Chapter 6
Chapter Six
ALY
Ismack the snooze button on my alarm, groaning at the thought of having to get out of my warm, cozy bed.
Today is going to be one of those days I’ll be sitting front row on the struggle bus due to lack of sleep.
I tossed and turned for most of the night, and for those few hours I did sleep, Gavin occupied my dreams in the most vivid ways.
I shuffle slowly into my kitchen, and I’m barely conscious as I go through my morning routine of starting a pot of coffee and feeding Apollo.
Once my fat cat is fed, I get a bowl out of the cupboard for myself and dump way too much cereal in it.
I add milk till it hits the brim of the bowl then lean over to sip some off the edge so it doesn’t spill when I pick it up.
Once the coffee is brewed and poured, I bring my coffee and cereal over to the table, sit down, and start to eat.
Just when I’m starting to feel somewhat coherent, my phone dings, alerting me to a text message.
I shovel a spoonful of cereal into my mouth before grabbing my phone.
Gavin: Good morning, darlin’! This is your friendly wake-up call to remind you that you agreed to meet me for breakfast at Star Bagel this morning at eight. See you soon!
Cereal and milk starts spewing from my mouth as I choke. When did I agree to meet him for breakfast? As soon as I ask myself that I vaguely recall the shrill ringing of my phone in the middle of the night. That wasn’t a dream?
Shit!
I push back from the table and quickly pour the remainder of my cereal and coffee into the drain of the sink.
I shower within five minutes, quickly apply lotion to my body, put on my bra and panties, and then blow dry my hair.
I run to my closet to pick an outfit and groan.
It figures I have nothing to wear, since I haven’t done laundry in over a week.
I finally settled on an off-the-shoulder, light-pink mesh sweater with a white tank-top underneath, jeans, and beige-colored peep-toe booties.
Once dressed, I apply a little makeup and quickly curl my hair then finalize my look with simple gold jewelry.
Knowing it’s not going to get any better than this in the time I have, I text Gavin back to tell him I’m on my way then grab my purse and head out the door.
It takes me ten minutes to get to Star Bagel and another five minutes to find parking.
Once my tiny car is parked in a spot a couple blocks away, I reapply my lip gloss one more time then take a deep breath to try to calm my shaky nerves.
I get out of the car with two minutes to spare and walk down the block to the bagel shop.
I try to think of what kinds of things we can talk about, but all thoughts suddenly vanish from my brain when I spot him waiting outside for me.
He’s wearing a black shirt that clings like saran wrap to his biceps, gray denim jeans that aren’t too tight but fit nicely to his thighs, and stylish black boots.
He looks like a professional model leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets, and aviator sunglasses covering his eyes, waiting for his picture to be taken.
Nerves start making my belly dance, and I take a couple of deep breaths to calm my racing heart.
Calm down, Aly! He’s just a guy you’re having breakfast with.
Yeah… a really hot guy you’d like to eat for breakfast.
I watch him take off his sunglasses and push himself off the wall as soon as he sees me coming, his infectious smile brightening my mood.
Within seconds, he’s standing in front of me, and he startles me when he grabs my hands and pulls me closer.
With our bodies only mere inches from touching, I tilt my head back to look up at him.
Gah, he’s gorgeous, and his green eyes capture my attention.
His gaze roams my face, lingering for a moment on my lips before returning to stare into my eyes and what feels like my soul.
“My God, you’re stunning.”
The first words out of his mouth render me speechless for a moment and I blush from his compliment.
“Th-thank you and… good morning,” I stutter out, not prepared for such an intense greeting. I continue smiling on the outside, but on the inside, I’m cringing at how pathetic I feel and sound.
His mouth curves into a wicked smirk, making me forget my stupidity and my knees almost buckle.
“Good morning. You ready to go eat? Because I’m starving,” he says while his eyes rake over me, making me question if he’s still referring to food when he looks at me that way.
I nod and stifle a groan at the loss of his warm hands around mine.
Instead, he places one hand on the small of my back to lead me into the restaurant.
Star Bagel is always busy, so we stand in line to place our order.
Once that is done, we take our number and look around for a place to sit.
As he leads us to the back of the room, I overhear people whispering his name, pointing at him, and taking out their phones to snap pictures.
By the time we find an empty table for us to take, I’m nervous for a completely different reason.
“Is it always like this?” I ask, nodding toward two girls standing outside the window, holding their phones to the glass to get a photo of him.
“Not all the time,” he replies, and I raise a brow, not believing him.
“I try to ignore it or pretend they’re admiring some painting on the wall.
” He looks up, his eyes focusing on whatever is above my left shoulder, and his lips start to twitch.
“The masterpiece that is behind you is priceless. I can see why everyone wants to take a photo of it.”
I turn around to find a black-and-white portrait of a bulldog with a half-eaten bagel hanging out of his mouth. The photo is so ridiculous we both burst out laughing.
“In fact, I think I need a photo of it.” He swiftly takes out his phone, and before I can protest, he’s snapping a photo of me with the portrait.
“Beautiful,” he says, not even bothering to look down at the picture he just took. I feel my cheeks getting warm again, so I distract myself by taking a sip of water.
“So, tell me all about Aly,” he says in a soothing but commanding voice. He sets his forearms on the table and leans forward, his expression attentive as he waits for me to respond.
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
“Well,” I start, clearing my throat before continuing. “Here’s the Cliff’s notes, since our time this morning is limited. I was born and raised here in Nashville, graduated from Belmont University, and I currently work at Big Little Music as an A this town is booming with transplants and now you can’t assume anyone is from here anymore. “Yup, my sister and I are third generation born and raised here. She was the one with me last night.”
“The blonde?” he asks with a look of doubt on his face. “You guys don’t look anything alike.”
“I know,” I say with a laugh. “She looks like our dad and I look like our mom.”
“Do you have any other siblings?”
I shake my head before answering. “Just us girls.”
“I bet you two have your dad wrapped around your pinky fingers.”
My smile falters at his words, because I wish that were the case, but it isn’t. No matter how hard I try to hide it, he notices the shift right away. Seeing the concern in his eyes, I decide to give him a small explanation.
“We’re closer to our mom than our father.
He works a lot and doesn’t make himself available to spend time with us.
” Acknowledging this out loud stings, but I learned a long time ago to not let my father’s lack of affection bother me.
While I love my father because of who he is, I don’t have much respect for how he treats us, especially my sister.
I just wish Valerie would go to counseling and learn how to handle it better.
She’s affected the most by his aloofness toward us.
Understanding replaces his concern and he reaches across the table to grab my hand.
“It’s his loss, Aly. You understand that, don’t you?
It’s his loss, not yours.” He gently squeezes my fingers in encouragement and graces me with a soft smile.
The sincerity in his eyes almost has me undone.
This man seems to be too good to be true.
Am I still dreaming? I squeeze his hand back to make sure he’s not a figment of my imagination and give him an appreciative smile. I loosen my grip as a signal for him to let go of my hand, but instead, he holds onto it.
“Enough about me,” I say, wanting to take the attention off me and move it to him. “It’s your turn now to tell me everything about you.”
“Why don’t you tell me what you already know about me and I’ll fill in the rest.” He raises a mischievous brow before taking a sip of coffee.
“I know you’re from Texas and that you’re incredibly talented.
I know you’ve made a name for yourself and are now one of the most sought out songwriters in Nashville.
So far, you don’t seem like you could be a serial killer, but then again, I just met you.
” I smile, enjoying the sound of his rich, deep laughter.
A sound I really hope I get to hear again.
“I also know your ex-girlfriend is Tori Langston.” I mimic his actions by raising my own brow and lifting my coffee cup to my lips.
His eyes glitter with amusement. “All those things are true. Does it bother you that she’s my ex-girlfriend?” He maneuvers our hands so that our fingers are now laced together, his thumb sending shivers down my spine as he caresses the inside of my palm.