He smiles wide, taking my hands in his. “I can deal with that. As for what changed… I’m tired of fighting whatever this is, and you deserve better. A woman like you deserves to know where they stand.”
“Okay. Just so I’m clear, we’re going to try this, you and me, but no one knows?”
“Yeah, and it’s not because I want to keep you as a dirty secret. It’s more that this is new to me, and I can’t promise I won’t be a mess at times or that I won’t screw up. Because Tillie, I am a wreck. But I’m hoping you’ll put me back together.”
I’m not sure what’s happened in his life that made him think he’s a mess. Yes, he’s a little left of center and has stories he hasn’t told me, but I’m hoping that with time, he’ll let me in. I considered Googling him—just a quick search for some background—but I stopped myself. If he wants me to know about his past, I’d rather hear it from him when he’s ready.
“I’m here for you, and I want to be your safe place. Because even though you treated me like crap, I like you too.”
He furrows his brows. “Yeah, sorry about that.”
“It’s forgotten. Boys always treat the girl they like a little meanly to start with.”
He laughs, picking up an apple and taking a bite.
Chapter Ten
TILLIE
We ate our breakfast and talked a little more about our relationship, what it meant for us, and how it would work. When it was time to get to work, we headed inside before the start of business hours and went our separate ways. Ryan has some demos to record, and I have media to attend to. He gave me a long, passionate kiss before we parted ways, and now I’m in my office looking over this week’s statistics on Recoil’s social media pages.
“Hey-ho,” a chirpy voice echoes through my doorway, breaking the intense concentration on my MacBook screen. I glance up to see a pink-framed head popping in through my doorway with a bright, cheery smirk.
I furrow my brows at her strangeness. “What?”
She steps into my office and walks up to my desk with a spring in her step. “So… I went up the fire escape, and it looks like there was a date or something up there?”
Swallowing hard, I look away from her and back to my screen. “Oh, it does?”
“Yeah. Know anything about that?”
“Hm… nope.”
“Liar!”
I giggle and shrug, gesturing to zip my lips shut.
Lunar smiles, throwing her hands in the air. “Yes! I knew it.”
“I know nothing,” I reply.
She laughs and pats my shoulder. “I’m happy for you two. Like so ridiculously happy you don’t even know.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Okay, so you’re keeping it quiet. I get it. I won’t say anything. Just know that I think you’ll be good for him.” She squeezes my shoulder and walks out, leaving me feeling happy that people are on our side.
Taking a deep breath, I get on with my day, getting lost in interview schedules and marketing campaigns. But after lunch, I want to take a break from it all and head to the studio to see how things are progressing with the band.
I enter to find the band in full recording mode, so I step back into the sound room to listen as they record a track for a new album. I watch how the band moves together and the way they flow and sync so well. I love their new songs and sway my hips to the music as I watch Ryan smile while he plays his guitar, occasionally singing into the microphone. The song finishes, and instinctively, Ryan looks up at me. He smiles, and I do the same.
“Okay, guys, feel free to have a quick break. You’ve earned it,” Oliver announces.
Ryan puts down his guitar as Danger takes a giant drink from a water bottle.
“I’m just going to the bathroom,” Ryan calls out quite loud as he glances my way, then heads for the hall between the studio and the booth. I exit to meet him in the hall, where we’ll have a small window of opportunity to have some private time.
“You sounded great,” I chime, and he smirks, stalking toward me. I take a step back, my body hitting the wall as he steps up against me. He licks his lips, tilts his head, and slowly leans in, crushing his lips to mine. My body melts into his while my arms wrap around his neck, and I kiss him back passionately, holding him tightly while we kiss feverishly but slowly. His body presses against mine, and I ease into him. We continue kissing, getting lost in each other, our tongues dancing together, sending sparks of magnetism. My fingers move up, tangling in Ryan’s hair, pulling him closer,needinghim closer. He grinds into me,making me whimper into his mouth, when suddenly someone clears their throat.
