Love at The Bluebird

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” The more I think about it, the more I love the idea of working with Aly. But Scotty is right – they wouldn’t put us together.

“Don’t sweat this shit, Gavin. Why don’t you ask Aly about it?”

“I don’t want to bring it up to her just yet. If this record does well, Charisma might want to sign me for another three records.” With the preorder sales what they were, I would be shocked if Charisma didn’t want to renew my contract.

“I thought you were done working with them?” he asks with a confused expression on his face.

“I would like to be, but what if it’s an offer I would be crazy to refuse? At the end of the day, we all want to make money and be able to take care of our families.” I doubt they’ll offer me another contract, but you never know what might happen.

“Then you should take it but what’s the difference between them giving you another contract and taking Atticus’s money to write for Tori again? That’s a crazy offer for you to refuse.” Shit, he has a point. “Either way, you’re still dancing with the devil,” he says with a smug smile on his face.

I hate it when he’s right.

I glance at my watch to see we’ve been gossiping like girls for almost an hour now. “We need to get back to writing so I’m not late for my date with Aly tonight.”

He nods in agreement and picks up his acoustic guitar. “Ok, but here’s my last piece of advice. Talk to Aly, but I highly recommend you take that offer.”

“I’ll think about it some more,” I tell him before we continue where we left off with the song we were working on.

Chapter Sixteen

ALY

“THIS HAS BEEN the best lunch break I’ve ever had in my life,” I say in a lazy voice, completely satiated from the intense orgasm Gavin just gave me. The circles he’s drawing on my back with his fingers are lulling me to sleep like a lullaby, and I groan, hating the idea of having to get up soon. “I wish we didn’t have to go back to work.”

“Me too, baby, but just think—as soon as you agree to move in with me, we can do this every day for the rest of our lives.” He kisses me deeply, sending shivers down my spine at the thought of this being my forever.

We’ve been together for over a month now, and every day with him still feels like a dream. Even things with Sosie have changed for the better. After I took care of her the night she got drunk, she’s done a complete one-eighty with me. She even apologized to me the next day when we took her to brunch. I didn’t do what I did to gain her approval, but I have to admit it felt good for her to let me in.

My eyes slide closed thinking about the pain I heard in her voice when she told me that besides Gavin and his family, what I did for her was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for her. She told me she couldn’t believe I still took care of her after she’d been a huge bitch. I was honestly surprised when she started to cry, saying I had proven that I loved Gavin and I didn’t deserve her lashing out at me. I thought it might have been lack of sleep and a hangover that made her apologize for her past behavior, especially when she asked if we could be friends, but since then, we’ve grabbed a bite to eat together a couple times without Gavin, and she came out shopping once with me and Valerie. I wouldn’t say we’re close, but I have hope that one day we might be.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t move in with you, babe. I said we’re in no rush. You practically live here anyway.” I huff at him, trying to stay focused on my point while he trails kisses down my neck.

He rolls me over, and my legs immediately spread for him. He settles in between them and stares at me. “Promise me that we’ll start looking for a place when we get back from California.” It isn’t a question, but more like a demand as he gazes into my eyes.

“I promise,” I whisper, a lump of emotion wedging into my throat as I get lost in him. I have an overwhelming urge to tell him I love him. To tell him he’s my everything. No one has ever made me feel as beautiful, as loved, as secure and protected as he does. In such a short amount of time, this man has become my whole world.

I can’t imagine one single day without him in it, and even though I’ve given myself freely to him, a tiny, minuscule part of me is still scared. It’s that part of me that prevents me from saying those three big words he’s longing to hear from me.