I shake my head and back away, needing the space. God, he’s like an effing magnet.
He watches me closely for a moment and then shrugs. “Okay. Drive safe. Take that in
to the shop tomorrow.” He walks back to his car, lowers himself gracefully behind
the wheel and waits for me to drive off ahead of him.
Who knew that a rock star as famous as he is could be a gentleman?
Weird.
I offer him a wave and drive away, exhaling for the first time in thirty minutes.
That is one sexually potent man. No wonder he’s so damn famous.
And I am never going down that path again.
* * *
Olivia is perhaps the most perfect baby ever born, and she gets all her charm, intelligence
and good looks from her auntie Sammie.
And no one else on the face of the Earth had better ever call me Sammie.
I’m not usually one to cuddle babies, but oh how I adore this little girl. We are
all gathered at my mom and dad’s house, and by all, I mean the whole crew. All of
the Montgomerys are here with their kids, Luke and Nat and Livie, my youngest brother,
Mark. Even Brynna is here with her girls.
Will has tugged Meg into his lap on the couch and they’re laughing intimately. He
glances up at me and winks and I feel a glow in the pit of my stomach. To think that
just two years ago family dinners consisted of just the five of us. How boring! Now
we have this beautiful extended family. I wouldn’t change a thing, even if it did
lose me my job last week.
“Livie, you’re the most beautiful girl in the room. Yes, you are.” The sweet nine-month-old
giggles as I blow raspberries on her neck and clutches my hair in her tiny fist. “Uh
oh… let go of my hair, sweetie.”
She giggles some more and tugs my blonde strands into her mouth. “Ew. Do you know
how much product is in my hair, girlfriend? It’s definitely not edible.”
“Everything is going in her mouth these days,” Nat mutters and sits next to me on
the floor, our backs are resting against the love seat. “She’s also slobbering like
it’s going out of style. I think she’s cutting more teeth.”
As if on cue, Livie offers us a big grin, proudly showing us her four front teeth
and we laugh at her.
“She’s so sweet.” I kiss her cheek.
“Yeah, she is.” Nat’s green eyes shine as she looks from her daughter to me. “I hope
the next one is too,” she whispers.
What?
I gasp and almost drop the baby. “You’re not…?” I whisper back to her and she offers
me a small smile and a tiny nod, and then smiles lovingly over at Luke who has been
watching us.
“When are you going to announce it?” I ask. Another baby!
“After dinner, I think,” she replies as Luke sits next to me on my other side and
takes Livie from my arms.
“Hi baby girl,” he kisses her forehead and Livie lights up from the inside at seeing
her daddy. “So, did she tell you?” he asks softly so only I can hear.
“Yeah. Luke, I’m so happy for you.”
His soft blue eyes turn to mine, and I can read his thoughts. He waited so long for
this kind of happiness. He deserves every smile, every wonderful moment his family
brings him.
“Thank you,” he murmurs and kisses Liv’s head again. “I can’t wait anymore, baby.”
Natalie giggles. “Go ahead then.”
“Everyone, I have news.” Luke stands easily, the baby propped on his forearm and addresses
the room. Everyone quiets and turn their attention to him.
My gaze catches Leo’s from across the room. This is the first family event Meg has
talked him into attending. I wonder how he’s coping.
He winks at me, but I can see tension around his eyes.
We are one overwhelming group, even if you’re used to big, loud families, and I know
he isn’t.
My mom has already started to cry, anticipating what the news is. She’s right, as
usual.
“Natalie and I,” he pulls on Nat’s hand so she’s tucked into his side. “Are expecting
again.”
“Holy shit!” Caleb exclaims first, and the room explodes into activity of voices and
hugs and cheers.
“Jesus, what are you, a baby factory?” Jules asks with tears in her eyes as she jumps
up to hug Nat. “This is what happens when you keep doing all that gross stuff.”
“Yeah, well, we want a lot of kids,” Natalie murmurs with a grin, her eyes happy.
Luke laughs at Jules and kisses Nat square on, no-holds-barred, just for her benefit.
“Ew,” she scowls and backs away.
As everyone continues to celebrate the good news, I decide to slip out back and get
a breath of fresh air.
I love them all, but they are seriously a lot to take in, and I spend ninety percent
of my time alone, so the noise starts to get to me.
I grab a sweater from the mud room and slip out onto the covered back porch on my
parents’ house, take a deep breath, and lean on the railing looking out into the woods
at the back of their property.
“You needed a break too?”
***
~Leo~
“Holy shit!” She jumps and spins to look up at me, hand pressed against her chest,
bright blue eyes wide, and I have to grip the railing at my hips to keep myself from
crossing to her and kissing the hell out of her.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” I smile at her and watch the dialogue of decisions
running through that sexy head of hers. Should she smile? Scowl? Straighten those
shoulders?
I would love to try to knock that chip off her shoulder.
“I just needed a minute away from the noise.” She swallows and looks back out at the
trees. “Are you having fun?”
I smirk and cross my arms over my chest. “You have a great family, but it’s a lot
of activity for me.”
“You’re used to fifty thousand screaming fans in one room, Leo. I can’t imagine this
is too much activity for you.”
“That’s different. It’s my job.”
It’s my life.
“Well, this group is a lot to handle. Especially at one time.” She smiles softly at
me and then seems to remember to gather herself and look away.
Interesting.
“Meg wanted me to come, so here I am.” It’s the truth, and I’d do it again. Meg belongs
to this family now, so I’ll do what I can to fit in and make her happy.
Aside from my band, Meg-pie is my only family.
“That was nice of you.” She sneers over the word
nice
and I can’t help but laugh out right and cross to her.
“Believe it or not, doll, I can be nice.”
She shrugs and watches my hands as I grip the railing again. She watched my hands
the other day too, and I can’t help but wonder if the tats turn her on, or turn her
off.
There is usually no middle ground there, and I don’t give a fuck either way.
She takes a deep, shaky breath and looks up into my face, her eyes a little brighter
and pink lips slightly parted. Definitely turned on.
I can work with this.
I lift my hand to her cheek but she flinches, and I can’t help the surge of pure anger
at her reaction.
Who the fuck put that in her?
“Easy.” I pull some lint out of her hair and show it to her before letting it drop
to the ground.
“Sorry,” she whispers.
“So, what do you do for fun?” I ask.
“Why?” she asks, her eyes narrowed.
“Because I don’t know you very well, and we’re sharing a porch, so we might as well
have a conversation.”
God, she’s so cold.
What would it take to warm her up?
“I run.” She shrugs.
“Run?” I ask.
“Yes, you know, where you put on sneakers and move quickly in a forward motion?”
She’s fucking adorable when she’s being sarcastic.
She has a great, raspy voice, lower for a woman. She’s not squeaky at all. I can’t
imagine her ever yelling, “Wooot!” when she’s drunk.
Her voice is fucking amazing.
“I do understand the concept, yes, but what kind of running do you do?”
“Marathons.”
My eyes travel down her small, firm body. She’s skinnier than I usually like, but
she’s toned. I remember how her slim arms felt in my hands the other day and how light
she was to pull to her feet.
She loves to run.
So do I.
Maybe we have stuff in common after all. I wonder what kind of music she listens to.
“How long have you been running marathons?” I ask and motion for her to sit beside
me on the stairs.
“Since high school. I ran track, and there are some great marathons here in Seattle
throughout the year.”
“I know, I’ve run in some of them.” I nod and lean back on my elbows.
“You run too?” Her eyes are wide and happy, and I see those walls slowly begin to
come down.
“When I find time, yeah. I prefer running outside, but when we’re on tour I have to
take advantage of the hotel gyms.”
“I run outside too. Running on a treadmill is not the same thing.” She nods and offers
me a half smile and my breath leaves me. Samantha Williams is beautiful, with her
light blonde hair and big blue eyes, but when she smiles, she could make the gods
weep.
I might have to write a song about her smile.
“I usually run in the mornings before the city wakes up,” she adds and I frown down
at her.
“Where do you live?” I ask.
“Downtown,” she replies vaguely.
“Downtown in which city?” I ask with growing impatience.
“Seattle,” she responds and scowls at me. “Why?”
I have to take a deep breath before I yell at her. “Do you mean to tell me that you
run in downtown Seattle in the early morning? Do you have a partner?”
“Yes, I run in the early morning. Alone.”
I shake my head and run my hands down my face, trying to push down this sudden need
to protect this little spitfire.
“That’s dangerous,” I mutter.
“What, are you gonna be my bodyguard, Mr. Famous Rockstar?” She asks, her voice heavy
with sarcasm, and I can’t help but laugh at her. She’s funny, and smart.
“Actually, yeah, I think I will.” Well, that wipes the smirk off her face, and she
flounders for a second, her mouth dropping open and then closed, not sure what to
say, until finally she pulls herself together and eyes me warily.
“Sure. Okay, you wanna run with me, that’s fine. But I won’t slow my pace for you,
just so you know. You’ll have to keep up.”
“Okay.” I smile at her softly and inch closer to her.
“I usually run at 6:00 a.m., but,” she loses her train of thought as her eyes settle
on my lips, on my piercing. Yeah, she likes the tats and the metal.
And I like her. A lot.
“But?” I prompt her.
“Huh?” She looks up into my eyes, and then clears her throat and I can’t stop the
wide grin on my face as I watch her cheeks redden. “But since I don’t have to be at
work anymore, I figured I’d run at about seven. Is that too early for you? I figure
you probably go to bed around that time.”
“No, I’m a morning person,” I run my finger down her cheek, happy that this time she
leans into me rather than flinch. “I’ll be at your place at seven. Text me your address.”
“I don’t have your number,” she whispers.
“I have yours,” I murmur. “I’ll text you so you have mine.”
“Why do you have my number?” Her eyes are back on my mouth now, our breathing ragged.
“I asked Meg for it. I was going to call you to check on your car.”
“Oh.”
She licks her lips and I can’t stand it anymore. I cup her smooth neck in my hand,
my thumb firmly planted on her chin, and nibble the side of her mouth, sweep across
those plump, pink lips and nibble the other side and wonder if the lips of her pussy
are this pink.
She sighs with a low moan as I sink into her, persuading her mouth open with my tongue
and enjoy her. She’s sexy sunshine and I soak her in, enjoying every breath, every
tentative flick of her tongue against mine.
She grips onto my hips, anchoring herself against me, and I wrap my other arm around
the small of her back, pulling her tightly against me.
Her nipples pucker against my chest and I grin as I slow the kiss down, rub my nose
on hers, and kiss her forehead, still holding her.
“What was that?” she whispers.
“If you have to ask, I didn’t do it right.”
She chuckles, leans her forehead against my sternum and then leans back to look up
at me.
She’s so small.
“You know what I mean.”
I shrug, suddenly uncomfortable. All the men just inside the house would kick my ass
if they saw me holding her, kissing the shit out of her, and I couldn’t blame them.