll see her soon, then.”
“Yep. Soon.”
Claire climbs into one of the seven-seater SUVs with Jonah, Teddy, Callie, and Torren, while I get into Sav’s SUV with her crew.
It doesn’t take long before the dark cloud surrounding my mood lifts.
It’s hard to be sad when you’ve got a sixty-pound menace of a dog snoring in your lap and your best friend cracking jokes beside you.
By the time we’re pulling up to the airfield, the disappointment of Kat’s absence has been effectively pushed to the back of my mind.
It will no doubt creep back to the forefront tonight when I’m alone, but right now it’s family time.
“You sure you want to fly with them?” Brynn casts an annoyed glance at Callie’s bandmates as they board their jet.
The label has been chartering one for them now that they’re too popular to fly commercial.
And by the label, I mean Sav. “It’s sixteen hours.
You’re going to go all smooth-brained from lack of stimulation.
It might even liquefy and leak out of your ears. ”
Callie laughs as Torren pulls her carry-on from the SUV. “I used to travel the country in a van with them, Boss. I can handle a private jet.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t have any other options before. Now you have us.”
“She’s not wrong,” I say with a grin.
“Well, I can’t write another award-winning album if I don’t spend time with my band, can I?”
Brynn arches a brow. “I meeeean, you won’t know until you try. I believe in you.”
“Goodbye, Brynnlee,” Cal sings playfully before giving her a hug. “I’ll see you in sixteen hours.”
I throw my arm around Brynn and lead her to our jet. “You’re stuck with me, kid.”
“You’re my favorite anyway.”
I laugh. “Lies. Teddy’s your favorite.”
She doesn’t bother denying it.
Just as we’re getting to the boarding stairs, a car rolls up beside the SUVs and parks. It’s Hammond, and Brynn slows her steps, her shoulders tensing.
“Think that’s my new tutor?”
I can hear the nerves in her voice. “Yeah. You want to go say hi?”
She turns back to the jet quickly. “No, not yet.”
“I heard she’s nice, Boss. Sav says she’s kind of quiet, though, so you might have to protect her from Ezra.”
That perks her up, and she nods curtly. “You’re probably right. Because those boys simply cannot be trusted.”
“Speak the truth, girl.”
I follow her up the stairs, then look at the car once more.
Hammond is opening the door to the back seat, and I watch just long enough to see two feet in white ballet flats hit the tarmac, blue gingham fabric brushing mid-shin.
A dress, I’m guessing. Before the tutor stands, I turn back around and step into the cabin.
White ballet flats and a blue gingham dress. Very Dorothy of Oz. I laugh and shake my head. I sure hope this girl has attitude. Otherwise, those Caveat boys will descend like winged monkeys.
Poor thing.
She’s going to need all the help she can get.