Avery"s mouth dropped open at the sight of the beyond-luxury vehicle. "Holy s.h.i.t, Grey, is this yours?"
She didn"t blink at the unladylike words coming out of her mouth. Her brothers knew and had taught her cars, and this was a car.
A s.e.xy, proud smile lifted his lips, making him look like the much younger Grey she remembered. Boys and their toys, she thought. Although in Grey"s case, she understood the fascination. Unlike Avery, who"d grown up with luxury, Grey"s past hadn"t been nearly as easy, and he"d worked d.a.m.ned hard for every dollar he"d earned as a musician.
"Couldn"t resist." He gestured toward the car. "For the last few years, I"ve been touring so much I didn"t bother with a ride." He shrugged. "I figured I owed myself."
He opened the car door for her, and she climbed inside before he joined her from the driver"s side. Plush leather surrounded her. Not even her BMW came close to this kind of comfort, and she wriggled her behind into the seat and groaned. "G.o.d, it"s like heaven."
He slammed his door shut and shot her a dark look. "This is a get-to-know-you-again dinner, right?"
She met his gaze and nodded.
"Then don"t f.u.c.king purr like a kitten needing to be stroked. A lot of years might have pa.s.sed, but you still do it for me," he said, his words very much a warning as he turned the ignition on.
Holy c.r.a.p. She didn"t know how to respond to that. The old Grey had been shyer when it came to expressing his feelings. This man was sure of himself in every way, and d.a.m.ned if she didn"t find it s.e.xy. Not to mention the huge rush of happiness swirling inside her at the knowledge that she still affected him so strongly ... even as her brain reminded her to keep him in the friend zone.
"I"d put the top down, but it looks like rain," he said in a calmer tone. "And I remember how much you hate having your hair messed up after you"ve taken the time to do it right." He grinned at her then, his mood lightened.
He pulled out of the parking lot, the car"s motor revving so that everyone within a good mile could hear. He drove to the strip mall where Tino"s was located. Some of the shops and restaurants had changed names, others remained the same, but the overall familiarity warmed her. He parked in a fortuitous open spot out front and cut the engine.
"Do the parking G.o.ds always smile on you?" she asked.
He grinned, "Sometimes. Others you have to call ahead."
She shook her head and laughed at his obvious willingness to use his star status to secure parking. For that, she couldn"t blame him. Not when he"d be leaving a two-hundred-thousand-dollar car somewhere where it would be in danger of being vandalized. She doubted Tino minded clearing his prized spot out for Grey.
He hopped out of the car and headed to her side, grabbing her door just as she opened it. Before she could walk ahead, he grasped her hand, the familiar gesture taking her off guard as his large hand wrapped around hers. Sparks of awareness p.r.i.c.kled her skin at his touch, arousing conflicting feelings-the sweet pleasure at being with him again and a s.e.xual charge she couldn"t deny.
"I can"t believe you picked Tino"s," she murmured.
His deep green gaze bored into hers. "Do you think I"d forget our first date?"
He"d remembered. Warmth slid through her veins like liquid honey, softening her toward him.
He brushed his knuckles down her cheek, and she shivered, her nipples puckering beneath her dress. "I want you to remember the good things about us. Not just the s.h.i.t that comes with being part of Tangled Royal."
And with him, but she opted not to mention it now. As they stepped into the restaurant, the scent of garlic brought back really good memories. She"d always loved Tino"s and hadn"t been back in years. It seemed fitting she returned with Grey.
"Welcome!" Tino walked toward them, a short man with bushy dark hair now flecked with strands of grey and the same mustache he"d always sported covering his face. "So good to have you back home." He pulled Grey into a man-hug, then turned his gaze on Avery. "And you! Bellisima," he said, kissing both her cheeks.
"Remember, a private table in the back," Grey said to him.
"Not a problem. I didn"t tell anyone you were coming in. Of course someone"s bound to notice, but hopefully not till you finish your meal. Come." Tino pulled out two menus and gestured for them to follow, turning and walking to the back.
Grey watched Avery, who had an amused smile on her lush pink lips. Lips he couldn"t stop staring at. Or wanting to taste.
She followed Tino, and Grey placed a hand on her lower back for a moment before joining her, a step behind. Her flowing dress ended mid-thigh, her long, tanned legs accentuated by the flow of the material as she walked. She was even more beautiful than he"d remembered.
She"d opened her door, and he"d been struck speechless. His Avery had long dark hair that usually hung straight down her back. This Avery had chunky blonde highlights, a slight fringe of bangs, and her hair fell in soft waves around her beautiful face, her violet-blue eyes large and sparkling. Even when they were teens, her long limbs would tan, but she"d always protect her face with sunscreen. Some things hadn"t changed. Too many had.
"Here you go. Privacy," Tino said. "I"ll keep the booth behind you free, so that should help."
"You"re a good guy," Grey said.
"This from the man who sent my son an acoustic guitar for Christmas? You gained a fan for life," the older man said.
"I didn"t do it for that reason. You mentioned he wanted to learn." Grey didn"t want to make a big deal out of the gift.
Tino winked at Avery and said, "I"ll send a waitress over for drinks."
"You and Tino kept in touch?" Grey heard the surprise and maybe a hint of hurt in her tone, because they hadn"t.
His stomach cramped at the thought of hurting her, but at the time, he"d had no choice but to get out. Leaving her hadn"t been easy, but making something of himself had been necessary. For so many reasons.
"I came back a couple of years after we formed the band. Saw my mom and stepdad and stopped by here. I met Tino"s family." He shrugged, trying to make it like it was no big deal. "We kept in touch after."
"That"s sweet. How is your family?" she asked.
"Good. I had to fight with Mom and Ricardo in order to get them to let me buy them a house in a better neighborhood."
"They"re proud people," Avery said, seeming to comprehend.
Grey didn"t. He never had understood his parents. Any of them.
His real father had been a true a.s.shole, an academic who"d judged his son, found him lacking, and never let him forget he didn"t measure up. When he"d died, Grey"d been twelve. He"d left Susie Kingston with nothing. No insurance, no way of raising her kids, so she"d gotten a job cleaning homes to support them. Eventually she"d remarried, Ricardo Mendez, a nice man who"d stepped in as a father figure to Grey and his older sister. But he was employed as a janitor at the high school, and since kids were cruel, that had made Grey"s life d.a.m.ned hard.
"Mom wanted to stay in her old house, but eventually they agreed to move to a small house, nothing huge. And they still kept their old jobs." Which Grey also had never understood and still didn"t.
"I"m glad you were able to do something for them," she murmured.
"Yeah, me too."
A young waitress came to take their order. She couldn"t be more than seventeen and paused at the table, her eyes wide as they lit on him.
"Hi." The word came out like a squeak. "Can I get you drinks?" she asked without meeting his gaze, but her hand shook as it hovered over her notepad. Clearly Tino had warned her not to draw attention to who he was.
Grey gestured to Avery. "What do you want to drink?"
"I"ll have a Diet c.o.ke."
"Bud Light for me," Grey said, smiling at the girl who"d finally looked at him, trying to put her at ease. "Do you still eat vegetarian pizza?" he asked Avery.
She grinned, obviously pleased by his memory. There was little about her he"d forgotten. "Yes. Please."
"Large pie, half pepperoni, half vegetarian," he said, handing the girl the menus.
She nodded, scribbled on the paper, and rushed away.
"Poor kid. I think she"s star struck," Avery said, laughing.
At the sound of her laughter, Grey released the tension he"d felt talking about his family. Her good humor acted like a kick in the groin, tugging on all sorts of memories, many of them involving them sneaking around to find a place to have s.e.x, her soft laughter inflaming his need even back then.
"Tino probably put the fear of G.o.d in her not to react." He"d make it up to the girl with a nice tip.
Silence once again descended around them, but Grey was determined to keep things comfortable. Normal. He sensed that normal was the key to unlocking his Avery again.
"So. How did you become a successful YouTube blogger?" he asked, wanting to hear all about her.
She shrugged. "In college, my friends liked how I did makeup, how I dressed. I don"t know. Maybe I had an eye from watching television, reading magazines, and paying attention to social media and pop culture. After a while, their friends from home wanted instruction too, so I would do videos and post them to YouTube, and things caught on."
She shrugged as if it were no big deal. "I started running ads on my site, making some money, and retailers started to send me items to test and post my opinion," she said with a grin, her pride in herself obvious.
He was equally proud of her.
She continued to talk some more, and he listened, fascinated by her expressive voice and features, just so d.a.m.ned happy to be here with Avery, alone, with n.o.body from his other life pulling at him or wanting him to be anything more than who he was. That"s what Avery gave him and always had, the same sense of normal he"d run away from. He needed it now. Craved it like he did music.
Like he did her. They might not know one another well anymore, but he sensed the heart and soul of her hadn"t changed. The rest, just details, would come. One thing he knew for sure, their physical attraction hadn"t waned. If anything, it had grown stronger.
His c.o.c.k was completely aware of her, the new scent of vanilla that would now fill his car as much as it already had his senses. And this confident, competent woman sitting in front of him was appealing to him in so many ways.
"I didn"t plan on it as a career, but I love it," she said.
He braced his arms on the table and leaned across. "I"ve watched your videos and read your blog. You"re amazing."
Her eyes sparkled with satisfaction. "I know you did, because those gifts were hand-picked to perfection. Thank you for that."
"Anything for you."
The waitress returned and served their drinks, disappearing again without speaking.
Avery bent down. She pursed her lips around the straw and pulled a long sip of her drink, causing her throat to move up and down. He stared at her slender neck and the long expanse of skin, so enticing. He remembered kissing that soft spot above her collarbone, suckling hard and leaving a mark that she"d had to wear a scarf to cover. Otherwise her brothers would have come and beaten the s.h.i.t out of him. He"d had that tendency to want to claim her even then.
He laughed at the memory, and her eyes flew to his. "What"s so funny?"
He met her gaze and grinned. "Just remembering something."
"What?"
"The hickeys I used to give you and how hard you"d try to cover them to protect me from your brothers."
She choked on the soda she"d just sipped. "Oh my G.o.d!" Her hand flew to her mouth. "Grey!" she said, horrified.
"What?" He attempted to sound innocent. "If you"re drawing a blank, I"d be happy to refresh your memory." He wanted to mark her again. In places that were far from her neck, like the sensitive skin on her thigh right before his tongue swiped her c.l.i.t.
He clenched his jaw and shut off that train of thought.
Her cheeks had turned a healthy pink at the thought of old hickeys, and she met his gaze, her eyes darkening at the very idea he"d planted in her brain. Good. He wanted her as hot for him as he was for her. But no way was she ready for what he wanted to do to her now. His c.o.c.k swelled thicker in his jeans. Yep. Nothing had changed in that area.
"Pizza"s here," Tino said, bringing out the food himself. The waitress followed with plates and utensils, and then they were alone again.
While they ate, they talked. Grey kept the conversation neutral, telling her about his friends and band mates, about Milo and his ongoing stint in rehab. She explained how she"d lived with her sister until Olivia had married and Avery"s old friend Ella had moved in. Conversation was comfortable and easy with the occasional hint of s.e.xual awareness thrown in for good measure.
He was doing a good job of convincing her that their chemistry was still intact when word spread that Grey Kingston was here.
They were interrupted by people from town who remembered him and fans who wanted autographs, friends from high school, people who knew Grey"s parents, an old math teacher ... The list went on. And though Tino did his best to keep people moving on, Grey knew this came with the territory. It wouldn"t matter if he"d chosen a five-star restaurant or Tino"s for its memories, the fans would find him.
As much as he resented the intrusion, he understood that these people had made him who he was, given him the fame he"d sought and the money he"d needed to prove himself-to himself and to his long-dead father, Julius, who"d convinced him he"d never amount to anything, unlike his dad, a college professor, and Grey"s academic, brainiac sister, Julia, named after him, of course. Lucky for dear old dad, Julia lived up to the name. It wasn"t her fault Grey had never measured up in their father"s eyes. So though he might want a more normal life now, that didn"t negate what fame had meant to him. Still meant.
Despite wanting to be alone with Avery, he had obligations and catered to the fans. He talked, signed autographs, and took the requisite selfie ... until finally Tino stood on a chair and yelled, "Show"s over. Give the man some privacy to be with his lady."
The crowd dispersed slowly, and Grey glanced across the table. Avery sat curled into the corner of the booth, knees up, her sole focus on her phone. He didn"t know if she was texting, browsing, or what, but she definitely wasn"t happy.
Neither was he.
"Once people get used to the idea that I live here now, s.h.i.t like this will die down."
She shot him a disbelieving look.
f.u.c.k. He slid from the booth, took out his wallet, and pulled out some bills, tossing them on the table. "Let"s go."
"Where?" she asked.
"Somewhere completely private."
From the minute Avery had lost Grey"s attention, she"d been ready to leave. Not because she was a child who couldn"t share her toy but because the influx of people into their private dinner had stirred up a mix of emotions. She still hated huge crowds and curled into herself at the thought of being surrounded by strangers-unlike Grey, who thrived on the attention. It didn"t matter how well they clicked, how easily they"d reconnected and shared information about their lives, how much she desired him, the chasm between them couldn"t be wider.
She vividly remembered walking out of the hospital after she"d donated her bone marrow, her mom tightly holding her hand, her father still inside with Sienna, when the flash of cameras had blinded her.
Emma, why isn"t your husband with you?
Emma, is your husband"s illegitimate family more important to him than you and your children?
Emma, how does it feel to be cheated on and lied to in such a spectacular fashion?
These days Avery thought of her father as Miami"s version of Donald Trump with a dose of near-bigamy thrown in. Back then, she hadn"t been prepared for the media attention. Her mother had tried to push her through the crowd, but it hadn"t been easy and had taken a long time. Or it"d felt like it had. By the time they"d reached their car, Avery couldn"t breathe. She"d seen spots in front of her eyes, her knees had buckled, and she"d hit the ground hard.
She"d come to in a cold, sterile hospital room, her mom"s worried face hovering over hers. The doctors explained she"d had a panic attack. And when she"d returned to school, the incidents had only gotten worse. Teenagers were mean on a normal day. Give them a subject like a dad who had a whole other family and things had gotten downright ugly for all the Dare kids.
Even at nine years old, Avery had felt the pain of being the center of attention and being made fun of, and she"d hated it. The panic attacks had begun to occur more regularly, and she"d had to go see a psychiatrist for help. She had more control of herself these days, but her need for solitude, quiet, and behind-the-scenes interaction had been set.
But Grey? He shone in front of an audience. An audience and groupies he"d always have following him and invading his personal s.p.a.ce, and hers, if she chose to be with him.
Could they be friends? Maybe, someday, when she didn"t look at him and want to jump his bones like the hormonal teenager she used to be. But they couldn"t be more, because if she kept spending time with him, she was inevitably going to fall for him again. She knew that already, and they"d only been together for a couple of hours. He was still the warm, fun, likeable guy he"d always been. He remembered things about them she"d have thought he"d put away and forgotten.
And when he looked at her with those dancing green eyes and talked about hickeys, of all things, she still desired him. He had the potential to break her heart worse than the first time, and no matter that she"d always known his dreams, she"d been shattered when he"d left. She couldn"t go through it again. Any of it.