Free Spirit

Chapter 1

Alexis

I put the final touches on my toenails, placing the bottle of purple polish on the table. The cool ocean breeze swept across the terrace, promising to dry my nails in no time. I leaned back in my lounge chair, deciding a quick nap was in order.

My life had improved considerably since my sister started dating Miles Maines, aka Reefer, a famous and very rich rock star. I went from living in a shitty apartment in Gastown, one of Vancouver's roughest neighbourhoods, to Horseshoe Bay, a quiet suburb of the city without prostitutes and drug dealers on every corner.

I lived in Reefer's cliffside mansion for a few weeks the previous summer while my sister recovered from a broken leg. Hannah was working as a stripper at a seedy club in the city. She got hired for a private party on Reefer's yacht, where she ended up getting stranded for two weeks due to a passport issue. They hooked up, leading to a media storm. Hannah was a thirty-year-old virgin until Reefer got his hands on her. When she returned to work at the strip club, people went crazy and threw cherries at her. The crowd charged the stage, and my sister ended up with a broken leg.

"Really, Lex?"

"Fuck me," I muttered when Hannah appeared next to my chair, her scowly face telling me I was about to get shit.

"You're supposed to be watching Cleo."

"She's thirty-six, Hannah," I sighed. "She doesn't require constant supervision."

"A tablet is not a substitute for human contact."

"She loves that thing. Who cares if she's on it all day?"

"I care."

I pushed my shades up to my forehead, studying my sister's face. "Are you getting enough cock, Hannah?"

"Excuse me?"

"Is Miles putting the balls to you on the regular?"

"What does that have to do with you neglecting Cleo?"

"I didn't neglect her, Hannah," I snapped, rolling my eyes. "I'm here, aren't I? I can think of much better ways to spend my day off, but I'm honouring my commitment to share the responsibility for Cleo, just like I promised when I moved out."

Miles purchased a bakery so we could fulfill my mom's dream of working together. Too bad Mom was dead. And baking was more Hannah and Cleo's thing. I had a full time job at a beauty salon. Miles's daughter took my place in the new family business. Lucy was autistic, but she was a Level 1 on the spectrum, whereas Cleo was a Level 2.

I lived alone in the apartment above the bakery, which suited me just fine. I loved Cleo, but I wasn't great with managing her moods and severe OCD. I didn't have the patience. And I wanted my privacy. For the first time in my life, I could come and go as I pleased, and fuck whomever I wanted, without Hannah's judgement and criticism.

I groaned when Hannah sat down. She wasn't finished lecturing me. And I knew what was next on her agenda. The same thing she'd been nagging me about for weeks.

Her wedding.

"Did you decide if you're bringing a date to the wedding?"

See? Did I call that or what?

"Not yet."

"Lex," she said, expelling a frustrated sigh. "You're running out of time. Your date requires a security clearance and a signed NDA. You can't just pick some random guy at the last minute."

"Why can't you just have a normal wedding?"

"Because we don't want the paparazzi ruining our day."

Hannah and Miles were getting married somewhere in the Alaskan wilderness. They rented out a lodge for a week. The location was top-secret. The guests didn't even know where they were going. All they were told when they accepted the coveted invite was that they were required to fly to Anchorage, Alaska. They went a little overboard with the secrecy. I didn't even know the location of the lodge.