Never Tied Down (The Never Duet #2) (29 page)

   My lips stopped at his words and I lifted my head to look at him as his hand slid off my ass, leaving it cold.  His brows were furrowed, his forehead was creased, and he looked pissed.

   “I can’t believe this,” he groaned, rubbing his hand down his face.  “This is bullshit, you know this, right?”

   I could hear a woman’s voice on the other end of the phone, although she didn’t seem to be as upset as he was.

   “The studio can’t just call people in to work on Christmas.  It’s a shitty thing to do.”  He listened to the woman, Erin, for a moment, then sighed and closed his eyes.  “Yeah, I got it. See you then.”  He ended the call and then tossed the phone back on his nightstand.

   “What’s going on?”

   “The studio has decided to do a last-minute change in the episode we finished shooting before break, but in order to get it done in time, they have to shoot it tonight.”

   “But it’s Christmas.”

   “Apparently, they don’t care.”

   “So, you have to go to LA, like, right now?”

   His eyes turned to mine and he looked so sad.  “Yeah,” he whispered, his hand coming up to frame my face.  “I’m sorry.  I do.”

   I was sad the day had to end that way, but I felt worse for Riot.  Working on Christmas was terrible.  “It’s okay, baby.  I’ll pack up my stuff real quick.  I’m sorry you have to ride home with my unshowered self,” I said, reaching up to touch my messy hair.

   “No, Kalli, you stay.  Don’t let my job ruin your Christmas.”

   “You want me to stay?”

   “You know I want to be with you, but if you come with me you’ll only spend Christmas night alone in your apartment, and I don’t want that for you.  Stay here where Kevin and Rachel are, where Halah and Ma are. I’ll feel better if I know you aren’t sitting alone in your apartment.”

   His words were sweet, but the thought of him driving all alone to LA on Christmas made me sad for him.

   “I want to be with you, I don’t care if I’m alone tonight or not.”

   He leaned up and kissed me.  It wasn’t as full of heat as our last kiss had been, but it was much more tender and sweet.

   “You might not care,” he said when he pulled away, “but I do.  Stay.  Please.”

   I bit my lip as I considered his words.  He was pleading with me to stay, and even though it felt wrong on some level, I didn’t want to make his day more difficult.  “Okay,” I relented.  He leaned up and kissed me again; this time it was a short, chaste kiss.  I rolled off him and watched from the comfort of his childhood bed as he packed his things.

   “How will I get home?”

   “I’ll have my Dad take me to the airport and I’ll rent a car.  You keep the Rover here and drive home like we originally planned.”

   “Maybe Kevin can give me a ride?  He has to drive through LA to get home anyhow.”

   Riot called out to me from the bathroom.

   “I don’t want to put anyone else out because of me, Kal.  Just take the Rover, it will make me feel better.”

   “Okay,” I conceded. 

   He came back into the bedroom, tossing his bag on the floor by his bed, then climbing on the bed, coming over me, his hands resting on either side of my head.

   “I’m sorry,” he whispered.  “I’ll make it up to you.  I promise.”

   And that was one of the many reasons I loved Riot Bentley.  Even though it was his Christmas that was being disrupted, he was worried about me and how I was feeling.  He was the most selfless man I’d ever met and I wanted to never take that for granted.  I reached up and placed my hands on either side of his face.

   “There’s nothing to make up for.  I love you and I will see you when I get home.”

   Something glimmered in his eye, and I could almost swear I saw the corner of his mouth turn up, as if he were trying to force away a smile.  Before I could think too much about it, he kissed me.  This kiss, however, was meant to be a good-bye, and he took his time.

   Thirty minutes later I stood at his parents’ front door, watching Riot climb into his father’s SUV as they left to get him a rental car.  He waved, a forced smile across his face, and I waved back.  When the car was out of sight, I let out a sigh.  I turned to Rachel, who’d been standing with me, and gave her a sad smile.

   “He’ll be okay,” she said.  “Let’s go inside.  Would you mind if I looked at the album Mara made for you?”

   It hadn’t occurred to me that anyone else would want to look at pictures of Marcus, but it meant a lot to me that Rachel had asked.

   “Sure,” I answered, the smile on my face turning from sad to bright.  So Rachel and I sat at the kitchen table, flipping pages and looking at photos.  She was genuinely curious about him, and listened to me as I endlessly told stories that the pictures conjured up.  Before I knew it, I had spent two hours telling Rachel, my sister, all about my brother, and I’d laughed and smiled the whole time.

   Kevin had joined us about an hour in, sitting across the table, listening, and laughing along with us.  Halah and Mara were in the kitchen, preparing food for the feast Mara had promised, and even though I was missing Riot, it was still one of the best Christmases I could remember. 

   About two and a half hours after Riot had left, the doorbell chimed.

   “Kalli, sweetie, could you get the door for me?  I’m a mess.”

   Mara lifted her hands and she was, indeed, elbow deep in food.

   “Of course,” I replied.  When I opened the door I was met with a giant bouquet of beautiful red roses.

   “Are you Kalli Rivers?” the deliveryman asked from behind the enormous arrangement of flowers.

   “Um, yes.”

   “These are for you,” he said with a groan, handing the large vase to me.  I understood his grunting when I took it; it weighed a ton.

   “Are you sure?  I’m confused.”

   “Yes, there’s a card in there somewhere.”

   “Riot called and ordered flowers?  Why are you even open on Christmas?  I’m really sorry, I don’t have any cash for a tip.  Let me see what I can do…” I turned away from the door to see if anyone in the house had cash I could borrow.

   “Don’t worry, Ms. Rivers, the tip has been taken care of.  And we usually aren’t open today, but Mr. Bentley called two weeks ago to arrange this.  Paid a mint for it too.  The tip covered Christmas gifts for all four of my kids.  I’m happy to deliver these flowers,” he said, tipping his trucker hat at me as he turned to walk down the driveway.

   “Merry Christmas,” I called after him, still really confused.  I walked into the kitchen, trying not to trip and fall since I couldn’t see where I was going.

   “Oh, my word,” Mara said breathily.

   “Holy crap,” Halah cried.

   “Whose are they?” Rachel asked.

   I let out a breath as I set the vase down on the table, my arms aching from the strain.  “Apparently they’re from Riot.”

   “He must feel really bad about having to go to work,” Rachel sighed.

   “The delivery guy said Riot ordered them two weeks ago.”  I searched through the flowers, not able to ignore the wonderful scent of the roses as I found the card.  I opened it quickly, eager to find out what he’d done, and read the handwritten note.

  
Kalli,

      By now I’ve left and trust me when I say, leaving you on Christmas was probably harder for me than it was for you.  But I did it with good reason.  I love you.  More than any necklace or long-stemmed roses can say.  Throughout this year we’ve hit a lot of bumps in our road, but we’ve also stopped to admire a lot of views.  No matter what happens, Kalli, remember the beautiful views we’ve seen together.

   Now, there’s one more view to add to the list.  Please pack your bags and meet me at this address.  Come alone, but come knowing I’ll be waiting for you.

   Love,

       Riot

   There was an address at the bottom of the card, but the address was all the way back in LA.  I looked up to find every person in the house staring back at me.

   “Did you guys know about this?” I asked his family, my eyes darting between all three of them.

   “No, sweetheart.  He didn’t mention anything to us,” Mara said, looking to Halah and Chad.  Both of them shook their heads.  “What does the card say?”

   “He wants me to meet him somewhere.  Back in LA.”  All of their faces were blank, just as confused as I was.

   “Well,” Kevin said, “I guess you better get going.”

   “Yeah, okay,” I said, then turned to go pack my stuff, shaking my head the entire way to Riot’s bedroom.  I reread the card four times before I finally gave in and packed up all my stuff.  When I went back into the kitchen it was with my bag packed and a worried look on my face.  “I’m sorry to just up and leave.  I’m so confused.”

   Mara came and gave me a big, motherly hug.  “Don’t worry.  Riot has a plan.  I’m sure it’s good news.”

   “I feel bad leaving.”  I looked at Kevin.  “I hate leaving you here.  You came all this way…”  My words drifted off as I thought about everything he’d done to be with me on Christmas.  Then he was next to me, his arm around my shoulder in a side-hug. 

   “It’s okay, baby doll.  I got to see you open presents on Christmas morning.  That’s all I really wanted.  Plus, we’ve got years of Christmases ahead of us.  Go.  Be with him.”

   At his words I turned fully into his arms and wrapped mine around his waist.  My dad and I had a long road of building a stable relationship ahead of us, but his words were genuine and true.  I never thought I’d ever spend Christmas morning with my father, so he’d given me a real gift the day he reached out to me.

   “Okay,” I said, pulling away.  Everyone walked me out to my car and Jordy helped Chad figure out how to secure my giant vase of flowers so it wouldn’t topple over as I drove.  I said good-bye to everyone and that alone took ten minutes.  I pulled out, made it to the freeway, and let out a big sigh.  I had butterflies fluttering in my stomach, my hands were shaky, and my mind was spinning in a million different directions.  Riot was up to something, that was clear.

   I let out another sigh, took in a deep breath, and tried to calm myself down.  I had a long drive ahead of me.  I turned on some music to try and distract myself and that kind of worked, but being alone in my car only gave me time to think about Riot and everything he’d done for me since I’d met him.  I focused on those thoughts as I drove to LA.

Chapter Twenty-One

It’s Our View

Kalli

   Halfway into my solo road trip, I put the address on the card into my GPS to make sure I didn’t get lost.  LA was still pretty new to me and I definitely didn’t know my way around well enough to get there without assistance. 

   I was surprised when the GPS took me off the highway and brought me onto some roads leading up the back hills of Hollywood.  The higher I climbed, and the farther from the city I got, the more beautiful my surroundings became.

   The GPS alerted me that my destination was 1,000 feet ahead on the right and my nerves shot through the roof.  I slowly drove along the road and finally came to a house nestled on the edge of the tall hill.  The sky was getting dimmer as the sun dropped lower in the sky, and I started to appreciate the view.

   “What in the world…” I said to no one, but pulled into the empty driveway.  The house was huge.  Not as huge as all the other houses on that street, but it was still bigger than any house I’d been in.  It was white with tall windows and two large columns in the front.  I put my Rover in park, shut it off, then tentatively opened my door, expecting Riot to appear.  He didn’t.

   I walked up to the door and I noticed a piece of paper taped to it.

  
The door is unlocked. Come inside.  Follow the trail and meet me at the end.

   My nerves were ready to stop my heart.  My fingers tingled as I turned the doorknob and pushed the door open slowly. 

   The beautiful house was empty and made me gasp.  It was magnificent and gorgeous.  But besides how beautiful the house was, what had been done to it was even more breathtaking.  There were red roses
everywhere
.  Vases and vases of red roses were strategically placed throughout the foyer and great room past it.  Along the floor was a path made from rose petals, lit on either side with candles.

   My hand came to cover my mouth and the tears welled, blurring the astonishing vision.  Then I heard it.  The soft sounds of a piano coming from everywhere.  I heard the first word of the song and a sob escaped me.  This couldn’t be happening.  No one could pull this off.  No one except Riot.

   The song that was being softly piped through the whole house was familiar and I recognized it as the one and only song we’d ever danced to.  The song from Tilly’s bar, the first night I’d let myself open up to him.

   Holding back more sobs I followed the path and found myself at French doors leading to a balcony.  I saw Riot through the glass, but his back was to me.  He was looking at the view.

   When I opened the door he must have heard me because he turned around with a brilliant smile on his face.  His smile didn’t falter when he saw my tears; I’m sure he expected them.  He did, however, hold his arms open to me and I wasted no time going to him.

   “You’ll be okay, baby.”

   And he was right.  I would be okay.  I hadn’t been for a while, but I’d pulled myself together over the last few months and tried to get to a normal place.  I did most of the hard work, but I was helped by Riot so much. My success was his victory too.  His support was invaluable to me.  I should be planning surprises for him, leading him on romantic treasure hunts, not the other way around.

   “I love you,” I said into his chest, trying to keep the tears under control.

   “I know,” he said as I pulled back to look at his face, his brilliant smile just sparkling all the more.  “I love you too.”

   I looked past him to see the most gorgeous sunset.  “Wow,” I said on a breath.  He turned his head to see what I was looking at, then turned himself and brought his arm around my shoulders, pulling me to his side.  I gladly went, wrapping my arms around his waist, resting my head against his chest.