Page 20 of Revived

“You’re still hot.”

“Lord, boy. What am I going to do with you?” Kendra asked him as she started to drag her son out of the room by his ear. “We’ll be back with Dinner, Chev. Mel, I’m bringing some for you too.”

Then there was just me and the two overbearing men left in the room. “So, you’ll be staying with us when I get sprung from this place,” Chevy commented. “You should tell Dad how you want your room decorated.”

“It’s only temporary and I have my own things so there’s no need.”

“We’ll see,” Chevy called to me before leaning back and closing his eyes. After checking everything I needed to, and logging his chart, I moved back out to the lounge area beyond his room to give him a little semblance of privacy.

~*~

By the end of the week, Chevy was discharged, and we were all three moved into the sprawling estate Gabe had purchased. The home itself was five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and another separate mini house out on the back lawn by the pool. That house had two bedrooms, one bath, and a full kitchen and living area. Chevy called dibs on that for himself, but Gabe said he couldn’t have it until he could get himself walking again.

While Chevy had been given a first-floor suite in order to make sure he had access to everything he needed, my bedroom was upstairs, as was Gabe’s. The bedroom I had been given also had its own balcony that faced out towards the pool and the bright green lawn beyond. It was magnificent and I knew, the moment I unpacked my things, that I would miss it terribly when the time came to finally leave.

“Everything okay? Is there anything you need that you don’t already have?” I turned to see Gabe standing in my open doorway.

“You can come in,” I told him as I turned back to finish surveying the grounds. “This place is absolutely gorgeous,” I mentioned as he approached to stand beside me.

“Do you swim?”

“I do, but the bigger benefit will be to Chevy. Pool therapy will aid significantly in his physical therapy. I bet when his PT sees that pool, they will immediately adjust to include it.”

“Mmm,” he hummed. The scent of his cologne, body wash, or aftershave wrapped around me and felt very much like a sexy hug. I shivered at the thought while wishing I knew what it was, so I could buy bottles of it to sniff whenever he wasn’t around. “You chilly?” He asked when he noticed me shiver.

“No,” I answered honestly. We both stood there on the balcony, just taking in the scenery, for a few more minutes before Gabe spoke again.

“I hired Adam. He’ll be here later this evening so I can introduce you. He will be your driver if you need to go anywhere and he’s also your security, so I don’t want any arguments about accepting the use of a driver. My lifestyle is why he’s needed.”

“Okay,” I agreed. No argument was necessary after I saw the way the fans were swarming outside of the hospital the day Chevy was discharged.

“No argument?” Gabe asked, sounding a little shocked.

“None,” I told him. “Your fans are crazy.”

“They can be, for sure.” Gabe turned to leave, taking that heavenly scent of his with him. “John and the boys are coming by later to say hello to Chevy. I think they’ll be sticking around so we can work for a bit too.”

“No problem. I’ll stay out of your way. Chevy and I can work out a system so I’m not always underfoot downstairs.”

“What? I was telling you about the band so you wouldn’t be caught off guard by guests, not so that you would know to hide from them. Mel, this is your house too. You live here. Make yourself at home.” I nodded, not really knowing what else to say. When silence hung in the air a little too long, Gabe moved to my bedroom door. Before he stepped into the hallway beyond, I called out to him.

“Gabe, thank you for being kind enough to see that I was taken care of too. I know it would have been easier to leave me behind to deal with everything on my own. You didn’t. I just wanted you to know that I appreciate it.”

“That’s not the type of man I am, and you should never have to thank someone for doing the right thing, Mel.” He tapped the frame of the door twice before walking away. Somehow the echo of that sound kept replaying along with his words. “You should never have to thank someone for doing the right thing, Mel.” It’s funny that he said that because he’d thanked me numerous times for having his son’s back when that was not only the right thing to do, but my job.

7 – Watching, Waiting

Mel was always there. She was also always on my mind even when she was out of sight. The problem was that she fit in so well with my world. My band loved her. Chevy loved her. Chevy’s whole family adored the woman. Hell, Kendra had become her new best friend, or so it seemed since they always talked and drank tea together when Kendra was by to see our son. It was like the universe kept shouting at me that it would never get better than this. Having Kendra close was one of the reasons I was holding back though. What if I found another perfect woman in this life, and the lifestyle that I led fucked it up all over again? While I could have given up the whole dream back then for Kendra, had I known what would happen, I’m not so sure I could do the same for Mel. There were too many other pieces to the puzzle now, too many people counting on me and what I brought to the table. Every day with Mel around was a mixture of hopeful anticipation and damn near crippling self-doubt.

Mel stood over by the pool in her little purple one-piece, that I shit you not, was sexier than any bikini I’d ever seen on a woman. She watched as the physical therapist worked with Chevy on his mobility and strengthening, or whatever it was they did in the pool. Mel watched and waited like a mother hen seeing her baby swim alone for the first time. There was a mixture of pride and trepidation that made the sight completely alluring. She was literally on standby to jump in and save my son from drowning if he couldn’t do a particular activity that was required of him. His physical therapist rolled his eyes many times, but I also caught the asshole checking her out too.

“Hey Mel,” I called while waving a hand at her in greeting. The damnable woman barely glanced up, then simply threw a hand up in a half-assed wave while training her eyes right back on Chevy. A feminine chuckle rang out from behind me. I turned to see Kendra walking up.

“I bet that never happens to the Gabe North,” she declared, while using air quotes for my name, her voice laden with humor.

“What?” I asked innocently, trying to play the encounter off.

“‘What?’ He says,” she teased. “As if you don’t know. How long are you going to just keep watching her? Long enough to let her slip through your grasp and into someone else’s arms?”

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