Contentious

Chapter 1

Carson Remington held Cresley Dane’s hand and walked as fast as he could toward the parking garage after viewing Quantum Productions’ newest film, Valiant. Earlier, the headline of his night had been escorting the world-famous Cresley to the Hollywood premiere of the hottest movie of the year. That headline had been usurped by TMZ reporting that Carson’s infamously divorced parents were back together.

The third big story of the night was his older brother Julian’s arm around Isla Santana, the woman he’d allegedly fallen for in the last few weeks. Carson couldn’t believe he’d brought Isla tonight, but then again, Julian had been astounded to see Carson with Cresley.

Carson hadn’t known Julian planned to attend, or he would’ve told him he’d asked Cresley to come with him since they’d both been invited. Not that it was any of Julian’s business who he spent time with, but professional courtesy dictated giving his brother a heads-up that he was taking Julian’s famous client to an event that would be crawling with press.

To say it was unprecedented for Julian to bring a date to an event like this wasn’t a big enough word. That he was holding hands with her, knowing he’d be photographed and plastered across every gossip rag in town and not seeming to care, was unbelievable.

“Slow down, Carson,” Cresley said. “I can’t walk that fast in three-inch heels.”

“Sorry.”

“Fill me in on what’s going on with your parents.”

“Well, after one of the most horrendous divorces in modern history, and after they dragged us through a nasty custody battle for ten years, it seems they’re back together.”

“And you had no idea?”

“We suspected something might be going on with them, but it hadn’t been confirmed until TMZ put it on blast tonight.”

“I saw them,” Julian said over his shoulder as they followed him and Isla to the garage. “At the beach in Santa Barbara.”

Carson was shocked to hear that. “You saw them and didn’t tell us?”

“I hadn’t told you yet.”

“What the fuck, Julian?”

“I’ve been a little busy, and I wanted to wait until we were all together.”

He’d been busy falling in love, or so he thought, with a single mom of two young kids who’d only recently split from an erratic, sometimes-violent husband who later died from a brain tumor that’d affected his behavior. Julian met her through her brother, Denny, who was his longtime friend, when Denny brought her to the office to begin divorce proceedings.

Julian had been gone over her ever since, and nothing any of them said to him had penetrated the bubble he’d put around his relationship with Isla. When he’d realized he was about to cross an ethical line that could never be uncrossed, Julian had handed off her divorce to his associate, their younger brother Jackson. The case had become null and void when Isla’s estranged husband died suddenly.

That he was even in a relationship with her was terrifying to his eight siblings. If he’d told them he had been abducted by aliens, they’d be less concerned about him. Their family didn’t do “relationships.” They did one-night stands and situationships that had no chance of going the distance. They never got themselves into anything they couldn’t easily get out of. The quick-exit strategy was critical to their mental health after surviving one of the worst divorces in recorded history.

So what the hell was Julian thinking, starting a serious relationship with a single mom of all things? Because what could go wrong there? Julian’s siblings wanted answers to a long list of questions, but Julian, who’d always been their steadfast leader, had nothing much to say for himself beyond a goofy grin and a shrug. That, too, was concerning. Julian had never wavered in his determination to avoid the fate their parents and countless clients had faced after fully committing to a romantic partner. After he met Isla, he promptly disregarded every rule he’d set for himself, as if he’d had a personality transplant or a lobotomy. Those explanations would make far more sense than hearing he’d fallen in love.

Whatever.

The ultimate irony was that Julian had been the one to suggest their sibling vow in the first place. The nine Remington siblings had promised one another they would never give someone else the power to destroy their lives the way their parents had tried to destroy each other—and them—once upon a time. Not to mention the absolute insanity they witnessed daily as family law attorneys between divorcing parties who’d once promised to love each other forever.

Haha. Forever. What an adorable concept.

So much for vows, Carson thought bitterly as he watched the brother he’d always been close to become someone he barely recognized. He wondered if Isla had any idea how far out of character Julian had stepped to bring her and her children into his life, something that would’ve been preposterous a few short weeks ago.

It was simply unfathomable, and judging by the way their youngest brothers, Jackson and Roman, were staring at Julian holding hands with Isla, they felt the same way.

An outsider might ask what the hell business was it of theirs what Julian did or who he did it with. But an outsider could never know what the nine of them had endured at the hands of their warring parents, not to mention the emotional carnage they regularly witnessed on the front lines of the divorce wars.

Carson was the only one of the nine who hadn’t gone into the family business via law school. He was the chief legal investigator for Remington Family Law, the firm his grandfather founded in 1966. The firm was now run by his father, Corbin Remington, the senior partner and one half of the Corbin and Kate Remington divorce saga that would now be front and center once again, as their parents had apparently reconciled.

Awesome.

He couldn’t wait to have their family’s sordid past relitigated for all the world to witness once again. The first time had been more than enough, thank you very much. Scenes from the reality TV show they’d agreed to during the protracted battle, claiming it would be “good for business,” were probably playing on repeat on TV and online.

“Let’s go to my place,” Carson said when they reached their cars in the parking garage. “We need privacy for this conversation.”

“I’ll text the others,” Julian said.

Carson gave his brother a quick nod and held the passenger door of his silver Range Rover for Cresley.

Tension beat through him as he drove toward the garage exit. “I’m sorry about this. I’d understand if you wanted me to drop you off to rejoin the parties. You don’t need to be caught up in our family shit.”

“Only if you want privacy.”

“That’s a moot point after TMZ put the story on blast.”

“Then I’m happy to support you the way you’ve supported me recently.” She placed her hand on his arm. “Let me help.”

He absolutely hated the miserable, pathetic, sick feeling that overtook him whenever he thought about his parents’ ugly battle, let alone had to confront it head-on in a situation like this. He’d prefer to forget that time in his life, if only that were possible.

“Carson?”

“I’m sorry. It’s just that this situation… It fucks me up.”

“Of course it does. How could it not?”

“I’d totally understand if you wanted to bail out, Cres. You have enough of your own crap to deal with. No need to add mine to the pile.”

“How to say this without saying too much…”

He glanced over at her as he followed Julian’s hired Bentley to Beverly Hills. He’d actually hired a car, probably to make the evening more magical for Isla. Further proof that his brother was totally off the deep end over her. “Say what?”

“It’s just that I… Well…”

That little stammer, coming from one of the most beautiful and confident women he’d ever met, caught his attention and had him reaching for her hand. “Tell me.”

“I like you.”

“Oh. I like you, too.”

“I mean I like you, and most important of all, Ty likes you.”

Her seven-year-old son was adorable, smart, funny and interested in learning to surf, which Carson had promised him they’d do soon.

“That’s an awfully long pause,” she said after a minute of silence.

“I like both of you, too. I really do, but—”

She grimaced. “Nothing good ever follows that word.”

“I’m not the right guy for you, Cres.”

“Shouldn’t that be up to me to decide?”

“Of course, but I don’t want you to get invested in me that way. It’s not who I am.” The very thought of her and her sweet son getting attached to him made him excruciatingly uncomfortable. They deserved better than someone who didn’t want the same things they did.

“Who are you?” she asked, sounding genuinely interested in hearing the answer.

Had it ever taken longer to drive from Hollywood to Beverly Hills at night? Not that he could recall. “I’m a lone wolf. I do what I want, when I want, and I don’t answer to anyone.”

“Even at work?”

He huffed out a laugh. “Especially there. They need me more than I need them.”

“What about your family?”

“I love them, and I’d do anything for them, but I’d never take life direction from them or anyone. The idea of being… beholden… to anyone is, well… It’s horrifying to me.”

“I see.”

At a red light, he glanced over at her. “I know that sounds impossibly dramatic and terribly rude, but I have solid reasons for feeling the way I do. The last thing I’d ever want is for anyone to get hurt because of me. Especially you and Ty.”

“Why especially us?”

“Because you’re special. Both of you. And you deserve someone who can devote his whole heart and soul to making the two of you happy. I’m not that guy.”

“Fair enough.”

“That’s it?”

“What else should I say?”

“Can we be friends? I promised Ty I’d teach him to surf, and I’d like to keep my promise.”

“Of course.”

That was a relief. He’d never want to disappoint a child the way he’d once been disappointed by the adults in his life, two of whom were now at it again.

He pulled into the driveway of the Beverly Hills home owned by his grandfather, Spencer Remington, who’d asked Carson to take care of the place while he was in “rehab.” Actually, Spence was in assisted living with little chance of returning home, and he knew that. Calling it rehab helped him cope with his reality, so no one corrected him. He’d be ninety-four soon and was still as sharp as ever, which was a blessing to the many people who loved him.

Carson pressed the remote to open one of the four garage doors.

“This is where you live?” Cresley asked in amazement as she took in the ornate Italian-style home.

“It’s my grandfather’s place. I’m the caretaker in residence.”

“Not too shabby.”

“It’s a sweet deal. Wait for me to give you and those three-inch heels a hand.”

He was insane, he told himself as he made his way around to the passenger side. Cresley Dane, the Cresley Dane, one of the most famously glamorous women in the world, liked him, and he’d given her the polite brush-off. Every guy he knew would kill for five minutes in her presence, and he’d said thank you, but no. If you wanted to know how fucked-up the Remington siblings were, that about summed it up.

Julian and Isla had arrived ahead of them and were already inside when Carson and Cresley went in.

His older brother had his head in the fridge, probably looking for beer or vodka. If ever there was a time for alcohol, this was it, for the rest of them, anyway. Never again for him.

Roman and Jackson came in a few minutes later, and by the time Griffin, Jordan, Ethan, Gillian and Kaidan arrived, they’d settled into Spencer’s comfortable den with drinks and snacks and silence, as if they’d tacitly agreed to wait until everyone was there to address the elephant in the room.

“Unfuckingbelievable,” Jordan said for all of them as she poured herself some of Spence’s good whiskey.

“To have them plastered all over the headlines again is just…” As Gillian’s voice broke, Ethan put his arm around her. They were protective of their sweet, tenderhearted youngest sister, who took these things harder than the rest of them.

“It’s outrageous,” Kaidan said.

“Tell them what you saw, Jules,” Carson said.

All heads pivoted toward Julian, who sat on a love seat, as close to Isla as he could get. She looked exquisitely uncomfortable during her first exposure to all of Julian’s siblings.

“What did you see?” Griffin asked.

“Mom and Dad, together, holding hands at the beach in Santa Barbara last week,” Julian said.

“And you didn’t think we needed to know this?” Roman asked in disbelief.

The others were similarly incredulous.

“I was waiting until we were together,” Julian said.

“That’s bullshit,” Griffin said. “We have a group text that ensures we’re always together.” He’d no sooner said those words than he seemed to realize who was sitting next to Carson. “You’re Cresley Dane.”

“I am.”

“What’re you doing here?”

“I… um… I came with Carson.”

The others zeroed in on him at once as a prickly, itchy feeling took hold, reminding him of why he needed to stick to his guns where the spectacular Cresley Dane was concerned. The last thing he wanted was to be like Julian, who’d forgotten all about who he was and what he stood for since he met Isla.

Later on, he’d take her home and then forget he’d ever met her. Well, after he gave Ty those surfing lessons.

That’d be it.