Behind Closed Doors (19 page)

“Okay,” I said as I watched his eyes light up. “But only because I want to get out of the house for the weekend, this has nothing to do with you.”

“Of course, nothing to do with me at all,” he nodded, a smug smile on his lips.

I started to walk toward the bathroom when I heard a bang downstairs. It sounded like a door closing or a cupboard slamming. I spun around to look at Jayce. He was already sat upright in the bed, his eyes wide open, clearly alarmed.

“What was that?” he muttered to himself.

“Is it her?” I asked, immediately grabbing Jayce’s towel from the floor and covering myself with it.

I heard water running, probably in the kitchen and I shot another look at Jayce.

“It can’t be.” Jayce pulled on the pants he was wearing the night before. “I’ll take a look downstairs,” he said, giving me a swift kiss on the lips as he walked out of the bedroom. I stood next to the door, keeping it ajar so I could hear what was going on downstairs.

The water was running again and then there was a long silence. All I could hear was the rhythm of my heart hammering in my chest. I was suddenly worried for Jayce’s safety. Then I heard his familiar voice.

“Billy, what the fuck!”

Chapter 18

Billy? Who was Billy?
I listened intently trying to catch the rest of the conversation.

“Hey dude, I didn’t know you were here.” It was a man’s voice, one I didn’t recognize.

I allowed myself to let out the breath I’d been holding. I was relieved that it wasn’t Samantha who had come home unexpectedly. Although, I was aware that the scenario would be no different than me finding Brody in bed with another woman. A familiar wave of guilt washed over me as I walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I could still hear Jayce and his visitor talking downstairs. I assumed it was safe to have a quick wash while Jayce got rid of the mystery guest.

“Kyla?” Jayce called from the bedroom.

“In here.”

I stood with a towel wrapped around me as I waited for the water to heat.

“Who’s here?” I asked as Jayce watched my reflection in the bathroom mirror.

“It’s my brother. He thought I was away already. He usually crashes here when he visits LA.”

I spun around to look at Jayce. It wasn’t exactly an ideal morning for Jayce’s brother to stop by. It was the first time I’d slept over and we had to deal with a spontaneous drop in. I knew the impromptu visit would most likely lead to me hiding in the bedroom until I could sneak down to my car, which was parked in the garage.

“He treats this place like his personal hotel,” Jayce continued. “The guest room is like his own bedroom. I don’t think anyone else has actually slept in there before.”

Jayce shook his head as he walked back into the bedroom and sat on the bed. He was still topless and I couldn’t help but ogle him as I spoke to him from the bathroom doorway.

“How am I going to get out of here? You’ll have to take him out to breakfast or something.”

“I thought maybe you’d like to come downstairs and meet him?” He said, a subtle smile tugging at the corner of his lip.

“Are you joking?” my mouth hung open. I waited for his lips to turn up into one of his cocky smiles and for him to tell me he was joking, but he didn’t.

“I’m serious. He won’t say anything to anyone. He knows I’d beat the shit out of him if he did.” He stood up and met me in the doorway.

“That’s not funny.”

“Come on, Kyla,” he looked down at me, smiling eagerly. “I want him to meet you. I know he’ll love you.”

“Jayce, this is too weird…”

“Why? You’re upset that I want to show you off?” he asked, pouting a little.

“You seem to forget that you’re married,” I reminded him.

“Billy knows my marriage is a sham,” he said. “Plus, he doesn’t get along with Sam one bit.”

“Jayce-” I started, but he didn’t let me finish.

“I’m going downstairs to cook breakfast,” he ran the back of his hand across my cheek. “Come down when you’re ready.”

He grabbed a t-shirt from the closet and threw it on before heading downstairs. I turned and walked toward the shower, stepping into the steam filled corner, I let out a sigh as the hot water spilled over my body. I couldn’t believe Jayce wanted to introduce me to his brother, a brother who he’d never mentioned. If I wasn’t so nervous, I would have actually felt flattered.

After my shower, I dressed, applied my makeup and after discovering I’d forgotten to pack my hairdryer, I decided to let my hair dry naturally. I tried to busy myself by packing my overnight bag, which took a whole two minutes. So, I tipped everything out and repacked it. I sat on the edge of the bed until I could avoid it no longer. I headed downstairs.

When I reached the bottom step, I paused, listening to the two brothers chatting and laughing casually. I hesitated for a moment, considering running back upstairs to the sanctuary of Jayce’s room, but I forced myself to move forward and get the inevitable introduction out of the way. I moved into the kitchen area and Jayce’s face lit up as soon as he saw me, causing his brother to turn at the waist and look at me.

“Well, well, well, look who we have here,” the man, Billy I presumed, approached me. “Sam, you’ve changed your hair color. Good to see you again, sis.”

Confused, I looked up at the giant as he held his hand out to me. I took it, tentatively and remained mute, wondering if I should state the obvious. I was not Samantha, not even close.

“He’s messing with you, Ky,” Jayce piped up. “He knows who you are.”

Jayce remained in the kitchen, preparing breakfast while Billy smiled down at me, still gripping my hand. I pulled it away after an uncomfortably long time, but he didn’t seem to notice as he continued to stare.

“You are even more beautiful in person,” he said and I heard Jayce grunt from across the room. “I’ve watched the show. You’re a great singer. Better than my brother, that’s for sure!”

Jayce picked up half a mushroom from the chopping board and threw it at Billy, hitting him in the forehead. Billy laughed, a deep, husky laugh, which was nothing like Jayce’s. He sat on a stool at the breakfast bar and turned to me, patting the seat next to him. Jayce poured me a coffee from the fresh pot that he’d brewed. He brought it over to me and smiled. My fingers grazed his as I took the mug from his grasp, the contact causing my whole arm to tingle.

“I wouldn’t mind another cup,” Billy said, only to be met by Jayce’s piercing gaze. “Okay, I’ll get it myself,” Billy conceded and stood from his seat.

I laughed softly as I watched both Jayce and Billy move about the kitchen. Their likeness was extraordinary. They shared the same jet-black hair, although Billy wore his shorter, but still messily spiked. Where Jayce’s eyes were a deep emerald green, Billy’s were a lighter shade of green, almost blue. Both had the same handsomely rugged face and strong jawline. Billy was taller than Jayce, by about two inches and he was broader. His shoulders were thick and he looked as though he spent a lot of time at the gym. I couldn’t tell who was older in years, but Jayce definitely acted the more mature of the two.

Jayce served our breakfast of scrambled eggs with toast, bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes. We sat together around the dining table and although it should have been awkward, it wasn’t.

“Kyla, my brother told me you’re a lawyer in real life. I have to say, I find the whole powerful career woman thing very sexy.”

Jayce shot Billy a look of warning, but I wasn’t bothered by Billy’s comment.

“You should see me when I’m at work,” I said. “Pinstriped suits, hair piled in a bun, glasses perched on the tip of my nose… It’s not very sexy at all.”

Billy laughed at my retort and Jayce seemed to relax. I felt his hand make its way to my knee. He squeezed it slightly and gave me a reassuring wink.

“What do you do for a living, Billy?” I asked as I ate another mouthful of eggs.

“Are you serious, dude?” Billy slammed down his fork, feigning anger as he glared at Jayce. “You haven’t even told her about me?”

“It never came up,” Jayce said as he tried to suppress a smile.

“I’m a quarterback for the Chicago Bears,” Billy said with pride. I immediately looked to Jayce and he knew I was clueless.

“Football, babe.” He smiled.

“Oh, that’s great,” I said to Billy. “So you live in Chicago?”

“Most of the year,” he responded, while crunching on his bacon.

“Sorry, I’m not much of a sports fan.” As if he couldn’t tell.

“It’s cool.” He didn’t seem offended. “Jay, you should bring Kyla to a game?”

Jayce looked at me nervously and I felt his hand tense on my leg.

“Yeah, maybe one day,” he answered simply.

I knew the true meaning of Jayce’s words.
Maybe one day
implied that it was never going to happen. I shuffled my food around my plate, suddenly not feeling very hungry.

“How long are you in town, Billy?” I asked.

“I’m not sure yet. I was planning to stay for a week, but I may stay longer if my big brother lets me.” Billy inadvertently answered the question I hadn’t yet asked. Jayce was the eldest of the two.

“You usually don’t ask my permission,” Jayce said, earning him a punch on the shoulder from Billy.

“I thought you would be in Miami already,” Billy continued. “I was looking forward to having this bachelor pad to myself.”

“Yeah, just don’t have heaps of chicks here while I’m gone,” Jayce said, looking less than impressed.

“Damn! I better make some phone calls and cancel the orgy I had planned,” Billy winked at me playfully.

“You’re such a douche,” Jayce said as he shook his head.

“Speaking of douches,” Billy began, “should I expect to see Sam during my stay?”

“Shut up, Billy!”

Jayce seemed rattled by Billy’s comment. When he not so subtly kicked his brother under the table, his irritation became abundantly clear.

“So that’s a ‘no’?” Billy continued.

“You know she won’t be here,” Jayce answered. “Why’d you have to bring her up?”

“Someone has to get your ass into gear. I believe it was Rumi who once said,
‘why do you stay in prison, when the door is so wide open?’”

Billy said the words in jest, and if I wasn’t so worried that Jayce was about to explode, I might have been impressed by Billy’s cultured choice of words. Jayce shuffled in his chair and I was convinced that I was about to witness a brotherly boxing match, but he remained seated. His hand found mine underneath the table and he laced our fingers together, before letting out a long, exaggerated sigh.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” he directed toward his brother.

“I guess that’s my cue to head up to my room. I’ll give you guys some privacy,” Billy said as he stood from the table. “It was really great to meet you, Kyla.”

Billy took my hand and kissed the back of it adorably.

“It was nice to meet you too.”

“I hope I get to see you again,” he added before he left the room.

A tense silence hung in the air while I waited for Jayce to say something. Anything.

“He’s all talk. He’s not so bad once you get to know him,” Jayce said.

“He seems like a nice guy.” I paused for a moment, “but you’re very different.”

“How so?” Jayce asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Your personalities are different. Billy seems extremely vivacious, in a good way. As if he’d be the life of any party.” Jayce smiled as he rubbed his index finger along the overgrown stubble on his chin. “You, however, are far more inconspicuous. You don’t live up to your rock star reputation by any means.”

He chuckled softly. “Is that so?”

“Yep.” I said with a nod. “You two seem close.”

“We are,” he smiled slightly, as if he were reminiscing. “We’re a close family. My parents live in San Diego, I try to head down there every couple of weeks for a visit.”

“Wow, you’re a good son,” I said and meant it. I lived in the same city as my parents and didn’t even see them that often. Speaking with Jayce about family made me want to reach out to my parents and be a better daughter.

“You’re not close with your parents?” he asked.

We’d never actually had an in depth discussion about family before. Jayce knew my parents could be a little demanding, but it was a brief conversation and I hadn’t gone into detail.

“We’re not as close as we should be,” I said softly. “Tell me about your parents,” I said, eager to keep the conversation moving. Moving away from me, anyway.

“They’re great people,” he started. “It’s because of them that I got into music. Years of guitar lessons, which I hated in the beginning, but then I realized I was pretty good at it and then I couldn’t put my acoustic down.”

When Jayce talked about music he got this look on his face, I’d noticed it previously in the studio too. It was a look of pure contentment, as if when he found music, he found the meaning of his life.

“They don’t like the industry much though,” he said.

“Why’s that?”

“The attention it brings, the paparazzi, the gossip. They don’t understand what all the fuss is about and why anyone would want to take photos of me going to a restaurant or doing my grocery shopping.”

“They keep you humble,” I said and he nodded.

“And no matter what, they wont let me spend any money on them. They still live in the same three-bedroom house that Billy and me grew up in.”

“It’s their home. Money can buy you a house, but it can’t by you a home.”

I knew this from personal experience. As a child, my parents upped and moved every three or four years. They always wanted to live in the newest house, in the most prestigious suburb. I didn’t know what it felt like to truly feel at home until I bought my townhouse. Sure, it wasn’t ultra modern or in the most expensive neighborhood, but when I walked through the door, I knew I was home.

“See, my parents would love you.” Before the words had left his mouth, he instantly regretted them. I could tell. His cheeks reddened, which was rare, and he looked down at the table, avoiding eye contact.

“Why did you want them to move?” I asked, pretending I hadn’t heard Jayce’s previous comment.