“I can understand that.”
Walking over toward him, she kissed him on the cheek. “I figured you might.” Then she stepped back and tried to pick up some of the mess. “Anyway, it was a good day. Anna’s pub is awesome. I totally never would have pegged her as someone who owns a bar, but she’s done something really great there.”
“Yeah, well…it was a long road for her,” Riley said absently.
“She told me about it. It’s a great story and she’s the kind of person who really deserves it, you know? Some people get things handed to them and you think, ‘Why them?’ But with Anna? I totally get it.”
“She’s an incredible person,” Riley said as he helped pick up the papers and put them in the trash. “I still can’t believe she and Quinn are finally together. I mean, they’ve always been together because of their friendship, but it’s different now and it’s kind of cool seeing how it’s softened both of them. But I can’t believe she waited all that time for him.”
“Some people are worth waiting for,” Savannah said. “She knew he was the one for her. Not everyone knows that. I think they’re both very lucky.”
“I know she’s perfect for Quinn, but I just hope he appreciates her.”
Savannah chuckled. “I’m sure he does. From what she was sharing at lunch, she’s pretty much got him wrapped around her little finger. And I say good for her.”
“I don’t even want to know what she shared.” He laughed. “I’m sure you could tell me more about my brothers than I would ever want to know right now. Zoe was probably chatty about Aidan too, right?”
“Oh yeah,” she said with a grin.
“Okay then…just…just keep it to yourself. Some things a guy doesn’t need to know about his family.”
“Deal.” Looking around, Savannah saw the room was almost back to normal and felt pretty pleased about it. “Looks good in here. Almost like the way I left it this morning,” she teased. She glanced over at Riley and saw he wasn’t smiling. If anything he looked…distracted. “Hey,” she said softly. “Are you all right? I was just teasing, you know. I know you were busy here today and that’s fine.”
He didn’t respond.
“Riley?” This time she felt a little uncertain as she said his name.
“Um…I need to talk to you about something.”
For some reason, she was nervous. “Okay…”
“Things are really coming to me now and—for the first time in months—I feel motivated and confident about what I’m creating.”
“That’s great!”
“I called and made arrangements to have the plane pick us up Sunday morning.” He stepped closer to her. “I know I should have discussed it with you first, but…in the moment, all I could think of was how I needed more than my guitar here and if we were back in L.A.…”
Savannah closed the distance between them, her hands instantly grasping his and squeezing. “You don’t owe me an explanation. I think it’s great you’re ready to do more than just jam here in the apartment. It’s the best news you could have given me! I thought you were going to give me bad news!”
“But…once we get back… I…” He paused and cursed. “It’s going to mess up our schedule with the interview. I want you to come to the studio with me and be there with me while I finish this up.” He cupped her face. “If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know if I’d be able to do this.”
“Riley—”
“No, I’m serious,” he interrupted. “In the past couple of days, I’ve gotten three songs written. Three! They’re all rough and nowhere near ready but… It’s like everything that’s been out of my reach is finally there and even though it’s not enough to finish the album, I’m off to a great start. And when we get home, I want to keep seeing you. I want us to finish this damn interview and put it behind us so we can move forward.” He kissed her soundly and pulled back. “I see us moving forward, Savannah. I’ve never seen that with any other woman, but when I look at you? I see my future.”
Her heart simply melted at those words.
“I know we haven’t talked about it much, but…there it is. The next month or so? It’s going to be crazy. I’m going to be crazy, and I need you to know that in advance because when I get in this zone, I’m kind of single-minded. We’ll finish the interview, but the music has got to come first. Please tell me you understand.”
Her head was spinning. “Of course I do and that’s why…maybe…I shouldn’t be there in the studio. Maybe I need to step away so you can do what you have to do.”
His grip on her tightened as he shook her slightly. “I’m telling you I see a future with you and you’re telling me you’re walking away?”
She shook her head furiously and pulled out of his grasp. “That’s not what I’m saying, Riley. Not really. I’m just trying to give you the space you need so you can focus!”
“You help me focus!” he shouted. “I wouldn’t have this music to work on if it wasn’t for you, don’t you get it? I want you with me, Savannah! Hell, I need you with me!”
And then she was back in front of him, cupping his strong jaw. “Shh… Okay, okay. I’ll be there. Of course I’ll be there. I just didn’t want you to…you know…ask me to be there if it was going to hinder you getting the album done. I’ll be there for you. Always.”
She expected an argument or, at the very least, another statement on why he needed her there. But what she got was Riley’s hands raking back into her hair and tugging as his mouth crashed down on hers. It was wild and frantic and like nothing she’d ever experienced with him. Savannah had thought she’d seen and felt him lose control, but it was nothing compared to this. He backed her up until her she hit a wall and then he simply devoured her. His lips, his teeth, his tongue… She almost couldn’t breathe.
But she also couldn’t stop herself from clutching him closer and kissing him back with just as much wild abandon.
Savannah knew there was a lot of passion in Riley—she saw it in his music, in the way he did everything, and the way he treated people—but to be on the receiving end of something this intense was almost more than she could take.
But she did.
Mindlessly, clothes were stripped away.
Wordlessly, they moved together.
And breathlessly, they gave each other all they had.
* * *
Riley was strumming the guitar and watching Savannah type on her laptop. She had pretty much destroyed him earlier. Deep down he always felt he was in control of his emotions, but where she was concerned—particularly earlier—he found that he wasn’t.
He’d been playing and messing around with the music all day, but as he was watching her, something new came to mind. Something…something that hadn’t been there before. Without asking, he grabbed her recorder and got it going and then sat back and let the music lead him.
It started out slow—almost like a ballad. But he knew instantly that it wouldn’t stay that way. At some point it was going to get a little heavier—not upbeat—but definitely heavier before going back to its easy beginning. The notes came to him, and somewhere in the back of his mind, lyrics began to appear. Quickly reaching over, he grabbed paper and pen and began writing the words down in between the chords he played.
If Savannah knew he was writing about her, she didn’t let on. Not that she could know. For all she knew, he was just inspired. And he was. By her.
He couldn’t wait to get them back to L.A. To have her back in his home where they could finally do all the things he’d fantasized about doing with her before they came here. Just the thought of it was enough to make his throat go dry and everything in him harden.
Savannah—oblivious to his sexy thoughts—quietly closed her laptop and sighed.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, putting the guitar aside.
She looked over at him, her eyes a little wide. “
Oh…sorry. I didn’t mean to make you stop playing.”
He chuckled. “You didn’t. I think I’m onto something with this one, but I need to get to the studio and try it out on the piano and with some heavier guitars.”
“It sounded wonderful.”
Riley almost blushed. People praised his work and his music all the time, but coming from Savannah, he knew she genuinely meant it. “Thanks. I think it’s going to be good.”
“I’m sure it will.” She stood and stretched. “We never ate dinner,” she said with a sexy grin, “and now I’m hungry. What about you?”
He stood and followed her to the kitchen. “Zoe stocked the fridge so I’m sure there’s something here we can heat up.”
Within minutes, they had put together some chili and salads. “Would you mind if we watched a little TV?” Savannah asked. “I know it sounds crazy, but it’s what I do at home—I eat a lot of my meals in front of the television.”
“Me too,” Riley admitted, and together they got themselves situated on the sofa.
She turned on the TV and began flipping through the channels. “Oh my gosh!”
“What? What’s wrong?” Riley asked, his mouth full of his first bite of food.
“The Wizard of Oz! Can we watch it? Please? Please?” she begged, her eyes huge and pleading with his.
Quickly swallowing and forcing his heart rate to slow down, he nodded. “Uh…sure. Yeah. No problem.”
Her shoulders sagged. “You don’t like it, do you? I know it’s old and there’s probably a lot of other things on. I’ll keep scanning…”
“No,” he said, placing his hand on her knee. “Really. It’s fine. It’s a favorite of mine, too.”
She looked at him quizzically. “It is?”
He nodded.
“Because you sounded like…” She shrugged. “You seemed like you weren’t interested.”
How could he possibly explain to her the connection he had to this movie without either bursting into tears or forcing himself to be robotic?
Fortunately, Savannah put the remote down and began to eat her sandwich—a happy smile on her face as Dorothy’s house spun in mid-air. They’d missed the very beginning of the movie, but neither commented on it. It wasn’t as if they didn’t know what happened first.
They ate in silence, each wrapped up in the movie. It wasn’t until the first commercial break that she turned to him and noticed a look of utter devastation on his face. Picking up the remote, she muted the TV. “Okay, out with it. Something’s bothering you.”
He sighed and put his plate down on the coffee table. “Do you remember the first night you met my family?”
She nodded.
“You asked what song I used to sing the most. Do you remember?”
Again, she nodded.
Shifting, he turned to face her. “When I was five, the very first song I sang in the school talent show was ‘Over the Rainbow.’”
“Aww…” She sighed, her hand going over her heart.
Smiling, Riley shook his head. “I knew I wanted to sing in the talent show and my mom encouraged me to. She loved to sing and she used to do it all the time—especially when she was baking—but she sang a lot of traditional Irish songs. She would sing them to us as lullabies,” he said wistfully.
Savannah reached over and held his hand.
“None of my brothers would sing with her.” He looked at her and chuckled. “Because they couldn’t. They all had horrible voices. But Mom and I would sing together in the kitchen. So when I told her I wanted to be in the talent show, she was so excited and we talked about what I should sing.” In his mind, he could clearly see his mother as they spoke.
“Well, I think you could sing anything you want to, Riley,” Lillian said, placing the oatmeal raisin cookie dough onto her baking sheets.
Riley stood beside her on one of their wooden stools so he could reach the counter. “But there are so many songs to choose from! I want it to be something great! Something no one else is gonna sing.”
Lillian considered that for a moment. “If that’s what you want, we have a whole song book of classic Irish songs. You can bet no one in your class is going to sing one of those.”
Riley giggled. “Mom…those songs are crazy!” He almost fell off the stool in his fit of laughter.
“So you’re telling me ‘Paddy McGinty’s Goat’ is too crazy to sing?” she teased.
That made him laugh harder. “Come on, Mom!” he said between fits of laughter. “I don’t know what to sing!”
And then Lillian gasped and looked at Riley with wide blue eyes. “I’ve got it!” She put her hands on her hips. “What did we just watch last night?”
“The Wizard of Oz,” Riley said.
“And there you go! You’ve got your song!”
“Wait…which song?”
“Which song did we sing while we were watching it?” she prompted.
He shrugged. “We sang all of them, remember? Dad told us to hush because he couldn’t hear the TV.”
“You can sing ‘Over the Rainbow,’ Riley,” she said with a smile. “You sing it so beautifully, and it’s a very hard song to sing but you, my son, sing it better than anyone!”
He shook his head. “Uh-uh, not better than Dorothy.”
Lillian nodded. “I think you do.”
“Really?”
She nodded again. “I think it’s your song. I bet if you sing it at the talent show, people will jump up and give you a standing ovation!”
Her excitement had him smiling. And then, on his little wooden stool, he faced the empty kitchen and began to sing. Lillian joined in and at the end, they each took a bow while holding hands. When Riley jumped down and released her hand, hers immediately went to her heart.
With a nod, she said, “That’s your song, Riley.”
He shook his head. “Uh-uh. It’s our song, Mom.”
Savannah squeezing his hand brought him back to the present.
He looked up at her and saw her eyes shining with unshed tears.
“From that point on, that’s what it was. Our song.” He gently skimmed his thumb across her knuckles and then her wrist. “I sang it at her funeral. It’s the last time I ever sang it.”
Gasping, Savannah, quickly put a hand over her mouth as her tears began to fall. “Oh, Riley…”
He pulled her in close.
But he wasn’t sure if the embrace was for her benefit.
Or his.
* * *
The flight back to L.A. was very different from the flight to North Carolina. Savannah was much more relaxed this time around, for starters, and that, coupled with the fact that Riley seduced her from the moment they took off to the moment they landed, pretty much ensured a pleasurable flight.
The town car driver took Savannah home first and at the door, Riley begged her to come home with him.
“I promise to see you tomorrow,” she said, unlocking her door and stepping inside. “I’ve got to unpack and check my messages…” She playfully swatted him away when he reached for her. “And I’m sure you have to do the same. I can meet you at the studio or your house, whichever you prefer.”
“I prefer you to come home with me now,” he growled, hauling her into his arms and kissing her. “I’ve had far too many fantasies about making love to you in my bed for me to have to wait another day.”
It did sound good, she thought. Lord knew she’d fantasized about it too. His bed. The game room. The deck in back of his house overlooking the city? Yeah, that one was one of her favorites. “Riley…”
“Please,” he murmured against her ear. “Check your messages and I’ll talk to the driver and we’ll wait while you do what you have to do. Or I’ll send him away and tell him to come back in an hour.” He pulled back and pouted. “I won’t go home without you.”
> Rolling her eyes, she pulled out of his arms. “Okay. Fine! Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll be ready to go.” She pushed him out the door and went to her home phone. She knew it was crazy to still have one—everyone used their cell phones—but she liked keeping her home number for her personal stuff and her cell for business.
She wrote down the handful of messages and made a mental note to make return calls when she was home next. Then she dragged her suitcase to her bedroom, dumped her dirty clothes in her hamper, and packed a smaller overnight bag with necessities to take with her to Riley’s. Indulging him like this could become a bad habit, but the thought of sleeping without him tonight wasn’t appealing at all.
Walking around, she checked to make sure nothing else needed her immediate attention before picking up her bag and locking back up. Riley stood beside the car with a very satisfied grin on his face.
“Don’t get used to this,” she playfully snapped at him.
“Used to what?”
“Getting your way. Sometimes it’s not all going to go your way and you’ll have to deal with it. I am going to have to come home eventually and there are going to be times when I can’t be with you.”
“I don’t like the sound of that at all,” he said, climbing into the car behind her.
“It’s the way life is,” she said. “Once our interview is done, Tommy’s going to give me another assignment and…” She shrugged.
“How often do you travel?” he asked, frowning.
“Enough. Most of the time I get to meet up with people here in L.A., but sometimes I go along for several stops on a tour, or I have to meet the person on their terms. I never know.”
“Now I really don’t like the sound of that. Are you alone with these guys? These rock stars?”
She chuckled. “Please tell me you’re not jealous!”
“I’m just saying… You’re a beautiful woman and I know how these guys think. And act!”
With a patient smile, she patted him on the knee. “For the record, I’m flattered that you think other men find me attractive enough to hit on me. The reality is that when I’m doing an interview with someone, it’s about the story. Most of the time they’re busy and I’m a nuisance, so you don’t have to worry.”
This Is Our Song Page 22
