“I’ve known Axel most of my life, and you’re the first woman we have ever met,” Isla tells Olivia, which seems to add to her panic.
“And he stopped going to The Paradise Club,” Stacey explains. I look between Stacey and Olivia, and yes, my mind did wander to the image of the two of them with Jackson, Oscar, and Axel.
Olivia seems surprised by this. “Really?”
“Yep, he told Oscar that he wasn’t interested in one-night stands anymore,” Stacey tells her.
If Axel is giving up The Paradise Club, then he’s serious. “Fuck me dead, my princess has pussy-whipped Axel. The staunchestI’m staying a single manthere ever was.”
Olivia seems freaked out.
“Hey, don’t think like that,” Stacey says, noticing Olivia’s mind has gone somewhere. Guessing she knows her best, seeing as they have been intimate together. “Axel is bloody stubborn and strong-willed. There’s no way in the world you would be able to make him do something he didn’t want to do.” Stacey seems to have relaxed Livvy, her shoulders which were bunched up around her ears have fallen.
“I know we have heaps of hurdles to overcome,” Olivia says quietly.
“I heard about what your sister did. Yeah, Axel called Christian and told him all about it,” Vanessa says.
“Really?” Olivia asks.
“Yeah, he was upset, pissed off. He told him all about the conversation, about how Eddie and Penny have been carrying on an affair together,” Vanessa explains.
Wait, what?! “No fucking way. That fucking slut.” I knew it. Penny is a fucking snake. “How the hell you two came from the same vagina, I’ll never know. You don’t deserve a sister like her, Liv. You don’t deserve people like that in your life. You’rethe kindest, most thoughtful, beautiful, and hardworking person I know, and these fuck faces fuck around behind your back. Do they have any idea what an amazing gift they have just by knowing you?” Phew. Not sure where that all came from, but I hope Liv understands. I’m protective of my girls. Next thing I know, Olivia is hugging me as her tears hit my shoulder. Oh, the poor thing. “You’re special, Olivia, and if she doesn’t want you for a sister, I do. As you know, I don’t have any family, and when I see people being treated unfairly by theirs, I have to reach out to them.” I try to hold in my own emotions. “Just know that if you decide that Axel is the man for you, that you aren’t losing your family, you’re gaining one, and one that’s there for you no matter what.” She needs to know that Dirty Texas will be her family when her own can’t be, especially if it’s the difference between following her heart versus her loyalty to said family. I want her to take a leap of faith with Axel. She deserves happiness, and he’s going to give it to her, not some asshole who is fucking her sister. “Family isn’t always linked by blood, Liv. Just think about that,” I tell her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey, why is my girl crying?” Axel asks angrily. His protective mode has been activated, and it’s hot. The next thing we know, Olivia is running from my arms into his and kissing him so passionately that I feel like a voyeur for watching, but I’m not looking away, they are hot together.
36
DERRICK
“Ican’t believe you’re leaving. I’m going to miss you, boo,” I tell Isla, giving her a big hug. She’s getting ready to move halfway across the world to Spain to be sexy Sebastien’s assistant. We’ve just had her going-away party, except there were two noticeable people missing, her brother and Finn. Conveniently, they were in New York looking for commercial space for Dirty Texas Records and couldn’t attend Isla’s going-away party, but Oscar will be back to take her to the airport.
When we got back from Europe, I caught up with Isla and asked her how things were with Finn. That’s when she confessed that he told her his secret, and she knows that I know. Honestly, I was relieved not having to keep Finn’s secret anymore.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell.”
“I can’t imagine how hard it was for you to keep that a secret for so long,” Isla says.
“It was so hard. I told him so many times that he needed to tell you, and then when I found out about Monaco, I was prepared to cut his balls off for you. That was my greatest fear for you stumbling upon his secret,” I explain to her.
“It was a shock,” she confesses.
“A hot one?” I tease.
“In hindsight, yes, in the moment, no. My brain couldn’t compute what I was seeing. Then I was angry.”
“Don’t blame you. It was so hard seeing you heartbroken and not being able to talk to you about it. Me telling you when you were so hurt that I knew wasn’t going to help the situation. Also, you two needed to work it out.”
Isla sips her drink. “I would have blown up at you, D, if you had confessed that you knew. It was so lonely holding this secret in and not being able to talk to anyone about it. I don’t even know who knows, now?”
“Only Stacey, Oscar, and I know, not sure about his brothers,” I tell her.
“You and Finn, never?” Isla asks cautiously.
“Never!” I reassure her. “Look, Finn is hot, and I joked before I knew his secret, but once I found out about it, there was no way I would ever do that to you, baby girl.”
“I know, D, it’s just … you know.”
“I get it. Look, Finn has never flirted, nor has he ever done anything inappropriate with me at the club.” I want to make sure she understands that.
