Wright that Got Away Read online

  But…I had doubts. Nate was hot and friendly and a really stellar kisser. He just didn’t seem like the one. And if I preached to my followers that they shouldn’t settle, neither should I, right?

  “Oh, let me turn the volume up,” Honey said, clicking the side buttons so I could hear the song being played.

  And I froze in place. Because the song was “I See the Real You” by none other than Campbell Abbey himself. I wanted to throw the phone back at Honey, but I couldn’t. I just watched the guy I was sort of, kind of not-exclusively dating start a viral TikTok trend.

  The video was good. It was him looking into the camera, wearing a baseball cap, an oversize shirt, and baggy sweats, hiding how good-looking he was. Then, when the chorus dropped, the video seamlessly transitioned to show him shirtless, his eight-pack on display, in low-slung jeans. His hair was done, and he was smirking at the camera like he was going to eat them alive. The caption said, Show the world the real you.

  I clicked on his hashtag and almost groaned. Already in the twelve hours since Nate’s video had gone viral, there were thousands of other people clambering to do the “I See the Real You” challenge. Just my fucking luck.

  “We’re going to have to do it,” Honey said eagerly.

  I thrust the phone back at her. “No.”

  “But Blaire…”

  I ignored her. “No.”

  Piper snatched Honey’s phone out of her hand and watched it. She nodded. “Damn.”

  “Right!” Honey said.

  “You could do this easy,” Piper said. “It’s just a glow up.”

  Annie leaned in, and her eyes widened. “Quite a glow up. Jesus.” Jordan cleared his throat next to her. She grinned at him.

  Annie offered the phone to Jennifer, but she shook her head, embarrassed. “I’ve already seen it.”

  The girls all laughed.

  “Speaking of, where is Nate tonight?” Annie asked.

  “He’s in New York, visiting his cousin,” I told her. “Gavin King, I think.”

  “You didn’t go with him?”

  I shook my head. Nate had asked. Though I didn’t say that. He’d thought it would be fun to show me around the city with his cousin, who apparently knew all the people. Whatever that meant. But I knew exactly what that would mean for our relationship. We were incredibly casual at this point. New York would have meant defining it. And I honestly thought we made better friends.

  “Hey, y’all. What did I miss?” Campbell asked as he exited the dressing room. His manager was nowhere in sight.

  Piper glanced up at Campbell with a grin that should have been his first warning. “We were talking about the guy Blaire is dating. You remember Nate from the wedding?”

  My jaw nearly dropped at Piper’s audacity. But…I had to admit, it was satisfying to see the first hint of jealousy on Campbell’s face.

  4

  Campbell

  My eyes shifted to Blaire and back to Piper. “Sure,” I ground out. “I remember him.”

  I remembered coming home from tour, jet-lagged to hell and suffering through a wedding when all I wanted to do was sleep, only to find Blaire had an actual date. I’d been back for over a year, and she hadn’t had anyone else in her life. A five-month tour had fucking ruined that for me.

  I hadn’t actually met her date. I’d hated him on sight. But maybe that was bias? Or jealousy? The fact of the matter was that I didn’t care about him in the slightest. Only that he was standing in my way.

  “He just started a viral video, using your song,” Piper continued. She pushed a phone into my hand, and I watched him essentially take his shirt off and smolder at the camera.

  “Uh, great?”

  “You think so?” Piper asked, and I could hear the first trace of sarcasm in her voice. I was happy for my brother because she matched him perfectly. But he was also such a shit that I sometimes didn’t know if he was making fun of me or not.

  I handed her back the phone back. “I didn’t realize that passed as entertainment.”

  Hollin snickered. “Ass.”

  “It’s a thirst trap,” Honey provided helpfully.

  “Campbell doesn’t care,” Blaire said, snatching the phone out of Piper’s hand and all but throwing it at Honey.

  I didn’t care. That was entirely accurate. But she looked embarrassed that the phone had gotten into my hands. And I couldn’t see why. She was the one dating the guy—the thirst trap—after all. Interestingly, she hadn’t mentioned him when she turned me down. Not that she was obligated to. We had enough issues without her dating someone else.

  “Yeah, but it’s his song,” Honey continued.

  “That it is,” I said, smoothly taking the seat next to Blaire. “I’m sure the record label will appreciate it being used.”

  Blaire jumped to her feet. “I need to get another drink.”

  “I could go with you,” I offered.

  Her eyes widened fractionally. “No thanks. Honey will come with.”

  “Uh, yeah. Sure,” Honey said, standing beside her boss. She looked down at me. “Did you want something?”

  “Sure. I’m not picky. Whatever you’re having.”

  “Okay,” she said with a wide smile.

  Blaire rolled her eyes and tugged Honey away. They dipped their heads together and were speaking furiously. I could only guess at what.

  Piper hopped off Hollin’s lap, patted him on the shoulder twice, and then walked around the table to chat with Annie and Jennifer. Hollin shot me a brotherly look that I knew all too well.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You asked out Blaire?”

  I shrugged. “It was a joke.”

  “Bullshit.”

  Despite myself, I laughed. Leave it to my brother. “Fine. It wasn’t a fucking joke.”

  “She’s dating someone else.”

  “Yeah, well, she didn’t mention that.”

  Hollin shrugged. “Probably because it’s not serious. Or so Piper says.”

  “So, why are you up my ass?”

  “Look, I don’t give a fuck if you want to make an absolute fool of yourself. But Blaire is Piper’s best friend. I think she’d actually kill you if you hurt Blaire.” Hollin seemed to consider before adding, “Again.”

  “You don’t know shit.”

  Hollin smirked. “Don’t have to. I know your stupid ass.”

  “Yeah,” I said with a chuckle. “Well, you’re not wrong anyway.”

  “Of course I’m not wrong.”

  “Shut up.”

  Hollin crossed his arms over his chest and leaned backward. “I’m just saying that you’re a dipshit and you need to be on your best behavior with Blaire. I will not be held responsible for how my girlfriend responds otherwise.”

  “Best behavior,” I grumbled. “Fine.”

  “Good.”

  “But can we talk about how that fucking video was a piece of shit?”

  Hollin barked out a laugh. “It’s terrible. If I took my shirt off and leaned into the camera, I could get a few million views, too.”

  I arched an eyebrow at him.

  “Yeah, yeah, you’d probably get, like, fifty million views.”

  “I don’t take my shirt off.”

  “Fine. Twenty million views with your shirt on.”

  “I’m offended,” I said with a smirk. “I think I could get fifty with my shirt on, too.”

  “Whatever, dude. What did the infamous Bobby Rogers have to say?”

  I blew out a breath. “He wants me back in LA to start recording the next album.”

  “Fuck. Already?”

  “He said I could have another month, and then I needed to figure my shit out. I don’t have any music though. The lyrics are all shit. What the fuck am I going to do?”

  “You’re a professional. You’ll figure it out in the next month,” Hollin assured me.

  I nodded reluctantly as Blaire and Honey returned from the bar. Honey plunked a glass down in front of me. It was pinkish oran
ge with a slice of orange attached to the rim. If I had to guess, based on those few shit years of bartending to survive LA, the drink was a Sex on the Beach. Honey had one in her hand as well. While Blaire’s drink was entirely clear with a lime in it. Why hadn’t I gotten that?

  Blaire arched an eyebrow at me. “You said you weren’t picky.”

  Ah. Ah, okay. That was how she was going to play it.

  Hollin’s words were still in my head. I needed to be on my best behavior. Not that Hollin had ever been on good behavior in his life. But I’d hurt Blaire even if he didn’t know what I’d done. I didn’t want to push her away.

  I raised the drink to her. “I’m man enough for Sex on the Beach.”

  Honey giggled. Blaire just rolled her eyes as I took a good, long sip of the sickly-sweet drink. Under normal circumstances, I would have sent the drink back and gotten a bourbon and Coke or a beer or something, but I couldn’t now. Even if this would bite me in the ass later.

  Blaire had just plopped into the seat next to me and turned to talk to the girls. Honey looked torn on whether to talk to me or her boss but inevitably ended up hovering over Blaire. That was a relief to me. I loved my fans. I just hadn’t planned on dealing with any tonight. It took a good amount of mental energy to be on like that. I usually had to prep for it.

  “What the fuck are you drinking?”

  I turned back around and found my sister, Nora, striding toward me. She wore outrageously tall high heels everywhere she went. She was the event planner for Wright Vineyard and had orchestrated the entire evening. If she was back here already, that meant the night was coming to a close.

  “Sex on the Beach. Want one?”

  “That’s disgusting,” Nora said. “I thought you had taste.”

  Hollin chortled. “Why would you think that?”

  “Ass,” I grumbled.

  Nora’s eyes darted around the backstage area. I thought on some level, she was looking around, still expecting to see August and Tamara—her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend. She’d dated August for three years and been friends with Tamara almost her entire life. But then she’d found them hooking up last month and lost everything in the blink of an eye. She’d had to move out of her apartment with Tamara and into Hollin’s guest bedroom.

  I was slightly disappointed that I hadn’t seen August since then because Hollin busting August’s nose wasn’t enough for me. He deserved a few broken bones for what he’d done to my sister.

  “Are you still good for helping me move tomorrow?” Nora asked.

  I groaned. “Can’t we hire movers?”

  Hollin smacked the back of my head. “That’s what pickup trucks are for.”

  “Yeah. Stop being so pretentious,” Nora said with a grin. “I don’t have that much stuff, and I need to get the fuck out of Hollin’s house.”

  “Hey, it’s not so bad!” Hollin said.

  “The walls are thin,” Nora told me with wide eyes.

  Which meant Hollin and Piper were not quiet.

  “Yeah, yeah. I’ll help move you out of the sex house.”

  Hollin just leaned back with a self-satisfied light in his eyes and a smile on his face. He was so fucking happy. And I didn’t begrudge him for an instant.

  “Bright and early,” Nora said, pointing at me. “Eight a.m. I want to get this done before it’s too hot.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Which means finish your girly drink and go home. I don’t want either of you hungover either.”

  “It’d take a lot more than this,” I said, picking up the Sex on the Beach, “to get me drunk enough for a hangover.”

  “That was not a challenge,” my little sister said.

  I glanced at Hollin, and he nodded at me.

  We raised our glasses together and said, “Challenge accepted.”

  5

  Blaire

  I might have had too much to drink.

  After Campbell had asked me out and then I had to sit around and pretend that his presence didn’t bother me all night, I’d maybe gone a bit overboard. I could drink like a tank even though I was only about five feet tall. My tolerance had always been high. I thought it was because I’d started drinking with my mom at a young age because she had all these psych reasons for avoiding binge drinking by not making alcohol taboo. It had mostly worked—I’d give her that.

  Tonight was a different story.

  Honey had left a half hour ago, and I was on Piper’s arm as I stumbled back to her Jeep.

  “Do not throw up in my car,” Piper said. She was completely clearheaded. She’d only had one drink early in the night.

  “I’m not going to…throw up,” I said with a hiccup. “I’m blackout girl, not throw-up girl.”

  “Great,” Piper grumbled. “It’s been a few years since I’ve seen you this drunk.”

  “Shh,” I said, putting a finger to her mouth. “It’s fine.”

  Piper leaned me against the Jeep and then patted her pockets down for the key. She wasn’t carrying a purse. “Fuck. I gave the damn key to Hollin when I first got here. I’m need to run back inside.”

  “I’ll be fine right here.”

  She looked at me with pursed lips, as if she didn’t believe me. Then, her eyes darted around. “Hey, Abbey!”

  I glanced up and saw that it was not in fact her boyfriend, but the other Abbey brother. Campbell’s head popped up at the sound of his last name. Piper waved him over, and he came forward almost reluctantly.

  “I need to run in and get my key from Hollin. Can you make sure that Blaire doesn’t pass out or do anything really stupid?” Piper asked.

  “I don’t need a babysitter.” I put my hands on my hips to try to look indignant but pitched forward. I would’ve fallen on my face if Piper hadn’t been there to catch me and leverage me back against the Jeep.

  “She’s drunk. And she does need a babysitter.”

  Campbell frowned. As if he’d just realized that I was a wasted mess. “Yeah. Sure. I’ll stay with Blaire.”

  “Good. Be nice,” Piper growled. Then, she was stomping back inside with a huff.

  “You don’t have to stay,” I told him. “You should just leave since it’s the only thing you’re really good at.”

  Damn my drunk mouth.

  Campbell winced slightly. “I’ll stay right here actually. If I left, I think Piper would hunt me down and kill me.”

  I rolled my eyes dramatically. “At least my best friend can scare you into being a gentleman.”

  Campbell took a step forward until he was nearly in my personal space. For a second, I couldn’t breathe. Not even a little. I was captivated by him. I could remember the smell and taste of him. The want of him. It clouded my already-addled brain.

  It would be easy to want Campbell Abbey again. So easy.

  “I want to apologize,” Campbell said evenly.

  “What?” I asked, jolted out of my runaway thoughts. “Why?”

  “For how I acted earlier. When I asked you out,” he clarified. “I know we have history. I know that you’re…seeing someone else. Though I suppose I didn’t know it was serious when I asked you. But I didn’t intend to make you uncomfortable.”

  “I wasn’t uncomfortable. I was mad.”

  “Then, I’m sorry for making you mad,” he said evenly. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his ripped black jeans, as if it was the only way to keep himself from touching me.

  “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because you’re leaving again. So, just run on back to LA. Go live your big, glamorous life. It’s what you always wanted.”

  His face was like stone when I delivered that one-two punch. It had been eight years since I’d had to read Campbell’s expressions. And it should have been difficult to discern what he was thinking, but somehow, it wasn’t. Even tipsy, I could tell that he didn’t want to say whatever was about to come out of his mouth.

  He glanced down at the ground and ki
cked a stray rock. “I’m not.”

  “You’re not what?”

  Our eyes met again.

  “Leaving.”

  My jaw dropped. “But your manager said…”

  “Yeah, well, he doesn’t call the shots. They want me back in LA to record a new album, but I don’t have any songs worth recording right now. So, I decided to stay in town and try to relax.” He shrugged. “Find a way to get my music back.”

  “No,” I whispered. His face darkened at the word. “Well, I guess it’ll just be like the last eighteen months then.”

  A smirk crossed his lips. “Except that you’re speaking to me now.”

  Damn it, he was right. If I’d just not talked to him, it would have been so much easier to continue. But now, we’d broken the dam, and I didn’t know how to stop. Already, we had been alone twice in one night. Only now, we were really alone. There was no one outside within a hundred yards of us. Piper should have been back, but something told me she was purposely taking her sweet time.

  My eyes darted to his lips. Those perfect lips. God, I was too drunk to think coherently. There was no other explanation for why I was suddenly thinking about kissing Campbell Abbey.

  “So?” I finally got out.

  “So, I guess it will be different than the last eighteen months.”

  “I spoke to you before.”

  He chuckled and took another step in closer. “Oh, I remember. You said, ‘Got something to say?’ and looked at me as if the world could swallow me up and eat me whole.”

  I flushed at that memory. It had been a few months ago, when all of us had flown to Dallas to see Cosmere perform. Campbell had given Hollin backstage passes and seats in the Owners Club. It had been incredible…until we went backstage at the end of the show to hang out with the band.

  I hadn’t even wanted to go to that damn show. Piper insisted that I attend, and some part of me wanted to be there, doing cool things with my friends. The only problem was Campbell…and the fact that it was exactly what I’d thought it would be. Campbell, surrounded by gorgeous groupies, all vying for his attention. Then, he had the nerve to get upset when Santi, the drummer for Cosmere, put his arm around me. It was an actual joke—unlike the bullshit Campbell had pulled tonight. Santi was boisterous and overly friendly and ridiculous. He wasn’t hitting on me.