Page 151 of My Three Billionaire Rockstars

I cross my arms, trying to ground myself. “That’s his brother?”

“Yeah.”

“The one he doesn’t talk to?”

“Also yeah.”

“And Gabe…” I stop, shaking my head. “Gabe knew he was coming.”

Julian winces. “That part’s complicated.”

“Everything is complicated,” I snap. “That’s kind of the theme lately.”

He huffs out a soft laugh, but there’s no real humor in it. “True.”

I wrap my arms tighter around myself. The cool air helps, but not enough. My skin still feels too warm from Gabe. My mouth still remembers his. My body still feels soft and unsteady and opened up in ways I don’t know what to do with.

And now this.

“What happened?” I ask.

Julian looks at me for a long second. “How much do you want to know?”

“I don’t know.” My laugh comes out thin. “Enough to understand why Xander looked like he was about to commit murder in an entryway.”

“That’s just his face.”

“Julian.”

His teasing fades.

He shoves both hands into his pockets and looks toward the gravel drive. “They’ve always been complicated, Xander and Dylan. Same town, same talent. Too many people comparing them before either of them was old enough to know how to survive it.”

“That sounds awful.”

“It was.” His eyes flick to me. “Their parents didn’t help. They pushed. Managed. Controlled. Made everything a competition. Who got attention. Who got the better song. Who got the better deal. Who was more marketable.”

My stomach twists.

I think of Xander at the farmers’ market, buying Nina honey like it was nothing. Xander at the lake, quieter under the night sky. Xander looking at me like honesty was the only thing he knew how to offer when everything else fell apart.

That version of him feels very far away from the man yelling inside the house.

“What else?” I ask.

Julian’s jaw flexes. “There was a woman. Xander’s fiancée.”

“She slept with Dylan?” I guess.

Julian looks at me.

“That’s a yes,” I mutter.

“It was a long time ago.”

“Time doesn’t usually help as much as people want it to.”

“No,” he says softly. “It doesn’t.”