Chapter 3

3

King paced the living room of his friend's house and ran his hand through his short curls. What in the world was wrong with him? Why was he letting Sadie Lewis get under his skin? It had been years since he'd thought of the girl he'd met on the beach when he was just seventeen and barely getting by after his parents had kicked him out.

"Hey," Briggs said, walking into the room with his hair wet from his shower. "I ordered pizza, and I'll grab some beer after I pick it up. Any special requests?"

"Can we head to LA and get it there?" King asked, flopping down on the couch. "Maybe if we flee, I can convince Austin to record this album down there."

"You know he sold his studio down there and moved all his operations here, right?" Briggs tugged a sweatshirt on and then covered his hair with a ball cap. "I doubt he'd be happy about renting space just because you don't want to be in the same room with a girl you had a crush on a decade ago."

King glared at his friend. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Briggs shrugged. "Maybe not, but I know enough to understand that you're being pretty dramatic about a girl you haven't talked about in years. If she bothers you that much, just tell Austin you don't want to do the duet with her. What's the worst he can say, no? If it's you or her, he's going to pick you. You're the one with the hit song, remember?"

"Yeah. I guess." King stared past Briggs, trying to block out the gorgeous woman's face. He still didn't understand how he hadn't recognized her the week before at the pub until they'd started singing together. Her eyes had haunted him for many years. Not to mention that thick, dark blond hair of hers. Why hadn't he recognized her dark eyes? The rest of her… Well, she'd grown up quite a bit in the last ten years.

"I'll be back with pizza and beer. Don't make any decisions until I get back," Briggs said.

King waved him off. He wasn't going to call Austin. King wasn't an idiot. Not only was he not going to make waves with Austin, the one producer who'd agreed to let King record his music his way, but he also knew that Sadie had the voice of an angel. She was absolutely perfect for the duet. He let out a groan and slumped down into the couch with his eyes closed.

The cool breeze off the ocean and the scent of the saltwater came rushing back. There he was, seventeen again, holding hands with Sadie as they walked under the moonlight along the shore. He'd been so nervous the first time he'd reached for her hand, but when she'd slipped her fingers through his and smiled at him, he'd felt his heart swell. The darkness that had been clinging to him dissipated. And finally, after what felt like a lifetime of rejection, King had felt wanted. Alive. Like his life finally made sense.

There was something about the quiet girl that had spoken to him the first time they'd met. He'd just felt… right. Like she was a kindred spirit.

"I talked to the manager at Westie's," King had said to her, his voice full of excitement. "He said we could go on tomorrow night as the pre-opener. We won't get paid, but we would get a portion of the tips. What do you think?"

Sadie glanced at him, her eyes wide as she bit down on her lower lip. "Tomorrow night?"

He squeezed her hand, knowing she was a ball of nerves. He was too. It would be the first time he'd sung live other than busking down at the pier. They'd be on stage, under the lights, and they were expected to start warming up the audience. "You can do it. You're a natural."

"I don't know about that," she said with a nervous laugh. "I've never done anything like that before. What if I freeze in front of everyone?"

King stopped and held both of her hands in his and met her gaze. "You won't freeze, but if you do, I'll be right there. You just focus on me, and we'll sing just like we did in that cove over there the night we met." He pointed to the outcropping of rocks that hid a small cove next to the beach.

Sadie glanced over at the place he'd come to think of as theirs. A tiny hint of a smile claimed her lips.

"Come on," he said, tugging her gently toward the cove.

"Are you trying to get me alone, Kevin?" she'd asked with that tinkling laugh that he now heard in his dreams.

"What gave it away?" he asked with a wink and then laughed when she broke out into a run toward their spot. He sprinted after her, and by the time they'd rounded the rock that shielded the entrance to the little cove, they were both out of breath.

Sadie collapsed onto the sand and then reached out, taking his hand and tugging him down after her. He landed half on top of her and half on the sand, their lips just a couple inches apart.

"Sadie," he whispered, staring at her pink lips, desperate to kiss her. He'd been dying to press his lips to hers since the first day they'd met, but he hadn't managed to work up the nerve. But now…

"Kevin," she whispered back as her eyes fluttered closed, and she lightly pressed her palm to his cheek. When her tongue darted out, moistening her lips, he knew it was now or never.

The world stopped. He heard nothing but the crash of the waves and the soft sounds of her breath as he bent his head and very lightly kissed her.

Sadie arched up slightly, increasing the pressure of their lips as she let out a small sigh. The sound of that little noise, along with the scent of the sea-salted air, was burned into his memories. Still to this day, he sometimes woke up hearing that sigh, convinced he was right back there at that beach with the only girl he'd ever wanted still wrapped in his arms.

King's eyes popped open as his hand flew to his mouth. His lips tingled as if he'd actually just been kissing Sadie Lewis instead of only remembering the last night before she'd ghosted him by leaving town without even so much as a goodbye.

His heart ached just below his breastbone like it always did when he thought of her. Unconsciously, he rubbed at the spot and wondered if Briggs had been onto something. Maybe he should tell Austin the duet wasn't going to work after all. How was he going to survive being in the same room with her if his chest kept aching when he was just thinking about her?

His phone trilled, startling him out of his thoughts. King glanced down at the screen and scowled when he saw the caller. Normally he'd ignore it and let the call go to voice mail, but he was in a mood, and unleashing his frustration on Cindy McGrath seemed like the perfect thing to do.

"Mother," he said coolly into the phone.

"Oh, Kevin," she said, her tone overly sweet. "I finally managed to get you on the phone. You must be really busy. What's it been? Six months since I talked to you?"

Try eighteen, he thought bitterly. And that was only because he'd had a hit song earlier that year and she'd tried to cash in. Then and only then had his mother decided he was worth talking to. He wouldn't have even answered now, except she'd been calling for a couple of weeks and he knew she wouldn't stop until she got him on the line. "Something like that," he said. "What do you need?"

"Now, Kevin. Don't be like that. I just called to see how you are."

King didn't buy it for a second. His mother only ever called when she wanted something. "It's King now," he told her for the hundredth time.

"Right." She chuckled softly. "It's just so hard for me to remember. You'll always be Kevin to me. My baby."

He wanted to scream at her. Or throw something at the television sitting in front of him. King had never been more than an afterthought unless his magic was flaring up. Then they'd thought he was a major nuisance. Like it was his fault he couldn't control his magic when he was just six years old.

"What did you call for, Mother?" he asked, not bothering to hide the irritation in his tone.

She sighed heavily. "Can't a mother call to just check on her son?"

That would be great, except they both knew that wasn't why she called. He didn't respond, waiting for her to get to the point.

"Fine. I do need something, but I'm sure it's just pocket change to you. I need to buy a new car."

He snorted out a humorless laugh. "What's wrong with your old one?"

"Your father had a minor fender bender, and we're told it's not worth it to fix it."

He very much doubted her story. Her SUV was only a couple of years old. If it was a minor fender bender, they'd just pound out the dents and get on with it. "How much?"

This time she let out a nervous giggle. "Well, there's this cute little Lexus that just rolled onto the lot."

"You want money for a brand new Lexus?" he asked incredulously. What was that? Fifty grand at least? But knowing his mother, she'd be looking at something that was top of the line.

"You want your mother to be safe, right? Lexus has the highest rated safety features," she said as if she were being completely reasonable.

"You can get a Toyota. Used. I'll transfer some money tonight, but don't ask for more. Contrary to what you think, I'm not printing money over here. Got it?"

"But, Kevin?—"

"Good night, Mother." He ended the call and put her number on ignore. He went into his app, sent his mother enough money for a decent used car, and then threw his phone across the room. It crashed against the wall before clattering to the hardwood floors and bouncing twice. Not caring if he'd shattered it, he strode into the kitchen and angrily grabbed the last beer out of the fridge. After he downed half of it, he looked at the bottle and said, "Briggs better hurry. I'm gonna need another six pack or two."

Just as he drained the last of the beer, he heard Briggs open the front door and call, "Pizza!"

Without a word, King walked into the living room, took the case of beer from his friend, and opened it right there on the coffee table. He used the bottle opener he'd brought with him to uncap two of them. And then raising both, he said, "To all the mothers who should have never had kids."

Briggs raised both eyebrows. "You talked to Cindy?"

"Yup." King tilted one of the bottles up and drained a good third before he let up.

His friend took the other open bottle, clinked it to King's, and said, "To found family."

King looked up at his friend and felt a little bit of the ache in his chest ease. As he raised his bottle again, he choked out, "To found family."

They each took a swig before Briggs put his arm around King's shoulders and steered him toward the kitchen. "Come on. We have pizza to eat."

King nodded and let his friend guide him until he deposited him in a chair at the table. Before he knew it, Briggs had piled his plate with pizza, gotten him another beer, and was back in his chair, diving into the cheesy goodness.

Following his friend's lead, King focused on the pizza and did his best to push Cindy McGrath from his mind. It was just too bad that when he cleared his head, Sadie crept right back in. He let out a groan and then took a vicious bite of the pizza. It was going to be a long night.