Surprised By You (The By You Series)
Read Surprised By You (The By You Series) Online
Authors: Kelly Harper
Surprised By You
A
By You
Novella
by
Kelly Harper
SURPRISED BY YOU copyright 2014 by Kelly Harper
SURPRISED BY YOU is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.
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Table of Contents
Ever have one of
those
days? You know… the days when you realize that you probably should have just stayed in bed instead of heading out to conquer the world?
Yeah, you know what I’m talking about.
Well, I’m having one of
those
days.
All I wanted to do was something sweet for the sweetest man I know. You see, it’s a pretty big day for him and his band. They’re being interviewed by
Rolling Stone
and then they’re headlining the second night of the New Orleans Jazz Festival. This is an incredible opportunity for them, and I thought it would be nice to surprise him with a few little somethings of my own, just to let him know how proud of him I am.
That was how the day started, anyways.
Now I’m sitting here behind bars, watching police shuffle paperwork while trying not to make eye contact with the drunken vagrants sharing this cell with me. It’s incredible how fast things can get turned upside down. Some days it just feels like everything is just waiting for you to blink, and as soon as you do the world crumbles to pieces in front of your very eyes.
Since I’ve probably got a few hours to sit in this cell, I’ll go ahead and start at the beginning. This beginning starts out in the back of a tour bus, with the sweetest thing a love-struck girl could ever ask for…
His lips pressed into mine and my heart went soaring. It was the kind of kiss that happens toward the end of every good Meg Ryan movie. You know, the kind of kiss that makes you smile because you know everything is going to be alright, because you know the world just became a better place. It was that kind of kiss. It was every kind of kiss that I’d had for nearly two years.
What made this particular kiss so good?
For one thing, it was very unexpected. He was busy getting dressed, and I was busy watching him get dressed. Like I mentioned, it was a big day for him, and I was trying my hardest to stay out of the way. Besides, I had my own little devious plans swirling around in my head.
For another thing, the kiss was so good because I was in love with him.
Perfectly, faultlessly, and hopelessly in love with him.
Haden Cooper—the tattooed, rock star, love of my life—kissed me like there wasn’t another person in all of existence. Just the thought of it gets me all
swoony
, even now.
I kissed him back, stringing my fingers through the flowing lengths of his hair. His fingers curled around my slender hips as he pulled me hard against his body, against the excitement growing in his tight jeans.
My heart raced faster.
I locked gazes with him. His brilliant green eyes flashed, reading my mind.
“Do we have time?” I asked.
A grin spread across his boyish face. Boyish, despite the fact that he was all man. (Broad shoulders, big muscles, big packa… You get the idea.)
“Only one way to find out.”
Our hands became a blur as we furiously stripped off each other’s clothing. In hindsight, it would have been easier if we stripped ourselves, but where’s the fun in that? My grin spread from ear to ear. It had been
forever
since we’d been intimate.
At
least
a week.
And when you’re twenty years old, that’s practically a lifetime. Dating a rock star just isn’t what
Seventeen
would have you believe. It’s got its perks, but a girl can only handle so much teasing before she needs a little satisfaction.
I unbuttoned his jeans and ferociously tugged at them. Why did he have to look so devilish in those tight jeans? And why would they never come off fast enough?
We were moments from the good part when the Universe decided to throw its first rock into my day. Leave it up to the Universe to have impeccable timing.
Bang. Bang.
Two loud claps shook the tour bus seconds before the door opened and Bartlett bounded onboard. He was a scruffy, round man. Of course, his eyes went straight to the back of the bus, where we were in a most compromised position.
(Remember when I said we were about to get to the good stuff?)
I belted out a startled scream and leapt away, hoping to hide from Bartlett’s curious stares. My hands clutched at all of my exposed parts, which I probably should have done first. Heat blossomed on my cheeks with the realization that I’d just given the Road Manager a free peep show. Every roadie would have all the details within the hour.
Haden glared at him.
“What the hell, man? Can’t you knock?”
“I did.” Bartlett’s deep voice was flat. “You got five minutes, Coop. Gotta get you down there.”
“I thought the shoot wasn’t until two?”
“Hey, I don’t make the schedule, I just make sure you get where you need to be.”
Haden ran a frustrated hand through his long hair. He fixed Bartlett with another hard look.
“Give me a minute, will you? I’ll be right out.”
“Just a minute, Coop. Can’t be late, today.”
The tour bus shook as Bartlett’s heavy footsteps bounced down the steps. Haden didn’t turn back to me until the door latched shut.
He gave me a hesitant smile.
“I guess we didn’t have enough time, after all.”
“I guess not.”
My cheeks still burned as I watched him gather his discarded clothes. His bulging muscles flexed as he pulled his tight, army-green shirt on over his head. It only covered part of the tattoos snaking down both of his arms.
“We never get to spend time together anymore.”
I dipped and ducked to snatch my own clothes while trying to maintain some semblance of dignity. Haden moved closer and wrapped his huge arms around me as I clutched the clothes tight to my chest. I couldn’t help but notice the bulge still in his jeans.
“We’ll have more time to ourselves, soon.”
The corner of his mouth turned up into a faint smile. I shook my head, feeling selfish.
“I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s your big day, you shouldn’t be worrying about me.”
“Don’t say that, you know you’re the center of my world. You know, Green Falls isn’t far from New Orleans… Maybe we should pay your family a visit?”
(You see what I’m talking about? This guy is too sweet to me. You can’t make this stuff up.)
I beamed up at him.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
He pressed another deep kiss into my lips and I wanted to melt into him. Even after almost two years he could still make me swoon. A guy shouldn’t have that kind of power over a girl for so long, who’s to say how he’ll abuse it?
It’s just not safe.
When we broke apart, I put on my clothes while he grabbed the rest of his stuff.
“Hey babe, have you seen my guitar?”
My insides froze.
“Your guitar?”
Crap! He knows everything!
Haden shuffled things around in the tiny closet, as though the guitar might be hiding in a corner. I already knew it wasn’t. I knew, because I’d snuck it to my cousin, Sarah.
“The one you gave me,” he said, as though I didn’t know which guitar he was talking about. (Actually, he does have quite a few, now that I think about it.) “I haven’t seen it since we got to Nawlins.”
I cringed.
“Why do you keep calling it that?”
His brow rose, innocently.
“What? Nawlins?”
“I don’t even think the locals call it that.”
He held his palms out to the side and leaned forward.
“Babe, I’m a rock star. We
start
trends, we don’t
follow
them.”
I shook my head, still cringing.
“Start a different one. That one is tacky.”
He waved a hand at me, dismissively.
“Anyways, have you seen the guitar? I’m getting worried about it.”
Seriously, the man is like a bloodhound when it catches a scent. He could go weeks without playing that guitar, but now he needs it with him at all times? How is it possible that one man can be so infuriating?
“Maybe a roadie took it for the set?”
“Maybe…”
I needed to act quickly or he was going to get extra suspicious. The last thing I needed was an extra suspicious Haden Cooper all up in my grill. I just needed him to do his own thing for a few hours while I got my big surprise all worked out.
I moved closer to him. His long hair was soft to my touch as I forced his gaze on me. His big hands wrapped around mine and he gave me a warm smile.
“How did I get so lucky to find you?” I asked.
“Don’t say things like that. Do you want me blushing for
Rolling Stone
?”
“What if I do?”
“Then I guess they’ll have to use extra makeup.”
My stomach erupted in butterflies as he leaned down and pressed another kiss into me. I wanted to get lost in the kiss, and I could feel him slipping into it, too. It was perfect.
Time for Rock Number Two. The Universe can be even more infuriating than a man when it wants to be.
The door banged opened again as a thin, young blonde came bounding onto the bus. Her eyes were focused on the piece of paper in her hand, oblivious to the world around her.
“
Leland’s
said it should be ready by four,” she called out, still looking at the paper.
My insides twisted in panic.
“
Sarah!
” I barked.
My little cousin’s big round eyes snapped up, startled. Then they darted over to Haden as her cheeks turned a bright shade of red.
“Leland’s?” Haden asked. “Isn’t that the famous guitar shop in town?”
The entire world stilled around me. That was it. My big surprise was going to be ruined before I could even start working on it.
Thanks for nothing, Universe.
“Oh, no. Leland is a friend of mine,” Sarah said, quickly. “He’s helping with a gift for my boyfriend. I was just telling Maggie about it, earlier.”
My head bobbed, quickly, in agreement with Sarah’s cover story. For a few long seconds, I didn’t think Haden was going to buy it, but finally he tilted his head in a shrug and let the moment pass.
“So what trouble are you two ladies getting into today?”
“Oh, you know, girly stuff,” I said. “We’re going to wonder around the Festival and check out all the booths. I think the Avett Brothers are playing this afternoon.”
Haden cocked an eyebrow at me before fixing Sarah with a serious look.
“Now don’t you let her go eyeballing too many of those other bands,” he said, his tone concerned. “We both know she’s got a thing for rock stars.”
He held the flat look and my eyes widened. Could he really, seriously think I could ever possibly leave him for anyone else? I swear men can be such idiots sometimes! I fought down the urge to grab the nearest thing and throw it at his head.
Then, the corners of his lips tugged upward and he gave me that sly, devilish smirk that usually meant he was pulling a fast one on me.
I gasped and didn’t think twice before reaching for the pillow on the bed. I swung it around, violently, hitting him squarely in the shoulder. He barked out a laugh as I swung it over and over.
“You stupid man! Don’t even joke about things like that.”
Sarah was laughing right along with him. Haden’s chest rumbled with those deep laughs as he tangled my arms in his, pulling me tight against his body. Before I knew it, we were kissing again, and the world around me was swirling into nothingness.
Damn him for being so… him.
Sarah cleared her throat in a not-so-subtle way, and we broke apart. I shoved his shoulder one more time for good measure.
“You know I trust you completely,” he said, those green eyes of his trying their best to turn my insides to mush. (They usually do a pretty good job of it.) “I’ll see you after the set.”
“Maybe. If I don’t find another, sexier, rock star who’s an even better guitar player than you.”