Her home is beautiful. I"d been too distracted the other night to pay much attention, but I take it all in now. Splashes of colour everywhere, plants dotted throughout and books on every spare surface. It"s got that feeling my mum and dad"s home has, and I"m drawn to it. After a decade of living out of a suitcase, I"d love to come home to a place like this, instead of the bland apartment I own.
"Michael told you," she accuses, and I can tell from her tone he will get his a.s.s kicked for this.
"Yes."
"What did you offer him for that? Michael wouldn"t give me up without something significant."
I grin at her. "I promised him a lucrative job for his client."
She"s a clever woman and knows exactly what I"m talking about. "You bribed him with something his client isn"t even interested in?"
"How was I to know his client wouldn"t be interested in a job?"
She drinks some of her coffee and then returns my grin. "You"re a sneaky b.a.s.t.a.r.d, aren"t you, Jett Vaughn?"
I throw my head back and laugh. Thank f.u.c.k. This is the Presley I wanted to see. "I"ve been called worse, sweetheart."
She looks thoughtful. "And what if his client had actually agreed? How were you going to get out of that?"
"Well, considering I"m hoping to convince his client to take that job on, I wouldn"t have any problems if she agreed."
She sucks in a breath. She hadn"t been expecting that.
I keep talking. "I"m taking you out for lunch today."
"Oh, really?" She"s putting on a good show, but I"ve worked her out. She wants me, but she"s trying to convince herself she doesn"t. All I need to do is give her a reason to let me in. I need to show her that all her reasons for not wanting me aren"t important.
"Yeah, beautiful, really. I"ve got a booking for us in forty minutes. Can you be ready by then?"
Panic spreads across her face. "s.h.i.t, Jett. I don"t know any woman who could be ready in that short amount of time. You"ll need to call and push it later."
I nod. "Sure."
I can tell she"s mentally flipping through her wardrobe. She points to her balcony and says, "You can sit in the sun if you want, or in here if you want. Up to you."
"Go get ready. Don"t worry about me."
She hurries into her bedroom, and I head outside. I call my friend, Ernesto, who owns my favourite Italian restaurant. "How did it go?" he asks as he answers me.
I chuckle. "I told her I had a booking in forty minutes. She freaked. Told you it would work. Women forget what they want when they"re all freaked like that. Made her forget she didn"t want to go out with me."
"Jesus Christ, you"re devious," he mutters. "I"ll see you when you get here."
I thank him and hang up. He"s right; I am devious, but I"ve never had to use my skills on a woman before. The chase is both exhilarating and frustrating. And I wonder how long it"s going to take me to convince Presley to give me a shot.
ALL YOUR REASONS BY NINA LEVINE.
8 - Presley.
I follow Jett into the little Italian restaurant. How the h.e.l.l he managed to convince me to come with him is beyond me. He"s got some sort of special powers, I"m sure of it. All he"s gotta do is grace me with that s.e.xy G.o.dd.a.m.n smile of his, and I"m like a b.l.o.o.d.y schoolgirl all over again. Falling at his f.u.c.king feet.
We"re escorted to our table and place our orders. Then he says, "Crazy Stupid Love."
"Have you finally lost your mind?" I ask, having no clue what he means.
"This Means War, Killers... romantic comedies I like."
"Oh."
"A cruise."
"Huh?"
"A cruise would be a good holiday. You could mix it up with drinks by the pool and exploring the places the ship visits. Perfect combination, don"t you think?"
My stomach does somersaults. He"s put thought into this, and I have to admit I"m impressed. "Yes, I"d love to do a cruise one day," I say, softly.
He smiles and leans his elbows on the table. "Now, tell me something about you that no one knows."
I frown. "Why?"
He shrugs. "It"s the kind of s.h.i.t I like to know about people. It tells me something about them."
Maybe I"ve judged him wrong. The fact he wants to know this tells me something about him. "I almost got married when I was eighteen to a man twenty years older than me."
Intrigue lights his face. "What stopped you?"
"We decided on the spur of the moment to do it, but we didn"t have the necessary paperwork filled out. A couple of days later, I freaked and realised I didn"t really want to marry him."
"And you"ve never told anyone that?"
"No. Now it"s your turn."
"A woman I slept with five years ago fell pregnant. I didn"t think I wanted the baby but was fully prepared to support her. But just before she was three months pregnant, she aborted the baby. I was surprised at how much it upset me."
The mood between us has turned from playful and flirty to serious. I"m amazed he would tell me something so personal. Something no one else knows. "It"s funny how life turns out sometimes, isn"t it?" I murmur.
His smile is gentle, beautiful. "I believe things are meant to be. I"m yet to work out why that happened the way it did, but I know one day it"ll be made clear."
The more he talks, the more he affects me. The more I want to open myself up to him. "I believe that, too."
"So, we do have something in common."
"It would seem we do," I agree, giving him a smile in return.
"Well, thank f.u.c.k for that."
I have to laugh. And I have to give him credit for the time he"s put into chasing me.
"So, tell me about your band," I say, half out of interest, half out of a desire to let him convince me to take a chance on him.
"We"ve been together for ten years. I put a call out for band members when I was eighteen, and they were the d.i.c.kheads who answered it. It took us about five years to really get our name out there and then we cracked the US market. Haven"t looked back."
"I"m gathering you"re a pretty big international band, right?"
"Yeah."
"How the h.e.l.l can you get away with the stuff you do then?"
Confusion flickers in his eyes. "What stuff?"
I throw my arms out to the side. "This kind of stuff. We"ve been out a few times, and no one"s bothered you. If I didn"t know better, I wouldn"t think you were a famous rocker."
"Sweetheart, there"s security outside. I"ve always got them with me. You just don"t see them. They not only keep me safe, they keep the fans away," he explains, making perfect sense. I should have realised he"d have security.
Our food arrives and we continue to trade stories about our lives. Jett continues to surprise me by revealing a man I"m impressed with.
"So, I know your parents are still together but do you have any brothers or sisters?" he asks.
"I"ve got an older brother, Stuart. We"re pretty close, but he lives overseas for work so I don"t see him very often."
"What does he do?"
"He"s an actor and is trying to break into movies in the States. He"s been there for four years with no luck yet, but he"s determined so I hope that pays off soon. How about you? Any siblings?"
He nods. "Yeah, a younger sister, Claudia. She"s still living at home with Mum and Dad while she finishes studying to be a nurse. I try to keep an eye on her because she has this tendency to get mixed up with the wrong guys."
"Ah, that must be hard for you to watch as the older brother."
"Like you wouldn"t f.u.c.king believe," he mutters. It"s clear to me he loves his family very much, and I love that about him.
We finish our mains, and as we continue to chat over dessert, I stop him to confirm something he just told me. "Wait, you sponsor ten children in Indonesia?"
"Yeah," he says like it"s the most natural thing to do in life.
"That"s awesome."
"We met them a couple of years ago."
"Who is "we"?"
"Me and the boys. They"ve sponsored kids over there, too. But a couple of years ago we went over and helped build houses. I"ve gotta say, it was one of the best experiences I"ve ever had." His enthusiasm is infectious. h.e.l.l, if they hired Jett to promote those programs, they"d probably get a huge increase in people signing up to help.
"f.u.c.k," I mutter.
"What?" I"ve totally confused him.
"You make it b.l.o.o.d.y hard for a woman to not want to date you," I gripe.
He bursts out laughing. "Presley, has anyone ever told you how f.u.c.king s.e.xy you are when you grumble like that?"
"No. Most men hate it."
"Well, I like it, so don"t change, okay?"
Happiness flows through me at his words, and I"m sure I take the last step towards the edge of allowing Jett in. And by the time we finish our meal, I"m completely captivated by him and under his spell. I know I"ll probably give him whatever he wants now.
The next morning, I say goodbye to Jett at my front door and then head back inside. He stayed over last night and gave me another reason why I should date him. The man has mad skills in the bedroom, and I"m looking forward to seeing him again.
I shower and get ready for the day. I"ve got a full day ahead of me, editing more photos from the Crave concert shoot. As I sit down to get started, there"s a knock at my front door. A minute later, my happy bubble bursts when I find my husband standing on the other side of the door.
"Presley," he says while taking a step inside.
I put my arm up to block him, and he comes to a halt, clearly stunned I would deny him access.
"No, Lennon, you don"t get to come inside. What do you want?"
"I told you I was coming home," he says as if that answers my question.
"This isn"t your home. Not anymore."
"My name is still on the deed."
"Oh my G.o.d! That means jack s.h.i.t, a.s.shole. You walked out, so it"s not your home."
"I made a mistake, Presley."
"Yeah, you did, but it corrected the mistake I made when I married you, so let"s call it even."
"I want to come home, baby." His voice has that soft tone he uses when he wants something from me, but it won"t work anymore. A year ago, I would have given him anything he wanted when he spoke to me this way. I"ve since learnt my lesson.
"No. And don"t call me that anymore."
His face tells me he wasn"t expecting this. He must have expected me to roll over and give him whatever he wanted, just like everyone else in his life does. "I"ll give you the baby you always wanted." He promises me the one thing that came between us the most when we were together.
Anger mixes with pain, and I"m done. "f.u.c.k you, Lennon. You can"t worm your way back into my life with s.h.i.t like that. Yeah, I wanted a baby with you, but you never wanted that, so don"t come here now and make bulls.h.i.t promises to get what you want in return. I don"t want a baby with you anymore." I spit my words at him and then move to close the door in his face.
He puts a foot inside to stop the door from closing. "I"m not giving up on us, Presley," he promises, and I see the determination on his face. s.h.i.t, he means this, and when Lennon wants something, he does everything to get it. I do not need this in my life. Not when I"ve finally decided to start something with Jett.
"Goodbye," I say and shove his foot out of the way so I can slam the door shut. Once I have the door closed, I sag against it.
s.h.i.t.