Twisted Perfection (Rosemary Beach #5)(68)

Most girls he knew hadn’t been forced to protect themselves for the past three

years. I’d had my mother to take care of but no one to take care of me. “I’m from Alabama,” I replied ignoring his hand and stepping out of the truck myself.

The sea breeze hit my face and the salty smell of the beach was unmistakable. I’d never seen the beach before. At least not in person. I’d seen pictures and movies. But the smell, it was exactly like I expected it to be.

“So it’s true what they say about girls from Bama,” he replied and I turned my attention to him.

“What do you mean?”

His eyes scanned down my body and back up to my face. A grin stretched slowly across his face. “Tight jeans, tank tops, and a gun. Damn, I’ve been living in the wrong f*cking state.”

Rolling my eyes, I reached into the back of the truck. I had a suitcase and then several boxes that I needed to drop off at the Goodwill.

“Here, let me get it.” He stepped around me then reached into the truck bed for the large piece of luggage my mom had kept tucked away in her closet for that “road trip” we never got to take. She always talked about how we’d drive across the country and then up the west coast one day. Then she’d gotten sick.

Shaking off the memories, I focused on the present. “Thank you, uh… I don’t think I got your name.”

The guy pulled the suitcase out then turned back to me.

“What? You forgot to ask when you had the nine-millimeter pointed at my face?” he replied.

I sighed. Okay, maybe I’d gone a little overboard with the gun but he’d scared me.

“I’m Grant, a, uh, friend of Rush’s.”

“Rush?” There was that name again. Who was Rush?

Grant’s grin grew big once again. “You don’t know who Rush is?” He was extremely amused. “I’m so f*cking glad I came tonight.”

He nodded his head toward the house, “Come on. I’ll introduce you.”

I walked beside him as he led me to the house. The music inside got louder as we got closer. If my dad wasn’t here, then who was? I knew Georgiana was his new wife but that was all I knew. Was this a party her kids were having? How old were they? She did have kids, didn’t she? I couldn’t remember. Dad had been vague. He’d said I’d like my new family but he hadn’t said who that family was exactly.

“So, does Rush live here?” I asked.

“Yeah, he does, at least in the summer. He moves to his other houses according to the season.”

“His other houses?”

Grant chuckled, “You don’t know anything about this family your dad has married into, do you, Blaire?”

He had no idea. I shook my head.

“Quick mini lesson then before we walk inside the madness,” he replied stopping at the top of the stairs leading to the front door and looked at me. “Rush Finlay is your stepbrother. He’s the only child of the famous drummer for Slacker Demon, Dean Finlay. His parents never married. His mother, Georgianna, was a groupie back in the day. This is his house. His mother gets to live here because he allows it.” He stopped and looked back at the door, as it swung open. “These are all his friends.”

A tall, willowy, strawberry blonde wearing a short royal blue dress and a pair of heels that I’d break my neck in if I tried to wear them stood there staring at me. I didn’t miss the distaste in her scowl. I didn’t know much about people like this but I did know that my department store clothing wasn’t something she approved of. Either that or I had a bug crawling on me.

“Well, hello Nannette,” Grant replied in an annoyed tone.

“Who is she?” the girl asked, shifting her gaze to Grant.

“A friend. Wipe the snarl off your face Nan it isn’t an attractive look for you,” he replied, reaching over to grab my hand and pull me into the house behind him.

The room wasn’t as full as I’d assumed. As we walked past the large open foyer an arched doorway led into what I assumed was a living room. Even so, it was bigger than my entire house or what had been my house. Two glass doors were standing open with a breathtaking view of the ocean. I wanted to see that up close.

“This way,” Grant instructed as he made his way over to a… bar? Really? There was a bar in the house?

I glanced over the people we passed by. They all paused for a moment and gave me a quick once over. I stood out big time.

“Rush, meet Blaire, I believe she might belong to you. I found her outside looking a little lost,” Grant said and I swung my gaze from the curious people to see who this Rush was.

Oh.

Oh. My.

“Is that so?” Rush replied in a lazy drawl and leaned forward from his relaxed position on the white sofa with a beer in his hand. “She’s cute but she’s young. Can’t say she’s mine.”

“Oh, she’s yours alright. Seeing as her daddy has run off to Paris with your momma for the next few weeks. I’d say this one now belongs to you. I’d gladly offer her a room at my place if you want. That is if she promises to leave her deadly weapon in the truck.”

Rush narrowed his eyes and studied me closely. They were an odd color. Stunningly unusual. They weren’t brown. They weren’t hazel. They were a warm color with some silver laced through them. I’d never seen anything like them. Could they be contacts?