I stood up, grabbing my phone and turning away from the bar. Both Thiessen and Fawcett meowed protest at my sudden disruption of their spots on the floor by my feet. I apologized to my cats and clutched the keys to my car on the corner of the kitchen island. I needed the studio now more than ever, feelinglike I needed to pour out some lyrics with Blue over this newly appointed account on where the fuck Wanda Finneson was.
Burying the thought of my mother, I replaced it with the idea that Van was about to become a much more permanent fixture in my life. Shit, he’d probably have to come with me back to Phoebe for Thanksgiving. I hadn’t been back home since my sudden stardom, so I’d probably need him there.
That thought kept me company as I locked up the house and made my way to my sleek pink Kia Soul. I had to distract myself before I let my mother, once again, ruin any of the good in my life.
Chapter 6
Clapping Rodrigo on the back,I snickered excitedly. “That’s fucking perfect.”
Rodrigo, the director that typically took charge of my music videos, at least for theDiamondsera, gave me a sly smirk. He ran a hand over his buzzed black hair and scratched at his scruffy beard before giving me a nod. “So is the video good to go now that we have the tour insert video edited in?”
“For sure.” I told him, still surprised we’d been able to shoot the video so quickly and have the edit done. Now the video was ready to go. “Can you prep the video and then schedule it for next week? I’ll make a post about it once it’s scheduled.”
“Absolutely. I’ll get right on it.”
I clapped Rodrigo’s shoulder. “Thanks, Rodrigo. I really appreciate how fast you helped me make this happen.”
We’d shot the video in a nearby alley, one that didn’t have much to do with the rest of theBirthstone Babymusic video, but it was the perfect little insert, zooming in on the tour flyer while I walked in front of it. Now I was ready to announce tour and move on to the next phase of my career.
“Of course.” Rodrigo’s smile shone through his dark eyes as he turned away from me and set his intention back on the computer before him.
A signature chime started to blare around us, the sound of my doorbell being rung. I gave Rodrigo one last smile and left the office that sat right next to the main entrance of my house. The doorbell chimed again just as I grabbed the doorknob. Only one person could be that eager.
As predicted, Priyanka’s face came into view. Her little wave was adorable as I opened the door. It wasn’t until she stepped to the side that I realized that she wasn’t exactly alone. My smile faltered, my heart somersaulting in my chest. Wearing a nicely pressed navy suit, stood the tall, dark, and handsome triple threat that was Van Argent.
“Hey, did you get my text?” Priyanka said, tilting her head in Van’s direction. Van wasn’t even looking this way, too busy looking at the landscaping that surrounded the house. Somehow, that was really fucking cute. “About Van coming over?”
“Uh, no?” I patted my pants, searching for the feel of my phone in the pockets to no avail. “I must have put my phone down somewhere, my bad.”
“Well, Van’s officially your security guard, and I thought it would be a good idea for him to get familiar with your place.” At the mention of his name, Van’s attention rotated toward us. He stopped gawking at the grounds and walked up to stand right next to Priyanka.
He gave me that perfect smile that I hadn’t been able to erase out of my memory just yet. “Hello again, Alistair. Or I guess I should call you boss or sir or something?”
“Ugh, absolutely not.” I winced, chuckling. “Alistair is fine. But welcome to the team.” I extended my hand for him to shake, and he completed the welcome with a firm handshake that didn’tlast nearly long enough for my liking. When he retracted his hand, I looked at Priyanka. “Is that all your here for, Pri?”
“Well, I thought I’d see if you needed any help with the music video release or tour announcement?”
“Rodrigo’s working on scheduling the video, he’s in the office.” I told her, stepping to the side so that there was more room to walk beyond me and into the house. “Come on in, both of you.”
Priyanka and Van walked inside, having very different experiences. While Priyanka had been here so often she practically had her own room on the second floor, Van was in awe of the surroundings I called home. Priyanka was rambling on about me needing to post about tour, but my eyes were watching Van. He was looking around with every bit of astonishment as you’d expect from a toddler in a toy store.
My house wasn’t the most extravagant thing in the world, especially for musicians that I was now a peer to (which was already weird enough to think about), but it was a really nice place. I’d only had it for about a month, using some of the new money coming in to purchase a four bedroom, four bathroom house with around thirty-two hundred square feet. It had new furnishings, marble floors, lots of marble everything, actually, and was sizable for way more people than just me and my cats. It wasn’t my forever home, because I longed to be back in Phoebe, to reclaim the town with new memories. But for that to happen, I needed to purge the old ones that still plagued me. My mother not being in town didn’t hurt the prospect of moving back, either.
Van’s eyes were glued to the mini black chandelier that hung from the vaulted ceiling directly above us. Priyanka noticed Rodrigo in the office, muttering something close to a farewell as she stepped into the room and left me with Van.
Twin meows came in as Fawcett and Thiessen came in from the kitchen, bounding over to me, but stopping when they saw Van between our path. Normally, my cats took a bit to warm up to new people. They loved me instantly, but that courtesy didn’t always translate to other humans. However, surprise knitted question marks into my brows as I watched both of them meowing excitedly, rubbing themselves against Van’s legs. He chuckled, looking to me for my reaction. I just smiled and shook my head as they kept vocalizing their delight and twining themselves through his legs.
“That’s really odd.” I said, crossing my arms and giving my girls a glare. “They usually don’t warm up to anyone on the spot. It took themweeksto not give Priyanka the cold shoulder.”
Shrugging, Van bent down to scratch both of them behind their ears, earning him more meows of contentment and begging for more scratches.
“Cats always love me.” Van chuckled. “What are their names?”
“The lighter one is Fawcett,” I nodded. “The darker one is Thiessen.”
“Named after the actresses?” Van said as Fawcett gave him a playful lick on the palm. He shook his head at her, scratched behind both their ears again before standing straight up to face me.
“Yep, Farrah Fawcett and Tiffani Amber Thiessen.” I was shocked he knew who they were. Typically, people our age weren’t super familiar with them. “Well, you’ve conquered your hardest critics, so that’s good.” I beckoned the cats toward me, but only Thiessen bounded over. Fawcett refused to leave Van’s side. I was only taking it alittlepersonal. As I bent down and picked up Thiessen, hearing her purring loudly as she softly headbutted my chin, I scratched the side of her face and got a grateful meow from her. “I think it’s a sign of good character ifcats like you.” Just so he knew I was being playful, I tacked on a light laugh to my final statement.
