Hillbilly Rockstar

by Lorelei James

  His sister looked at him with surprise. “Is there a chance you’ll be close by too? Like . . . permanently?”

  “If I have my way? Yes.”

  “You always get your way.”

  Devin grinned. “Yep.”

  “God, you’ve been that cocky little shit since you were a kid.” She smiled. “I’ve missed seeing it.”

  He smiled back. “You’d better get used to seein’ it again.”

  Four days had passed since Liberty had left LA.

  Four days that seemed like four thousand years.

  She forced herself to keep the appointment she’d made with her realtor, back when she believed looking at houses would keep her mind off Devin.

  Ha. Fat fucking chance of that.

  Looking at real estate only reminded her of how foolish she’d been in thinking she could focus on the big bonus at the end of the job and not the emotional devastation from leaving the man she loved, who’d been way more than just a job to her from the start.

  After her talk with Garrett, where she’d laid it all out, her boss insisted she take the week off to think things through. Quit being a dumb-ass; call Devin; decide what level of commitment you can give him and GSC before you even think about walking into my office.

  Yeah. No pressure.

  So here she was, trying to act enthusiastic about housing choices, when she wanted to be holed up in her shitty apartment, deciding if she should be buying property in Denver at all, or buying a pair of cowgirl boots to wear on her way to Nashville.

  A pair of shiny red shitkickers was currently winning.

  She usually met Jada, her realtor, at her office, but today Jada insisted they meet at the first property.

  After scanning the general literature on the building, Liberty dropped her head back and stared up at the funky metal and concrete high-rise. “I don’t remember asking to see this one.”

  “I know. When you told me your base price had increased, I figured you should see what’s available in the next price bracket. Sometimes it helps you decide if you’re settling for a something that fulfills a basic need rather than going after what you really want.”

  Liberty gave her a sharp look. That seemed to sum up everything going on in her life.

  Jada smiled. “How about we head inside?”

  The “lobby” of the high-rise reminded her of the hotel/condo place they’d stayed at in Houston. An armed guard parked at the desk immediately requested IDs. He took Jada’s driver’s license and checked it against a master list before he handed her a keycard.

  According to the spec sheet, this building had twenty-seven floors. Besides the penthouse, which took the entire top floor, the main floor lobby, and the second floor, which held the business offices and the building’s janitorial services, the remaining twenty-four floors were all privately owned condominiums. Some floors had six units, some had three or four units, and the floor right below the penthouse had two units.

  “What do you think so far?” Jada asked brightly.

  “I think it looks expensive.”

  “Let’s go up to the unit I wanted to show you. The square footage and pricing information is detailed on the seller’s sheet.”

  In the elevator, Jada ran a keycard through the digital reader and hit the button for the twenty-sixth floor. “The cool thing about this building is not only is it just under three years new, close to downtown and public transportation, but most of the units have mountain views. The security system is state-of-the-art. The elevators are coded by keycard and only the owners have access to their specific floor.”

  “That is pretty cool.”

  “Very safe for a single woman,” Jada added.

  Talk about a hard sell.

  “The underground parking garage is under security twenty-four hours a day, and each unit is able to rent two spots per month.”

  The elevator didn’t stop until it deposited them on the twenty-sixth floor. They stepped into an elegant hallway with doors at either end. The doors were crafted with architectural details that resembled the entrances to upscale houses in the suburbs.

  “Which one is for sale?”

  “They both were, but that one recently sold.” Jada sashayed to the archway on the left, using an old-fashioned key to open the door. She held the door open and said, “Go on and look around. I need to make a call.”

  The instant Liberty walked in, she fell in love. Like hard-core in love. The view? Amazing. The connected living room and dining room provided an unobstructed view of the Rockies. She opened the sliding glass door and stepped out onto the balcony.

  Cool wind stirred her hair, and she could see herself out here, stretched out on comfy patio furniture, drinking coffee and lazing in the sun.

  Devin would love this outdoor space. She saw him with his feet propped up, dinking around on his guitar, the breeze wreaking havoc on the sexy curls in his hair she loved so much.

  Not helping.

  She returned inside.

  The kitchen was strategically placed, keeping separation of spaces but with doorways to the dining and living areas. Since she wasn’t much of a cook, the bells and whistles of the granite and stainless steel space were lost on her.

  A gas fireplace was centered on the far wall in the living room. She envisioned cozy seating areas scattered throughout the space. No place for a TV, but with that view she’d spend her time staring out the window.

  Just past the dining room was a funky octagonal-shaped hallway with eight arched doorways going in every direction. Behind the first door was a half bath. The next door led to a decent-sized bedroom with a big closet and windows facing the mountains. The next bedroom was bigger. It had an attached bathroom with a tub/shower combo. She opened the door to the master bedroom and stopped.

  Holy shit. This room was enormous. She could put two king-sized beds in here. And check it out. Another freakin’ fireplace and another balcony that boasted a view of downtown Denver. The master bathroom had a gigantic black marble shower with half a dozen showerheads in the walls and two hanging from the ceiling. At the back of the bathroom was a set of pocket doors that revealed a tiled corner garden tub with whirlpool jets. The main part of the bathroom had cabinets galore, big mirrors and a double vanity.

  Devin would love this suite. He’d want to christen every feature in these rooms, making love to her in front of the fireplace, banging her against the wall in the shower, bending her over the balcony railing.

  Not helping.

  She returned to the bedroom and peered into the closet. Not a single closet—his-and-hers walk-in closets. Half the bedrooms she’d slept in growing up weren’t this big.

  Back in the hallway, Liberty opened the three remaining doors. Behind door number one—a laundry room. Behind door number two—a storage room with another built-in pantry. The last door revealed a media/family room, complete with a small wet bar.

  Devin would love this room. She saw them cuddled up, watching movies, playing video games, installing a card table so they could outdo each other in a game of strip poker.

  Liberty rested against the wall. Dammit, she loved everything about this place. The feel was casual and contemporary without being weird.

  Anything else she looked at would pale in comparison.

  She decided to bite the bullet and get the sticker shock over with.

  Jada stood in the empty living room, holding a clipboard, waiting for her reaction. “Well?”

  “It’s gorgeous. It’s perfect. Perfect. It’s got everything I was looking for and more. I know it’s out of my price range. And it’s far too much room for a single woman—”

  “But not for a couple,” a male voice said.

  The deep, sexy male voice she’d feared she’d never hear again unless she flipped on the radio.

  Liberty watched in utter shock as Devin strolled out of the kitchen. “Devin? What are you . . . ?”

  Jada patted Liberty on the shoulder. “Let yourself out when you’re done and I’l
l talk to you tomorrow.”

  Neither she nor Devin moved until the door shut.

  She probably should’ve played it cool, but she couldn’t. She launched herself at him, nearly knocking him down. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

  Devin’s arms came around her, pulling her body even more completely against his.

  She buried her face in his neck, filling her lungs with his scent, letting his heat and his solid presence fill the empty parts inside her.

  His hands slid up to cradle her face. Without saying a word, he slanted his mouth over hers, blowing her mind with a kiss that might’ve been the single most perfect kiss in the history of the world.

  Devin only released her mouth to wipe the tears from her face. “Baby, please stop.”

  Liberty turned her head and kissed his palm. “I can’t. I’ve hardly been able to stop crying since I left you in LA.”

  “Chickenshit move on your part, G.I. Jane.”

  “I know.” She kissed his palm again. “Thank you for the song you dedicated to me that night.”

  “Maybe I oughta change the title to ‘She Is Loved.’”

  “Or maybe you should change it to ‘She Is an Idiot for Running Away from the Man She Loves and Can’t Live Without.’”

  “That’s a little long for a song title,” he said dryly, “but I get the gist of what you’re sayin’.”

  “Good.” She curled her hand around the back of his neck and brought his mouth down for another kiss. “Tell me what you’re doing here.”

  “After you left, I returned to Nashville. I lasted less than twenty-four hours there before I flew to Denver. I’d been thinkin’ nonstop about some of what you’d said, some of what Crash said, so I nutted up, rented a car and drove to my sister’s place in Laramie. Then I spent the night with my folks.”

  As much as she hated that he’d faced that alone, she was glad he’d done it. “How did that go?”

  “Better than I expected. I took the first step and they were more than willing to meet me halfway. So I thought, what the hell?’ I’d try the same approach with you.” He gave a soft, embarrassed laugh.

  “What?”

  “Last night I sat outside your apartment for an hour, workin’ up the courage to knock on the door, rehearsing what I needed to say to you. Then an alert sounded on my phone and I saw the picture someone had taken of me and China at the after-party in LA.”

  “I saw the picture online.”

  “Nothin’ happened between us. You believe me, right?”

  Liberty nodded. “I was pissed. But mostly pissed at myself because I had no right to be so insanely jealous since I left you and I had to resort to cyberstalking you. So I have to ask again. Why are you here?”

  “I called Garrett to see if I could surprise you at work, and he said you had the week off to house hunt. He gave me the realtor’s name and I contacted her.” He stepped back and spread his arms out. “This place is great, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, but it’s out of my price range.”

  “That hundred K bonus you got for lasting the whole tour with me doesn’t knock it down to a reasonable mortgage for you?”

  Her jaw dropped and heat flushed her cheeks. “You knew about that?”

  “Not until Carl got drunk at the after-party and told me.” He looked at her. “You thought I’d be upset when I found out, didn’t you?”

  “I know you feel like a commodity and people don’t see beyond that. I didn’t want you to think all I ever saw in you were dollar signs.”

  Devin moved closer and twisted a section of her hair around his finger. “But it was an incentive for you to take the job, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes.” She locked her gaze to his. “In one of those sappy romantic movies, not only would I have not walked away from you, but I would’ve refused the money. Is that what you wanted from me?”

  “God no. You earned the money. You more than earned it.” Devin reached into his front pocket and retrieved a piece of paper.

  “What’s that?”

  “Your money.”

  “But Big Sky already sent the money to GSC.”

  “This is in addition to that. Carl indicated GSC hadn’t negotiated for a higher bonus and he was willing to pay you double what you agreed to. So I forced his hand. Actually, I forced a checkbook into his hand.” He grinned. “The man shouldn’t drink and start running his mouth because cash falls out of it. Anyway, this is yours. Garrett already approved it.”

  Liberty squinted at the check and then her eyes got wide. “Another hundred K?”

  “Yep. That oughta help you get the home of your dreams. But the reason I’m here is because I was hoping we’d look for a home of our dreams in Denver.”

  “You’re moving here?”

  “Yes. Let me make this perfectly clear. I love you. I want us to make a life together—I don’t care where. I want to make a home with you that’s not on a damn tour bus or fifteen hundred miles away from our families.” He touched her cheek. “On the road we started bein’ an everyday part of each other’s lives. I want that for longer than four months, Liberty. I want that forever.”

  Dammit. She started to cry again.

  “Lord, woman, I don’t know what to do with your tears. You didn’t cry this much after you were shot.” He hauled her against him and kissed the top of her head.

  “But what about your life in Nashville?”

  “I don’t have a life in Nashville; I have a house. No one ever said I have to live there. Sure, I’ll have to be there once in a while, but I don’t need a big house that I’m never in. I put my house on the market the day after I left LA.”

  “So do you really see us living together? Here?”

  “I know it’s important for you to buy this place yourself, so I won’t offer to buy it outright as a gift for you.”

  This was really happening. She could have Devin and this awesome condo. “Hang on a second. Let me do a quick calculation.”

  Devin snatched the sales sheet out of her hand. “I’m not bein’ flip when I say makin’ this decision about our life together can’t be about money. I’ll match the amount of your bonus as a down payment, even if my name ain’t on the mortgage. I’ll pay half the utilities. Hell, I’ll even take out the garbage.”

  She laughed.

  “There’s something else you oughta know.”

  “What?”

  A sheepish look crossed his face. “I already bought the other unit on this floor that was for sale.”

  Another jaw-dropping moment in a day filled with them. “Why would you do that?”

  “Because I knew you’d love this place. As your new neighbor, I planned to wear you down, one way or another. Come over and borrow a cup of sugar. Fuck you until you agreed to be my woman forever. That sort of annoying neighbor thing.”

  She laughed again. “So you’ll live there and I’ll live here?”

  He brought her against his body. Hard. “No fuckin’ way will we ever have separate houses. We’ll live here. Because of my celebrity, I have certain security requirements, and this building more than meets my safety standards—and yours, I would imagine. I figured it’d be safer if we owned the whole floor.”

  “Really? You’re playing the safety card now?”

  He turned serious. “I need somewhere private to work on my music, so part of the space can be a studio. Plus, we’ll have a place for our families and friends, and my bandmates to stay when they visit us.” Devin rested his forehead to hers. “I want our lives entwined together on every level. So you know this isn’t a temporary thing for me.”

  “I know. I thought it was all too good to be true, so I didn’t believe in it—in us. For that, I’m sorry. I love you, and we will make this work or we’ll die trying.”

  He smiled.

  “I have something to tell you too.” She tried to step back, but Devin wasn’t having any of it. He kept them face-to-face.

  “What?”

  “I had a talk with Garrett. I told
him I didn’t want to permanently upgrade to full-time fieldwork.”

  “Which means what?”

  “No more being assigned as a bodyguard. For anyone.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously. Getting shot is not my idea of fun, and that’s happened twice now. So I’ll be in a supervisory and training role for GSC. Garrett is actually thrilled because he wanted to get back into the field and away from his desk.”

  Devin frowned. “You’re takin’ desk duty? Baby, are you sure you want that?”

  “I’ll still get to kick asses in the training room on a daily basis. You’re making big changes to be with me; it’s only fair I meet you