Feels Like Forever (The Family Stone Book 2) Read online

  Feels

  Like

  Forever

  By:

  Brooke St. James

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the author.

  Copyright © 2018

  Brooke St. James

  All rights reserved.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Epilogue

  Other titles available from Brooke St. James:

  Another Shot:

  (A Modern-Day Ruth and Boaz Story)

  When Lightning Strikes

  Something of a Storm (All in Good Time #1)

  Someone Someday (All in Good Time #2)

  Finally My Forever (Meant for Me #1)

  Finally My Heart's Desire (Meant for Me #2)

  Finally My Happy Ending (Meant for Me #3)

  Shot by Cupid's Arrow

  Dreams of Us

  Meet Me in Myrtle Beach (Hunt Family #1)

  Kiss Me in Carolina (Hunt Family #2)

  California's Calling (Hunt Family #3)

  Back to the Beach (Hunt Family #4)

  It's About Time (Hunt Family #5)

  Loved Bayou (Martin Family #1)

  Dear California (Martin Family #2)

  My One Regret (Martin Family #3)

  Broken and Beautiful (Martin Family #4)

  Back to the Bayou (Martin Family #5)

  Almost Christmas

  JFK to Dublin (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective #1)

  Not Your Average Joe (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective #2)

  So Much for Boundaries (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective #3)

  Suddenly Starstruck (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective #4)

  Love Stung (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective #5)

  My American Angel (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective #6)

  Summer of '65 (Bishop Family #1)

  Jesse's Girl (Bishop Family #2)

  Maybe Memphis (Bishop Family #3)

  So Happy Together (Bishop Family #4)

  My Little Gypsy (Bishop Family #5)

  Malibu by Moonlight (Bishop Family #6)

  The Harder They Fall (Bishop Family #7)

  Come Friday (Bishop Family #8)

  So This is Love (Miami Stories #1)

  All In (Miami Stories #2)

  Something Precious (Miami Stories #3)

  The Suite Life (The Family Stone #1)

  Feels Like Forever (The Family Stone #4)

  Chapter 1

  "Maybe you shouldn't open with that," I said to my sister after the lady walked away and was out of earshot.

  "What do you mean open with that?" Indie asked, staring at me with a slightly offended expression. "Did I say something wrong?"

  We were sitting at a small café and had just been approached by one of our mother's friends.

  My little nephew, Leo, made a grunting sound, and we both looked at him to find that he was halfway out of his highchair, stretching as far as he could toward the basket in the middle of the table. I reached into it and broke off a piece of bread, handing it to him to keep him busy while I talked to his mom. I had been working a lot, so it had been a while since I had seen them.

  I saw that Indie was offended by my statement, so I tried to backpedal, smiling and shaking my head. "No, no, you didn't say anything wrong." I glanced around, making sure I was being discreet. "It's just… you know… what happened with you and Kai. It doesn't have to be the first thing you mention when someone asks you how you're doing."

  Indie just sat there and blinked at me like she wasn't sure what to say—almost as if she was stunned—wondering what else there was to possibly talk about.

  It broke my heart to see her so at a loss for words. She had always been so full of life. Also, she had lost weight since the last time I had seen her.

  "Sorry, Vi, but being cheated on and having my life turned upside-down by a huge, humiliating divorce is pretty much all I can think about right now. I mentioned it because it's what Patrice was thinking when she came over here, anyway."

  "How do you know that?" I said with a little shrug. "She might not have even known about it."

  Indie let out a huffing sound of disagreement just as our server came to the table.

  "Have you decided what you'd like to order?" the girl asked.

  I hadn't even looked at the menu and neither had Indie.

  "We'll each have half-a-Cuban sandwich and a salad," I said. "And chicken nuggets for Leo, please."

  The girl gave me a nod. "Sure thing. What kind of dressing for the salads?"

  "A vinaigrette and a blue cheese—both on the side, please."

  "Our house vinaigrette is raspberry. Does that sound okay?"

  "Sure," I said.

  I was trying to be kind to her, but had an unpleasant feeling as a result of my unfinished conversation with my sister, and I didn't really care what kind of salad dressing she brought. I handed her our menus. She smiled but then her expression shifted, and she tilted her head at me, looking a bit regretful.

  "I saw there was a lady who approached you," she said. "I'm sorry about that. I really thought you'd get left alone since you're way over here facing the wall."

  She was specifically talking to me because Indie wasn't facing the wall.

  Indie and I had grown up in the spotlight.

  We were the two eldest daughters of Alec Stone.

  Our father was a legendary rock and roll icon who couldn't go anywhere or do anything without being hassled. He could barely sneeze without it making the news. Things weren't that bad for us girls, though. Our parents divorced when we were young, and we were raised in Ventura with our mom.

  Considering that we were the daughters of one of the most famous people in the world, we had lived relatively quiet lives. We got recognized sometimes when we were all out together, but generally, we could go about our daily routines and have a normal existence without being bothered.

  That had all changed for me in recent years.

  I had been acting for about half my life, but in the past, all my starring roles were in small, independent films. I had done a few major motion pictures in recent years, though, and it didn't surprise me that our server addressed me with her concerns.

  I gave her a reassuring smile. "That lady was a friend of the family."

  "Oh, okay," she said, nodding and looking relieved. "I'll try to watch out for you and help keep your table quiet."

  I smiled at her. "Thank you."

  I could tell by how she hesitated that she wanted to say something else, but I acted like I hadn't noticed. She walked away, and I focused on my sister again. Indie didn't mention me ordering for her and Leo. As the oldest, I had always been a decision-maker, care-taker type. I knew Indie liked the Cuban sandwich/salad combo, anyway. She might have normally interjected with what kind of dressing she wanted or reminded the server to bring ketchup for Leo, though.

  It bothered me that she was so quiet.

  "You really have no right to tell me something like that," she said, scowling at me. "You have no idea what I've been through, Violet. You've n
ever even been in a relationship for more than a few months."

  So much for quiet.

  And she used my whole name, too. Indie almost always called me Vi.

  My heart dropped at how shaken and hurt my precious sister appeared to be. In those seconds, as I stared at the way her chin quivered just slightly, I could see the small child she once was.

  I hated myself for saying anything. I smiled nervously as I glanced away. I had certainly never meant to hurt her. The comment she made about me not dating anyone for more than a few months did not go unnoticed, but I chose to ignore it. I paused, feeling slightly hurt that she had misunderstood me and fired back.

  "I think you misunderstood my motive, Indie. I don't care what that lady thinks. It wasn't for her benefit that I said you shouldn't mention your divorce. It was for your own. I hate it for you. I hate that it's still the first thing on your mind. I'm mad at him for that."

  "It's only been four months," she said.

  We were basically whispering, but she glanced at her son just to make sure he wasn't paying attention. At two-years-old, he was way more interested in eating his bread than what we were saying.

  "And it was painful," she added. "It still is. It wasn't like he just disappeared. That would have been better. That would have been easier."

  "I know," I said. "I'm sorry about everything. I know it's been really hard on you."

  I could see Indie struggling to hold back tears. She blinked and looked around. I leaned toward her, reaching out to rub her back.

  "I'm so sorry," I said again. "I really didn't mean to make it seem like it was less than it was. I just hate seeing you hurt. I really do. I'm furious at him for what he did. I don't know what to tell you to do to get over it. Part of me feels like, at some point, you just have to pretend everything's okay until it actually gets okay."

  "I don't even know if I'm even to the point of pretending yet," Indie said. She took a slow, deep breath, in through her nose and let it out through her mouth. Leo glanced up at his mother when she did that, and she smiled at him, automatically leaning in and going to work spreading a little butter on his half-eaten bread with a butter knife.

  "I know it's hard, and I know it's gonna take time," I said, trying to be as understanding as possible. "I just can't wait to have my old Indie back."

  She glanced at me. "If she still exists."

  "Sure she does," I said. "I'm looking at her."

  "I know, but I'm just… it's just hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I guess."

  "It's there, though," I assured her.

  She smiled, but it was laced with sadness or regret.

  "Why don't you change things up?" I asked. "Sell the house. Move into a new place. Get a dog. Get a new car. Get a job—something just for fun. You should look into doing jewelry. You've always mentioned that. Maybe eventually you could even start dating again."

  Indie let out a little humorless laugh. "I did think about selling the house," she said, ignoring everything else I said. "I stayed at Mom's for so long when it first happened that it was kind of weird going back there. It's only been a month or so, and it still doesn't feel right."

  "Sell it," I said in a decisive tone.

  She glanced at me, and I smiled.

  "Seriously. You should move. I know it's not gonna fix everything, but I think it'd be really good for you and Leo. Plus, it'd be fun, looking for a new place."

  Indie nodded, smiling a little, like the thought of it gave her a feeling of hope.

  "We need to start looking right now," I said, reaching for my phone and beginning to press buttons. "What's your price range? How big of a place do you want?"

  Indie let out a little laugh, shaking her head at me. "I'm not doing all that right now, Vi," she said. "First, I have to think about selling my own house. Let's just eat, and I'll think about it later."

  "Okaaay," I said in a tone like she was missing out. I stared at my phone with wide eyes, shaking my head regretfully. "If you don't want to see this little beach house with a view."

  "What? Where? In Ventura?"

  "This one's here in Malibu," I said, shaking my head.

  Malibu was about halfway between my house in L.A. and Indie's place in Ventura, so that's where we had met for lunch. She leaned toward me to get a glimpse of the screen, but I shifted away from her, pretending to be stubborn.

  "Malibu?" she asked, her voice raising an octave in surprise.

  "Why not? Dad's in L.A. with me, and so is Blue. It'd put you closer to all of us, and you'd still not be that far from Mom. Plus, it'd be a fresh start."

  Indie stared blankly at the table, thinking about what I said. "With the way things are going between Mom and Dad, she’ll be moving back to L.A., anyway."

  "Exactly," I said. "You should just buy a place near mine. Heck, you could just stay with me till you find something. It'd be so liberating, Indie. You wouldn't have to worry about running into…"

  "I know," she said, cutting me off.

  Indie's divorce was an extremely complicated situation, but the short of it was that Kai had gotten another girl pregnant while they were still married, and now, he was currently starting a new family with that girl. The two of them, along with their newborn daughter, still lived in Ventura.

  The girl had been eight months pregnant when she confronted Indie with the news that Kai had been cheating for years. It was a dramatic ordeal. Kai had begged Indie to forgive him, but then he got caught red-handed telling the other woman that he had only been with Indie because of Dad's money. There was some back-and-fourth, but it ultimately ended in divorce, and Kai was already remarried. Needless to say, Indie would be doing herself a favor by getting out of Ventura.

  "You're right," she said, handing Leo his sippy cup. "Visitation's not really an issue since he's only got such limited C-U-S-T-O…" She started to spell custody, but she stopped when I nodded, letting her know I could tell what she was getting at.

  "So, should I start looking for houses in L.A.?" I asked.

  Indie smiled patiently at me. "Probably, but not right this second. Let me think about it for a little while." She looked over my shoulder, indicating that someone was coming. I turned to find our server approaching with a tray that contained our lunch. She set everything on the table, and we had a brief exchange with her before she took off again.

  "What's been going on with you?" Indie asked as she slapped the bottom of the glass ketchup bottle over Leo's plate. "Mom said you wrapped-up shooting on that Kevin Anderson movie."

  "We did," I said. "Last week. It was a fun project. I'm actually going to a cast party tonight. I was gonna see if you wanted to come with me."

  "Where is it? What are you guys doing?"

  "It's out at a ranch that belongs to one of the producers—up past Santa Clarita. It'll probably be late—he hired a band and everything. You could get Mom to watch Leo and just crash at my place afterward."

  "Thank you, but I'm not quite there yet," Indie said. "I will start thinking about the house situation, though. Maybe I'll call Maggie Butler and see what she thinks mine could sell for."

  "Uh, more," Leo said, pointing at the butter dish that was next to our bread basket.

  "Eat some chicken first," Indie said pointing at the small pile of chicken she had broken into bits on his plate.

  "There are some pretty nice eligibles who worked on the movie with me," I said, speaking in code for Leo's sake, but raising my eyebrows so she knew what I meant. "Maybe you can find one you like."

  Indie rolled her eyes at me, smiling. "Thanks anyway, but I'm not interested in eligibles right now," she said. "Maybe you should find one for yourself."

  Chapter 2

  I was still thinking about Indie later that evening while I was on my way to John's ranch. It was dark out, and I just stared at the center lines as I drove down the deserted road.

  I had been so busy with work the last few months that I had scarcely seen my sister. I wanted to be there for her during all
she went through with Kai, but I was so tied up on location that I was forced to do most of my sisterly consoling over the phone.

  It had been a messy situation, though.

  I wished, for Indie's sake, I had been able to see her more to offer my support in person, but selfishly, I was a little relieved that I had missed most of the tears. I was protective of my two baby sisters. I was grateful that I hadn't seen the worst of it with Indie—it would have been difficult for me to refrain from seeking Kai out to give him a piece of my mind. I had imagined myself slapping him across the face at least a hundred times since everything went down. (And those were the fantasies where I was being nice.)

  Either way, I was happy that my sister seemed to be on somewhat of an upswing now. I could tell she liked the idea of putting the house up for sale. She had actually smiled a few times toward the end of our time together at lunch. They weren't the fake smiles that she had gotten good at recently, either. They were the real ones with smiling eyes and everything. I was glad I got to see her and Leo today, and I was relieved she seemed to be doing better, but she was still on my mind as I drove to the party at John's ranch. It was for this reason that I completely forgot to charge my phone.

  One minute, I was driving down a deserted road, listening to a playlist on Spotify, and the next, the music went silent. Without looking down, I grabbed my phone from the center console. I held it in my line of vision, pressing the home button several times to get it to come to life.

  I breathed a sigh. I should have remembered to charge my phone. I had never been to John's place, and I was relying one hundred percent on my GPS to guide me there. There was no one else on the road with me, so I slowed down and began feeling around for the cord to plug in my phone.

  After a few seconds, I found it.

  One end of it was already plugged into the USB outlet, so I connected the other end to my phone, breathing a sigh of relief at the fact that I would be up and running soon. I continued driving, but I went slow, looking out for intersecting streets in case they were turns I should be taking. I figured if I came to an intersection, I would just pull over and wait a minute until my phone caught a charge.