Page 109 of Dirty Rock

“Stick to what you know, Sinatra.”

“Come on.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “You’re not even a little bit impressed? I just bought a house to be near you.”

Her laughter died down, and when she looked up, her eyes twinkled. “Yeah, you did, didn’t you?”

“I bet none of your other boyfriends have ever done that, right?”

“Can’t say they have. Although, none of them have ever been super famous millionaires like the one I have now, either.”

“The one you have now?” I raised a brow.

She ran her hands over my arms and leaned in closer. “Yeah. The boyfriend I have now.”

“I like the sound of that.”

“I always thought that single word would scare you.”

“Nope.” I shook my head. “The only thing I’m scared of now is that money pit covered in blue paint behind us.”

Jules couldn’t help it. Her laughter poured free again as she turned to give it her full attention.

With her back to me, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against my chest.Jules fit perfectly everywhere. She provided me with everything I never thought I would need. I’d always heard it was the guy who was meant to make the girl feel protected, but with her in my life, I was the one who felt safe. Settled. Like, for the first time in twenty-six years, nothing was off balance.

“The more I look at it, the more I think I’m falling in love with it,” she whispered as the wind began to pick up around us. “It’s just a little worn down. It’s been left to rot for too long. With a lot of TLC, we can turn it around and make it something pretty special. Don’t you think?”

I rested my chin on her head and closed my eyes, enjoying the peace that had taken over my body. “I think you’re capable of saving anything, Jules.”Even me.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Two weeks passed after the night where it all came together, and while the guys were being pretty cool about it, and Julia and I were remaining as professional as we could around them, it was obvious that it wasn’t sitting well with Coops, Big D, and Hawk.

Too many secrets, man. Too many secrets.That’s the vibe I was getting from them.

Jules and I had decided that Dicky shouldn’t know about us yet. Her career was at stake, and I was in no position to mess with that. But every time we were together, the guys of the band would look at me with caution, like they were waiting for the TNT version of Rhett Ryan to wake up, spark alight, and set the whole damn thing on fire.

That wasn’t going to happen.

After showing Jules The Big Blue Money Pit, as we were now affectionately calling it, we’d gone back to her comfortable, more liveable yellow cottage, and we’d screwed the night away. Waking up in her peaceful home was becoming my new favourite thing. The next day, I’d gotten all my things out of my hotel suite, and I’d taken everything back to hers, assuring her it was only for a few days or until she told me to leave.

We weren’t moved in together by any means but, for now, I was where she wanted me to be.

I was whereIwanted to be, too.

Waking up in the morning and having sex was better than walking on stage to a packed arena, and even though I loved a drink, I was finding my thoughts were more consumed with her than any of the other stuff. Hell, I even forgot to smoke as much around her. The only air I wanted in my lungs was that addictive sea breeze and the breaths I stole from her kisses.

And now I was getting the woman all to myself for three whole days and two very long nights.

She’d signed me up for a charity gig in LA. A tornado had torn through several states in the US, and a bunch of celebrities were hosting a TV event to raise money for those who had suffered and lost the most. It wasn’t often I got to do something without the rest of the band. Truth be told, I hated being away from them, but Jules had assured all five of us that it was a good thing for me to put my face on an event like this. Not only did it make us look charitable and caring… it would be a great teaser for the next album we’d be set to release in a few months’ time.

“You sure you’re okay to go with this idiot and make sure he stays in line?” Dicky asked Jules in front of us all.

Looks were exchanged around the room, with Presley sitting there with a cocky smirk on his face, while Hawk scratched his neck, Big D held back a laugh, and Coops just frowned.

“Rather me suffer than you, Dicky,” she assured him.

“You’re the only one who seems to get through to him anyway,” he grumbled.

“Through to him. Over him. Under him,” Big D muttered, earning an elbow jab from me that brought Dicky’s attention up to us when Big D grunted from the hit.

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