After his meteoric rise to superstardom, Jim O'Brien is no longer a small-town boy who plays in bars and dreams of success. His handsome face is plastered on the covers of celebrity gossip magazines, and his voice alone is enough to make girls swoon...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Standing in the middle of the crowd at the airport, I watched Aiden and his girl stroll toward the security check. “Have a safe flight, Kennedy,” I shouted when my friend turned around and waved at me.
Weeks passed since Ellie’s assault. At some point, I doubted the two of them were strong enough to deal with all of it — the drama, the revelations, the betrayal of the people they should've been able to trust.
Kennedy stayed at my condo while his girl was recovering. I was grateful for his company and even happier when my little brother Brian stopped by and spent a few days with Aiden and me on his way to our hometown. Now, I was on my own again.
Glancing around the packed terminal, I waited for a while before taking the elevator to the garage. I wasn’t going home, not because it was empty and seemed too cold, although that alone was a valid reason to avoid doing it. My bandmates were back in the city after our winter break. The guys and I would have lunch at a restaurant downtown.
As I parked and got out of the vehicle, clutching the bag with gifts, I spotted a familiar blond head.
“Jay!”
He spun around and grinned. “Isn’t that our Jimmy boy?”
“Call me that again, fucker, and Santa won’t give you your Christmas gift, got it?”
Jason laughed, hugging me. “Just kidding. How have you been?”
“Spent the holidays at the hospital with Kennedy and his girl."
“Are they alright?”
“On their way back to Paris. What about you? Anything new?”
Jason shrugged. “Same old. Visited my parents and my sister, ate tons.”
“And Nick?”
“On his way. Speak of the devil.”
Nick slammed the driver’s door of his SUV shut and rushed to us. “Ladies.”
“Last time I checked, I had all my guy parts in place, thank you very much,” Jay said.
I gave Nick a hug, and the three of us strolled toward the restaurant.
A delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen, making my stomach growl. My bandmates and I settled at our usual table in the back. Only a few customers were eating. They were engrossed in conversation, which would grant us some privacy.
