Chapter 13 #2
“I may need some beds. There’s only one, and the boys will need a place to crash when they get here. Other than that, I really haven’t looked around much.”
“Well, what are you waiting for? This is your house too.”
Sydney stood up and pulled me up with her.
“Dude, I’m sorry,” I heard Luke say.
“It’s fine. She can make whatever changes she wants to this place. It’ll be nice for it to finally feel like a home.”
Before I had time to really process that, Sydney was dragging me down the hall as she began opening doors.
The first was just a half bath.
“Could use some decorations, but not much you can do with a bathroom.”
I opened the door across from it and was surprised to find stairs leading to a basement.
“There’s a basement too?”
“It’s unfinished. Nothing down there,” Cruz yelled from the living room.
I couldn’t help it. I had to see for myself.
Sydney flipped on the light even though I was halfway down the stairs already. There were a few small windows near the ceiling on the back wall. Otherwise it was just a giant concrete room.
I gasped. “It’s perfect.”
“Perfect for what?” Sydney asked.
Footsteps on the stairs alerted me to the fact Cruz and Luke had followed us.
“I can’t believe you have all this space down here,” Luke said.
“You mean you don’t have a basement too?”
“Nope. I think there’s only maybe two or three houses in this neighborhood with them. Then they decided to just do a crawl space foundation.”
“Huh. I didn’t know that when I moved in. In fact, I think you or Thomas assigned it to me.”
“This is probably the largest house in the entire neighborhood,” Sydney said.
“You sound jealous, Syd.”
“No way. I love our home and wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
She kissed him. I looked away.
Cruz came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. “What are you thinking, honey?”
I shook my head. “It’s stupid.”
“Nothing’s stupid. What is it?”
I chewed on my lip, debating telling them.
“I was just thinking how incredibly perfect it would be to build a studio down here. If we insulated the ceiling and with the ground surrounding the walls, it would be quiet enough to practice and maybe even record right here.” I sighed.
“I’ve always imagined living in a house with a studio. ”
“Done,” Cruz said.
“Don’t tease. It’s just a dream.”
“And this is just an empty space that we don’t need. So it’s perfect.”
“Yeah. It really wouldn’t be hard at all to finish this off with what you’re talking about,” Luke agreed.
“Lay it out for me,” Cruz said.
Feeling excited even for the idea of it, I pointed around the room telling him exactly where I thought everything should go from the isolation booth to the mixing studio.
Perhaps a kitchenette and bathroom over there, and some comfy couches to just chill out and play over here.
I even explained the equipment I’d want and everything.
If I closed my eyes, I could see it so vividly.
Finally, I shrugged. “Such a great space. Sad it’s just sitting here empty.”
“I have a feeling we’re going to find more treasures around here sitting empty. Come on.”
Sydney took my hand and tugged me back to the steps as we resumed the house tour.
As I suspected from my earlier snooping, basically the bedroom, living room, and kitchen were really all he’d bothered to do anything with.
“And even these rooms could use some sprucing up. We’ve got a lot of work to do here,” Sydney finally exclaimed.
I sighed. “It’s a nice dream, isn’t it?”
“Dream? We can turn this place into the house of your dreams in no time. It’s like a blank slate just waiting for you to get to work.”
Smiling sadly, I shook my head. “Maybe four beds so my band can stay here. Otherwise it’s fine,” I insisted.
“Don’t you want to make it your own?”
“Sydney, I’ve only got a short time before I’m back on the road again. And after this tour, Ronnie probably has the next one booked, and the next. That’s my life. Being here has been incredible, but it’s not real.”
I was ready to make it real though. And if she and Luke hadn’t come in when they did, I probably would have.
I supposed I had her to thank for that interruption.
When Cruz was near I just couldn’t think straight.
It was too easy to get caught up in the what-ifs and dreams, but this wasn’t my life, and I didn’t know if it really could be.
Everything here was so different than I was used to and I loved that, but it also made it feel like it was make-believe.
“You’re thinking about going back?”
“Thinking about it? No, I have to go back. Do you know how many fans I’d disappoint if I didn’t?”
“Do you know how disappointed the one cowboy that matters more than anything would be if you did?”
“We barely know each other,” I said, yet it felt like a big fat lie. “He’ll be fine.”
“The mating bond doesn’t work that way, Daisy. Trust me, if it was that easy to just walk away from it, Luke would never have stood a chance.”
“What do you mean?”
“He was still the Larken Pack Alpha when we found each other. And I despised the Larkens. I tried everything to stay away from him, but it was too late. Once I had his scent, I was a goner. But trust me when I tell you that I struggled and fought against it at first. I get it. It really sucks when fate steps in and tells you what you need, even when it’s not what you want.
But damn it if that bitch isn’t right every single time. ”
“You hated your mate?”
“Absolutely. I was mad at the world for being matched to Luke Larken.”
“But you both seem so happy.”
“Now we do. But it took us some time to get to this point.”
“Does that happen often?”
“Of course. No one likes to be told by some unknown force that this is your person even though you just met him. Do you really think Lily would have chosen Thomas? She thought he was the biggest douchebag on the planet. She’d have gladly accepted anyone but him.”
“What happened?”
“Fate slapped her across the face and when she stopped fighting it, she fell madly in love. We all did, and so will you.”
“But I’m not fighting it.”
“Yet you think you can so easily walk away?”
“I have to.”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
I didn’t argue with her, but there was no way she could possibly understand my life. I knew it wasn’t normal being a celebrity and America’s princess and all that shit. Caught up in the moment with Cruz’s arms around me, it was easy to submit to it all and say we’ll just figure it out.
But now that I was thinking clearly again, I was suddenly glad that Luke and Sydney had interrupted us. It seemed impossible that this was something we could just figure out. Some mountains were just too big to overcome.
“It’s complicated,” I finally said.