Ever James is a platinum-selling rock star, who has purposely made a reputation for herself as the industry’s favorite wild girl. She’s been photographed partying hard and dating the hottest actors. She’s been caught in the middle of numerous wardrobe malfunctions and frequents the covers of gossip magazines with scandalous rumors of rehab, affairs, and pregnancies. Only some are true.
She sings their songs. She poses for their pictures. She wears their clothes.
Until Rhett…
Rhett Grayson has one of the most sought-after spots in the New York subway system to play his music. Travelers fill his guitar case with enough money to pay his bills and buy a round of drinks for his friends every week. He has his own apartment in Manhattan. Who cares if he can touch the walls with his arms stretched out wide? It’s his.
When Rhett is unexpectedly asked to join Ever’s band as lead guitarist, will Ever be able to cope with a new bandmate who’s as infuriating as he is tempting? Can she show him it’s okay to step out of his comfort zone while he teaches her a thing or two along the way about staying true to herself?
Ever Lonely – Christmas Special extra scene
For readers who have read Ever Lonely, this extra scene is between Chapter Twenty-three and Twenty-four (before they finish the album and go on tour).
“Rhett, stop glaring at us like that!” Lola laughed as she sliced another piece of my Camembert cheese. Some ass fancy cheese that I knew nothing of before I learned about appetizer boards for tonight.
Everything was supposed to be perfect. I had planned tonight for over a month. A lot of people helped me put it all together. Some of those people were sitting in this room now. But they weren’t supposed to fucking be here tonight.
“Seriously, dude, don’t look so unhappy to see us.” Nix, my bandmate, chuckled and snatched a few grapes off my board.
I swatted his hand away. “I’ve done nothing but see all of you guys. Tonight was supposed to be ours,” I grumbled.
I looked across the marble floors into the living room where Ever was checking out the apartment. All the curtains had been pulled closed earlier and I needed to distract her before she peeked outside. It was hard enough sneaking her into this building in Rockefeller Center without her putting two and two together.
I cleared my throat loudly and got Lola’s attention. Gage had been whispering in her ear and trying to find ways to get his hands on her. My eyes cut over to Ever, hoping Lola would know what I meant.
“She can’t see out the windows, yet,” Alex whispered for me.
“Oh!” Lola jumped from Gage’s hands. “On it!” she whispered.
Sienna poured herself a glass of my Dom Perignon champagne and Alex lifted the lid of the silver serving platter taking a giant whiff of our Buffalo mozzarella Panzanella. The tray that was still in the kitchen held our mushroom and walnut pasta. It was all supposed to be so romantic. I had studied hard for tonight and tried to make sure all the boxes for the most romantic date ever were checked off. Extra guests weren’t on the list.
“EVERLY JAMES!” Lola screeched. “Is that what I think it is?”
“What?” Ever laughed with her raspy voice that always got me hard.
“Is that the Saint Laurent dress that’s currently waitlisted for months?” Lola gasped.
“It is.” Ever walked away from the window and ran her hands down the sleek dress. “Sienna managed to get it for me.”
Lola, who was Ever’s best friend and makeup/hair stylist whipped around to look at Sienna, who was one of my best friends and Ever’s newest stylist. “Oh, I bow down to your greatness. Your fashion connections far outreach mine. I’m so glad you took that job.”
“I don’t get it,” Gage whispered to me.
“Yeah, looks like any normal sparkly dress,” Alex added. If any of the girls heard them they’d have their heads.
I didn’t get it either but I sure as hell appreciated the dress. It hugged her body almost better than I could.
“What are you guys doing here, anyway?” I asked, through clenched teeth.
“We missed you two.” Sienna smiled sweetly.
I rolled my eyes. “We were with Ever’s dad for three days over Thanksgiving.
Alex nodded his head. “And, that’s the longest I’ve ever gone without seeing you.”
“Same,” Gage added.
“Same for me about Ever,” Lola piped in.
I had to think back if that were actually true. It probably was. We even vacationed together when we were kids. “That’s sad.” I looked at Gage and Alex.
Hands grazed my stomach and dipped inside my suit jacket until I could feel the warmth of them through my thin button-up oxford. I looked down at the prettiest set of green eyes and kissed the top of her head.
“I think it’s sweet,” Ever said, keeping her arms tightly around my midsection. “We missed you too. Even if Rhett is being grumpy.” She scrunched up her nose a little and looked up at me. It was so fucking cute.
I leaned down to whisper into her ear, “I just wanted you to myself tonight. I worked hard to plan this for you.”
“And I’m loving every minute of it.” She beamed up at me and I softened a tiny bit toward our meddlesome friends.
“Whose place is this, by the way?” Alex asked.
“I don’t know them really.” Everyone turned to give me curious and confused expressions. “I needed a place around here. I knocked on a few doors. Found what I needed and offered this nice family an incentive to let me use their apartment.” I shrugged my shoulders as if it had been that easy.
In reality, it hadn’t. I knocked on twenty-two doors. Seventeen of them answered. Only one had the view I needed and even then it took a pretty penny and a lot of convincing for the Walton family to let me use their opulent residence for two hours. Dropping Ever James’ name didn’t hurt either.
Ever eyed me cautiously, trying to figure out what I was up to.
I checked my watch and realized I didn’t have much time to stand around and chat. “Pipes, it’s time.”
“Time?” she asked, looking around to everyone for what it could be time for.
I took her hand and pulled her toward the elaborate living room. Someone had spent a lot of time and money decorating it for the holidays. There was fresh garland draped over every surface and tiny little lights peeked out in between the leaves. A twelve-foot Christmas tree towered in the corner, the lights were a deep blue at the base but as they progressed toward the top, they were lighter and lighter. It was amazing. As I brought her closer to the window, I realized the lights would kill the total effect of my surprise.
“Alex… Gage… can you kill these lights?”
“What?” Ever asked. “But it’s so beautiful!”
I smiled because she loved Christmas so much. The holidays had always been special in my family but Ever almost vibrated with delight over them. In my opinion, there was no better place than New York City to celebrate it either. You just couldn’t beat the atmosphere that became charged with holiday spirit like it did in the city. Every shop window had the most elaborate displays, trees were on every corner and every inch was decorated. Christmas was the only time in New York where we felt the usual hustle and bustle but then also a serene magic. The skating rink had been a favorite of mine as a kid and of course, the tree lighting ceremony was the crown jewel.
The lights in the apartment faded away as the guys found the outlets for them. One extension cord at a time we were clothed in darkness. I moved behind her and turned her toward the window. My hands grazed around her waist until they were holding tight to her hips. She wiggled against me and I squeezed to get her to focus on the surprise at hand. Her smirk almost made me want to ditch the whole idea and drag her back to one of those extravagant bedrooms.
I glanced at my watch and realized we had thirty seconds. The only problem was I needed to pull back the curtains but I didn’t want to leave her side. Just then Nixon and Alex appeared in front of us with their hands ready to pull them back.
Alex raised an eyebrow. “Still hate that we’re here?”
“Thank you,” I offered. I lifted my watch up again. Fifteen seconds. Ten seconds. “Now, guys.”
The thick cream drapes pulled away from the floor to ceiling glass and we were still shrouded in darkness. Ever had been holding her breath but when she couldn’t see anything new the air whooshed out of her and she leaned to look up at me. Confusion troubled her face.
“Baby, look,” I whispered in her ears while looking toward the window. I felt the air suck into her lungs as she gasped in surprise. “Merry Christmas,” I whispered and kissed her temple.
“Rhett…” she gasped.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree sparkled to life only feet from us beyond the window. I knew this apartment would be the perfect setting for her. This was New York’s famous tree — you couldn’t get any better than this. We heard the thousands of people eight stories below us down in the center clapping and cheering as the Mayor pressed the button to officially begin the Christmas season for the city.
I leaned forward to look at her face and was genuinely surprised to see the lone tear trailing down her cheek. “Pipes…” I breathed against her face, as I inhaled her scent. My lips grazed her soft skin.
Ever had lived here for eight years now and had never seen the lighting of the Christmas tree. Crowds weren’t the best for celebrities and her security got twitchy when she tried to enter them. When I informed the head of her security, Beau, about my plan, he beamed. He also knew how badly she loved everything Christmas and how she had always wanted to see the lighting of the tree. It was a big deal in New York — we were proud of that damn goliath tree here.
“I didn’t even realize this was happening today… and you…” She spun around and hugged me tightly, her face burrowing into my chest. “You did all of this, just so I could see the tree.” I felt her quiet cries and I squeezed her tighter.
“No one should live in New York and not see the tree lit.” As a local, myself, it was still breathtaking to see it. Especially higher up off the ground with a front row view. Just because she was in every tabloid didn’t mean that she shouldn’t be able to have real-life experiences. I was her first real boyfriend well that was something I had started calling myself because her music label appointed all of her previous ones. But as her first real boyfriend, I had taken it upon myself to give her adventures she hadn’t been able to encounter before because of her high-profile appearance.
It was something I planned on continuing throughout our lives together. Hopefully experiencing a real-life wedding with her wasn’t too far off. Ever was it for me. And seeing her face tonight when she saw the tree just reminded me how much I loved her. I loved putting that look in her eyes and that smile on her face.
“I love you,” she whispered.
And I damn sure loved hearing that.
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling author Kimberly Lauren started out life as an avid reader. Inspired to challenge the more traditional relationship roles she came across while reading romances, she decided to write the scintillating and celebrated new adult series Broken. Then went on to write the Ever James Band series. She currently resides in Texas with her husband and their so
