With Me in Seattle Bundle One (133 page)

~Leo~

Sam is pacing in my bedroom, her phone pressed to her ear. It’s started to rain. Not a light, soft rain, but a pounding, all-consuming rain that seems to have a life of its own. It sounds like drums on my roof and almost obscures the view of the water.

I rock in my chair, in time with the music of the rain, and think about the small woman with the enormous personality in my bedroom. She’s bloody amazing. Her strength, her big heart, her loyalty, all bring me to my knees.

I can’t get enough of her.

The glass door opens, and Sam slips out onto the balcony.

“Well?” I ask.

“They turned me down.” She shrugs, her gorgeous face sad and maybe a little scared.

If you’ll let me, I’ll take care of you and you’ll never have to work again.

“Come here, baby.” I take her hand in mine and pull her into my lap. She settles her cheek against my chest, and I wrap my arms around her, rocking her gently. “Just rock with me for a while.”

She smiles up at me softly, most likely remembering the last time I said those words to her and we made love in my chair.

“I don’t know why I’m sad. I don’t think I wanted that job anyway. You were right, I don’t want to move to LA.”

“Rejection sucks,” I mutter and kiss her soft blond hair.

“Yeah,” she agrees.

“I’m kind of glad you didn’t get it,” I admit. “I don’t want you to move out of Seattle either. I think I’m going to sell this place and move up there.” I frown and watch the rain around us, my mind wandering. “This place has never felt like home. You said it yourself, it’s not exactly me.”

“Hmm…” she agrees and snuggles down closer to me. God, she feels perfect in my arms.

“I’m tired of traveling so much. I can probably arrange it so we only tour about three months out of the year. They would be three solid months, with no breaks, but then the rest of the time I’d be able to be home. The guys would like that, too. Especially Gary and DJ, since they have families.”

“When is Lori due?” she asks quietly.

“Next month. We’re all getting too old for touring all year long anyway. It’s not like we need the money.”

“It’s good that you can be choosy,” she agrees.

I nod and kiss her again. I can’t stop kissing her sweet honey-scented hair.

Fuck, I have it bad.

“It’ll be good to be near Meg, too. Keep an eye on her.”

“Wait.” She sits up and frowns at me. “Why all these big life changes?”

“Oh, sunshine,” I whisper and smile gently. “Haven’t you figured out that I’m completely in love with you?”

Her eyes go wide, and her hands grip on to my shirt, and for the first time since I met her, I think she’s speechless.

“You had to know that, baby.” I kiss her forehead and cup her face in my hands. “I don’t bring women around my band. I don’t write songs for girls. I don’t bring them here. I certainly don’t talk about my family with just anyone. I love you, Samantha.”

“Oh wow,” she whispers and drags her fingers down my face, watching my eyes with her beautiful, bright blue ones. “I’m afraid to fall.”

“I’ll catch you, baby.”

She blinks and swallows hard, her brain in overdrive. We sit quietly, listening to the rain, as she processes her thoughts. I expected this from her. She’s not a girl who would squeal and throw herself at me, screaming her love for me.

That’s not how she works, and that’s just one of the many things I love about her.

“I love you, too,” she whispers, so quietly I can barely hear her through the rain.

I tip her chin up with my finger, forcing her to look me in the eye. “What was that?”

“I love you, too,” she repeats, louder this time. “You scare me.”

“Good, ’cause you terrify the hell out of me.” I laugh and pull her in. “But being without you scares me more.”

“Are you really moving to Seattle permanently?” she asks, her face hopeful and happy.

“Yeah.”

“You’re not living with me.” She scowls suddenly, making me bust out laughing. “We’re not ready for that.”

“Last time I checked, I have my own place,” I remind her.

“I guess this means I’d better find a job in Seattle,” she murmurs and kisses my cheek sweetly.

“It would be convenient,” I agree.

“What about when you’re on tour?” Her brows are pulled together in a frown, and I rub the soft skin with my thumb.

“If you’re not busy, you can come with me. If you can’t come along, we’ll survive it.”

She nods and smiles. “No more ugly Malibu house?”

“No.” I laugh and hug her close. “I’m selling the ugly Malibu house.”

“Thank Christ.”

Chapter Eighteen

~Samantha~

“You’re here!” A pretty blonde jumps out of an Adirondack chair on the patio by the pool and runs for Leo and I. “You are Sam,” she informs me and throws her arms around me, hugging me tight.

“Yes, I am.” I look around the pool area of Gary and Lori’s gorgeous home. It’s amazing to me how quickly the weather changes down here. Just a few hours ago we were listening to the rain on Leo’s porch, and now it’s sunny and warm again.

Lori’s laughing eyes meet mine and I mouth, “Help!” to her, but she just laughs harder.

Traitor.

“I’m Cher.” She pulls back and grins. “Lori was right, you’re hot. She’s hot,” she says to Leo, who is laughing his ass off next to me.

“Yep, she is,” he agrees.

DJ, with his tall Mohawk, joins us and wraps his arm around Cher’s shoulders. “Cher is my wife.” He grins lovingly down at her. “She’s been excited to meet you.”

“Leo never brings women around to meet us.”

“Really?” Leo asks loudly. “Are we going to go through this every damn time?”

“Well, now she’s met everyone.” Jake snickers.

“Come sit with us.” Cher grabs my hand and pulls me over to the shaded patio where Lori is resting, her hands rubbing her belly, and motions for me to sit. I look back over my shoulder, and Leo is watching me, his eyes happy.

He loves me.

He shrugs and takes the beer DJ offers him and wanders over to hang out with the other guys standing near the grill.

There are a few things I know for certain in this life, and one of them is men can always be found near the grill.

Gary is grilling, the other guys are in chairs or standing around, sipping beers from the bottle and laughing. Eric is holding a sweet little boy, around two years old, making faces at him and grinning.

The world-famous rock band Nash is just a bunch of normal people.

“I’m glad you’re here.” Lori smiles.

“Thanks for having me,” I respond and glance around her lush backyard. “You have a lovely home.”

It’s true. The pool is kidney-shaped and large, with an attached hot tub at one end. The entire space is covered in cobblestone, with a huge outdoor fireplace at one end, surrounded with plush furniture. A large child’s play area with swings, a slide, and a tree house take up another corner. The patio we’re sitting on, twice the square footage of my apartment, is covered and also furnished with comfortable and colorful chairs and tables. The guys and the grill are about twenty feet away, also on the patio.

“Thank you,” Lori responds with a smile. “We don’t get to spend much time here, so when we’re home, we enjoy having everyone over.”

“I can’t believe how big Maddox has gotten,” Cher comments, pointing to the little boy on Eric’s lap.

“I know, he’s growing like a weed,” Lori agrees. “That’s our son, Maddox,” she tells me.

“He’s adorable.”

“I want to talk to you guys about something,” Leo begins, and everyone frowns at him.

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of taking on another leg of tour dates right now.” Lori scowls, her voice hard. “In case you didn’t notice, I’m about to give birth.”

“No.” Leo shakes his head and glances at me, then at his guys. “In fact, I’d like to talk to you guys about cutting back on touring.”

“Thank God,” Gary mutters and runs his fingers through his hair.

“Why?’ Jake asks and takes a swig of his beer.

“I don’t want to quit,” Leo clarifies. “I’m thinking about just cutting our touring down to a few months a year, and the rest of the year working on albums, writing, working with other artists, stuff like that.”

The guys all exchange glances. Cher and Lori are literally holding their breath, tightly holding hands.

“That’s not a bad idea,” DJ responds. “We’re not twenty-two anymore.”

“We can do special appearances now and then, awards shows, shit like that,” Eric agrees.

“I can play with my kids,” Gary adds and exhales. “Honestly, I’m ready to slow it down a bit.”

“I need all of us to be on the same page.” Leo stuffs his hands in his pockets, his face worried. “You guys are my family. We do this together or not at all.”

I didn’t think I could love him any more than I already did, and then he goes and says stuff like that. I understand family.

All eyes turn to Jake, and he shrugs. “Yeah, slowing down might be good. We’d be able to record more often.”

“Maybe you’ll settle down,” Gary suggests, but Jake smirks.

“Let’s not go crazy.”

“One more thing,” Leo adds as Gary flips steaks on the grill. “I’m relocating to Seattle permanently. I don’t expect DJ and Gary to follow, but I want to let you know.”

Silence. After a few seconds, everyone starts to laugh, including Lori and Cher.

“What the fuck is so funny?” Leo demands.

“We had bets on how long you’d last in that horrible house of yours,” Cher informs him as she wipes tears from the corners of her eyes. “I lost the bet a year ago.”

“Everyone hates your house?” I ask in surprise.

“Oh, honey, it’s awful.” Lori rolls her eyes, and I smile at her.

“I know. I’m thankful he’s selling it.”

“I bought it for the view,” Leo reminds us all and then laughs with everyone else. “Yeah, it’s horrible.”

“I wouldn’t mind moving to Seattle,” Cher murmurs, her big brown eyes watching DJ.

“We can look into it,” he agrees.

“I hate LA. Please, God, tell me we can move, too,” Lori begs her handsome husband.

“You hate LA?” he asks, surprised.

“Yes! Let’s move before Maddox starts school and we don’t want to uproot him.”

“I guess we’re all moving to Seattle and becoming boring suburbanites,” Gary mutters.

“Speak for yourself, man. I’m no suburbanite.” Eric holds his hands up and shakes his head.

“Says the man with a baby on his knee,” DJ quips.

“You’re a dick,” Eric throws back at him.

“Dick!” Maddox yells with a wide smile.

“Ah hell,” Lori mutters. “Stop teaching my kid all the swear words.”

“His uncles are all musicians,” Leo reminds her. “It’s inevitable that he has a potty mouth.”

“But does it have to be as a toddler?”

“Dick!” Maddox yells again and claps his chubby little hands.

“My kid is going to be the one who has detention every day after school because he cusses in class,” Lori complains, earning smirks from the guys.

“How long have you been married?” I ask Cher.

“Ten years,” she replies and laughs at my surprised look. “Or, in rock band years, fifty.”

“Good for you guys.” I feel hope spring. These women have made their relationships work with their famous husbands. Maybe it won’t be that hard.

Maybe I’ll be twenty-five again tomorrow.

“Not easy,” Cher concedes and watches her husband with happy eyes. “But worth it. It’ll be so nice to have him home more. Maybe we’ll actually have a baby.”

“No kids?” I ask.

She shakes her head no, and her eyes soften. “I can’t have kids,” she confides, her voice low. “But we want to adopt.”

“I’ve told you before, I’ll be a surrogate for you,” Lori reminds her. “I seem to be a baby-making machine.”

“You’re crazy.” Cher laughs.

“Better yet”—Lori takes a crying Maddox from Eric—“you can have this one. He’s slightly used, but he has his cute moments.”

“How about you, Sam? Do you want kids?” Cher asks, and it suddenly feels like everyone, including the guys and little baby Maddox, have gone quiet, waiting for my response.

“Uh, no, I don’t really want kids of my own. My brother and his wife have one and another on the way, and I have extended family with kids. I like being the fabulous aunt, and then sending them back home hopped up on sugar and rated-R movies.”

Leo’s eyes are trained on mine, his face calm and relaxed, but I can’t read him. Finally, he smiles softly at me.

“Sam is a really great aunt,” he murmurs. “But we’re on the same page when it comes to kids.”

“Well, then, there’s no need to have sex,” Lori comments, and bites her lip as she tries not to laugh.

“True,” I agree and nod thoughtfully. “It’s a good thing he’s horrible in bed.”

Leo’s eyebrows climb into his messy hairline, and all the guys laugh, doubled over.

“Oh man, I knew it!” Eric points at him and then slaps his knee.

“Is that so?” Leo asks me, sets his beer down on a table, and saunters over to me.

I shrug and clench my lips together, fighting laughter.

“I think”—he grips my hand and pulls me to my feet, then bends and lifts me onto his shoulders—“you deserve to be punished for that.”

“Oh shit, Leo do
not
throw me in the pool! I don’t have any other clothes with me!”

“Too late!”

And suddenly I’m flying through the air and into the warm water with a loud splash. I kick my way to the surface, sputtering and pushing my hair out of my face, glaring up at the impossibly handsome man laughing down at me.

“You’re an ass!” I hiss at him.

“Ass!” Maddox repeats, earning more laughter.

“Here, I’ll pull you out.” Leo squats by the side of the pool and offers me his hand. I reach up and take it, plant my foot on the side of the pool, and yank him into the water with me, much to the delight of our audience.

Before I can turn around, I’m yanked under, and then tugged back to the surface so I can catch my breath.

Leo’s face is inches from my own, his hair wet and pressed to his scalp. Water is dripping down his face, off the piercings in his ear and eyebrow, his plain black tee clinging to his shoulders.