Nevealise jolted at the knock on her door. The sound vibrated like a thunderbolt in the peace and tranquility of her quiet dressing room. Her hand pressed against her chest, trying to stem her racing heart. Mentally shaking herself, Nevealise got up and looked at the closed door.
“Who’s there?”
“It’s me, Nev. Can I come in?”
Nevealise smiled at the briskness of Brice’s voice. He always sounded as if he was angry or in a hurry. While attending college Nevealise had become friends with an engineering student, Jasmine Greene, who unbeknownst to her was dating Brice Manning. Lovers of the written word, Jasmine and Brice would often drag Nevealise along to lounges and clubs to listen, and sometimes participate, in song and the spoken word. It was during those times with Jasmine and Brice that she’d discovered her passion for singing.
Jasmine and Brice were the only two people outside her immediate family who were aware of her disdain for her father, and their tumultuous relationship. To this day Jasmine was still Nevealise’s best friend, and Brice had become more of a brother than a friend. He was the person who’d helped her make Heavens a reality, investing in her talent as well as her business.
“Nev, are you all right? Can I come in?”
He was alone. What a relief. She sat down, smiled and called out, “Sure. Come on in, Brice.”
Nevealise watched as the door slowly opened a bit and Brice stuck his head in. That surprised her, because he usually just walked in.
“What are you doing?” She frowned.
“Just making sure you’re decent,” he responded, before pushing the door open and strolling in. Nevealise’s stomach dropped as Langston and Jarred followed close behind, piling into her dressing room.
The knot in her stomach felt as if she’d swallowed a brick. Ah, hell, she thought, as she saw Jarred standing there staring at her with a smirk on his oh-so-handsome face. Nevealise never really cared for bearded men, but Jarred wore his well. His was light, neatly trimmed and seemed to complement his thick eyebrows, honey-brown skin tone and those hazel eyes that seemed to look straight to her soul. If she wouldn’t appear childish, she would have rolled her eyes at the self-assured oldest Manning brother. Instead, she turned her megawatt smile onto Brice.
“Brice,” she said, standing to embrace him with a gentle hug. “You didn’t tell me that the Brothers Three would be gracing me with your presence tonight.”
“That’s because I didn’t know. Spur-of-the-moment thing. On top of that, I didn’t know you were in town. You didn’t call,” Brice said. “It’s been too long, Nev.”
Nevealise backed out of his embrace and looked him in the eye. “Like you—spur-of-the-moment thing.”
“How long will you be in town?” Brice asked. After graduating from MIT, Nevealise had stayed on in the area, making Cambridge, Massachusetts, her home.
“Not sure.” She looked over Brice’s shoulder at Langston. He had been the more laid-back one, she remembered, and he’d always been nice to her. Compassionate and patient. She knew his referral to her as Nerd Girl was not malicious. In fact, most times he’d pulled her ponytail when he’d called her that. She hadn’t seen Langston in years. Or Jarred, for that matter.
Brice must have noticed her eyes flittering about the room, because he said, “You remember my brothers, Langston and Jarred?”
“It’s been a while, but of course I remember them,” she said.
Langston held out his hand. “You have a beautiful voice. I really enjoyed the show.”
Nevealise shook it. “Not the ‘Nerd Girl’ you remember,” she teased.
Langston had the nerve to blush. “Yes, about that. We were young and full of ourselves,” he said, clearing his throat.
“No worries. It never bothered me. I was and still am a nerd and proud of it. Well, not at the time.” She chuckled.
Nevealise was surprised when Brice pulled her into the crook of his arm. She turned her face up and gave him a questioning look. He just winked at her. What in the world is he playing at?
“I’m Jarred,” she heard his other brother say. The seductive timbre of Jarred’s voice captivated her, compelling her to look at him. His hand was outstretched, so she had no choice but to extend hers. He grasped her hand as if it were a lifeline and glided his thumb over her knuckles.
“I didn’t know you and Brice were an item,” he said smoothly.
Nevealise was caught off guard by him having his way with her hand, and then by his assumption that she and Brice were a couple. She was stunned to silence until she felt the firm squeeze of Brice’s palm on her shoulder.
“You still don’t,” she gathered herself enough to say. “Brice and I are friends. Not lovers. He’s more like a brother.” Nevealise didn’t know why she felt compelled to explain their relationship. She didn’t owe anyone an explanation, least of all Jarred Manning. “Can I have my hand back now?” she said, trying to pull it from his grasp. He refused to let go.
“If we were an item, I believe I would take exception to you holding my woman’s hand as if you were waiting for an opportunity to bed her,” Brice chided. “I believe the lady asked for it back.”
“Uh, bro, you can’t hold her hand hostage,” Langston interjected with a chuckle.
Nevealise darted her gaze from one brother to the other, all the while trying to disengage her hand from Jarred’s. Langston apparently thought it funny, but Jarred’s eyes were not so happily fixed on Brice.
“We are not a couple,” Brice stressed. Nevealise could hear the smugness in his voice. “I told you, Nev and I are friends.”
The brothers had had a conversation about her? When? And more importantly, why?
“What’s going on, Brice?”
“Nothing, Nev. Just my big brother being his normal presumptuous self. Are you performing all weekend?”
“I haven’t decided yet. Playing it by ear at this point.”
“Have you spoken to your father yet?”
Nevealise tensed. “No, and I hadn’t planned on it,” she said easily.
“Maybe you should,” Jarred interposed.
Her father was a sore point with her, and she didn’t appreciate Jarred trying to tell her what to do.
“As I said, I don’t plan on speaking to him. And let go of my hand,” she snapped, finally snatching it out of his grasp.
“Do you have real daddy issues, or are you just throwing a tantrum?” Jarred asked.
Nevealise’s eyes flashed fire. “Excuse you! Throwing a tantrum! What am I, three? You don’t know me, so I suggest you keep your comments to yourself, especially where my father and I are concerned.” Nevealise breathed hard. The rapid rise and fall of her chest was a telltale sign that she was angry. No, she wasn’t angry. She was furious. Her father was a touchy subject, and for this know-it-all to assume she was the problem had her enraged.
“Calm down, Nev. Jarred’s just upset about the situation,” Brice said.
“Jarred, she’s right,” Langston interjected. “You have no business making assumptions about her and her father. You owe Nevealise an apology.”
“What situation?” Nevealise asked, perplexed. She was trying her best to follow the conversation, but couldn’t. What were they talking about? Apparently, whatever it was had something to do with her father. If so, she didn’t much care. As long as she wasn’t involved.
“What