Chapter 16
I’m home.
Once I’ve hit Send on the text to Ryder, I flop onto the couch, ignoring the suitcase sitting by the front door. After the flight from Las Vegas to Denver and the drive from Denver to Aspen Falls, I’m exhausted.
If not for Krista’s arm looped through mine and her encouragement, I don’t think I would have successfully made it to TSA in Vegas. And by encouragement, I mean Krista’s dragging me through the automatic doors and to security. My own feet would have carried me back to the car.
But I’m supposed to open the brewery tomorrow, so I had no choice but to come home.
Home. For the first time since I moved back to Aspen Falls, that word doesn’t feel right.
Because Ryder’s not here.
I hated saying goodbye to him. And talking to him on the phone after I landed was almost worse than not talking to him at all. It only reminded me of the distance. So when I promised to let him know when I made it home, I sent a text. There was no way I’d make it through another phone call without crying.
Only Ryder has other plans. The phone is still in my hand when his name flashes across the screen.
With a deep breath, I press the green button.
“Hello?”
“Hey, baby. You made it home?” he asks by way of greeting.
“Yeah.”
One-word answers are safe.
“Tired?”
“Yeah.”
He chuckles, the vibrations tickling my eardrum.
“Super talkative tonight, aren’t you?”
I let out a sigh, the sadness climbing back to the surface.
“I miss you,” I tell him with the telltale burning behind my eyes and nose.
“I miss you too, Britt. I hated watching you walk away earlier.”
A smile curves my cheeks. “Didn’t you tell me once you liked watching me walk away so you could stare at my ass?”
He barks out a laugh. “You remember that?”
“Of course I do.”
“You’re right. I do like grabbing a look at your perfect ass, but I like all of you.”
“I thought you loved me,” I tease.
“I do love you.”
The words still create a warmth that tingles through my body. Will I ever get tired of hearing them?
I doubt it.
The sound of a car door closing echoes through the phone, breaking the silence that has settled between us.
I snuggle against the couch. “Where are you?” I ask. “Are you and the guys going out tonight? You don’t have a concert until Thursday, right?”
Two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have asked that question. Two days ago, I would have assumed the worst. Now, I want to spend as much time with him on the phone as I can.
“Yeah, Thursday.” He blows through the phone, his voice echoing.
“Gonna hit up the Strip and party like your mom and dad?”
“Ha ha. Since she said that, I haven’t been able to keep my mind from creating images of them. There are certain things kids don’t need to know about their parents.”
“Or their siblings?” I shudder. My older brother, Jagger, is a romance author on the side. I do not need to know where he gets the inspiration for the steamier scenes in his books. Especially now that he’s engaged.
“Definitely. And to answer your question, no, not going out and partying. I bet the guys are, though.”
“So, what? You’re going to hang out in your hotel room tonight?”
“Something like that. Maybe watch a movie. Eat popcorn.”
“That sounds nice.”
“What about you?” he asks. I imagine him stretching out on the king-size mattress in his room, remote control in hand.
“I’ll probably?—”
A knock raps on the door.
“Just a second. Someone’s at the door.” With a groan, I stand, not ready to move.
“Who would be knocking this late? Be careful and take the phone with you.”
“You’re worried about me?”
“You’re damn right I’m worried about you,” he says. “I wish I was there to answer the door for you.”
“It’s not that late, and it’s Aspen Falls. You remember how everything shuts down at six on Sundays? The brewery just closed, so it’s probably Becky or whoever closed up. They still store some of the supplies in the second bedroom up here.”
“Use the peephole,” he demands.
“There isn’t one. It’s Aspen Falls.”
I swing open the door expecting to find Becky wearing a sheepish grin and asking to get into the second bedroom, but standing on the landing is a figure clad in a black T-shirt and faded jeans with a leather jacket tossed over his arm and a phone up to his ear.
“Oh my god. What are you doing here?” The squeal that escapes me echoes through the phone.
He smirks and hangs up, catching me when I launch myself at him. “I told you I missed you,” he murmurs against my hair.
I lift my lips to his, moaning as his tongue finds mine, and cling to his shoulders. Eyes closed, I soak him in, sliding my hands into his hair, holding him to me, and only realizing that I was still clutching my phone when it thuds to the floor.
“Oops,” I say, breaking the kiss.
“I got it, baby.” He keeps one hand at my waist as he crouches to grab my cell phone.
“Phew. Not broken,” I say, tucking it into my pocket.
Upright again, he wraps his arms around me and walks me back into the apartment before kicking the door closed behind him. “I don’t think the neighbors need a show,” he says.
“No neighbors,” I tell him, grabbing his jacket and tossing it on the chair just inside the door.
“What about whoever’s downstairs?” His lips find my jaw.
We’re a mass of seeking fingers and hungry lips as I continue to back into the apartment.
“I have so many questions,” I tell him, moaning as his fingers glide over the lace of my bra and find my breast.
“I have answers. After. But first—” He kneels and boosts me into his arms. “Where’s the bedroom?”
??????
“You said you have questions.”
I’m relaxed after being on the receiving end of multiple orgasms and am drifting in and out of the afterglow when his statement vibrates through his chest.
I look up, resting my chin on my hand and meeting his gaze. His fingers continue to draw a pattern up and down my spine.
“What are you doing here? What about the residency?” I ask.
He lifts one shoulder in a shrug. “I missed you. I’m not needed in Vegas until Wednesday for some promotional work, so I figured I’d spend the time with you rather than be miserable without you.” He lifts a finger, running it along my jawline, and my eyes flutter shut.
“Mmm.”
“Are you happy I’m here? Good surprise?” he asks.
With a nod, I open my eyes. “Best surprise ever. But how did you know where I—Krista.” It’s a statement, not a question.
“I texted her before I left the airport property. It just took a while to make sure I could take the time and get a flight booked.”
“She knew? While we were still in Vegas?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“That sneak. I didn’t have a clue. Her poker face is crazy good.”
“Good. I told her to keep it a secret. Threatened her, actually.”
“Threatened?”
Mischief glimmers in his eyes, and his smile stretches across his face. The natural one. The one that only a few people get to see. Including me.
“When she was sixteen, she borrowed Mom’s car without asking and scratched the shit out of it trying to back out of the garage.”
“I remember.” I was in the passenger seat, so the angry screech of metal against metal is easy to recall. “Your parents were gone for the weekend.”
He nods. “I called Joe at Fuel Good Repairs, and he fixed it before Mom got home. When Mom noticed the brighter paint, I told her I had her car detailed on the outside as a surprise.”
“Your mom would murder Krista if she found out,” I laugh. “She loved that car.”
“Exactly. So I told Krista that if she didn’t keep my visit a secret, I’d tell Mom the truth.”
“You’re diabolical,” I tell him with a smile.
He cups my cheek in his palm. “No, I’m in love. And I wanted to surprise you.”
“I love you too.”
Shifting, I glide my lips along his, and his dick pulses between us.
“Is this okay?” he asks, breaking the kiss.
“More than okay.”
He tangles his hands in my hair and finds my jaw with his mouth.
“We’re really doing this?” I ask.
“Doing what?” He pulls back enough to meet my gaze.
“A relationship. Long distance. Whatever you want to call it.”
He nods. “Only part-time long distance. Just the nights I have to be in Vegas. Otherwise, I want to be here with you.”
“What about Vegas?”
“You want to go to Vegas?” he asks.
I wrinkle my nose in response.
He laughs. “I didn’t think so.”
“It’s okay to visit, but I like living in a small town. I like having my brother and his fiancée right down the road. My mom too. And Krista?—”
He lifts a finger to my lips. “I like it too. Don’t forget, this was home for me too once upon a time.”
“And you’re ready to call it home again?” I ask.
“Britt, home is wherever you are. Wherever you go, that’s where I’ll be too.”
“I like that.” My lips find his again, and the word resonates through my body.
Home.