Stay For Me - Megan Smith
This can be read as a standalone and does not end on a cliffhanger.
For those of you who have read The Love Series, this is a spin-off of secondary characters, Eli Sabatino and Layla Del Luca, who we met in Let Me Love You. The timeline starts when Eli and Cooper first opened their club, Fierce. If you’re excited for Made To Love You you’ll definitely want to read this book. You’ll get to see Cooper, Jaylinn, and the rest of the gang and fall in love with them all over again.
Eli
I glance over at the clock on the wall. “Erin, I’ve got to go.” I hate that my sister’s heart is breaking again but there isn’t much I can do about it right now and I’m late. “I have an interview that should have started forty-five minutes ago.”
“Shit, Eli.” She sniffles. “How come you didn’t tell me earlier?”
I chuckle. “Someone called me crying about her breakup and I couldn’t just tell her ‘I’m too busy for you now’, could I?” Erin has the worst luck when it comes to the guys she dates. Their egos are either too big or they think with their dicks.
“Ugh,” Erin clears her throat. “Thank you for listening to me. I hope they’re still waiting for you when you get there.”
“I’ll always be here for you Erin and they will be if they want the job that bad.”
She chuckles although she’s still sad. “Be nice. Thanks for listening. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
“Bye.”
“Hey, Erin?”
“Yeah.”
“Do me a favor? Wipe those tears away and go give that little girl of yours a hug.”
She’s quiet for a second but sighs. “What would I do without you?”
I chuckle. “You’ll never have to worry about that, lil’ sis.”
I imagine her smiling right about now. “Go do your interview.”
“Bye, Erin.”
I pull into the parking lot of Fierce, the club I own with my ready-to-go-pro baseball playing friend, Cooper Cahill, and spot his on-again-off-again girlfriend’s car in the parking lot. I wonder why she’s here? Last I knew they were off again. Pulling into the empty space next to her, I climb out of my car and set the alarm. I tap on Jaylinn’s window.
She rolls down the window looking sheepishly. “Hey, Eli.”
I eye her suspiciously. “Jaylinn.”
She sets her phone down in the cup holder and gestures towards Fierce. “My friend is in there interviewing.”
“Layla?”
She nods her head. “Yeah.”
Oh great, I wish I would have known that earlier. Cooper and I want to keep the positions we have open friends and family free. “You want to come in?” I ask, not wanting to leave her out here by herself. Cooper would have my ass if I left her out here, and she is a friend after all.
She shakes her head. “No, that’s okay.”
“Cooper’s not coming ‘til later tonight if that’s what you’re worried about. He’s with the team, a meeting or something came up.” I explain trying to ease her reluctance, plus I’d like her to see what Cooper has done with the upstairs of the club.
Jaylinn looks down at her phone, grabs it and climbs out of the car. Once she’s out I shut her door and let her lead the way to the front door of Fierce.
“So, how have you been?” I ask, trying to keep things friendly.
She doesn’t answer me right away; her eyes are locked on the door to the club. She’s probably wondering what we’ve done to the place since she’s last seen it. It wasn’t the nicest looking building when we first bought it. Actually, it was a damn shithole. The only things we didn’t replace were the walls and roof of this place.
“Jay?”
She startles. “Yeah?”
I chuckle. “I asked how you’ve been.” I open the door and we both step inside.
Fierce is pretty much done and ready for the grand opening. I think we did a great job with it. The floor plan is wide open with a huge black bar sitting in the center. It’s modern with a touch of bold. Black leather chairs are set up around the bar with blue leather diamonds on the backs. Booths outline the walls that are black with electric blue accents. The ceiling to floor windows that we had installed gives it a bigger layout than it really is, and over by the stairs, we have the stage and DJ booth set up.
“Jay?”
She shakes her head. “Sorry, I’m doing fine, trying to keep busy.”
“That’s good.” I walk over to the bar and set my keys down. “You know, he’s