Chapter One
Axel Forrester adjusted his sunglasses and leaned back against a lounge chair, grateful for the first warm, summerlike day in June in the Hamptons. Xander Kingston’s dog, Bella, sat by his side.
An extra pair of glasses lay on the table beside him. He picked them up and propped them over the golden retriever’s eyes. “There you go, girl. That’s better, isn’t it?” He patted her on the head, and she stretched out on the ground, leaving the glasses in place.
He tipped his head up to the sky and closed his eyes, enjoying the heat on his face. As a California kid, his first winter in New York had been a huge adjustment. He’d moved here last summer when he’d become the drummer for the Original Kings and had spent the first couple of months bunking at the lead singer Dash Kingston’s house.
Axel learned fast that the band was a tight-knit bunch, all living in Dash’s home. Until a baby scare with a groupie put Dash in need of a fake girlfriend to fix his reputation, and Axel’s sister, Cassidy, had played the role.
Now Cassidy and Dash were married, having wed in front of family and friends this past winter. Axel had rented a house nearby, as had Jagger, the guitar player, and Mac, the bassist. But Axel and the guys spent more time at Dash’s home studio or here at Xander’s than at their own places.
Xander complained about the fact that the band had followed Dash’s lead, making his house their home away from home, but nobody believed Xander really considered them unwanted company. And Sasha, the famous actress Xander had married this past spring, welcomed them, as long as they knocked first.
Given the Kingston family’s dysfunctional background, courtesy of their now deceased father, the fact that four of the five siblings were settled and happy gave a guy like Axel hope that he’d meet the right woman. He was sick of the rock-star lifestyle, the parties after the shows, the groupies, and the drinking. At thirty years old, he wanted a partner for life.
And if he couldn’t find the right woman?
He opened his eyes and glanced down at the dog that didn’t belong to him, giving her a long rub down her spine. “We all know the truth. You’re my girl, Bella, right?”
She lifted her head at the sound of her name.
“Quit trying to steal my dog’s loyalty.” Xander walked out of his house and joined him on the lounge chair beside him. “Why is she wearing my sunglasses?” he asked.
Axel figured the answer was obvious. “Because it’s sunny out and I’m protecting her eyes.”
“Know where she wouldn’t be squinting? Inside. Because when I’m not home, that’s where she belongs.”
Xander gestured toward the house, and Axel shrugged. “Sasha let me in and said I could relax by the pool, and you know Bella loves being with me.”
Xander rolled his eyes. “When you finally buy a house, make sure you have your own pool, okay?”
Axel ignored him much as Xander’s brother, Dash, would have done and picked up his phone. Out of habit, he began scrolling through his social media. He had a fan page on both Instagram and Facebook that he paid someone to run and post fan-engaging photos. But if a comment struck him, occasionally Axel would answer. Otherwise, he left it to the professionals.
He also had a private page from his teenage days that only friends, family, and old acquaintances could see. He didn’t often check out what the people he’d known in the past were up to, and he didn’t need social media to tell him what his sister and friends were doing. But he was feeling nostalgic, so he began to scroll through the friend page for the first time in ages.
Familiar faces were displayed in his timeline. Men he’d known now had wives and kids, had just gotten engaged or married, or showed off newborns in their arms. It stood out how different Axel’s life was from theirs.
One other thing stood out to him. “Jesus, these guys haven’t aged well.”
“What the hell are you looking at?” Xander asked.
He glanced at his friend. “Facebook. Guys I went to high school with. Half of them are bald, and the other half have huge stomachs.” He shook his head and continued to scroll through the page. “The women look good,” he said more to himself than to Xander. “Do you ever go through yours? It’s like a blast from the past.”
Xander shook his head. “No. Not a people person,” he pointedly said.
Axel chuckled and didn’t take offense. Annoying Xander was like the band’s favorite pastime.
Another swipe of his thumb and a familiar brunette caught his gaze. He paused. Gorgeous chocolate-brown eyes stared at him, eyes he remembered looking into his as he’d eased himself inside her. She hadn’t been his first, but once he’d asked her out, she’d been his only.
He blinked and continued to study her. Her face had filled out, but she was just as beautiful now as she was over ten years ago. More so, even. Dark brown hair flowed over her shoulders, and a white fluffy dog that looked like a Samoyed licked her cheek as she grinned for the photo. There couldn’t be a more perfect picture to capture the essence of Tara Stillman.
“Damn,” he said, making the screen larger so he could get a better look.
“What now?” Xander asked.
“Old high school girlfriend,” Axel said, not really focusing on Xander. Not when memories of her came flooding back, all of them good.
He and Tara had been together from freshman to senior year of high school, and though they’d been in love – or as close to in love as teenagers could be — they’d always known their relationship had an end date. Music had always pulled at him, and as soon as he graduated, Axel had known he’d be off to audition with bands, travel to gigs, and try and make it big.
She, on the other hand, had intended to become a vet, and from the information on her Facebook page, she’d accomplished her goal. They both had, he mused, staring at the light smattering of freckles on the bridge of her nose. She’d wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and take over his veterinary practice outside of Los Angeles, near Brentwood. Obviously that part of her plan had changed, and he wondered why.
The good news, at least for him, was that she now lived on the East Coast. Was that a coincidence or a sign? Taking it as the latter, he knew he had to see her.
Axel wasn’t sure how to approach a woman he hadn’t kept in touch with since they’d said goodbye over a decade ago, and he wracked his brain, trying to come up with a plan.
A car horn honked in the distance, disturbing Bella, who jumped up and started to bark, causing the sunglasses to fall to the ground. Axel retrieved them and held them in his hand. After a minute, Bella settled with a low growl. Dogs, he thought, amused.
That was it. Dogs. He turned to Xander and asked, “Can I borrow Bella?”
“What for?” Xander asked as he shifted toward him.
Axel didn’t reply because he knew how the other man would react to him borrowing the dog to visit his ex-girlfriend.
“Whatever it’s for, you do realize could get your own dog, right?” Xander asked.
“Nah. Not practical while I’m renting. Besides, I’m on the road too often to commit to ownership,” he said, one hand stroking the dog’s fur.
“And yet you spend a remarkable amount of time at my house. Funny how that works.” Xander shook his head, a grin he’d never admit to on his face.
Axel ignored the dig about the hours he hung out here. Who wanted to be alone twenty-four seven? Give it some time, and Dash or one of the other guys would show up. And if not them, Cassidy would come to see Sasha, and Axel enjoyed hanging out with the women.
As for the dog, she was the primary part of his plan to see Tara, and he wasn’t about to give up. “So can I borrow Bella for a couple of hours?”
“Why do you want to borrow our dog?” Sasha had been walking on the deck, already close to the lounge chairs, when he’d asked again. She sat down on the edge of Xander’s chair and placed a hand on his leg.
Xander glanced at his wife, his expression softening as he took her in, then turned back to Axel, gaze narrowed. “Wait a minute. You were just on Facebook looking up an old girlfriend. Don’t tell me you want use Bella to pick up chicks.”
“Chick,” Axel said, correcting him because it was important. “One chick.” He hoped the clarification would help the cause.
“Which chick?” Sasha asked, her eyes lighting up at his explanation.
She’d been trying to set him up with a nice girl for months now. But as much as he wanted to find someone, the notion of first dates and getting-to-know-you time turned his stomach. He’d just about decided he’d have to accept the inevitable and give in to Sasha’s matchmaking when he’d been given a reprieve.
Now Tara was firmly in his mind.
He glanced at the phone, which had turned itself off, and reopened the screen for a look at her personal information. He was relieved there was no relationship status listed under her name and took that as another positive sign.
“Aah. Silence,” Sasha said in an amused tone.
She was right. Axel wasn’t eager to reveal the name of his old girlfriend, which was odd. He normally explained everything going on in his life to these people who, in a short time, had become more like family than friends.
“He’s clammed up,” Xander agreed, his gaze steady on Sasha as they talked over Axel, no doubt hoping he’d get annoyed and reveal more.
“That tells me the woman in question means something to him.” Sasha curled one tanned leg beneath her.
Axel had had enough. “I’m right here while you’re talking about me,” he reminded them. Jesus fuck, these two meant business. Wasn’t it enough they knew borrowing Bella was important to him?
Sasha laughed and rubbed Bella’s soft head. “Just have her home by seven. She has an early curfew.”
With her permission to take the dog, the muscles in Axel’s shoulders eased. They’d just given him the reason he needed in order to pay Tara an impromptu visit. And that’s all he’d been waiting for.
He sat up and put the sunglasses back on Bella’s face. “Come on, girl. We need to make a good impression.” He rose, and as if she were his pet, Bella stood and began to follow him toward the house.
Xander and Sasha stood and joined his trek inside. Once in the kitchen, Sasha handed him Bella’s leash, and he hooked it to her collar, adjusting her sunglasses, which were going to be a pain in the ass to keep on. But she looked cute, and that was what mattered.
“Thanks, guys. I owe you one.” His car was parked on the driveway out front, and he started to walk out of the room.
“Hey!” Xander called out.
Axel turned.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
He narrowed his gaze. “Keys and wallet,” he said, patting his pocket. “Dog, leash… Nope. I’m good.”
“She’s still wearing my sunglasses,” Xander said, as if Axel needed a reminder.
“It’s sunny out, and I have my convertible. She’s going to need them.”
Sasha let out an unladylike snort of laughter, causing Axel to grin, while her husband frowned and shook his head. Sometimes Axel wondered how Dash and this more serious man were related.
“Wish me luck,” he said and took his companion out of the house and led her to his brand-new Chevy Corvette, in what the dealer called Elkhart Lake Blue Metallic. To Axel it was his royal blue metallic baby.
He settled Bella in the passenger seat, once again picking up the glasses she’d knocked off and adjusting them on her face.
After he turned on the engine, he opened his phone’s map app, put in the business name, and started the directions.
He drove out of the circular driveway, his stomach in knots because, other than the dog beside him, he had no real plan. A short while later, he pulled up to a white clapboard building that, if not for the driveway and parking lot out front, looked more like a house than a clinic.
He cut the engine and turned to his panting passenger. “Now remember, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Tara, and I’m counting on you to break the ice for me.”
Drool hung from Bella’s mouth and Axel groaned. “Don’t be nervous. Tara was great when we were younger. In fact, she was really important to me.” And he was hoping he could get to know her again and see if the old spark between them remained. “I’m sure she’s got gentle hands and is a good vet. You’re going to like her a lot.”
He continued to talk to Bella, giving the dog a pep talk that was meant more for himself than for her. Which was ridiculous considering he was a rock star who could get any woman he desired with a simple look, cock of his head, or lifting of his lips in his signature smirk.
The fact that he hadn’t been with a woman in over six months said something about his state of mind when it came to the opposite sex. No one had interested him in a long time. Until now. That he sat in his car outside a small-town vet’s office like a nervous teen was pretty fucking pathetic.
But seeing Tara’s photo had stirred all sorts of memories of the time they’d spent together, the fun they’d had, and the feelings they’d shared. Axel wasn’t stupid and knew he only had one second chance with the woman he’d once wished he could spend the rest of his life with. And he was counting on a dog to do the heavy lifting.
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