Play Hard (The Devil's Share Book 5) (22 page)

“Thank you for calling me today, for letting me share that with you guys.”

Dash bent at the waist, laying Halen in her crib. He came over and crawled into bed next to me. “I remember the first time I saw your work. We were back on that first bus. Luke showed us all those pictures on his phone.” He turned me on my side and then pulled me against his front. “You’re so gifted, Kitten.”

“I’ve missed it and I’ve felt guilty about missing it.”

“Why would you ever feel guilty about that?”

“I don’t know, I guess because I have Halen now, and she’s my whole world. Maybe I felt like I shouldn’t need anything else to make me happy, other than you and her.”

He held me tighter. “I wish you would have told me that. I hate that you felt that way.” He kissed the back of my neck. “I’d go crazy if I couldn’t write, couldn’t make music. It’s who we are, Lex. We’re artists.”

I nodded. “I know that now, I see it.” I turned in his arms, throwing a leg over his hip so I could scoot closer. “Harlow actually said the same thing a few days ago.”

“You left Halen with her again today?”

“Yeah. B and Dilly had Landry out sightseeing and Lo is really great with her.” I ran my nails through his hair. “Lo is really great period.”

“Luke told us today that she was
the one.”

“Shut. Up.” I squealed into my pillow. “When?”

“At the photo shoot.” He grinned. “You actually caught it on camera. Go back and look, you’ll see it. There’s only one thing that makes a grown man smile like that.”

“And that is?”

“Realizing you found the girl that sets you on fire.”

Chapter Thirty-seven

Luke

“Pix, stop fidgeting. There isn’t anything to be nervous about right now.” I put my hands on top of Lo’s in her lap, stopping her movements. We were just about to arrive at her dad’s brownstone. She’d been in a great mood when we’d woken up this morning, full of laughter and smiles. But the second we climbed into the car, all that faded away. I already disliked her father just from the things she’d told me over the last week. Add to it he had the ability to dull her light? Punching him seemed like a better idea than shaking his hand.

“I’m taking my boyfriend to meet my father, who is a stuck-up asshat, and his plastic underage wife.” She peered out the window as we slowed at the curb. “There is plenty to be nervous about.”

“Underage? Isn’t she like twenty-eight or something?”

“Uh, yeah, I think so.” She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and reaching for the handle.

I cocked my head. “Do you know what underage means? Do numbers make sense to you at all?” I took her hand in mine, bringing it to my lips for a kiss. “I am right here with you, baby.” I nipped at her wrist with my teeth. “We’ll eat, we’ll be pleasant, and then we’ll get the hell out of there, okay?” She nodded.

The brownstone looked like it had been recently remodeled. “Did you live here when you were younger?”

We climbed the steps, side by side. “No. We had this great pre-war apartment a few blocks away from here. I remember it being huge and open, with lots of light and wooden floors. From what I can recall, it was beautiful.”

“How very
Sex in the City
of you.”

She turned to me, a sad smile on her face. “Were Lexi and your sister the only friends you had growing up?” Before I could answer her, the large oak door swung open.

“Well, there’s our girl. Get in here, sweetheart, we are so happy you decided to come visit.” My eyes went wide. The woman standing in front of us with open arms was young as hell. She may have been twenty-eight, but she looked twenty-five or younger. She had shoulder-length black hair and dark eyes. She was both model tall and model thin. She was pretty, but she didn’t hold a candle to my girl.

Harlow stayed rooted on the stoop, so I gave her back a little push. She narrowed her eyes but entered the house and her stepmom’s arms. “Hello, Misti. It’s nice to see you.” Her tone was as flat as a pancake.

But Misti (I’d never met a Misti who wasn’t a stripper) didn’t seem to let it get her down. She squeezed Lo tight for another few seconds before backing away. “And what do we have here?” She dropped her arms from Lo’s shoulders and turned her attention to me.

I held my hand out. “I’m Luke Matthews, Harlow’s boyfriend. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh I know who you are, handsome.” I took my hand back and stepped closer to Lo, wrapping my arm around her waist. A forty-five-year-old loving mother calling her daughter’s boyfriend handsome? That was sweet. A twenty-eight-year-old stepmom calling her stepdaughter’s boyfriend handsome? That was bad news.

“Harlow, honey.”

“Hey, Dad. How’s it—”

“Henry?” I jerked back at the sight of Henry Miller coming down the stairs toward us.

“Hello, Luke.” His tone matched Harlow’s from earlier. He was less than thrilled to see me, but not at all surprised.

I grabbed Lo’s arm, gently turning her to face me. “Henry Miller is your father?”

She seemed confused, looking between us, finally settling on him. “Dad? You know Luke?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Of course I know Luke. I own him.”

My hackles were fucking raised. “You don’t fucking own me, or the band. We work
with
you, and we make you a shit-ton of money too so you better watch your damn—”

“Boys, boys. Let’s not discuss business right now, brunch is ready.” Misti stepped between us and then put her arm through mine, guiding me into what I assumed was the formal dining room.

Out of all the things I thought would happen here today, Harlow’s dad owning our record label sure as hell wasn’t one of them. Miller was our least favorite suit, the worst in a long line of talentless pricks. The label had been giving us shit about our new album for months on end, and Miller was behind ninety percent of it. They’d also made some questionable choices in the past about allotting money for things we never authorized. One of those being all the money they paid out to Landry’s mom, none of which ever went toward Landry. We sat down, Lo and I on one side and Miller and Misti on the other.

There was enough food on the table to feed a family of ten. We loaded our plates in silence, the only sound our silverware tapping on the dishes. It was loaded silence, so I knew Lo would eventually start to, yep, babble.

“When did you buy this place? Why did you move? Your old apartment had so much more character from what I can remember. Not that I can remember much, I don’t think I’ve been back to New York in, gosh, ten years or so? It must have been worth a fortune in this market. I wish you would have let me know you were selling, I’d have loved to buy it.”

When she paused to take a breath, I held a fork full of frittata in front of her face. “You’ve got to try this, baby. It’s delicious.” She opened and I loaded the whole bite into her mouth then glared at her dad. “You knew who I was, why didn’t you say anything?” Dickwad.

He sat his knife down. “I tried to tell her.” He looked pointedly at Lo. “Several times. But she kept ignoring my calls, and when I finally did get her on the line, she interrupted me incessantly. I didn’t contact you directly because this is a family matter, this is between my daughter and me.”

I put my hand on her thigh under the table. “Yeah, well, she’s with me now. So it’s between all of us.”

“Can we please just all calm down? Let’s have a nice meal together and then afterward Harlow and her father can step into his study to talk.” Misti winked at me. “You and I can get to know each other a little better too.” Well, that seemed like an unsavory offer with trouble written all over it.

I gritted my teeth. “Fine.” The last thing I wanted to do was share a meal with this clown. I’d had to do it enough over the past couple of years with the Devil’s Share. Lo had described him to a T: pretentious asshole. If he got to run the conversation it’d be all about either his golf game or how much money he made this year.

Henry looked around the table before smiling politely. “I sold the other apartment because we need more space.” He held his wife’s hand on top of the table. “Misti and I want to start a family.”

Lo’s fork clattered loudly to her plate. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Harlow. Language.” His eyes darted to me. “I can see the company you keep is starting to rub off on you.”

Misti looked pissed as hell, and it was all directed at Lo. “We thought you’d be happy for us. You are a grown adult; we didn’t think you would be jealous of a baby.”

Lo’s whole body tensed. I took the juice glass out of her hand. I was afraid she was going to Hulk out and shatter it. “Really? You think I’m jealous of your hypothetical baby? You couldn’t be further from the truth. I pity your kid. I know what it’s like to grow up with a father who isn’t around, who doesn’t care enough to spend time with you.” She sneered. “At least
I
got to grow up with a great mom.”

Misti inhaled a sharp breath and put her hand to her chest. “Henry, are you going to just sit here and let her talk to me like that?”

He put his head in his hands and I could have sworn I heard him mumble, “Fuck my life.” I couldn’t be sure though because he immediately stood and motioned to the hallway. “Harlow, honey, can I please speak with you for a moment?” He looked down at me. “Alone.”

I shot him the finger and Lo choked on a piece of bacon. She got up and placed a sweet kiss on my cheek. Fuck that noise. I grabbed her face and stuck my tongue down her throat. Then for good measure I slapped her ass when she walked away. She was mine. I’d just gotten her. And I wasn’t about to let her dad think he could take her away.

Chapter Thirty-eight

Harlow

I followed my dad out of the dining room, reluctantly leaving Luke with Misti. It was clear that she wanted his dick. It would be sad if it wasn’t so damn funny. There was no way he’d go there. I didn’t have one ounce of doubt in my mind.

My father took me to a room with a large mahogany desk and bookshelves lining three of the four walls. They were filled with books my dad had probably never even read. My mom was the reader. Part of me wondered if some of these were her books. When we moved to Miami, we’d downgraded. The house she lived in didn’t have space for a library like this.

He shut the door behind us and motioned for me to sit. I crossed my arms. “No thanks, I think I’ll stand.”

He crossed the room and perched on the edge of his desk. “Harlow, honey.” He paused for effect. He’d done that for as long as I could remember. Saying my name in that resigned way. I wasn’t the daughter my father wanted. He wanted a blonde princess who accepted his gifts and thrived in posh boarding schools. That wasn’t me.

“So, going to give another little girl daddy issues?” It was a cheap shot, and it just made Misti look correct in her assessment of my jealousy. But I couldn’t help it.

“You are so dramatic, always have been. You get your personality from your mother.”

I snorted. “It’s hilarious that you say that like it’s an insult.” My mom was twice the parent my dad could ever even hope to be.

“Why do you always have to be so damn difficult, Harlow? I gave you everything a child could ever wish for.”

I looked at him like he was crazy. “Yeah, everything except love and affection.”

“Oh grow up, Harlow. I was running a billion-dollar company, I’m sorry I didn’t make it to your gymnastic meets.”

“Dance recitals.”

He didn’t acknowledge that I’d corrected him. “I love Misti, and she loves me. She wants a baby, so I will give her one.”

I rolled my eyes. “You don’t love Misti, she’s a trophy. And she doesn’t want a baby, she wants a chain to your wallet.” I shrugged. “But whatever, you go ahead and have fun with that.” I
was
like my mother, I was kind and I loved with all my heart so I added. “When you two get tired of playing parent, give me call, the kid can come live with me. Maybe it’ll have a shot at being halfway normal.”

His eyes turned red. Huh. That was the most emotion I’d ever evoked in him; maybe he did want a—

“She does love me.”

Oh, okay great. Already his young trophy wife ranked higher than this baby they were so desperate to conceive. “No, Dad, she doesn’t. Hundred grand says she’s in the dining room right now trying to fuck my boyfriend.”

“Nice language. I can see the filth really has rubbed off on you.”

I smiled. “Are we done?”

“No, not yet. You can’t keep seeing Luke. I won’t allow it.” He pushed up his sleeves like he was about to get serious. “He isn’t the right guy for you. I know that right now you have stars in your eyes. I’m sure he seems exciting and dangerous. But he’s just a rock star. He’s someone I created.” He shook his head sadly. “And, unfortunately, when it comes to the Devil’s Share, I created monsters in all of them.”

Monsters?
When we left Dash’s and Lexi’s suite last night, Jacks was getting his nails painted princess pink and wearing a tiara. I was too stunned to argue with him for several seconds, my jaw to the floor. I quickly recovered and let out a humorless laugh. “Do you even know these men? Have you bothered to spend any time with them in the past year?” And the first time he decides to take an interest in my life it’s to tell me who I can and can’t date? I don’t think so.

“I’ve spent the past ten years with these men, Harlow. Do you have any idea how much money I’ve had to shell out to save their asses? To keep their image just right?”

I was confused. “Aren’t they one of the biggest rock bands in the nation? I’m sure they make you way more money than they cost you, or else you would have dropped them.” My dad owned a record label, but I’d never seen his love for the music. I was pretty sure that died when he made his first million. His life had revolved around dollar signs for as long as I could remember. Dollar signs and barely legal secretaries.

He scoffed. “Just barely.” He started ticking off points on his fingers. “Smith. I’ve had to pay his baby momma for the past ten years, not to mention the cash I have to give his drug-addled family to keep them away from him. Do you know how precarious his sobriety is? Has always been? Jared, his cousin, cost me hundreds of thousands in possession charges and rehab before I could finally get them to cut him loose.