“I should probably talk to her.”

  Hollin laughed. “Yeah, probably.”

  “Just come to our soccer game this weekend,” Julian said.

  “Good idea.”

  I nodded. Right. The soccer team. Blaire loved the game. Hollin and Julian both played on the team, too. I hadn’t gone to see them, but maybe it was the perfect opportunity. A way to fix this.

  That was the moment that the barn doors burst open, and in walked the rest of Cosmere. I shot my brother and cousin a look that said this conversation was over. Hopefully, they were smart enough not to bring it up in front of anyone else.

  I hopped off my barstool and strode toward them. “You made it!”

  Santi threw his arms around me. “Brother!”

  I laughed as he picked me up and spun me around. Santi was Cosmere’s drummer. He was always talking and smiling and flirting with everything that walked. He was six feet tall with light-brown skin from his Colombian heritage and short black curls.

  He set me on my feet, and our bass player, Viv, was standing there next. She tipped her head to the side, spilling recently dyed bubblegum-pink hair across her face. She flipped me off. “Thanks for abandoning us, shithead.”

  I chuckled and pulled her reluctantly into a hug. “I missed you, too, Viv.”

  She rolled her eyes at me. “Kris is less than pleased.”

  “Give her my apologies. I didn’t choose this,” I told her.

  Viv laughed as she brushed past me toward the bar. “When you say, Jump, the record label says, How high?”

  Our lead guitar, Yorke, nodded at me once. “Yep.”

  “Good to see you, brother.”

  We slapped hands. He didn’t smile, but he wasn’t really one for smiling or talking. He was our quiet, taciturn member. He usually went along with whatever crazy thing Santi suggested. They’d been friends since they met at a local LA talent competition as kids. Yorke had his own devoted group of fans. They called themselves the Peppermint Patties. I figured it wasn’t any worse than Campbell Soup girls. We had both been reduced to food.

  They’d met Michael shortly after that. Michael currently looked like he’d rather be anywhere other than Lubbock, Texas.

  “Hey, Michael.”

  He gritted his teeth. “This sucks, Campbell. Virginia and Maisie are still in LA, and I just got back. Maisie’s birthday is in a couple weeks. I promised I’d be there.”

  “We already said that you could fly back for the birthday,” Santi reminded me.

  Michael shot him a look of fury. “It’s not the same and you know it.”

  “Fuck, man, I’m sorry. Bobby said that y’all were fine with coming out here.”

  “Bobby didn’t ask,” he ground out. “Bobby ordered.”

  I hadn’t considered that Bobby would lie to me. Of course, he’d just been mollifying me. Shit.

  “We’ll get this all worked out quick,” I insisted. “I already have three or four really good songs.”

  “Ten more to go.” He pushed past me to the bar and sank into a seat next to Viv, who immediately tried to cheer him up.

  Michael had always been like that. I wasn’t sure anything could actually satisfy him. He was the quintessential money can’t buy happiness. Because he had millions now, and he was just as grumpy as he’d ever been.

  Once Santi, Yorke, and Michael had been brought on by the label, they’d added Viv as a bassist. Santi was singing vocals and playing drums. And they were getting nowhere. I’d seen them perform at a club I was bartending at in a shit part of Hollywood.

  I remembered it like it was yesterday. The band was good. Santi’s sound was so crisp and clear. It was almost too perfect really. He needed something gruffer to go with it.

  “Hey, I’m going to take my break,” I said, throwing down the rag as my manager yelled at me not to leave. The club was packed. Bartenders weren’t supposed to take breaks in the middle of the rush. Oh well.

  I headed backstage, nodding at the bouncer. The band was standing there. They called themselves Scandal Campaign. It was an absurd name. I had no idea who had come up with it, but it didn’t fit their sound at all.

  “Hey,” I said, working up the nerve to approach them.

  Viv turned to face me. She sank into her hip, and her look was pure sex appeal. “Can we help you?”

  “I liked your music,” I told her. I nodded at Santi. “You slay on the drums.”

  “Thanks, man,” Santi said, puffing up.

  “But I think you need new songs.”

  Michael scoffed at me. “What the fuck do you know?”

  Santi just cackled. “Oh, we have a music critic, do we?”

  “No. Just a musician. I write my own lyrics.” I felt ridiculous, saying those words out loud.

  They all looked at me as if I was just as insane.

  “Ballsy fucker. What you play, hombre?” Santi asked.

  “Guitar.”

  He nodded at Yorke. “He thinks he’s that good. We should hear this, eh?”

  Yorke shrugged, unimpressed, and passed me his guitar.

  I started to sweat. I’d been all confidence when I made the decision to come back here. I had no idea what had possessed me. I’d heard hundreds of shit bands come through here. Except this one was different. They weren’t shitty. They knew what they were doing. They were just missing something. I hadn’t actually meant to tell them that I was what they were missing, but then the guitar was shoved in my hands, and everything disappeared.

  I strummed the opening to “I See the Real You” and let loose.

  I got through the first chorus when Bobby Rogers stepped out of the shadows and changed my life.

  “I See the Real You” was my big break in every sense of the word. I’d never suspected that I’d join this band, this family. Especially not after years of busting ass in LA, trying to “make it” like everyone else there.

  People asked me all the time if I was going to go solo, but I’d tried to be solo for years in LA. The only way I’d ever found my way into the music industry was with this band. They were as much my family as Hollin and Julian were. I couldn’t imagine ever doing this without them.

  “We’ll get it worked out,” I assured them as I went back to the bar.

  “Of course we will,” Viv said, reaching out and pinching my cheek. “Because I told Bobby I’d stay until the end of July, and if we didn’t have it by then, we’d figure it out in LA.”

  “Seems fair.”

  Back to this deadline.

  A month.

  A month to figure out an album.

  A month to make Blaire fall for me.

  Again.

  15

  Blaire

  “I can’t believe you’re moving out tomorrow,” Piper said with a sigh as she drove us to the soccer game.

  Jennifer couldn’t hide her grin. “I know. But I’ll still see you all the time.”

  “But I won’t come home to you in a marathon editing binge.”

  “That is true,” I agreed. “And you’re taking the cats.”

  I was still sad to see Avocado and Bacon go. I definitely wouldn’t get to see them as much as Jennifer.

  “They deserve to be with Tortilla,” Jennifer said of the little white kitten that Julian had gotten her last year that had transformed into a large white cat.

  “Your cat names are ridiculous,” Piper said.

  “I know. That’s why I like them.”

  “We’ll miss you,” I told her.

  “I just want all the tea about you and Campbell,” Jennifer said, leaning forward against the center console.

  “There is no tea,” I said.

  Piper rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. You went to his place on the Fourth. Something happened. You’ve been more cagey than normal.”

  Jennifer poked my shoulder. “Spill.”

  “Well, he kissed me.”

  The girls squealed, and I burst into laughter, covering my ears.

  “You kissed!” Piper gasped. “How have you kept this from us for so long?”

  “That is an excellent question,” Jennifer agreed.

  “I freaked out and left after it happened.”

  “Why?” Piper asked.

  “It’s Campbell Abbey!” Jennifer said. “Come on.”

  “That’s exactly why.”

  And then I sighed and decided it was beyond time. I should have told them when they first started asking about Campbell. I’d held it so tight to myself for years that it was terrifying to tell someone.

  “We dated in high school.”

  Piper reached across the Jeep and took my hand. “You can tell us.”

  I nodded and swallowed down the lump in my throat. I could barely talk about it. Let alone let myself relive it.

  “It was a vivid few months. As if I were finally living in Technicolor after living my entire life in black-and-white. I don’t think I’ve ever loved someone so much, and I’ll never feel like that again.” I clenched Piper’s hand tighter. “Living with such abandon that I let myself fall that hard.”

  “What happened?” Jennifer whispered.

  “He left,” Piper said as if she’d already heard the story.

  “Yes. He went to LA, and I stayed here.”

  “You didn’t try long-distance?”

  I laughed hoarsely. “At eighteen, when I was about to go to college and he was a thousand miles away? No. He didn’t want to, and it wouldn’t have worked anyway.”

  “Are you going to try again now that he’s back?” Piper asked.

  I shrugged. “Is he back?”

  Jennifer chewed on her bottom lip but didn’t say anything. Piper didn’t either. Because none of us knew. He was here for a limited time to figure out his album, but then what? I couldn’t imagine him ever moving back to Lubbock permanently. And I could hardly see myself leaving Lubbock.

  Even if I wanted something with Campbell, I couldn’t get past that point. He’d left me once at the hardest time of my life. It wouldn’t be enough to have a little fling while he was in town even if I wanted it. And I still didn’t know if I did.

  When it came to Campbell Abbey, my heart couldn’t handle it.

  Piper parked, and I grabbed my soccer bag from the back. We trekked across the pavement to the fields beyond. I could see that half the team was already warming up. And to my surprise, as we got closer, I noticed Campbell sitting in the stands. My heart thumped at that sight. I had no idea why he was here now. Not to mention, with the entire band.

  Piper and Jennifer did a double take at that.

  “Oh my God,” Jennifer whispered, like the fangirl she was. “The band is here.”

  “No Michael though,” Piper said.

  She was right. No Michael. Interesting. Had he not flown in with the rest of the band?

  I could have jumped up there to ask. Campbell’s eyes met mine, and he smiled down at me. But I jerked my head away from him and hurried past to the fields. Smooth, Blaire.

  “Hey, Blaire!” Honey cried as I got closer.

  She was standing next to the other forward and our newest member, Eve.

  “Blaire,” Eve said. Eve was gorgeous with black hair and green eyes and a big chest, currently covered by The Tacos soccer uniform.

  “Hey, y’all.”

  I narrowed my eyes at Honey’s outfit. She was wearing black biker shorts and a floral crop top that looked familiar. In fact, it looked like the shirt that had come in last week for me from a sustainable energy designer that I supported.

  “Is that my shirt?”

  Honey glanced down at herself and laughed. “Oh my God, is it?”

  “Yeah, I think it is.”

  “My bad, Blaire. I must have snagged it on accident. You don’t mind, do you?” Her eyes were wide with concern.

  I dropped my soccer bag and shook my head. “No, it’s fine. Just bring it back tomorrow.”

  “Sure,” she said easily.

  Eve glanced between us as Jen and Piper caught up with us.

  “Hey, Eve,” Piper said with a smile.

  Eve was a big reason that Piper’s winery had been saved. She always seemed hesitant around us girls, as if she expected us to hate her. That was probably because of her reputation as being a man stealer, but I’d known her a few months, and she didn’t seem remotely interested in going after anyone’s boyfriend. It seemed like some bullshit label that she’d internalized. We didn’t deal with any of that slut shaming here.

  “Hi, Piper.” She nodded at Jen. “I heard you were moving out.”

  Jennifer brightened. “Yes, tomorrow!”

  “Lucky. I was just evicted.”

  We all blinked at her.

  “What?” Piper gasped.

  “I was staying at a Sinclair Realty property,” she said, as if that made all the difference.

  And considering she had been in a brief relationship with Mr. Sinclair, it was all starting to make sense. They’d ended their fling, and he’d gotten rid of her in every way that he could.

  “That’s terrible. I’m sorry. We have an extra room this weekend if you want to move in.”

  Eve’s jaw dropped. “What?”

  “Yeah. You should take Jen’s spot,” Piper agreed.

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “And why not?” Piper asked.

  “I…I don’t play well with others,” she said in air quotes. “How could you want me to live with you after what you know about me?”

  Piper put her hands on her hips. “You saved my winery. You never put the moves on Hollin, and he used to put the moves on everyone.”

  “Yeah, but…”

  “I don’t think there is a but,” I said encouragingly. “If you have a better option, then go for it, but we’d love to have you.”

  Eve flushed. She considered it a moment and then nodded her head. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that. Thank you.”

  “Sweet. I’ll get all the lease information for you. Should be easy. When do you want to move in?”

  “This weekend, if I can.”

  “Done,” Piper said.

  I left them to work out the details. After pulling on my cleats and shin guards, I jogged out onto the field. Nora waved me over, and we ran a few drills to get warmed up.

  “What’s Campbell doing here?” I asked her.

  She arched an eyebrow at me. “You tell me.”

  “Oh boy, you too?”

  “Hey, I like you, and I like having my brother back home. I can’t complain.”

  Then, her eyes drifted to the sidelines, and she cursed.

  “What?”

  I followed her gaze and found August and Tamara striding toward the field.

  “Fuck,” I muttered. “What are they doing here?”

  When Nora had been dating August, he’d been on our team. We’d replaced him with Eve after the fallout of Nora finding him making out with her best friend. Thankfully, Tamara had quit her job at Wright Vineyard. So, Nora hadn’t had to deal with her since that had all gone down.

  “I have no idea.”

  We jogged over to the sidelines, but August wasn’t heading that way. He was walking toward the other team. That was when we both realized he was wearing the avocado green of the opposing team.

  “He switched teams?” I asked in shock.

  Hollin came to stand next to us. “I’ll kill him.”

  “Hollin,” Nora said, her voice soft.

  But her brother wasn’t listening. “Hey, August!”

  August turned at the sound of his name and then paled. He gulped and left his new team behind. “Hey,” he said with more confidence than he had to be feeling. He glanced from Hollin to Nora. “Hey, Nora.”

  “Don’t fucking talk to her. You’re on the other team?”

  “I didn’t know we were going to play you,” he told them. “Marni asked if I’d sub because they lost a forward. She didn’t tell me it was you guys.”

  “I think you should fucking leave.”

  “Hollin,” I snapped, stepping between him and the fight that was about to happen.

  “Hey, Blaire,” August said with a steady gaze.

  “Can you at least tell Tamara to go?” I asked.

  His gaze shifted to Nora again, who looked ready to collapse in on herself. They’d been together for three years. And now, this shit.

  He ran a hand back through his hair. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.” He looked to Nora again. “Nor, I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t,” she gasped.

  “Please.”

  “Stop it,” I said, pushing him backward. “Go back to where you belong.”

  “I can’t do this,” Nora said. There were tears in her eyes as the words spilled from her mouth. “It’s not fair.”

  Then, she grabbed her soccer bag and stormed from the fields.

  “Fuck,” Hollin said.

  The ref blew the whistle to let us all know the game was about to start. Campbell had already jumped up and was rushing after his sister. I grabbed Hollin’s shirt to keep him from going after her, too.

  “Campbell has it handled. You have to play,” I told him.

  Hollin looked away from his sister and pointed at August. “You’ll pay for that.”

  Then, he jerked out of my grasp and stalked to his spot on the field.

  “I didn’t know,” August repeated.

  “And you think that makes it okay?”

  “No,” he said with a sigh.

  He looked so sad and pathetic. As if he realized he’d made one huge mistake in losing Nora, but he had no idea how to dig himself out of the hole.

  I shook my head and took a small amount of pity on him. “Stay away from Hollin on the field. He won’t need an excuse.”

  “Don’t I know it,” he said, touching his nose where Hollin had broken it. “Thanks, Blaire.”

  “No, we’re not friends here. I just don’t want to see you die.” I looked him up and down. “You deserve all of this and more.”

  16

  Campbell

  “Nora,” I called as I rushed off the bleachers and after my sister.

  She was way past me, and I cursed myself for wearing black jeans in this Texas heat. I was heaving as I reached her. I was not cut out for running. A three-hour set under stage lights? Sure. Running? No.