Page 55 of Chasing Lyric
He scoffs. “No. One are celebrities, the other are more like, you know… known to the police.”
I raise my brow at him. “Like our biker friends?”
He smirks, raising his brow. “Yeah, they are notorious. Are your family like them, Starlight?”
Grimacing, I shake my head. “Ahh… I don’t think so, well, I guess my brother is a little bit. The damn lunatic can be a bit of a rebel.”
“Okay, so tell me…” He smiles, and it touches his beautiful eyes. “Who is your notorious, famous family?”
I take in a deep breath. “Remember in the car, that song that came over the radio? I made you turn it off?”
“Yeah,Savage Riot, they are a great ’80s rock band. They’re still going, though.”
I purse my lips. “Yeah, they’re still going. I know because the lead singer, Stylo Griffin, is my dad.”
Chase’s eyes widen as he sits completely still, like he’s been struck by a stun gun. “Your father’s rock royalty?”
I tense a little. “You a fan?”
He shakes his head like he’s in awe. “I, ahh… well, yeah! I mean, I guess now I think about it, it makes sense.”
“It does?”
A faint smile lights his face. “Your voice.”
I sink into myself. “I don’t sing, Chase. Remember?”
He nods matter-of-factly. “No, I know… this is just—”
“If you can’t handle this,” I snap, more out of the fear of rejection than anything else, as I sit up from him. I move to get some distance, but he pulls me back down to him.
“Lyri, stop! It’s just a shock. You’re the daughter of someone famous. I need to impress a rock legend. That shit’s daunting for a man.”
I chew on my bottom lip. “That’s all this is?” I point between him and me.
“I swear. We’re good. Tell me more.”
“The thing about my childhood is…” I exhale at the memories, “… Dad was always away on tour. Mom is the band’s manager, so she was forever away with him, too.” He weakly smiles. “We had nannies and other house staff, but when I got older andmore capable, I became the parent to my siblings. I helped to feed them, assisted them with their schooling, looked after the mansion, dealt with the press constantly calling…” I pause and sigh. “It wasa lotfor me to take on at sixteen.”
The memory steals my breath. “All I wanted was anormallife.Normalparents who were around and could take me to dance lessons if I wanted to go, which I didn’t, but that’s beside the point. I wanted to go to anormalschool and not be hounded when we went outside of our own home.”
I shrug. “It’s so much better the older I’ve gotten, and since moving away from the main home. Distancing myself from the family has helped keep my anonymity. But in those early years, Ihatedmy life. I disliked my parents for being famous, and I abhorred the music industry…”
Chase places his hand on my thigh for support.
“The only upside of being confined to the mansion was that I needed a hobby, so I had the groundskeeper teach me maintenance of the garden. We even made this amazing flower garden by the front of the stairs.”
“Sounds like the groundskeeper was good for you.”
“He was.” I smile. “He helped me research floristry, and that’s how I got to where I am now at Love and Lavender.”
Chase genuinely smiles. “And look at you, you’re incredibly successful at what you do. You’re making a name for yourself all on your own.”
I dip my head.I guess I am.
“Yeah, so hearing their music reminds me of my childhood. Of the fact that my father’s never around.That’swhy I got weird that day.” He nods, and I inhale, clapping my hands together. “Okay, that’s enough deep and meaningfuls for now.” I grab the remote, turning on the television to Netflix—The Night Agent, season one, episode one. “Here we go. You ready for this marathon?”
He sits back, getting comfortable. “Bring it on.”
