Songbird (Songbird, #1) (38 page)

“So was the girl in the back room last week for show too?” I asked with a smirk, my eyebrows raised.

He chuckled softly. “No, she was for pleasure. Her pleasure more than mine, though. They all want to tell their friends they’ve been with the singer; sometimes they have bets on who I’ll choose. Who am I to disappoint?” He shrugged again. “I’ve heard that a couple of them even have a nickname for me.” The corner of his mouth twitched with an unexpressed smirk, and I knew he was referring to Kelli and me. And there was the smarmy Cole back again. Pity. I liked the other Cole a lot better.

I stayed cuddled up on Riley’s lap and he slowly relaxed again, as I tried to ignore Cole’s constant gaze, and focussed solely on my boyfriend. He was becoming playful again, the Riley I loved spending time with, and I was becoming increasingly flirtatious the more margaritas I drank.

“Can you put that sexy outfit on again when we get home?” he whispered cheekily, referring to the Naughty Santa outfit.

“Why? So you can tear it off me again?” I asked playfully.

My eyes flicked over to Cole. I hoped he hadn’t heard what we were saying, but he was watching us, and from the expression on his face, he had heard every word.

“No, I think I’ll leave it on this time, and work around it.” He nuzzled my neck, and I giggled at the sensation and returned my focus to Riley.

He was kissing my neck and collarbone and feeling very amorous, discreetly running his finger around the neckline of my top. Well, at least I thought it was discreetly until I heard Cole groan softly, and when I looked over I saw he was staring, transfixed on my cleavage.

Closing my eyes, I tried to block out Cole’s intense gaze and sighed contentedly at Riley’s caress. He kissed my jaw and followed the line around to my lips. I kissed him eagerly, loving the feel and taste of him.

“God, you two, get a room, will you? You are always at it.”

Opening my eyes, I looked at Cooper, who was watching us with a big cheeky grin on his face. “If I didn’t know better, Fox, I’d think you two were in love or something.”

“We are,” I said with a big smile, sparking a reaction around the table.

All at the same time, Jason cheered happily, and Marcus frowned and pushed his chair back to get up—he obviously thought it was too soon. Kelli smiled warmly at me, and Cole scoffed, which I thought was strange.

I looked at Cole’s face questioningly, annoyed by his reaction. He just shook his head at me, as if to say
don’t worry about it
, before draining the rest of his beer. I looked over at Marcus. He was watching Riley and me from the bar, still frowning.

What was going on with everyone?

I decided it was time to go; at least Riley was still in a good mood.

“I think we’ll go and find that room you suggested,” I said to Cooper with a wink as I took Riley’s hand, and we started to say our goodbyes.

I told Kelli and Cooper I would be in touch. It was Riley’s birthday the following week, and I had something in mind for the four of us. I gave Jason a big hug, then turned to Cassie and Sami, and hugged them both at the same time with one arm each.

I found Jay packing up his violin and hugged him, thanking him for playing the carols with me. He apologised again for bringing Cole, and I told him again not to worry about it.

I went over to Marcus, folded my arms at him and raised one eyebrow, conveying my disapproval at his reaction. He shrugged and pulled me into an embrace, which I gladly returned.

Lastly, I turned to Cole. He stood and held his arms out to the sides, waiting for his hug with a sexy grin on his face.

“Can I get another one?” he asked. “Or would two in the same day be too much to hope for?”

I remembered what had happened the last time we’d hugged and the “boner” comment, so I decided on a quick friendly hug where our bodies wouldn’t actually touch. He tried to pull me in tight, but I pushed back against his arm, trying to keep some distance between us.

He chuckled softly in my ear. “What’s wrong, Fox? Scared of getting too close to me?”

It was like a red rag to a bull and I stepped in defiantly, allowing him to engulf me in his arms.

“Hmm, much better,” he growled into my ear before kissing me lightly on the neck, and pressing up against me.

“That’s enough,” Riley snapped, grabbing Cole’s arm and pulling him away from me. “Keep your hands to yourself. She’s not one of your groupies.”

Cole turned and stood dangerously close to Riley. Cole was taller and a bigger build, but I knew Riley was trained, and could take him down if he wanted to. Riley’s jaw was clenched tight as he stared icily into Cole’s eyes. One slight move from either of them and it would be on, and I wouldn’t be able to stop it.

“Riley, babe,” I said quietly, “please let it go.”

His eyes flicked over towards me, but then returned to Cole. “Sorry, Tara, not this time. He needs to apologise. He has no respect for you, or for us.”

Cooper was coming around the table, preparing for the worst. Everyone else was just standing back with mouths open, waiting to see what would happen.

Cole opened his mouth to speak, and I hoped he was going to do the right thing. Of course, I hoped for too much.

“How much longer are you here this time?” He goaded Riley. “Be leaving soon, I expect, leaving Tara all alone again. I can wait,” he said, smirking.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said, stepping right beside them.

They both looked at me, and I glared at Cole before turning lovingly to Riley. “It doesn’t matter how long you’re away. I’ll wait for you,” I told him. Putting one hand on Riley’s arm, I lightly stroked his bicep as I looked deep into his eyes. “As long as you promise to come back to me, I would wait an eternity for you, because I love you, and I have faith in us.” I gave him a half smile. “You’re it for me, too.”

It was something that Riley had said to me the first time he’d told me he loved me, and it was all I needed to say. Riley’s face immediately softened and he raised his hands to my cheeks, and then touched his forehead to mine.

“I love you so much. I can’t lose you,” he whispered so softly I could barely hear him.

“You’re not going to,” I whispered back.

Kissing him softly on the lips, I ran my hands up around the back of his neck, running my fingers through his hair. He melted into the kiss, the full length of our bodies touching as the kiss deepened. We stayed there, tasting each other, until I slowly pulled my lips away from his.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “No more jealousy. I trust you.”

I smiled at the man I loved, and then turned. Cole was still standing behind us, watching our exchange with a curious expression.

I looked up into his face, absolutely livid, and he exhaled loudly. “I’m sorry, Tara. I guess I really don’t have a chance,” he said, his emerald eyes studying my face. “Pity.”

His voice was soft and deflated, and although he had been totally in the wrong, it made me sad.

The anger that I had felt toward him melted away. Instead of ripping into him as I had planned to, I looked into his eyes and just saw a lonely little boy looking back at me.

“No more; do you understand?” I said, as if I were chastising a child. “If you want to be friends, you need to start acting like a friend, and stop treating me like prey.”

I didn’t know which way this was going to go. Did he even want to be my friend?

He nodded. “Okay, friend, I’ll give it a shot.” He held his arms out. “Can I have a friendly hug?”

I hesitated for a moment.

“You hug Jay and Marcus all the time. If we’re friends, you can hug me in the same way.”

His arms were still held out to the sides, which made him look like a mountain of a man, but the lonely little boy was still in his eyes, almost pleading to be embraced.

Stepping in, I threw my arms around my friend’s shoulders. His arms wrapped all the way around my back pulling me in tight, but the Cole I had hugged before was gone. The Cole that had given me butterflies and made my heart race had put up a brick wall, because I had told him I just wanted to be friends.

It was the most platonic hug I had ever had, and it made me want to cry.

Cole lifted his head and looked down at me, his eyes full of sadness. “Is this what you really want?” he asked.

I hesitated for a moment. Every fibre of my being was shouting that no, this wasn’t what I wanted, but I couldn’t tell him that. I couldn’t tell him that a part of me wanted so much more, because it would mean we could never be friends and spend time together. I thought of Riley. I loved him, and he loved me; anything other than friendship with Cole would break Riley’s heart.

Nodding my head slightly, I couldn’t meet his eyes. “Yes,” I said uncertainly, “this is what I want.”

I rested my head on his chest again. I didn’t want to let go. I had been so mean to him earlier at the piano, and again now. I was trying to push him away because what I really wanted would destroy my relationship with Riley.

I could feel his breath on my neck as he whispered, “I’ll still remember the night we met as the night that changed my life. You’re my exception to every rule.”

I gripped tight around his neck as tears stung my eyes. I stood up on tippy-toes and whispered in his ear, “I remember everything about the night we met. Your passion for music, the way it felt when you touched my hand … I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I still can’t.”

Then I quickly stepped away, and taking Riley’s hand, left without looking back.

R
ILEY WAS
staying with me for another week, and I was determined to fit as much in as we could. I had the crazy idea that we needed to build memories together, and while most couples had all the time in the world, I felt like we had to cram it all in as quickly as possible.

I had written out a list of ideas and researched them all thoroughly. It was part of my job as an Executive Assistant to organise conferences and large events, and it was something that I loved doing. It seemed only natural that organising flowed into my personal life without much consideration.

I sat down with Riley on Boxing Day morning as we were eating breakfast out on the balcony, and asked him what he would like to do for the next week. He shrugged, and then gave me a cheeky grin, obviously having one very clear idea in mind. I chuckled, and told him there would definitely be plenty of time for that. I then ran through some of the suggestions, and watched his reaction to gauge his interest.

The one thing that was a clear winner was the one thing that I really didn’t want to do, and had almost not mentioned at all. My parents had a beachfront holiday house, and as an afterthought, I had added it to the list as a possible getaway location.

It would mean having to see my parents to get the keys to the house, which would probably entail having to endure a lunch with them, and introducing them to Riley. But Riley was keen to have some relaxation time together, so I took a deep breath and picked up the phone.

I quickly spoke to my mother, and asked her very politely if I could please use the holiday house for a few days. She wanted to know every detail about who was going with me, and of course when I mentioned Riley, wanted to know who he was and all about his “breeding”. I told her he was from Perth, so she wouldn’t know his family anyway, and that he was in the military. That went down like a lead balloon. The prospect of having me involved in a military life was not that appealing to her.