Page 1 of Let Me Love You (Excess All Areas 5)

PROLOGUE

December 26th

Ben King, lead guitarist for rock band Sad Fridays, cautiously opened one eye and glanced around at the state of his bedroom. The smell of midnight-ordered pizza made him want to vomit. Although, that could easily have been the bottle of whiskey, or the bottle of vodka that he’d turned to once the whiskey had run out.

His bed was too warm, which meant there was someone in it with him. Without turning over, he didn’t have a fucking clue who it was.

Hopefully he’d called someone he actually liked.

Or had he gone out and picked someone up?

The previous day was now all a blur.

Christmas day. The girlfriends of the rest of the band members had all been whispering in his nan’s kitchen about something.

Alex, his brother and the band’s percussionist and keyboard player, had been requested to join them. A few minutes later, he’d marched out of there like the world had stopped spinning on its axis, telling Ben to get his coat and getting him a whiskey once he’d let them into Ben’s home.

Ben groaned and placed a hand over his face as he remembered what happened next.

Chaya’s engaged.

The pain, as fresh and raw as it had been yesterday, sliced through him.

The next breath was hard.

Even though he’d suspected an engagement would come eventually.

Even though he’d known from the moment he’d realised he was in love with his best friend all those years ago, that she’d never marry him because he wasn’t Jewish.

Even though there had been times she’d looked at him and held him and shown him she loved him too. It had never changed what was expected of her.

What her faith expected of her.

“Fuck me,” he muttered.

“Same,” the male voice next to him said.

Ben breathed a sigh of relief when he realised it was his brother.

“You stayed?”

“Couldn’t let you go through this alone,” Alex said, his voice rough. “You doing okay?”

“Define okay?”

“Stupid question. But we’ll get you through this. Like we have everyone else in the band when things have gone to shit. I’ll go make coffee.”

Gingerly, his brother sat up and moved his legs to the edge of the bed. He was in a pair of Ben’s joggers.

“You could have slept in the spare room, you know,” Ben said.

Alex turned, his curls in disarray. “You threatened to get in your car and drive over to her fiancé’s sometime around your tenth shot. Your plan was to take her on a private jet to Mexico and marry her on the beach. I hid your keys and opted to sleep in here so I’d know if you decided to do something stupid, like call a cab.”

Yeah, he probably would have. And the whole idea was stupid. Even if he’d whisked her away, she would never have married him on a beach because she wanted a religious wedding celebration. Thebedekenand thechuppahand the glass breaking. And a Jewish man opposite her. “Thanks.”

Alex shrugged. “You’d do the same for me. For what it’s worth, I’m really sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.” Three words that did nothing to describe the feeling.

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