Hade (Hale Brothers #2)

Chapter 1

i was jealous

HAYDEN

Four years ago

Breathing heavily, I stand behind the curtains and peek out at the crowd. Hills Arena is one of the biggest venues in LA, and it’s packed. Tickets to this show, in our hometown, sold out in less than twenty-four hours.

Fuck, this is insane.

An electrifying energy courses through my veins. Cell phone lights flicker like a sea of stars as the audience continues to cheer. We’ve just played our last song of the night, yet our fans are still as loud as they were when we walked out. I still can’t believe this is my life.

The band my closest friends and I started on a whim has somehow earned four Grammy nominations and two wins—Record of the Year this year and Best Group Performance the year prior.

Our album Flawless debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, and we’ve sold eight million copies worldwide.

Even in my wildest dreams, I never imagined I’d be where I am now.

“This crowd is something else,” Owen, our bass guitarist, says. He’s one of my closest friends, the person I always listen to and never ever get bored with. His energy matches mine like no one else’s. He was the last to join the band, just a few months ahead of our big break.

“It is.” I study the fans in the front row. Two songs ago, a blonde caught my attention, though I was so focused on getting the lyrics and notes just right, only the vaguest of details have stuck with me. All I remember is long, blonde hair, full lips, and big eyes.

Where is she?

“How about an encore?” Bo, our drummer, asks.

“Let’s give them a few more minutes,” Jimmy—the electric guitarist—suggests.

With a chuckle, I lean forward and search for my mystery girl.

It only takes a minute to find the head of blonde hair flowing over her shoulders in loose waves. She’s turned away from me. Head thrown back, she laughs at something a redhead says.

When she turns back to the stage, cold dread washes over me. I know this girl. I’ve known her for her whole life—how the hell didn’t I recognize her?

Fuck, I almost asked my team to bring my best friend’s little sister backstage so I could meet her.

Squinting, I study Riley closer. Bright makeup makes her big eyes pop; full, sensual red lips.

Her light pink crop top hugs her chest like a second skin.

It’s been two years since I saw her last, back when she’d just been accepted into the New York School of Performing Arts, but I don’t think her hair was this long.

Back then, though, she always wore it up.

She’s no longer the girl I remember. She’s all grown up.

Are you for real? my inner voice all but screams at me. Stop fucking staring. She’s Piper’s sister.

I clear my throat and tear my attention away from Riley, cheeks burning like a teenager caught with his dad’s collection of porno mags. “Ready?” I ask the guys.

As we rush back on stage, I do my best to clear Riley’s image from my head.

“Uncle Hayden!” a familiar voice calls in the middle of the madness backstage.

I turn just in time to catch my niece in my arms. Story clings to me as I hug her tightly to my chest. I inhale deeply, smiling when her marshmallow scent hits me. I love this little girl to the moon and back.

“You were incredible!” she yells.

I laugh. “You think so?”

She nods, her dark green eyes sparkling, the same color as mine.

“I’ll take your word for it.” I kiss her cheek.

My best friend Piper is here too, though half their family is missing. Her husband, my brother, is in Miami with his team, and Hudson, their one-year-old son, is with Piper’s mom for the night.

“Hey, Hade.” Piper smiles as I haul her to me for a hug. Her blonde hair is in a high ponytail, her dark chocolate eyes warm. “Sabotage was phenomenal. I got chills during every song.”

“Especially ‘Flawless’, I bet,” Owen chimes in, pushing his curly chestnut hair out of his eyes.

“That’s my song.” Piper winks at him then leans in to give him a quick hug. “You were all incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more enthusiastic audience. They love you guys.”

“Of course they do,” calls a voice I haven’t heard in years.

My body tenses. After noticing Riley in the crowd, I have no idea how to act.

She grins at me. “Some of these people have been following your career since the very beginning, from club performances to this sold-out arena show. I, for one, am so damn proud of you guys.”

Bo slips an arm around her shoulders. “She has a point.”

Riley pushes him away, scrunching her nose. “You stink.”

Bo bursts into laughter. “Thanks a lot. Didn’t you know? This is called ‘rock star aroma,’ the natural scent that comes with performing for ninety minutes and then returning to the stage for a fifteen-minute encore.”

She nudges him with her shoulder. “Keep telling yourself that.”

We talk some more. Riley introduces the redhead I saw her with during the show: Anastasia, who greets us with a slight Russian accent, goes to school with Riley.

Glenn, our manager, wanders over. He’s in his fifties, and though he looks cunning, he’s a softie when it comes to those he cares about.

Some of our most loyal fans find their way backstage too, along with label representatives and a few of our regular groupies.

The mood is fun and light, prolonging the natural high I’m riding after the show.

After most shows, we end up partying, the atmosphere just pumping more energy through my veins.

Tonight, Bo and Jimmy insist we go to the club, but I turn them down quickly.

I have zero intention of abandoning Piper and Story for a drunken night out and a chance for a hook up.

I can do that tomorrow—or any other day, to be honest.

“So we’re going home tonight?” Owen asks as we head to the dressing room.

“I am,” I tell him. “But if you want to join the guys, you should.”

“Nah. Won’t be the same without you.” He grins. “Besides, my parents are in town. It’s been a while since I saw them, and I want to tell them about Ines.”

“Aw, preparing your folks for the day they’ll meet your future wife?”

He blows out a breath, his cheeks puffing. “I haven’t proposed—”

“Yet.” I chuckle, though when I register his flushed face, I decide to take it easy on him. “Why didn’t your parents join us backstage?”

“Mom said she didn’t want to ‘disturb the youth.’”

I bark out a laugh. “Your mom is awesome.”

He shakes his head, the corner of his lips tipping up.

As we pass a few guys who always hang around the band, one of them says, “Have you seen those legs? They’d look great over my shoulders.”

Frowning, I follow his gaze. When I spot who he’s looking at, my blood boils. Piper sits on the couch with Story, talking and laughing. This fucker has the audacity to disrespect my best friend, my brother’s wife.

Huffing, I stalk over to the group and grab the shit-talking one by his collar. “Mind repeating what you just said?”

His mouth falls open. “Hade, man, what are you talking about?”

Anger has me tightening my hold on his shirt. “You see that blonde on the couch? With the little girl?”

He nods frantically.

“That is my best friend. Not only that, but she’s my brother’s wife,” I grind out. “I heard what you said about her, and it’s not fucking okay. Show some respect.” I drag him a foot or two and push him against the wall. The back of his head hits it with a thud.

“Sorry. I’m sorry,” he whines. “I wasn’t talking about her.”

I frown, loosening my hold a little. “Who were you talking about then? Surely not my eleven-year-old niece?”

“No, no, no, man. The other blonde.”

Eyebrows pulled together, I glance over my shoulder. When I see her, everything in me stills. Riley. She and her friend stand near the couch, backs pressed to the wall, lost in conversation.

Fury floods my veins, and the beast in my chest comes to life. I’m so fucking out of my element after seeing her tonight, but one thing’s for sure—he has no right to look at her.

“She’s a stunner. I didn’t mean any disrespect.”

Owen steps to my side and puts a hand on my shoulder. At the simple gesture, I let go of the jerk. Breath uneven, I try to collect my thoughts. My emotions are all over the place.

“You were disrespectful,” Owen tells him, keeping a calm tone. “Objectifying a girl is bad, no matter how you look at it. Making sexually suggestive comments is worse.”

A short laugh escapes his mouth. “It’s just harmless talk.”

Without a second of hesitation, I draw my hand back and punch him in the face.

Blood gushes from his nose, and he slaps a hand over it, his eyes full of tears.

“She’s my best friend’s sister. I’ve known her for her whole life,” I hiss, twisting his collar tighter. “Think before you say something like that again. About anyone.”

With a sharp exhale, I turn on my heel and stride away. Just outside the dressing room, I stop by Reed’s side.

“Hey, man,” I say. “See that dude over there?” I jab my thumb over my shoulder. “With red hair?”

Our head of security lifts his chin. “Is he causing trouble?”

“Yeah. I don’t want to see him backstage again, at any show.”

“Consider it done.” With a simple nod, he strides toward the asshole.

Head lowered, I step into the dressing room. I drag myself across the space and plop onto the couch like a deflated balloon. Why do I feel so possessive of Riley suddenly? Not letting some dude disrespect her is one thing, but being jealous he noticed her is a line I shouldn’t fucking cross.

And I was jealous.

“Hade?” Owen joins me, dropping his head back against the cushion.

“What?”

“I’m not trying to be rude or anything, because what that guy said wasn’t okay.”

I glare at him. “Then what are you trying to do?”

“Riley is a beautiful girl. If she’s going to be hanging out with us, that shit is bound to happen again. So you better make sure the guys know she’s off-limits without beating them up.”

Have I been teleported into my personal hell tonight? How the fuck did I go from only ever seeing Riley as Piper’s sister to being overcome with jealousy when another man notices her?

I clear my throat. “I didn’t expect it. That’s why I reacted like that.”

“Okay,” he says easily. “Should we go?”

Determined to move on from what happened, I stand and head for the closet. “Yeah, let’s get the fuck out of here. I’m tired.”

“Whatever you want, man.”

The cool night air soothes me as I head toward the black Range Rover with tinted windows the label arranged for me. Piper is already in the back seat with Story. Riley, on the other hand, stands beside the vehicle with her friend.

Just for a moment, I allow myself to look at Riley again, really look at her.

Her body is lean and toned. That’s no surprise after years of discipline and dancing.

Her arms are slender and graceful, her legs toned and elegant, honed by ballet.

Her posture is flawless, her spine perfectly straight.

She’s petite but not fragile, feminine and soft.

Just looking at her sends my heart racing so fast, I worry it’ll beat right out of my chest.

As if she feels my gaze, she diverts her attention to me. Her blue eyes remind me of the field of forget-me-nots I once marveled over while we were on tour in Europe, enchanting and inviting.

Warmth spreads through me as she takes me in. Something is happening, and I don’t understand what.

It’s just Riley, I tell myself.

But it’s not just Riley, my inner voice argues.

Her full lips part, and her eyebrows pinch together. She’s probably confused by my scrutiny, and I don’t blame her. What I’m doing right now will send me to hell, no doubt about it.

Riley is not simply beautiful. She’s absolutely divine.

I shake my head, trying to wake up from the trance her beauty has put me in. Fuck. I can’t allow this state to linger. The image of her needs to be fucking bleached from my mind.

I blink, willing all the thoughts I’ve had of her tonight to flee. Then, I mentally put up a wall between us. It’s a line I’ll never cross in real life, which means I can’t let it happen in my thoughts either.

I can’t betray Piper’s trust. Not again.