"Yeah, I like to mix things up sometimes. You never know."
Sophie laughed.
When we got her place, I thought I'd relax in the kitchen while she cooked but she put me to work chopping vegetables.
Then she looked at the chopping board in front of me.
"You're not used to cooking, right?"
I thought I'd done a decent job. Well, those vegetables were chopped.
"I've cooked. Not often, but I can make a mean spaghetti sauce."
"Just try to keep them even sizes," she told me.
She put things on to boil and went to sit on the chair beside me but I pulled her onto my knee.
"I have to put the steak on in a minute," she said.
"That can wait," I told her. Right now, the need to kiss her became more important than food. More important than anything. I traced her bottom lip with my thumb. The curve of that lip had haunted me all day.
I'd never been the type of guy to hang around the morning after and definitely not the night after for that matter. Too many women, not enough time, had been my motto. But that'd been before Sophie. She'd got under my skin. I'd been counting down the minutes until I saw her again, trying the guys crazy with my pacing in the studio.
I traced kisses down her neck, wanting to tease her before my mouth met hers but that teasing backfired, driving me half-crazy with desire.
Her arms circled my neck, pulling me closer and drowning me in the scent of her, all earthy and floral from working with flowers all day mixing with the musk of her lust.
"The steak..." she said but I kissed those words right off her lips.
"How can you think of dinner when I'm doing this to you?"
I slid my hand between her legs, massaging the inside of her thighs. Running my thumb along the seam of her jeans, I pushed into the warmth.
Sophie gave one of her soft groans that hit me right in the cock. Nothing made me harder than that noise she made.
Sophie
WHEN I GOT TO THE MARKET, the old man working the lily stall asked me where my assistant was.
"He's taking the day off," I said with a laugh.
"Pity. It was nice seeing you with a young man. You work too hard."
He could say that but he didn't know that Ethan had better things to do than trail around the flower market with me every morning. Still, I ducked my head to hide my grin.
Since the number of sticky beaks coming into the store seemed to increase every day, I got more than my usual stock of blossoms to make up into cheaper bunches. Most of the customers weren't prepared to spend more than about ten bucks so I figured I'd make the most of that. Janice hadn't been wrong about Ethan being good for business.
I looked at some daisies on one of the stalls. Good price but they looked like they'd fade fast. Even if I wanted to move a lot of cheap stock, I wasn't willing to compromise on quality.
I got back to the store and tried to focus on setting up but Janice was having none of that.
She nudged me. "You expecting someone?"
"No, not at all," I told her.
"Then why do you keep glancing out the window?"
"Do not," I said, positioning myself so that the window wasn't in my line of sight. I knew Ethan had to work today. He couldn't just casually drop by.
"You keep grinning, too."
Janice stared at me, willing me to spill the dirt but my dirt would not be spilled.
"Nice weather today," I said.
"Nice try but I'll get the juicy details out of you."
Considering Janice was the closest thing I had to a mother nowadays, I didn't think so. But then she was the only person in this town I could count on not to spread gossip about me, too.
"I cooked him dinner last night," I said.
"And?"
"And nothing. He's in town recording an album. I'm not sure how long that takes but do you think anything is going to keep him hanging around Collinsville when that's done? It's not exactly the most exciting place on earth."
Janice gave a knowing grin. "It might be, with the right person."
"I'm not exactly the type to set the world on fire, am I? Even a short fling with a famous rock star is pushing it. There'll be no wedding bells, no happily ever afters. He'll leave soon and I have to keep on with my life. Hopefully with minimal damage."
I sighed and so did Janice. We both knew what I meant. My mother had always had a black mark against her in this town. One mistake, never forgotten. And I was that mistake.
Janice finished off the arrangements that needed to be sent out and Jimmy came in to collect them.
"Can I smell romance in the air?" He actually sniffed as he said it.
"I think that's the roses," I replied.
He winked. "Not what I heard."
I blushed. I guess I couldn't expect any less. It'd been no secret that Ethan and I had been seeing each other but if the gossip had actually reached Jimmy, that meant everyone knew, literally everyone.
"His car was at your place overnight."
My heart sank. I hadn't thought about that. Of course people saw his car and of course, they knew when he left this morning. Normally when I went the market, not a soul was awake in this town but they'd have stayed up all night watching.
I walked into the back room. This was not a discussion I wanted to have with Jimmy. My private life should be exactly that, private. I never understood girls who blurted out every tiny detail of their love lives.
Eventually, I had to go back out into the store. I couldn't leave everything to Janice. The gawkers coming into the store hadn't bothered me too much at first but after those girls yesterday, I wondered if they all thought the same thing. Every single person coming into the store looked at me and wondered what he saw in me. Plain and frumpy Sophie, dating the hottest man alive. What a joke.
Those thoughts swirled through my mind all morning. Then my phone beeped and my heart fluttered. A text from Ethan. Just a single line, saying he was thinking of me, with a string of heart emoji.
I'd never had a guy send me a lovey-dovey text before.
I grinned. I couldn't stop grinning.
But that meant I had to reply. I typed some words. Deleted them. Typed some more. Deleted those too.
I didn't want to sound too clingy or sappy. In the end, I just said me too. But I put a bunch of emojis around it then slipped my phone back in my pocket.
If I saw Ethan tonight, I'd play it light. I'd never let him know what he'd come to mean to me. And when he left town, I'd never ever let anyone see how much it hurt. But I wouldn't back down either. I'd be with him for as long as I could. Because nothing felt as right as being with Ethan.
Sophie
WHEN I FINISHED WORK a few days later, Ethan was leaning on his car, waiting for me.
"What's for dinner?" he asked.
I rolled my eyes. "Are you a stray dog?"
He laughed. "Pretty darn close."
As much as I hated the gossip, every time I walked out and saw him waiting for me, I became all giddy inside. The way he ran his fingers through his hair made my heart churn. The way he looked at me made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. My body lit up. The sun shone a little brighter and the birds sang louder.
I had plenty of steaks leftover. I would be no problem to cook for him.
"I'll take you out somewhere if you like. You name the place. I don't expect you to cook for me all the time."
That sounded good in theory but Collinsville wasn't exactly overrun with fancy restaurants. We'd have to drive somewhere and that seemed like way too much trouble.
"I'll cook." I shot him a grin. "But maybe next time you could call me first."
He saluted. "Will do."
As I got in his car, Janice grinned from the sidewalk. This was nothing to grin about.
"You really shouldn't pick me up from work." I didn't' look at him. I didn't want him to see how much it killed me to say that.
Ethan nodded. "I don't mind but if you
want to keep things on the lowdown, I'm happy with that. I just didn't think."
It seemed stupid to worry. With his car being at my place overnight, it wasn't like the town couldn't put the pieces together. Knowing people gossiped about me hit me hard in the pits of my belly, though.
"Yeah, you say that but every night you're outside the store waiting for me." And even though I tried to sound angry, I couldn't help that I loved it. I didn't want to get used to seeing him there. I didn't want to expect it.
I tried to play it cool but every time Ethan looked at me, I grinned. When he came into my house and settled on the sofa like he belonged there, my heart skipped a beat. It all seemed so right.
"Aren't you sick of steak?" I asked him. "I could make something else."
Ethan laughed. "You don't get sick of steak. It's a basic, like a good pair of jeans. I could eat it every night and not get sick of it. But if you want something else then I'm fine with that, too."
He came into the kitchen, standing behind me as I cooked.
"Umm, maybe you should just stay on the sofa I said. Remember how we ended up with burnt steak last night."
He swept my hair to one side and kissed my neck while his arms wrapped around my waist.
"Are you sure?" He pressed his body tighter against me.
Before I could answer, he kissed me again, trailing kisses down my neck. Shuddering with delight, I tried to stop him but I could never have that much self-control.
I turned off the stove so the steaks didn't burn.
LATER THAT NIGHT, ETHAN jumped out of bed. "There's something we have to do."
"Huh? What?"
"I've just thought of it and we should go now."
It was late and I'd have happily curled over and gone back to sleep but he kept at me. One thing I'd learned about Ethan was that when he got an idea in his head, he acted on it. He didn't stop to think or put it off until a more appropriate time, he just did it.
"This had better be important." I pulled on my jeans and a t-shirt.
"You are going to love it."
He drove me out of town. We were going to Somerton at this time of night? I hoped he realized nothing would be open. Most things shut early around here.
Just outside the town limits, he pulled over the car and got out.
I got out too, not sure what to expect. He tossed me the keys.
"I don't let just anyone drive my car."
I stared at the keys in my hand and the road stretching out in front of me. Then the hugest grin spread over my face.
"Fasten your seatbelts!" I grinned at Ethan. "I mean that literally. Please do fasten your seatbelt. I don't want to get pulled over for a traffic infringement."
I'd never driven a really fast car. When I got my first car, I'd wanted something with a lot of grunt but everyone had convinced me to get something sensible and girlie with good fuel economy. That'd been fine but boring.
Then I'd gotten rid of it and just drove the van since I'd taken over the store.
The moment I put my foot on the gas pedal, I knew Ethan's car was a whole other level. This car felt powerful but oh-so-smooth.
I shrieked as the gravel flew out behind us. We got to the end of the stretch of road and I turned. That had been the most fun I'd had in years. Well, the most fun outside of the bedroom. Ethan definitely changed my life. He made me remember that it wasn't all work and business. I'd forgotten about having fun.
"I'll have my keys back now." Ethan held out his hand.
"No way." I laughed as I slammed my foot on the accelerator.
Ethan
I HAD TO SPEND THE next day in the studio, laying down some tracks. I planned to get them done fast so I could catch Sophie when she finished work but Billy wanted to try out different things. Normally, I'd have been happy to oblige but not today.
Finally, we took a break. I sent Sophie a text to let her know I was thinking about her. I used more damn heart emoji in that text than I've ever used in my life.
"How's the bet going?" Miles asked me.
If Miles thought I cared too much, he'd try to make life more difficult for me, and a difficult life for me meant a difficult life for Sophie.
I shrugged.
"Come on, dude. Everyone in town knows you've been wooing her. No one's talking about anything else."
I had no idea when Miles had gotten on the inside track for local gossip.
"I've seen her a few times," I said. "That's all."
"Word on the street is that you were seen leaving her place early this morning. I figured you'd be talking about nothing else today. I almost didn't want to come into the studio if it meant dealing with your bragging. So, you didn't seal the deal?"
I got up to leave the studio. "Just drop it, okay."
"He definitely didn't or he wouldn't be that grumpy," Gregor said.
The studio backed onto some bushland and I walked down a track, just wanting to clear my head and think about this.
That girl needed to get out of this town. I hadn't understood when she'd first complained about the small-town gossips but now, I wanted to wrap her in a bubble and protect her from their talk.
As a low hanging branch whacked into my head, I realized something scary.
I was falling for her.
Falling hard.
Not just in a wanting to have sex with her kind of way but in a way I'd never known before. She had something and I couldn't get enough of it. I couldn't stop thinking about her, couldn't stop grinning when I thought about her. I couldn't imagine a future without her in it.
But that was stupid. We'd only known each other for a few days.
What did I have to offer her anyway? On the surface, I had the perfect life. Money, fame, looks, yep, I checked all the boxes. But underneath that, I had nothing really. I didn't even have a real home.
I kept walking. I knew I should get back to the studio but I couldn't work with my mind all messed up like this. I'd never once wondered about the reputation of any girl I'd dated. Hell, I'd never dated a girl who had a reputation worth worrying about. They were more the kiss-and-tell types, posting photos on social media before I'd even pulled out.
Not Sophie.
There was almost something crazy old fashioned about her need to have a squeaky-clean image. I wasn't sure how small towns worked but it seemed to me that she felt judged more harshly than other people. Maybe because of her mother. She'd never spelled it out but I got the impression that growing up had been tough for her.
I kicked a stone along the path.
This wasn't the 19th century and there was no need for me to make an honest woman of her. Surely, she could have a bit of fun.
Maybe getting her out of this town would be the best way to fix this. I could do something. Maybe offer to buy the florist from her.
A secret offer that was too good to be true? She'd have to accept. I jumped in the air, whooping, so excited about my idea that I scared a flock of birds roosting in a nearby tree. They flew up in the air, multicolored spots in the blue sky above me.
I was a genius.
Then I stopped.
Sophie was way too smart to fall for something like that. Of course, she'd want to know where the mysterious secret offer came from. And she'd want to make sure the people around her were provided for. I needed to be smarter. I could find a florist somewhere and fund them to buy the business. I'm not sure how I'd go about that but I had lawyers working for me. One of them must know.
Without the store, Sophie would be free. She could go to university or travel the world. Go on tour with me and the guys.
I grinned. That would be perfect.
Every night we'd be together in the hotel room, or we could even get an apartment so she could cook me steaks. She'd get to see the big wide world outside of this town. I'd wake up to her smile. She'd lay her head on my shoulder and I'd stroke her hair while we talked about things. She could stay in bed with me all day and never have to get up at the crack of dawn again.
&n
bsp; I turned back to the studio. This would all work out. What was the point of even having money unless you could spoil people? I'd get this plan in action straight away. Whether it meant Sophie would end up with me or if she waved me goodbye, at least she'd be free of the chains holding her back now. She'd be happy.
I got out my phone to call my lawyer but there was no signal out here. Damn it all.
But there was no rush. I'd call him tonight. First, I had to get back to the studio and sort out this bed.
When I got inside, I grabbed my Fender. Even if I wasn't the greatest guitarist, even if I rarely played it, that Fender meant the world to me. I'd bought it with my first paycheck. It embodied all my rock dreams from those years of struggle.
But it was only bits of wood and metal. I could replace it or live without it.
"Huh?" Ruff snorted. "You're playing guitar on the album?"
I shook my head and handed it to Miles.
"The bet's off," I told him. "It's over, it never ever existed."
Miles wanted to ask more but I walked into the sound booth and put on my headphones. No way would I go into all this with him. He nodded at me through the glass. He understood.
Sophie
I'D SURVIVE ALL THE gossip. Well, I thought I would until old Mrs. Carruthers surged into the store like a battleship going to war. That did not bode well. I glanced at the back room. Safety, so close. She wouldn't barge into the staff only area.
I straightened my back. This was my store, my ground. I wouldn't be chased out, no matter how fiery she looked.
"Sophie, I know you're a good girl but you had that rock star at your house, overnight."
I raised my chin. "You said we had sparks."
She didn't smile. "Sparks don't mean you should cheapen yourself. Keep yourself nice, Sophie. He's not going to stick around forever."
"I know."
I wanted to tell her to leave the store. I didn't need her nagging or her advice. There was a heap of girls in this town who did worse every day. She'd never speak like that to Suzie Kingston. I had to keep my temper. After all, Mrs. Carruthers was one of our best customers.
Rock Mayhem: 8 Complete Rock Star Romance Novels Page 92
