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“The woman who owns the coffee shop on the premises is going to get a caterer in to help her, and the garden has a driveway that wraps around the back, so we’re thinking of getting in one of those bar trucks.”
“That could work,” I say before hesitating. “You’re sure the garden is going to be big enough? Also, what if it rains?”
“We’re hiring one of those big tents in case the weather is bad,” he tells me. “We’ve also decided to keep the wedding as small as possible so there should be enough space.”
Although I really think they could be making things easier on themselves, I get where Emma’s coming from. She’s never been the type to get married in one of those fancy ballrooms for hire or to have their reception at an expensive restaurant. In fact, the place as he described it seems so completelyherthat if I’d known someplace like that existed, I’d have guessed she’d want to get married there.
Maxim and I spend the rest of our workout talking over more of the details, and after we’ve showered, we’re both in meetings for the rest of the day. The band has got a lot of meet-and-greets scheduled on this leg of the tour and a ton of media appearances coming up, and our social media is on fire with the hype.
The reviews they’ve been getting from the rest of the tour are really fueling the fire for the final push, and although there haven’t been any new threats that are really worthy of the security team’s attention, Olivia and her coworkers are neck deep in the logistics for the public interaction the band will engage in.
Every night, we’re both exhausted, but we’re settling into a routine of living together on tour just fine. Frankly, the next month passes in a blur of wedding planning, work, and trying to get our ducks in a row to hit the ground running with our company.
Olivia goes on the pill, and when we’re finally able to stop using condoms, the nights are a blur of making love without anything between us. Day or night, I’m hardly able to keep up with everything that’s happening. It’s a whirlwind of love and planning and rock shows and family stuff.
Australia is up after Asia, and the night before we leave, I find her in our room scrolling through apartment listings on her phone. She took the day off and spent most of it sleeping, but I’m still worried about her.
“How are you feeling?” I ask as I shut the door and cross the room to kiss her on the forehead. Her eyes are still red and puffy, and she’s got the fingers of her hand not holding her phone wrapped around a cup of tea.
“It’s just a cold.” She shrugs, smiling as she leans back so she won’tbreathe her germs all over me—her words from this morning, not mine. “I’ll be better soon. After I woke up, I decided to spend the time I’ve got off trying to find a place for us to live. You’re still sure you don’t just want to move in with me?”
I nod. “It’ll be fun to make a clean start together. Besides, your place is two blocks from your parents’, and mine is a bachelor pad. Neither is ideal for us to start this chapter of our lives in together, don’t you think?”
“Well, what do you want? A house in the suburbs?” she teases, and I pretend to gag before I drop down on the opposite end of the couch, pulling her feet into my lap to rub them.
“Definitely not yet,” I say. “I’m thinking of a more spacious apartment in the city. Have you found anything that looks interesting?”
She turns the phone to me, showing me the site she’s on. “Only the places we’ve looked at before. I still love the three-bedroom with the rooftop garden, but it’s pricey. I know we’ll need an extra bedroom for a home office, but if we get the two-bedroom in that building, we could save some money and still have access to the garden.”
“Yeah, but we need a guest bedroom.” I wave my hand to signal the hotel. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’ve got a pretty big crowd to accommodate. Obviously, I know we can’t move into an actual hotel, but it would be useful. Isabella, James, and Mason have already complained about needing space to sleep if they come visit us, and besides, money isn’t a problem.”
She rolls her eyes at me. “I know we’ve both got some saved and decent trust funds behind us, but I still think we should be frugal.”
“Fuck being frugal.” I massage the pads of her feet and watch as she sags into the couch. “We can afford the three-bedroom, Liv. You love the big windows and the natural light, and you’ve already fallen in love with its balcony and that garden on the roof. Let’s just do it.”
She hesitates for a moment, but we’ve been going around and around on this for weeks now. “I do love the balcony and the garden, and I know we can afford it, but I’m not used to spending so much money on rent. You and Maxim are also putting a lot of capital into the company. What if—”
“Enough of the what-ifs,” I groan. “Get in touch with the realtor and make an appointment for us to see the place when we get back. It’s only available then anyway, isn’t it? I know we’ll probably still lose it, but let’s just try.”
“I, uh, I already got in touch with the realtor.” Her cheeks flush as she looks at me, lashes batting as she chews on her lower lip. “I might’ve gotten excited earlier and sent him a message.”
“What did he say?” I grin, happier than I thought I would be that she made an inquiry. “Is it still available?”
She nods. “It is, but he says he’s had a ton of interest in it. I know it’s possible he’s just saying so, but I don’t think it’s that. It’s a great place. He offered to give us a virtual tour so we can throw our hats into the ring if we really want it.”
“Do it,” I say. “Arrange the virtual tour. If we like it, we take it. It’s not like we’re buying it. We’re only looking at renting. If we get there and it’s not what we were expecting, we stay there until we find exactly what we’re looking for.”
Excitement creeps into her eyes. “If I wasn’t sick right now, I’d kiss you so hard.”
“If I cared about getting sick, I’d stop you. As it happens, I have a great immune system. I’m willing to take the risk.” Releasing her foot, I crawl over her, and when she rests her head back to look into my eyes, I don’t wait for her to turn me down before I seal my mouth over hers.
As she loops her arms around my neck, she whispers against my lips, “This is a really bad idea.”
“Orgasms make everything better,” I murmur back. “Apparently, they even boost your immune system. It’s a much better way of medicating yourself than anything else if you ask me.”
“I’m definitely willing to try it,” she says between kisses as she pulls me down and wraps her legs around my hips.
It’s still worth it when her cold knocks me on my ass after we get to Australia. It levels me, and I must pass it back to her because, in the end, we’re laid up together for three days before the medications our moms ply us with start working.
