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“Ani, is that you?” Lucas Moulin strode toward me carrying what appeared to be a Mimosa. “Looking for Garrett?”
I nodded.
“Did he know you were coming? Are you supposed to be here?” His handsome face turned distinctly cranky. “I don’t remember him saying anything about you joining us. We’ve got a meeting with a big-name producer soon. None of us can miss it, you know?”
I glowered at the man. “Lucas, I’m not going to get in the way of any meetings. That’s not why I’m here.”
“Then why the hell are you here?”
“None of your business.”
“It’s definitely my business. If you pull some fuckery with Garrett that flows onto the band, you know?”
“Ugh. No. Go away. I didn’t spend all night in the back of a car to take shit from you.” I turned to Riley with a much calmer demeanor. “Do you know what room he’s in?”
“So you do have teeth.” Lucas smiled. “Good. You’ll need them, new girl. Follow me.”
Up to the top floor we traveled. Where Lucas hammered on the door with nil interest for his fellow guests staying in the hotel. “G!” he yelled. “Open the fucking door.”
Garrett threw the door open with his hair disheveled and a pair of jeans with the zipper only half done up on his hips. “The fuck is your problem, man?”
“Your girl’s here.” Lucas took another sip of his cocktail and a step back from the door. “Don’t forget we’re out of here in forty minutes. Butch won’t hang around if we’re late.”
“Ani?”
“Hey,” I said with a weak smile. “Sorry for turning up out of the blue like this.”
Then I was in his arms and everything was a whole lot better. Like instantly. “Are you okay? Is everything all right?”
“I need to tell you something real quick, then I’ll go and you can get back to focusing on your meetings.”
“Come on in.” He nodded to Van and Riley before shutting the door behind us. “I noticed all of the messages from security and Faye on my phone. I take it that’s about you coming down here? I turned off my cell and crashed hard last night. But I’m here now. Talk to me.”
Inside, the penthouse suite had a checkerboard-floor hallway and spacious rooms. At the end was a living area filled with more lush furniture, leading out to a balcony covered by a striped awning and expansive views of the city. It was impressive. But cool lodgings were not why I’d hauled ass across the state. I could do this—take the ultimate leap of trust in this man. He was worth making changes for. He was worth taking chances.
“Okay. The truth is, I may have freaked out just a little,” I said. “But I swear I have good reason.”
“Of course you do. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I just had a realization. Kind of a profound one. It involves this . . . I found it after you left.” I pulled the list of pros and cons out of my jeans pocket. “And I couldn’t wait any longer to talk to you about it face-to-face. Sorry for barging in, by the way. Did I say that already? My mind’s a bit scattered.”
He frowned at the piece of paper.
“I’ve been thinking about it all night as we drove here,” I said, taking a deep breath. It was time to pull up my big-girl panties. “And if you don’t want to stay in Wildwood, if you want to come back to L.A., then I’m okay with that. I mean, I’d like to come with you. If that’s what you want, of course.”
“You would leave Wildwood for me?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“But you love it there.”
“Yeah. I really do.” I swallowed hard. “But I love you more.”
“You love me?” His gaze gentled. “Even though this is only day five together?”
“Even then.”
“Thank you,” he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “I really appreciate that. Just so happens I love you too.”
My smile was one of relief. “You do?”
“I went and told her about you, you know.”
“You mean Grace?”
“Yes.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and smiled. “I visited her grave and told her that I’d found someone and was happy again. That I was as gone on you as I could be. And I said goodbye. It felt more real this time somehow than it did at her funeral. More final somehow.”
“Okay.”
“Not to say I’ll never go back there. That’s not what it was about. But I feel like things are actually moving on, and that’s a really good thing.”
“I’m glad.”
His arms went back around me and he rested his chin on the top of my head. Touching him was so good. The warmth of his bare chest and the scent of him fresh out of bed. He was home now, and I was fine with the fact. Guess we’d both found our peace. Our hope for the future.
