“Oh, I’m in,” she agrees. “But only if I can have all of the fries.”
Packing for LA comes together quickly for me. I’ve never been one to hold on to much, so it doesn’t take long to pack my clothes and the few comfort items I’ve had in every place I’ve lived since I moved out of my mother’s house.
Rylee, on the other hand, had a harder time. Most of the furniture and accessories in the apartment are hers. Since Rylee’s parents had provided her with newer and nicer things than the hand-me-downs I’d gotten from my older sisters, I had no issue letting her outfit this place when we decided to move in together.
When I’d brought the last suitcase down to the SUV Grayson had rented, she’d been on the phone with a full-service moving company. She was in the midst of coordinating the packing of what she couldn’t take on the plane, including the transport of her furniture to a storage unit in LA and lastly, getting our cars shipped to the band house.
I was grateful that Rylee had taken charge of the logistical side of getting us to LA, because my mind had been racing with thoughts of what my new life would look like.
As Grayson had predicted, my bosses went wild about the idea of getting up close and personal with Catastrophically Charismatic. What they don’t realize is just how up close and personal I’ll be getting.
Rylee had called Eric the night we’d agreed to come to LA. As it turns out, he was already halfway to Dallas to convince her to come back with him. Like Grayson predicted, he was over the moon when she told him she’d made up her mind. The three of us board the first flight out the next morning—too many bags in tow and more butterflies in my stomach than I can count.
As the town car pulls up in the driveway of the LA house, I remember the feelings I had seeing it for the first time. Grayson squeezes my hand from the seat next to me, turning my attention to him. I can’t help but remember the first time I’d seen him, too, and felt my heart swell at the fact that I’m back at this beautiful house, this time with Grayson knowing exactly who I am and nothing to stop us from being here together.
Rylee jumps from the town car excitedly, leaving her many bags behind and rushing in the direction of what I’m sure is Eric’s room. Grayson slips the driver some cash and asks him nicely if he’d mind grabbing our belongings from the trunk before turning back to face me.
“Ready to go inside?”
I nod and he takes my hand.
When we enter through the front door, the familiar smell of French vanilla coffee and cinnamon fills my senses again. It’s comforting, just like it had been before.
We stood there for a moment, taking it all in. It seems like the beginning of something that feels like it’s been a long time coming. It feels like coming home.
Chapter sixteen
"Reckless" - The Strike
Grayson
I’ve done it.
Mia is here.
Part of me still can’t believe it, but here she is, nestled in my bed in LA, tired after a long day of travel.
I brush her dark chocolate hair away from her face, my fingers lingering on her skin before I lean down to press a kiss to hertemple. Her eyelids flutter open at my touch and she turns to face me, her eyes meeting mine with a sleepy warmth.
“I was in the middle of a really good dream,” she says.
“Oh yeah?” I grin.
“Yeah. This really hot guy I used to know whisked me away to his big mansion in LA, and asked me to live there with him.”
I chuckle at her words, unable to resist crawling into the bed with her before leaning in to kiss her.
“Well, I’m here to tell you,” I reply, one hand sneaking down her leggings to squeeze her ass. “That you’re not dreaming. You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.”
She smiles that brilliant smile I know can undo me every time. Nestling into me further, my hand still positioned underneath the thin fabric where it belongs, I wrap my other arm around her.
“What do you want to do today, beautiful?” I ask her, brushing another kiss along her forehead.
“What, you don’t have some exciting, fun-filled day planned to convince me this was really a good idea?” she asks.
Shit.Fucking shit.
I absolutely should’ve had a big, romantic gesture in mind once I finally got her here.
