Page 102 of Living on the Edge

“Dammit, Alex, shut your mouth! Just because you’re bitter about not being the first-born, don’t put that on my son!”

“Ourson.”

Wait—did he just sayourson?

As in Alex andVioletta’s? Not Violetta’s and August, Jr.’s son?

What the fuck is going on?

“Ourson will sit at my husband’s side and run the family business. Just like all the first-born sons before him.”

“Except he’smyfirst-born son, not August’s.”

“Stop saying that!” Violetta hisses. “We had an agreement.”

“When he was a child, and while my father was alive, yes. Now Angus is an adult and my father is gone. It’s time for him to know the truth. About everything. Not to mention make his own choices.”

“There’s no reason for it! And you’ll ruin my marriage to boot.”

“Give me a break. You haven’t shared a bed with August in a decade. Probably more.”

“Not everything is about sex.”

“No, it’s not. But Angus doesn’twantto join the family business. He’s happy playing music and?—”

“His name is August, and spare me with his little rock and roll venture. It’s a distraction. We spoiled him and he had something to prove. Young men like to sow oats. Now that he’s proven to himself that he can make it without us, he’ll be coming home. The band is already on the outs thanks to his duplicity, and I’m going to keep feeding that little media circus.”

“What have you done, Vi?”

“I did what was necessary. Just like I always do. He’s not going to—to—spend the rest of his life playing that dreadful music and sleeping with little harlots like Ryleigh!”

I bristle.

Who the hell is she calling a harlot?

My face flames with embarrassment, but it’s way too late for me to move from this spot. All I can do now is keep listening—and pray they don’t see me.

“She seems like a nice girl,” Alex is saying. “And he adores her.”

Thank you.

“I’m sure she’s fine, but she’s a wannabe reporter who’s sleeping with someone in the band she’s supposed to be covering—that tells me everything I need to know about her.”

Ugh.

I’d been afraid of this.

I just hadn’t expected to hear it from Angus’s mother.

“Vi, listen to me. I’ve loved you most of my life, and I accept the fact that you don’t return my feelings, but I want a relationship with my son. You owe me that much.”

“You have a relationship with him! He likes you much more than his father. What more do you want?”

“I’m his uncle and we barely see each other.”

“He’s a little old for a daddy.”

“You’re never too old for a parent. The relationship just changes.”

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