Page 109 of On The Rocks

Uglywasn’t even close to the word.

“She’s a monster.” She eased back to look me in the eyes. “You know that, right?”

“No doubt about it. But instead of the drama she was hoping for, we imploded. There was nothing left to us after that. I busted Marc’s ribs, and he ended up in the hospital. He left the hospitalwithout telling anyone, stole a freaking motorcycle, and took off into the desert.”

“Selfish ass.”

I leaned in and kissed her gently. “Yeah. He’s always been selfish, but Irene really fucked him up. It took some creative PR for Trident to keep that one under wraps. And Irene couldn’t handle it. She destroyed her hotel room and blamed me for ruining everything.”

“She’s delusional.”

“And then some. It took a damn long time for me to figure out what really happened and to mend things with Baron. He just wants to be left alone. I can’t blame him. I was the same for a damn long time. But then I went to find Leilani. And spending time with her—getting to know her—finally helped me get my head on right.”

“How did you survive ten years with that?”

“It wasn’t always so bad. Irene mostly spent time between Baron and Marc and by the end, she had them both. They were so messed up, in the end it was just easier to share her.”

“Until it wasn’t enough for her.”

I nodded. “And I’ll never forgive her for what she did.”

“Good.” She wrapped herself around me. “And I’m sorry you went through that.”

“Me too. But if I hadn’t, I may have never gotten here. I would never have looked for my sister and finally tracked down Kain to the orchard. Never found you.” I brushed my lips against hers. “Never felt this.”

Her dark eyes were wary, but she melted in my arms.

And for now, that was enough.

Chapter 23

Lennon

Pack A Bikini

Iwoke to an empty bed. It wasn’t an unusual way to start the day.

Griffin was restless on a good day, but after sharing all that with me the night before, I wasn’t surprised he split.

Part of me wanted to split too. Last night showed me that we weren’t playing anymore. The pain had been so potent in his eyes. The betrayal of all of his friends in one way or another had been too huge.

And I didn’t want to be another thing to hurt him when I left.

Do you really want to leave?

I’d been avoiding Richard’s calls for weeks now. It was everything I wanted, everything I’d worked for.

I draped my arm over my eyes.

What was I without Daphne’s?

It had been the goal of my life for over ten years now.

A strumming guitar dented my existential crisis, dragging me out of my spiraling thoughts.

I sat up, the sheets tangled around me, as the notes pulled at me.

Not a record, but Griffin.

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