by MK Meredith
“Let’s dance while we wait for dessert.”
She smiled and slid her fingers into the palm of his hand. His groin tightened at the reminder that very little separated her skin from his own.
They stepped out onto the dance floor and eased into a sultry sway. It was an intimate moving of their bodies, flowing with the swoony melody floating about the dance floor.
“This place is like a dream.”
“I knew you’d love it,” he said, pulling her close. His palms slid down her hips, and he played at the hemline of her dress, wanting nothing more than to slip beneath and find out if she was as hot for him as he was for her.
She stepped closer still, tempting, teasing, in the way that was all Addi.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” she whispered.
“Thank you for coming.”
She stared at him with all he’d never known he’d needed to see shining from her eyes, but then she looked away with a slight shake of her head.
“What?” He rested his forehead to hers as he moved them around the floor in slow glides with the music.
Pulling in a shaky breath, she said, “There’s something I need to tell you.”
The last thing he wanted the evening to turn into was too serious or too intense, and her tone sounded serious. He pulled back just far enough to reach into his jacket and then offered her a small, thin package.
She looked at the brown paper wrapped in twine. “What’s this?” Her eyes wavered. “Roque, I—”
“Open it, and find out.”
She hesitated, then accepted the gift, turning it over in her hand. “You didn’t need to get me anything.”
“It’s nothing big.”
They stood in the middle of the dance floor, couples entwined and moving to the music all around them. He watched her eyes widen in wonder.
“Remember asking what song I always seem to hum when I’m with you?”
She nodded, holding his gaze, hers naked and vulnerable.
“It was my mom’s favorite. She and my dad almost separated once. She thought it would break her, but it didn’t—I don’t think anything could—and they made it through. She always said this song epitomized the way she loved better than any other song did.”
Addi opened the package, her lips parting in a soft inhale. “All of Me.” She glanced at him from beneath her lashes like she was wont to do, her eyes welling with unshed tears. “Billie Holiday.” In her surprise, the paper fluttered to the floor, and she turned the CD over in her hand. “Why do you hum it when you’re with me?”
He held her gaze. “I don’t know.”
And he didn’t.
He thought of everything that had happened since they started working together.
And what he did know was the more time he spent with her like this, and the more understanding Addi was about his passion for his work, the more he didn’t want to let her down. History tended to repeat itself, and few ever really learned from it.
He hoped he’d learned from his past. Because he was determined Addi would be the exception for him.
Chapter 19
Addi marveled over the excitement of the film as she drove toward her sister’s for Thanksgiving dinner. The film had made consistent gains on set, and she had carved out space to get her writing in every day. And whether Roque worked by her side on the business of the film or took off for meetings over drinks, her writing time was uninterrupted and consistent. He got it.
They’d discovered so much in common—their obsessive love of peanut butter, a propensity to listen to jazz while they worked—but she also loved their odd little differences. She usually ended up wearing what she was eating and he always looked like he’d just stepped off the cover of a magazine, but somehow even those little things just bonded them more strongly.
Steeling herself against the end, she decided to revel in the now since there was no way they’d have forever. She thought about the night at the restaurant. The dancing and the CD had touched her in ways she couldn’t explain. Roque had shared a piece of his mother with her, and it was a painful subject for him.
After dinner, they drove toward home, but when she slid his hand up her thigh, Roque pulled the car over. They only made it home after he’d shown her the stars from the back seat of his convertible. She’d decided then and there to study astronomy.
“What are you grinning about?”
Addi looked up to see her sister, Sam, walking toward her. She’d lost herself in daydreams and had yet to make it out of the car. She opened her door and grabbed her keys. “Who’s grinning?” Throwing her arms around her sister’s neck, she squeezed tight.
Sam hugged her back, meeting her intensity. “You. Like a fool.”
Addi laughed. “I’ve been writing.”
“Sure. Writing. And it has nothing to do with a certain sexy producer?”
Ignoring Sam‘s comment, she slid her arm around her sister’s waist and asked, “Is Gage home?” She wiggled her brows, going for her lewdest look possible.
Sam laughed and bumped her with a hip. “Shut up. God, I remember the first time you two met. I wanted to kill you.”
Addi skipped ahead and turned to face her sister, walking backward. “Hey, I said I’d take sloppy seconds; I was doing you a favor if you ask me.”
“Nobody’s asking you. You’re so gross.”
Addi laughed. “Thank you.”
Sam opened the huge double doors into the house and let Addi through. Stepping inside, Addi’s first impression was how airy and light the space still was now that it was furnished. Large open rooms, lots of natural light. The home exuded the perfect combination of earth and water, suiting Sam and Gage perfectly.
“Come on, everyone’s in the kitchen.”
Thank goodness the place was huge because the whole Dekker clan—their mom, dad, and brother Luca, as well as the Cutler clan, Gage, his dad, and his sister Bel—filled the space.
Gage’s father, D.C., was at the island with Addi’s mother, Dee, and Bel, preparing sauces—like a good man. Gage, Luca, and her dad weren’t being slackers, either, as they bantered at the large, bistro-height table, peeling potatoes.
As they entered the room, Gage looked up and smiled. “My favorite Dekker sibling.” He walked around the table, arms wide for a hug.
She squeezed him back. “My favorite Hollywood movie star.”
“Hey, hey, hey, keep your hands to yourself, Cutler.”
Addi froze at the sound of the familiar voice. A voice that slid up her spine with the promise of midnight delights, and boy did he keep his promises. What in the hell was Roque doing here? It was both the best and worst surprise. Her family could read her like a book.
Gage pulled her to his side, taunting his buddy. “But my hands like where they are, old man.”
Addi bit her lip as Roque narrowed his eyes. Saying it was a thrill to be the focus of such banter didn’t even cut it, juvenile or not. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”
He smiled as he strode up and then slid his hand around her neck, pulling her to him and away from Gage. As he pressed a kiss to her mouth, she reeled with both the desire to lean in to him and the urgency to run.
No, no, no. Her family would never let her get away with this unscathed.
He pulled back. “I didn’t, either. Aunt Raquel informed me on the way over.”
Terrified of what she’d find, Addi peeked over his shoulder. It was worse than she imagined. Raquel looked on with the smug smile of the cat who ate the canary, and her mother’s mouth hung open. She could only imagine what was going on in that head of hers. Crap.
Luca and her dad couldn’t care less, but Bel and Sam both had a hand over their mouths, staring in wide-eyed delight.
Crap.
Nothing could make it worse, or so Addi thought, until Mr. Gallagher, Roque’s father, walked up and pulled her into a bear hug.
He smelled of Old Spice and ocean breezes, warm and comforting. Addi liked him immediately and c
ouldn’t stop herself from hugging him back. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Gallagher. Officially, I mean.”
Roque grinned at his dad.
“Call me Mac.” He pulled back to look at her. “And very nice to meet you. I see my son has excellent taste.”
“Oh, but—”
“Of course I do, I got it from Mom.” Roque looked down his nose at his father, humor lighting his eyes.
Macklan Gallagher laughed and slapped his son on the back. Leaving his hand on Roque’s shoulder, he said, “I’ve missed you.”
Something passed between the two men. Feeling as though she were eavesdropping, she looked away. “Hey, Daddy.” She made her way to the table and hugged her father, dropping a kiss to the top of his head. There was no mistaking whose father he was. In looks, she was all Frank Dekker, even though her personality was very much like her mother’s.
“It’s good to see you, kitten. What, I’m not important anymore? You too busy to visit your old man?”
She chuckled and nudged him. “Very busy, but not too busy. I figured you and Mom had enough on your hands with Sam and Gage getting home.”
Sam piped up. “Don’t even try to blame me.”
“Why not, when it’s true?” Addi replied. She walked to the island and ladled gravy into a serving dish. Roque stared at the two women, and Addi could only imagine what was running through that brain of his.
“Roque, what are you staring at?” The question came from Sam along with a playful shake of a wooden spoon.
Addi snorted. “He probably hasn’t seen anyone so short before.”
Sam’s eyes snapped wide. “Brat, you’ve only got me by an inch. More likely he’s missed seeing boobs.” She swirled her fingers right in front of her chest. “Because someone else in this room doesn’t have any.”
Addi’s jaw dropped open, and Roque swallowed a laugh.
“I do, too…you…yours…” Addi sputtered, then picked up the wooden spoon, dipped it in the mashed potatoes and flicked it at Sam.
Sam shrieked. “You didn’t.”
Addi laughed so hard tears poured down her cheeks as a white glob slipped from Sam’s forehead to her cheek.
Dee moved quickly between the two. “Now girls—”
And got a face splattered with gravy from Sam’s spoon.
Addi gasped, and a look of horror replaced the vengeful grin on Sam’s face.
The rest of the room fell to immediate silence.
“Mom, I’m so—”
Dee raised her hand. “Don’t. Say it.”
“But—”
Addi stepped next to her sister and swiped some gravy from her mother’s cheek, then sucked it from her finger. “Well, gravy’s good. Let’s eat.”
With that, the room snapped to attention, and in short order, the table was covered in food, and everyone had taken their seats. Well, almost everyone. A few minutes later, Dee entered from the kitchen, an apologetic Sam at her heels. “If you hadn’t stepped between us…”
Dee slowly turned toward her daughter.
Sam put up her hands and backed away. “Never mind.”
Gage pulled a seat out from the table for her. “Come on over here, Sam. You should be safe.”
She glanced to the seat at the opposite end from her mother and grinned. “You’re probably right.”
Addi shook her head. The whole thing was ridiculous. Roque must be certain they were all crazy by now.
Mac asked, “How’s the film going?”
“Amazing now, thanks to Addi,” Roque said.
Addi’s heart warmed. “It really is, you should see him and Gage together—”
Her mother beamed at Roque. “Thank you for taking such good care of our girl.”
Addi froze mid-sentence and turned her head toward her mother. Disappointment and then resignation washed over her, and it must’ve shown on her face because Roque slid his fingers under her palm.
“Take care of Addi? As if she’d let me. She’s a force on the set. I’ve never seen anyone earn a following as quickly as she has. She has every one of my crew wrapped around her finger and willing to jump at the slightest word from her. She’s been the first on set and the last to leave every day. And she brought us Gage. If anyone gets credit for taking care of someone else, it’s the other way around.”
Dee shot her daughter a look of surprise, then smiled at her husband.
Addi slowly turned to look at him and could tell he meant every word. She leaned in to him and whispered, “Thank you.” Then she pressed a kiss to his lips. Pulling back, she studied his face, but it was a myriad of unreadable emotions. Luca asked her a question, and the moment was gone as she turned back to her brother. “What was that?”
“You and Sam never listen,” said Luca, shaking his head.
“And you are such a buzzkill.”
“Am I?” His warning look didn’t worry her one bit. “Hey, Addi…how’s the house?” But it should have.
Crap.
The glint in his eye told her he knew something about the foreclosure. But how? Damn him. She shouldn’t be surprised; Luca always did have a way of finding things out. Hell, how many times had she and Sam been caught sneaking out of the house or hanging out places they weren’t supposed to because of Luca and his bloodhound nose? Too many to count, that was for sure. He either told on them or blackmailed them—he was a lawyer at birth.
A nervous chuckle escaped her lips, and she cleared her throat in an attempt to squelch it. Swallowing down a familiar sensation, she made a face at him. “Quite well, actually.”
Her mother spoke up. “What’s wrong with Aunt Addi’s house?”
Addi narrowed her eyes. “You mean my house.”
Roque’s phone rang. “Sorry. I need to take this.”
Mac followed close on his heels without saying a word. She didn’t blame him. Family drama was about as comfortable as a sleeping bag made of ants. She watched them leave the kitchen, and then shot a look at Luca. She’d deal with him later.
On one hand, she was glad her audience had thinned, but she still couldn’t help the pinching sensation at the base of her neck. The one time she could really use his support, he had to take a call.
Of course.
Dee frowned. “Addi. What are you thinking, dating your boss?” Waving her hand from Addi to Sam she said, “What is it with my two girls and all this drama?”
“Mom.” Addi said, pressure building in her temples.
Dee threw her hands up. “What? Tell me it isn’t true. You have to think about these things.”
“I am thinking about it. You all keep telling me I needed to get work or rather that I should never have left my old job in the first place.”
With a regretful tone her mother replied, “Well, you shouldn’t have, honey. I tried to tell you. And now you’re sleeping with your boss? Even you know what a mess that can make.”
Mortification shot up her spine, and she set her jaw. She was done playing this game.
Her mother stood and, opening her arms, she beckoned Addi to her. “Oh honey, come here. I don’t mean to be hard on you. It’s just—”
“Enough.” Addi kept her tone soft but firm as she stood. “This is my life. I am not in high school anymore, I’m not a child, and I’ll do what I think is best for my life. Roque is a good man, and he means a lot to me. He is not just some random guy. I know what I’m doing. And you know what? I believe in myself even if you don’t.” And she did. A feeling of power washed over her, and she softened her tone even more. “Someday, I hope you’ll see it and believe in me, too.”
Roque hesitated at the doorway, then walked into the room. He slid his arm around her, pulling her into his side and whispered, “Thank you.” It felt like the right place for her to be as he squeezed her in reassurance.
“Hey, who’s calling on Thanksgiving?”
With a shrug, he answered, “Not everyone has family. Work calls. I’ve got to answer.” He held her gaze. “I’m sorry.”
She star
ed at the casual expression on his face. “I kind of needed you.” She whispered, hating how desperate her words sounded as soon as they fell from her mouth. He’d warned her that his hours working never really found a pause. She just hadn’t realized that meant holidays, too.
He squeezed again. “I’m here now.”
She nodded but wanted to shake her head “no.” Sure. He was here now, but she’d needed him earlier. Was this what a relationship with Roque would be like? Pulling in a breath, she gently shook her hands. She couldn’t let her mother see any signs of indecision. Because regardless of what she thought, Addi had her life under control. Maybe for the first time, but it had finally happened.
Mostly.
Thanksgiving had come and gone, leaving Roque with new memories and a full belly that lasted for days. Watching Addi with her family had been funny as hell, once the tension eased after her conversation with her mother. He’d been so proud of her, standing up for herself like that and defending him. It wasn’t easy to tell the people you love to back off. But sometimes it had to be done.
After everyone had gotten over the shock of Addi putting her foot down, Dee cracked jokes, Frank acted like he didn’t hear or see anything, and Luca shook his head in mock horror. Sam and Addi gave Luca a hard time every chance they got, and he seemed to hate it, but Roque suspected deep down their brother would miss the banter if they stopped.
He laughed at the memory as he sped down the road. Thinking of Addi, he used his hands-free to put in a call. Voicemail gave him the enjoyment of her voice but the frustration of missing her—again.
He was already a few hours behind his original schedule, but he needed to swing by his aunt and uncle’s place. His mother always encouraged him, as an only child, to remain close with his three cousins.
Pulling into the drive, he parked, then jogged up to the front door. His aunt invited him in with a hug. “Oh, darling. So good to see you. Thanksgiving was fun, wasn’t it?”
