“Okay,” I said. “I’ll tell Gabriella I need to cancel.”
“Seriously? Shit, I thought there was no way I’d convince you.” The surprise in Alex’s voice gave away where he thought my priorities were, and he wasn’t wrong. I would’ve left him to fend for himself for the sake of work, but he would’ve done the same, so I didn’t feel that bad about it.
“I’ll see you tonight,” I said.
And I’d finally get to see Maia again…
3
MAIA
Now
* * *
I’m trapped in a pantry.
Not just any pantry, the pantry of Alex Chase. That was likely a dream scenario for many people, but I was in hell.
I’d triple-checked the guest list and made sure Zane would be on the other coast, but the sonofabitch waltzed through the front door with the rest of the guests, and I ran and hid behind the nearest available door before I could think better of it.
So now I was trapped in the fucking pantry. They were all right in front of the kitchen entry and I couldn’t come out without making a scene. As far as I knew, Alex had no idea there was any history between Zane and me. What if Zane reacted? What if I had an involuntary spasm and threw a cast iron skillet at his head for writing that stupid song?
Anything was possible.
Through the pantry door, I could hear their mom introducing herself to Alex’s new girlfriend, who was a friend of mine—or she had been before Nate. He’d disliked Elena without even knowing she was a dominatrix. It was clear she intimidated him, so he overcompensated by making misogynist jokes that Elena hadn’t deigned to pretend to be amused by. Nate called her a frigid bitch and I hadn’t invited her over again to avoid conflict.
He didn’t like my friends, so it became a pattern. All of my friendships had slowly fizzled away until all that remained was the odd birthday text.. Ophelia was my one exception because she didn’t give a fuck if he made passive-aggressive comments about her being promiscuous. She’d been persistent when I started to let distance creep between us, not allowing me to push her away. If she hadn’t done that, I’d be completely alone now.
Elena and I had once been close, but we hadn’t spoken in months. How had she even ended up dating Alex and how did I not know about it?
I could picture Alex’s mom, Linda, hugging Elena, could picture the way she’d probably be appraising the first woman Alex had introduced to his family as far as I knew. Elena would be standing there looking regal, an intriguing match for Alex’s easy charm.
In another lifetime, Zane introduced me to Linda, but she didn’t remember. I’d met her a handful of times when she was visiting Alex and she’d always been kind and courteous towards me, but she’d shown no indication she knew who I was.
Back then, I didn’t have anything but ambition and drive going for me. Zane was always destined for big things.
I didn’t have to see to know Elena just realized who Zane was. There was laughter in her voice as she said, “Typical Alex. I ask ‘what does your brother do’…his answer? He’s in a band. He neglected to mention you’re the lead singer of Travesty. I’m a big fan.”
Ugh. Just what his overinflated ego needs. More flattery.
My stomach flipped nervously when Zane spoke. I was so painfully close to him. “He’s probably worried you’d second-guess your choice of brother. Chicks dig musicians.”
Barf.
That effortlessly charming confidence was new, but hardly surprising. With his fame, people probably fawned over him constantly. He’d always been charming, but there used to be an edge of self-doubt to it, the natural insecurity of being a young adult faking your way through the world.
Not anymore.
They bantered back and forth for a few minutes while I lurked like fucking Gollum, waiting for an opportunity to crawl out of the cave I was hiding in.
Out on the kitchen counter, the timer on my phone went off.
Shit. Shit.
Alex said, “Weird. Maia was just here and I’m guessing she needs to get that. I’ll see if I can find her and I can grab drinks for everyone.”
Shit.
