I passed the liquor stations in favor of a craft beer. I didn’t want to get obliterated tonight.
I wandered away from the laughter and the noise. I needed to shake off my mood. The view of Los Angeles below helped. From up here it didn’t seem quite so plastic and false. Today had revealed a pathetic level of both.
One of the thousand reasons I didn’t live in the city anymore. I needed the mountains and the distance to keep the love alive. Looking out at the city from my house in the hills helped. Staying out of the nightlife that had ruled my world for years had too. Luckily I didn’t fall into the Tristan trap all that often.
The rough cement of the half wall dug into my palms. I counted to twenty, forcing my limbs to relax, my muscles to unravel. Tonight was about my band and my friends. It wasn’t about the past, and it wasn’t about the stupid Rolling Stone cover. I needed to put all the bullshit aside.
“Hello, brother.”
I twisted away from the view. “Christ, Noah. You made it.” I pulled my big brother in for a hug, slapping his back before my grip firmed on his shoulders.
“Wouldn’t miss my baby brother’s big day.” He slapped my back in a return hug before stepping back.
“When did you get in?”
“I got here at the tail end of the press thing.”
My eyebrows lowered. “Great.”
“What a fuckin’ circus. They were out for blood, man.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
He stole my beer. “Cheers.”
“Dick.”
A pale eyebrow arched. “I believe your dick is the one in question.” He took a sip. “On all the things. And all the picture, and topics…”
“Fuck off.” I laughed.
His eyes were bluer than mine, a helluva lot more rested, and practically gleamed in good humor. My brother was the laidback sort, when he wasn’t working anyway. He leaned against the half wall next to me and jerked his chin at the revelry. “Doing well for yourself, I see.”
I shrugged. “The label is happy with our current sales, that’s all.”
“Yeah. That’s all. I can’t turn on the television without seeing some form of picture of your junk, bud. I know the Jordan men are blessed, but they put the wrong man on the cover for that particular description.”
I snagged a beer from a passing waiter and chucked the cap at him. “I hate you.”
Noah grinned and surveyed the party. I tried to see it from his perspective. Women wandered around in bathing suits that probably wouldn’t see water—unless Bats got to them. Men in swim trunks with their perfect gym bodies mingled with the suits from the label and a ridiculous level of beautiful women were peppered around the deck. A few famous faces that I knew by name, and others I knew by reputation. It was a strange mix of the LA set, the trendy, and the normals.
Bats was holding court in the pool, Wyatt at the bar, Keys was flitting from group to group with her usual charm and laughter. The head of our fan club, Jessica, had her camera at the ready, but she was more interested in the famous party crashers than recording anything.
Zach and Owen had their guitars out, jamming with a handful of actors who fancied themselves singers. A female country singer sitting in with them lent an earthy flavor to the cover songs.
Indie was finally relaxing for the first time all week. I was pretty sure she was holding a glass of wine that could be a decanter, but I was glad she was loosening up. Even the stoic Patrick was chatting up a girl. Everyone was having fun. And I should have been in the middle of it, but I couldn’t make myself wade in.
My brother’s gaze locked on something across the space. I followed his line of sight past the lights, the laughter, and the glitter. I wasn’t really aware of the growl until my brother laughed.
Noah’s lips twitched, and his pair of dimples dented his cheeks. “Know her?”
Kenny stood just outside the theater entrance to the patio.
“Back off, brother.”
She’d changed. Instead of the buttoned up suit, she was wearing a little slip of a dress that shimmered in the torchlight. The LA skyline was cool blue and white and she was all flame. From her hair to the shimmering wine-colored dress, she was nothing but heat. All her curls had been tamed and yet teased at the same time.
I wanted to fist my hands into all of it and drag her into me until there was nothing but skin.
“You going to introduce me to her?”
I frowned. “Hell, no.”
“You’re just afraid she’ll like the superior Jordan brother.”
“You’re delusional.”
He rubbed his fist against his chest. “I’m wounded.”
“You will be if you don’t stop looking at her.”