Needing Arella (Rockers' Legacy #6) - Terri Anne Browning

Prologue

Arella

The laughter and voices in the room were like a dull roar, with everyone I loved filling the house.

Well, almost everyone. There was still one person missing. With each minute that passed, the knot in my gut tightened, making me feel like my middle was being squeezed in half.

He was okay, I tried to assure myself. Jordan was just running late. He wanted to surprise me, make me think he wasn’t coming, and then when he showed up, I would have the biggest smile on my face. Just for him. He would sweep me off my feet, and we would have our happily ever after.

It wasn’t wishful thinking. I’d seen it happen right in front of my eyes with my sister Nevaeh and her husband, Braxton. He’d shown up at her own eighteenth birthday party, and their entire relationship had been like a fairy tale ever since. Sure, there had been one or two bumps along the way, but that had only strengthened their love for each other.

I’d only been sixteen at the time, but I knew it would happen for me with Jordan. Our chemistry couldn’t be ignored any longer. The last time we’d hung out, just the day before, the air around us had felt charged. The hunger I’d seen in his eyes had matched my own; the way he’d had to stop himself from touching me time and time again had left me trembling by the time he’d said goodnight.

His face had been tense as I’d stood beside his car with him, silently begging him to kiss me. There had been only a few short hours left until I turned the magical eighteen. One kiss wouldn’t have hurt anything. But he’d only stroked the backs of his fingers down my cheek and given me a tight smile before telling me goodnight.

I hadn’t reminded him about my party. We’d talked about it earlier in the night, before watching a movie in the living room, so I knew he would remember. Plus, I didn’t want to sound desperate and annoying. Girls like that always made me roll my eyes, but I was starting to get why they did those things. They were just so infatuated—so in love—they couldn’t help themselves.

But just because I felt like I couldn’t breathe without him with each day that passed and I wasn’t officially his, didn’t mean I was going to turn into someone I wasn’t. That was insane.

Right?

My eyes were trained on the front door, so when it opened, I held my breath. Only for it to be pushed out forcefully when I saw it wasn’t Jordan Moreitti, but his parents instead.

I blinked at the beautiful couple, who were both welcomed by my mother and then Aunt Emmie. Alexis Moreitti held one small present in her hand, while the other clutched her cane. Her husband stood at her side, his eyes adoring her as she spoke to the two women in front of them, but I noticed he, too, was carrying a small gift.

The knot in my stomach tightened more and more, and I pulled out my phone, making sure yet again that I hadn’t missed a text or call from him. But the screen was empty. I swallowed the lump in my throat and put on a brave smile, somehow knowing in my heart that Jordan wasn’t coming.

Maybe he was sick.

Why else would he not show up on this day, of all days? My eighteenth birthday was a big deal. Not only was I officially an adult, but it meant that we could finally be together. Even though we’d been hanging out so much over the past two years as just friends, I’d made no secret of the fact that I wanted more. Everyone in my family knew how I felt about him, especially Jordan’s best friend, Mia.

As I stood there, I watched Mia walk over to the Moreittis, with her beautiful baby daughter on her hip. She embraced Alexis, and Emerson gave a sweet giggle when Jared Moreitti bent his knees to speak directly to the toddler.

I shouldn’t have been so jealous that Mia was close with Jordan’s family. She was his best friend after all. They thought of her as a daughter and had even included her in family gatherings all her life. Of course they adored her and would treat Emerson as if she were their very own granddaughter.

But that didn’t kill the jealousy that ate me up inside whenever I thought about Mia and Jordan. I hated that they