Awareness prickled my skin before I even saw her, the floral scent of her perfume mixing in the air with the faint smell of smoke wafting in through the open windows.
Alicia’s here.
My heart did the strange turning thing it had taken to doing lately when I saw her, and a grin pulled at my lips. Rapping my knuckles against the open door, I entered the room. “Knock, knock.”
“There he is,” Gerry said warmly, rising from his chair. “How’s my favorite front man doing? Feeling good about the album? We just got word you guys finished recording the last song.”
“We did. And I bet you say that to all your front men,” I joked, shaking his offered hand before sinking into the seat next to Alicia’s.
I was too far away from her to feel the heat coming from her skin, but it was almost like the hairs on my arm nearest to her rose anyway as aware as I was of her sitting right there. My fingers twitched on the armrest, wanting to close the few inches between her hand and mine.
When I sat down, she shifted in her seat just so. Just enough to make me realize my body wasn’t the only one aligning myself almost instinctively to hers. One of the corners of her lips curled up into a private smile as she caught my eye for a fraction of second, breaking eye contact before Gerry had even settled back into his seat.
Nothing more than a fleeting glance, but I grabbed onto it with both hands and buried the depths of emotion in her eyes deep inside me. In a private place only I would be able to dig out.
My newfound possessive streak had grown to be about two miles wide with Alicia. It bothered the fuck out of me, but I couldn’t deny it was there. I nearly growled a couple of days ago when I saw her talking to one of the cafeteria guys. And he was just offering her another coffee.
Now, I totally got the territorial thing I used to laugh at other men about. Didn’t know what to do with it, but I got it.
Gerry interrupted my thoughts when he handed me the file in his lap. Dropping my eyes quickly to the sheet of paper on top, I saw a table with dates on one side, lined up with a lot of names I recognized.
Reporters. He and Alicia must be discussing promo. Good, this is what I came here to hear.
Settling in for the impromptu meeting, I lifted the paper to scan the chosen reporters more carefully.
Gerry started talking as I examined the schedule. “Alicia came up with an idea for you guys to announce the tour start date for the album in another live interview. We’ve had requests rolling in from all the major players, but I think you’re going to like the one she chose.”
I zeroed in on a line highlighted with yellow ink. The show she’d chosen was a popular late night one. The host was a friend of ours, inasmuch as people in the entertainment reporting industry could be our friends.
We respected him, got along with him, and he was one of the few who never talked shit about us.
“This is great.” A warm feeling I struggled not to think of as fuzzy spread in my stomach. Damn, this girl knew me well.
If I could’ve had a choice out of every show to go on to announce our tour date live, it would’ve been this one. “Well done.”
Gerry smiled proudly. “Didn’t I tell you we needed this woman on our team. She’s the best damn thing that ever happened to us.”
I caught Alicia’s eye from the corner of mine, fighting to contain the urge to jump up and kiss the fuck out of her. Nodding slowly, I met Gerry’s pale blue eyes. “Yeah, she really is.”
CHAPTER 58
ALICIA
At risk of sounding like a total groupie of an old show my mom used to love, I loved it when a plan came together. My plans for Destitute were all falling into place seamlessly as though the universe itself was on my side.
Confirmations of all the promotional interviews I'd arranged for the band were coming in hard and fast. The press seemed nearly as excited for the album release and the tour as the fans. Social media was blowing up since I'd had one of my people tweet a picture of the empty studio with the guys’ instruments still in it with the caption “All done. Are you ready for our best music yet?”
I was damn proud of how it was all turning out. I might as well have been walking around in a bubble of joy. Getting here had been a bumpy road, but every second of it had been totally worth it for this ending.
Drumming my freshly painted, bright red nails on my desk, I sat sideways so I had a view of both my office and the ocean, ticking off items on my mental to-do list.
It was shaping up to be a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly outside, and in the distance, I could see children playing on the beach. I was streaming a chart show on my computer and eagerly listening to the hosts of the show speculate about Destitute's new music in-between playing their top picks for this week.
Sighing happily, I moved my hand to my keyboard where a new email caught my attention just as a knock sounded on my door. "Come in."
I looked up from my screen, my eyes widening in surprise when I saw Caleb standing in my door. "You got a sec?"
Waving him in, I motioned to one of the free chairs at my desk. "Sure. What can I do for you?"
Jared's younger brother looked so like him, and yet he held none of the appeal to me that his brother did. His features were slightly softer, and he didn't radiate Jared's cocky, confident air, but he had his own kind of magnetism about him.
I'd grown to feel protective over the sometimes moody rocker and, in a way, felt about him as I might my own younger brother. Not that I would ever say that out loud. Jared would freak and probably jump to conclusions that I was planning a wedding or some kind of happily ever after he didn't even want to think about.
I wasn't planning anything like that. At all.
I knew who Jared was, and while things were definitely different and more serious between us, I was perfectly happy with where we were in our relationship.
Caleb sat down, crossing his ankle over one knee as his chocolate brown eyes fixed on mine. "I hope I'm not interrupting. I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done for us."
"It's my job, but I appreciate you coming in."
He shook his head and raised an eyebrow. "You and I both know keeping the band together wasn't in your job description."
"Maybe not. But to be fair, if I hadn't done it, I would no longer have any job description with you guys. That wasn't an option for me." Being honest with Caleb was easy for me. We hadn't spent much time together or talked a lot, but there was an easiness between us that usually only came with having been friends for years.
Almost like the innate sense of trust and camaraderie I felt with Kelly, only this was Jared's brother and not mine. Even so, I was fond of him and happy we were fostering a relationship.
"I get the feeling you didn't only do it for the job." Caleb's lips turned up into a knowing smile, and I froze, not sure how much, if anything, Jared had told him about us.
Seeing my uncertainty, he laughed and pretended to zip his lips. "Relax. Your secret is safe with me. I know about you two, but I won’t say a thing to anyone. Truth be told, I'm fucking happy about it."
"You are?" I often wondered what the band's reaction would be if and, let's face it, when they found out about Jared and me for sure. A part of me was certain that while Caleb's reaction would possibly be the most important, he would also disapprove because of our working relationship.
Caleb’s smile grew like he expected me to be worried about his reaction. He shook his head from side to side a few times. "I really am fucking happy about it. You don’t have to worry about me. What I'm about to say is going to sound like a total cliché, so I'm only going to say it once and never again, but you're good for him. You're turning him into a better man."
My eyebrows shot up, my jaw becoming slightly unhinged. “Really? I’m making him a better man? How?"
"Jared's changed these last few months. I know it's because of you, and I'm grateful for that. You've made him a better brother, a better bandmate, and just all around a better guy,
so thank you."
"You do know he would deny that until he was blue if he ever heard you say it, right?" I could hardly believe I was hearing this from either one of the Larsens.
No doubt I would never hear it again.
Blinking away my utter shock and disbelief, I smiled only to have Caleb knock my socks off again with his next remark. "I know he would, but that's why I'm telling you. He wasn’t going to admit it, but you deserve to know. Same as how you deserve to know that he loves you. And he does, though I doubt you’re going to hear it from him anytime soon. Take it from me. I know the truth, and my brother is head over fucking heels for you."
I didn't think my eyes could stretch as wide as they did when he said those words to me. My heart thudded and pounded as I turned it over in my head. Was it true? Was it at all possible that Jared loved me like I loved him?
Caleb nodded slowly as if he'd heard my unspoken questions. He opened his mouth to speak just as Jared's voice came from the doorway. "Well, well. Just the two people I've been looking for."
He sauntered into my office without waiting for an invitation, walking right up to my chair to brush a soft kiss to my temple before leaning against the window. "What are we talking about? You two cooking up another scheme to save a band or something?"
Caleb rolled his eyes and pushed up off his chair. "Not today. Why? If you know of any bands who need saving, you're going to have to tell their lead singers to get their heads out of their own asses. I've got plans." Caleb winked as Jared burst out laughing.
"Good thing I haven't made anyone any promises yet."
"I've gotta go. Catch up with you later?" Caleb asked Jared, though his eyes darted to mine like he was trying to warn me not to say anything to Jared about what we'd been talking about.
My head was still reeling from his massive revelation, but I caught his meaning and gave him a small nod to assure him I wouldn't say a word. Jared waved as Caleb left, waiting until he closed the door behind him before he reached for my hands.
I placed both hands in his, allowing him to pull me up from my chair and tug me to his chest. Whispering against my mouth, he wrapped his strong arms around me. "That's better. How's your day going?"
"Great, yours?" A shiver ran down my spine as he pressed his lips to mine, kissing me gently before answering.
"It was great. It's awesome now." He smirked and dropped a kiss on the top of my head. "I wanted to thank you for all your help on the album."
"You Larsen boys are just full of gratitude today, aren't you?" I nuzzled my face into his T-shirt covered chest, inhaling his familiar, spicy smell.
"Is that why Caleb was here? To say thanks?"
"Great minds think alike," I told him, looping my arms around his neck. God, I loved being in his arms. He wasn't the kind of guy who, if you looked at him, screamed comfort or safety.
With his silver jeweled fingers, tattooed skin, penchant for leather pants, and “Go fuck yourself” attitude, it was hard even for me to believe I'd found those things in his arms, but I had.
I'd found that and so much more. At first, it scared me to think of Jared's arms becoming like home to me, but then I'd accepted that I'd fallen for him despite rhyme and reason and braced myself to hit the ground eventually.
I never thought he would catch me, but he was. Every day. In all the little things he did. And now Caleb thought he'd fallen too?
Looking up into his deep brown eyes, golden flecks lit with happiness and … love? It was too much to believe it was true, and yet it sure looked like it might be. My heart was skipping like crazy, fluttering like a butterfly in my chest.
"Well," he said, his lips brushing my forehead. "This great mind wants to take you out to celebrate."
"Like a date?" The words were out before I could stop them.
Jared tensed for a second and then relaxed. "A real date, yes. Just don't go reading too far into it."
Too late. "I wouldn't dream of it."
Lips curling into a smile, he let go of me. "Tomorrow night."
"You got it. Want me to make reservations somewhere?" The only “date” we'd really been on had been that night in New York, and that was supposed to be a group celebration that turned out to resemble a date only because everyone else bailed.
We'd eaten many meals together, but none of them had been termed a real date. Excitement fluttered in my stomach. I couldn't help it. I knew he cared about me, had known it even before Caleb came in here and said what he had.
Jared asking me out for real just cemented my faith that we had something more than he was willing to call it. But that was what I'd signed up for. I didn't need a name for our relationship.
"Don't worry about it," he told me. "I'll take care of the plans. You just be ready at seven."
"Okay," I agreed, trying to keep an obnoxious grin that would've made a teenage girl cringe off my face. "I'll see you then."
CHAPTER 59
JARED
The limousine pulled up to the curb outside of Alicia's place. For about the tenth time since the driver picked me up from my house, I wondered if the limo was overkill, but I pushed the thought aside as the car came to a stop.
My palms were clammy. For some reason, nerves were racing up and down my spine. I couldn't remember the last time I felt nervous about meeting up with a girl, but there was no denying I was nervous now. It might even have been the first time I was really nervous about the date since my first date in high school.
Not that I’d had many, or even any, dates since, not real ones anyway. This was a first for me, and as nervous as I was, it felt right. I wanted to do this for Alicia. As soon as I saw the excitement in her eyes when I asked, I knew I'd done the right thing.
So I'd committed to the date thing and went all out. I called for the limo when I stepped foot out of her office, dug out a formal suit jacket from the depths of my cupboard when I got home, and even instructed the driver to stop on the way to collect a single red rose I’d preordered.
None of it was me, but all of it was for her. I had no intention of changing for a girl, but Alicia deserved this. She deserved all the nice, real date things I was doing and so much more.
Fuck, I would have flown her to Paris to dine under the stars in the city of romance if I thought there was a way of getting her onto the jet. But I knew she wouldn't go for that.
She just wasn't that kind of woman. As over the top as I could be, even I recognized Paris probably would have been too much.
I'd settled for the limo, suit, rose, and dinner at a fancy, local restaurant known for its discretion and swift action against any paparazzi who tried to get in. I wasn't trying to be her knight in shining armor or to win any points for romance, but I was kind of proud of having put together something like this for our first date.
Collecting the red, long-stemmed rose from the leather seat, I opened my door when the driver pulled to a stop and smoothed down my jacket as I approached her door. My hand trembled slightly when I lifted it to ring her bell.
Instantly, I jerked it back to my side.
Get it together, man. What the fuck is wrong with you?
Shaking my head, I raised my hand again and jabbed down on the button. Alicia appeared a minute later, smiling as she pulled open the door.
"Well, look at that. You're right on time. Guess I'm going to tell Gerry you do own a watch," she teased lightly and stepped outside.
My mouth went completely dry as I took her in, my heart thundering as I caught a whiff of her perfume. "Can we make a rule for tonight and not talk about Gerry?"
"Good idea," she agreed easily. Her eyes dropped to the rose hanging by my side. “Is that for me?”
“Yeah.” I handed it to her, feeling like an idiot.
Alicia said nothing of my sudden display of nerves, if she’d even picked up on it, and took my hand, wrapping her warm fingers around mine. “It’s beautiful.”
She accepted the rose with her other hand and held it up to her button nose. “And it smells
amazing.”
Rising up on her toes, she brushed a kiss to my cheek. I snapped out of my nervous haze in time to catch her lips with mine for a proper kiss. “So do you. Ready to go?”
She nodded, tightening her grip on my hand. Her palm pressed to mine, and I could have sworn I felt sparks flying up my arm. This was not fucking normal. But dammit, I liked it. Lowering my head, I kissed her again.
"You look gorgeous," I murmured against her lips, tasting whatever berry her gloss was flavored with on mine. I licked my lips, unable to get enough of any taste of her.
"Thanks," she breathed, stepping back as her eyes raked my build from top to bottom. "You don't look so bad yourself."
I'd thrown on the jacket over a pair of fitted, black slacks and a white button-up. I knew I looked good, but Alicia had taken dressing up to the next level.
Once I'd made the reservation, I texted to tell her to wear something nice. She definitely brought her A-game. A stunning, strapless black dress hugged her curves like it'd been sewn onto her, accentuating her plump breasts and narrow waist. In no time at all, I imagined undoing the single zipper holding it in place.
With. My. Teeth.
Reigning in thoughts that would only have me popping a boner even earlier than I had on that first date in high school when the girl leaned in as we left her house to tell me she was going to blow me on the way to the restaurant, I focused on Alicia's hand in mine.
"I'm dying to see where we're going," she told me on the way to the limo, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw the black, sleek car waiting for us. "You booked a limo for a date?"
The fact that she hadn't been expecting me to do it proved exactly why I was right in having done it for her.
Women expecting all the biggest, most expensive toys and gestures from us was a hazard all of Destitute had run into. Not even just from the women we hooked up with. The men, even our old friends from before, were just as bad. People expected us to blow a ton of money on them, regardless of who they were to us and then got disappointed when we didn't.
My One and Only: A Bad Boy Secret Baby Second Chance Romance Page 92
