AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“All of me.“ He puts me down and cradles my cheeks in between his hands. Guides my face to him and sips from my lips. “Every.” Kiss. “Single.” Kiss. “Part.” Kiss.
Hours and several orgasms later, I lie in Austin’s arms in his bed as he sleeps.
For the first time in nearly a year, I feel thoroughly happy.
Chapter nineteen
Austin
Two Weeks Later
Last year, I met Less Than Zero’s lead singer, Tyson Rainier and his wife Zoey, when they pitched me an idea for their foundation, which provides arts education to school programs in underserved communities.
To say I was starstruck is an understatement. LTZ is the biggest band out of Seattle since Limelight back in the nineties. We’re all around the same age though, and I realized he and I weren’t so dissimilar. I’m famous in the gaming and tech community because of Hungry Llama’s success. His notoriety is more public because he’s a Grammy-award-winning rockstar.
His kindness and humility cemented the notion in my mind that people are people.
Money is money.
We were pretty far along the path of working together when things fell apart. Ty had some sort of breakdown and his band broke up. The baby was born. The band reunited and went on tour. Now, LTZ is on a short break so we’re picking things up again.
It’s the perfect project for Shay, who’s joining me for the meeting.
“Hey.” Shay slips into my office wearing the skinniest black slacks, a V-neck purple sweater and her trademark high heels.
Ever since she and I started our, um, thing, I’ve regretted having floor-to-ceiling glass walls in my office. I’d love to be able to kiss her and touch her without prying eyes. “Hey. You look stunning.”
“Thank you.” She faux-curtseys and takes a seat at the conference table in my office. “My mom lost her shit with me this morning. Demanded to know where I’m sleeping.”
Shay’s spent most nights at my place since we declared our love. I’ve asked her to move in but she claims she’s not ready yet. I know I’m speeding ahead in my own mind, but I also know what I want—and I want her. “I think we should reconsider when we’re going to tell your family.”
She nods. “Yeah. I know…it’s not fair to keep my folks in the dark. They worry.”
We’re interrupted when Angie, my assistant, leads Ty and Zoey into my office. Their security guard, Sergey waits outside.
“Hey, man. Good to see you.” I clasp Ty’s hand in a bro-shake and turn to Zoey. “Whoa, when are you due?”
Zoey is a tiny, blonde dynamo of a woman who is sweet but tough as nails. She rubs her prominent baby bump. “A couple months. Ty knocked me back up right after Oliver was born.”
“Hi, I’m Shay Stojanovic, Vice President of Marketing and Events.” Shay sticks her hand out. “I’ll be joining you today.”
I shake my head. “Shit, that was rude. My apologies, Shay.” I nearly put my arm around her but cover it up by gesturing to the conference table. “Let’s sit over here.”
“Oh, it’s understandable when the famous woman who spurred a million love songs walks in.” She winks at Zoey, who laughs. At this point, everyone on the planet knows Ty and Zoey broke up when they were young and LTZ’s hit album Z was about Zoey.
One thing I love about Shay—and there are many—is how unbothered she is about fame. I guess it’s because she grew up with a famous athlete, so notoriety doesn’t faze her. She treats everyone alike.
When we’re all seated, Ty holds his hand up. “Before we begin, I want to apologize profusely for the delay. It wasn’t due to a lack of desire or interest—we’re very excited. Life got in the way a bit.” He puts his arm around Zoey’s shoulder. “And thank you for having the meeting here, we’re trying to keep things low key with our pregnancy.”
“I get it.” Shay nods. “Social media was brutal to you guys for a while. I’m so glad everything’s turned around.”
Zoey shakes her head. “When the band’s on break, all of the families like to be on break too. Be normal until the madness starts again.”
“Oh, I remember. My dad is Stodge Stojanovic. It was the same in between seasons. We had security growing up. It leveled off a few years ago.” Shay shrugs like it’s no big thing.
It’s something I never knew about. Miles certainly never said anything. Huh.
Ty leans toward her, eyes wide. “No shit? That’s rad. I’m not exactly a sports guy, but Stodge is an hockey icon.”
