Chapter 31
Joz
Is this what growth looks like?
I’d been in this business a long time, and I’d never, ever re-recorded an album in five days.
Once I began singing, the emotion threaded into every word poured out of me.
I often adjusted lyrics as I went along and tweaked the melody, but the songs I’d penned while in rehab were pretty damn perfect right off the bat.
I couldn’t wait for Aspen to hear what I’d created. I’d asked her to stay away while I got it down, but today, I’d agreed she could come along to the studio and listen to one of the songs I’d written for her, about her.
The door to the studio opened, and Aspen walked in, but she wasn’t alone. My baby sister took one look at me and burst into tears. I propped my guitar against the stool and strode into the control room. She flung herself at me, clinging on as though she hadn’t seen me in years.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Hey.” I made some room between us and wiped my thumbs beneath her eyes. “I told you on the phone last week you had nothing to be sorry for. This is not on you.”
“But I took him to your apartment. I let him invade your privacy. I let you down.” She buried her face in my neck again.
“This is why I asked her to come,” Aspen said. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Never.” I forced Erin to look at me again. “Listen to me. You did not let me down. You never could. You’re my baby sister, and I love you.”
She snorted. “I’m twenty-four.”
“You’ll always be a baby to me.”
“Ugh. Prat.”
I laughed. “There she is.”
She ran her hand underneath her nose and sniffed. “You really don’t blame me for the diary?”
“No. There’s only one person to blame, and that’s not you.”
“Aspen said she fired him.”
My gaze traveled to my woman. “She’s fierce.”
“Great match for you, then.” Erin wriggled free and motioned to me. “I’ve heard there’s a few new tunes for me to listen to.”
“Not yet. I’m only playing one today, and it’s not for you.”
“Rude.”
I chuckled. “Sorry, sis, but you’re not the number one woman in my life anymore.”
“Erm, ruder. Fucking twat.”
Laughing now, I slung an arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. “I still love you to fucking bits.”
“Can I stay and listen though?” She glanced from me to Aspen.
“I don’t mind at all,” Aspen said. “But it’s up to Joz. Music is a personal thing. If he isn’t ready to share it, then I stand with him.”
What a fucking woman. “I guess you can stay.”
“Wow, don’t go overboard on the enthusiasm.”
Aspen stifled a laugh. “God, I wish I had a sister.”
“You do.” Erin threw her arms out wide. “Me.”
“Be careful what you wish for,” I said to Aspen. “Now, both of you sit down, shut up, and listen.”
“You are so bossy.” Erin winked at Aspen, who winked back. These two women were ganging up on me, and I fucking loved it.
When I returned to the studio, a momentary raft of nerves swarmed my stomach at playing such a personal song for the woman I loved in front of my sister, but the second I picked up my guitar and began to play, they fled.
As I sang an as-yet unnamed tune about having someone truly see me, to believe in me, and to support me and love me, faults and all, the most powerful emotions I’d ever felt bubbled up inside my chest. I only realized I had tears streaming down my face when I played the last note.
The door to the studio flung open, and Aspen ran toward me.
I ripped off my guitar and threw my arms around her.
“Thank you, Spitfire. For everything.”
“I love you,” she murmured, covering my damp face in kisses. “I love you so much.”
“Ditto. You saved me. Without you, I’d have drowned. You gave me something to live for. I only existed before you, but now I see the world in vibrant color, and you’re at the center of it.”
“Can I get in on the group hug?” Erin asked, hovering by the doorway while she bit her thumbnail—a habit she’d had since forever.
“Come here, you daft cow.” I held out my arms, and my sister folded herself inside them.
“Have you heard the way he speaks to me?” Erin said in fake outrage. “Disgraceful.”
“Since you call me a fucking twat on the regular, you have no room to talk.”
“Are you two always like this?” Aspen asked.
“Yes,” we answered at the same time.
“Good to know.”
“Is anyone hungry?” Erin asked. “Because I’m starving.”
“I could eat.” I fired a look at Aspen. A faint tinge of pink rose in her cheeks.
“God, you are disgusting.” Erin shook her head. “Are you sure you want to be with this prat, Aspen? I mean, you’re a gorgeous, successful woman. You could have anyone you choose.”
Aspen ran her hand over my arse. “I think I chose well.”
I stuck my tongue out at Erin. Childish, but this was how it was with us. We’d bantered ever since she could talk. The eleven years between us had never mattered. I’d fallen in love with her the day Mum brought her home from the hospital, and those feelings had only deepened over time.
“You are such a dickhead. And you may say that now, Aspen, but wait until you discover all of his vile habits. I bet he’s been on his best behavior, but he’ll show his true colors soon.”
“Oh, yeah?” I nudged my sister. “Like what?”
“Oh, mister, you’ll be sorry you gave me a platform. Like how you hum riffs or half-sing lyrics everywhere. In the shower, on the loo, mid-conversation.”
Aspen looked at me, a secretive smile tugging at her lips. “That sounds romantic.”
Erin snorted. “Okay, how about this? He’s a chronic shirt shedder. He’d spend his life naked if he could get away with it.”
“I don’t have a problem with that,” Aspen said.
“Jesus Christ. You really are gone for him, aren’t you? Okay, this one will hammer the nail in his perfect persona. When he’s in full creative flow, he paces the house at 3:00 a.m. muttering to himself. Don’t expect a decent night’s sleep if he’s brooding. He’ll drive you nuts.”
Aspen rested her head on my shoulder. “I’ll get up and make the coffee.”
Erin threw her hands in the air. “I give up. You’re perfect for each other.”
“At last,” I said. “Now that’s sorted, who fancies Thai food?”
Both women nodded enthusiastically. I put an arm around each of their shoulders, and we left the control room and headed for the reception area.
A smattering of snow lay on the ground, and the clouds overhead promised more.
As we crossed the car park toward Aspen’s car, I caught sight of a mop of black hair across the street, standing with his shoulder propped against a wooden arch in front of a deli.
As soon as he saw us, he looked both ways and jogged over the road.
I saw him before either Erin or Aspen did.
“You’ve got some balls, kid.”
Aspen stiffened, and Erin’s hands curled into fists. I squeezed both women’s shoulders in a show of comfort and solidarity.
“I wanted to apologize,” Presley said, his chin tucked and head bowed. “To all of you.” He looked at each of us in turn. “I don’t know why I did what I did. I’ve let down my parents and my brother, but most of all, I let you down, Joz. And you, Aspen. You both believed in me, and I ruined it.”
“I suppose I was just the collateral damage side piece, huh?” Erin spat.
Presley swallowed. “If it makes a difference, I did like you. Genuinely.”
“Hmm.” Erin tapped her fingers to her lips. “Let me think. No, it doesn’t make a difference, you fucking arsehole. I hope you stub your toe every time you get out of bed and there’s always a stray hair in your food that gets caught in your throat.”
I held my sister tighter. “You could have had it all, kid. Maybe you should talk to someone, get to the bottom of why you did what you did, because that’s some fucked-up shit.”
“I thought you’d punch me,” Presley said.
I snickered. “Believe me, it’s tempting as hell to break your nose, but you’re not worth it. Take this as a warning, though: if you ever touch my woman or my sister again, I won’t just punch you, I’ll put you in the fucking ground.”
We walked around him. As we reached the corner across the street, I glanced back. He’d gone.
“I’m so proud of you,” Aspen said. “I know that couldn’t have been easy.”
“No, it wasn’t. But a night in the slammer for putting him on his arse is a night away from you, and I don’t plan to spend any more time away from you than I fucking have to.”
Erin shoved her fingers down her throat and made gagging noises. “Remind me not to order dessert. You two are sickly sweet enough. Now, can we go and eat, please, before I decide to gnaw off my own arm?”
I wrapped my arm around Aspen’s waist and pulled her close. She nuzzled into me, resting her head on my shoulder. Erin made a retching sound, but her smile reached her eyes, and she nodded as though to say, “You did good, bro.”
Yeah, this time, I did.