Page 36 of Her Filthy Mistake

“Of course.” I narrow my eyes and study her. “I’m not a child. I wouldn’t intentionally tempt anyone in that way. Let alone….” I trail off. That’s a double-edged sword. I did tempt him in an entirely different way, and I care about him more than anyone I’ve ever cared about. I clear my throat. “Family.”

“I didn’t mean it in that way.” She turns her attention to the ladies working in front of us. The seriousness of her expression makes my stomach cramp. What is she upset about? I’m not acting like a child. I’m being respectful. Seriously. There’s no winning with my parents. It doesn’t matter what I do; it’s not enough.

I wipe my hands on the smock, except it’s usually my dad and not my mom that looks at me with disapproval. I don’t think I can handle a second ‘you don’t live up to my expectations’ parent.

“It’s good to see you and Jace getting along.” She glances out of the corner of her eye. “You two are getting along, aren’t you?”

“Yes. We’ve buried the hatchet.”What else am I supposed to say? “We’ve had a couple of good conversations, and we’re trying to focus on the fun we used to have.”

“Why did the hostility begin? I remember how you two would laugh and joke when we had game nights. You’d win at everything if you were teamed up together.”

Blood thumps in my ears. How do I explain that I was jealous as fuck over his girlfriend? Even after they broke up, I still felt his obsession for her. Heard his preoccupation with her in the songs he wrote.

And when I finally thought he’d gotten over her, he’d blown me off and broken my heart. Yeah, I can’t say that. I don’t even think I could say that to Jace if he asked why I started acting like a jerk. “I don’t know.” I shrug. “I guess I was bitchy and hormonal one day and said something snarky, and he took offense.”

“I see.” She continues to study me but doesn’t press the subject.

I tap my fingertips on the chair arms. “Do you think Dad would represent Jace if he started singing again?”

“Jace?” The platinum-blonde woman glances over at us. “Jace Graham? Don’t tell me you’re talking about Jace Graham. One of my clients said she saw him at the resort the other night. She couldn’t stop gushing about him and going on about how….” She waggled her eyebrows. “How accommodating he was.”

Seriously? Accommodating? My nails dig into the leather. I’ll show him accommodating.

“She was upset she hadn’t run into him again.”

Good. I’d like to run into him. The asshole. He’s already fucked someone else at the resort. Maybe I don’t want him back in the business. Would he go back to drinking, drugs, and random fuck buddies? Maybe that’s all I am to him anyway. We’re at a resort. And we fucked. That’s it.

“He’s my brother-in-law.”

“You’re so lucky. We love his music here and hated that he disappeared from the scene.”

The sounds of Jace’s voice comes from the hairdresser’s phone. “Listen to these words. They’re so tortured and romantic.” She turns back to her current client and gushes about Jace’s voice. His songwriting. And his ass.

Although I hate hearing him sing about her, they’re right. He was good.

I turn to my mom. “It doesn’t make any sense. Why did Dad not pick him up?”

Her eyes are soft and sincere. “Your dad thought he was too much of a loose cannon and not good enough to ignore his reckless partying. But he was better than your dad gave him credit for.”

“He’s sober now. Dad must see that he’s not the same risk that he was in the past.” Not that the excuse of him being reckless is a decent excuse, anyway. What rock god isn’t a fucked-up partying mess?

I straighten my shoulders and inhale. He deserves his chance. Even if it pulls him away from me. He was that good, at least in my mind, and he deserves a second chance at happiness. “You can talk to Dad. He’ll listen to you.”

My mom laughs and spins her chair toward me. “You’ve lost your mind. Your dad and I don’t agree on anything. Hence the divorce.”

“Then he’ll listen to Landon.”

“Your father respects Landon, but he doesn’t believe in Jace.”

That’s bullshit. I drag my cell phone out of my pocket. “Then, I’ll talk to him. It’s my job to find talent, and it’s been almost four years, and people still want to hear his music.”

“Honey.” She grabs my arm. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why?”

“Wait until your dad gets here, and then you and Jace can talk to him in person. That gives you a couple more days to solidify your pitch.” She tilts her head. “You’re going to include him in this plea for backing, aren’t you?”

“Of course.” I drop my phone into my lap. “Good idea.” I smile. “I’ll wait until Dad gets here and surprise him. When Dad sees the changes that Jace has made, he’ll jump at the chance to represent him. I know it. And Jace…. I’ll get him on board, and we’ll be an impenetrable front.”

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