Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
AUGUST
The door swung open almost instantly after I knocked, like she had been standing on the other side waiting for me. I hadn’t seen her since River and I had picked her and Louise up from an empty bar downtown, but she’d been on my mind almost constantly since.
My words dried up in my throat and I blinked uselessly at her as she smiled. I’d seen Sienna Slade drunk, in costume, and singing, but this was the version of her that disarmed me.
Remembering the flowers in my right hand, I swung the bouquet up so quickly she flinched before letting out a breathless laugh and dipping her head to smell the freesias and roses.
“They’re gorgeous, thank you.”
So are you. I swallowed, my mouth opening and closing as I begged my body to let any sound out. Anything at all. “Goo—Welc—Cool.”
On second thought, maybe I should have left my mouth shut.
Her eyebrows rose but she chose not to comment on whatever garbled nonsense had just come out of me and instead she nudged the door open wider and waved me inside.
Cupboards opened and Muffin, the cat, startled at the sound, opening both eyes wide as she watched her mom rummage through the kitchen in search of a vase.
Sienna held it up triumphantly and I nodded, hoping I hadn’t been caught staring.
I couldn’t help drinking the sight of her in, the way her little black dress flared out around her hips, skimming mid-thigh, the corset top decadent against her pale skin and the way her breasts moved when she breathed…
Once my heart rate had settled back into normal rhythm, I smiled. “You look incredible.”
She flushed prettily, the color traveling down her throat to her chest and I looked away before I could become entranced again. “Thank you.”
There was a genuine warmth on her face from my compliment, a pleased tilt to her mouth, but her eyes seemed…
tired. We were supposed to be attending an early listening party for some girl band’s new album.
It wasn’t anyone I’d heard of, but it was important enough that Louise had mentioned it during our ‘contract’ negotiations.
And yet, I couldn’t help wondering if Sienna actually wanted to go to this thing.
She was put together flawlessly, but there was a tired reluctance to the way she moved like she was fighting her better instincts in order to go to this thing.
As nice as I’m sure the event would be, it didn’t seem worth sacrificing her mental health for it.
If she didn’t have the bandwidth right now, which would be understandable given all the upheaval in her life with her label and the publicity we were generating, then that should be reason enough for her to not attend.
“You know…” I said slowly and she glanced up at me from the kitchen island as she arranged her flowers in their water. “We don’t have to go tonight. If you’d rather stay in—”
“No, that’s fine. I’m excited for it.”
The enthusiasm in her voice didn’t quite make it to her face and I raised an eyebrow.
“Well, I’m dreading it,” I lied. “The only good part of the evening will be being with you.”
She threw me a look at that, like the words were just pretty flattery and not the truth, and then sighed, pressing her hands against the marble and leaning heavily. “I guess I’m just not really in a party mood.”
I reached down to stroke Muffin where she twined around my legs and shot a smile up at Sienna. “I get it. I’ll just head back to my place, watch some TV or something.”
Figuring that would be the end of the conversation, I turned towards her front door and paused when her voice called out.
“Or, you could stay?” There was an uncertainty in her tone that made me nervous even as my heart leapt. I swallowed hard and glanced over my shoulder, meeting her eyes. “Sorry, you probably want to—”
“I’ll stay,” I said, biting my lip to hide my smile when she relaxed. “Have you eaten?”
She shrugged. “I had a sandwich earlier.”
“I’ll cook us something, if you like?”
Her shoulders eased down and a softness settled in her face. “That would be great. I don’t know what groceries I have in though.”
“I’ll figure it out,” I assured her, and she smiled again.
“I’m going to put on something more comfortable.”
I nodded, waving her off. From anyone else, it would have seemed like an invitation, like she was going to emerge in skimpy lingerie and a come-hither look in her eyes. As entertaining as the thought was, I was certain Sienna was thinking more about pajamas than lingerie.
The fridge was mostly empty, but I used what I could and set about chopping peppers, onion, garlic and mushrooms before dumping them all in a large pan and then adding eggs.
I wasn’t a bad cook, but I didn’t really do it much for myself. I had most of my meals pre-planned and delivered via my trainer, but I knew the basics. Plus, it was nice to know I could do this for her, take care of her.
Footsteps padded softly behind me as I folded the large omelet in half and I spoke without looking back. “I hope the flowers are okay. Everything I found online said that roses and freesias are safe for cats to be around.”
“They’re perfect,” she said and I jumped, not realising she’d moved so close. “And that smells amazing.”
I threw a glance over my shoulder and quickly looked away when my heart squeezed at the sight of her.
She’d taken off her make-up, her eyes looking somehow bigger in her bare face, and her blonde hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun secured with a silky looking scrunchie.
It was… adorable. “It’ll be ready in a second.
” I cleared my throat, hoping she didn’t notice how tight my voice had become. “Want to grab me some plates?”
Sienna didn’t respond, but her arm brushed against mine as she leaned across me to open a cupboard, the sweet smell of her filling my senses as she stirred the air.
The plates clanked against the white marble countertop and I blinked, coming back to myself.
Why was I so hung up on this woman? Sure, she was attractive but I’d met a lot of attractive women over the years who hadn’t made me feel like a nervous teenager.
She’s too young for you. That was true enough, I’d already told her as much. We were in different places in our lives. She was a popstar, going on tour and doing photoshoots, I was a nearly-retired pro football player who was ready to settle down once I met the right girl.
So why does Sienna Slade feel like she’s the right girl?
Annoyed by the turn my thoughts had taken, I slipped the omelet onto one of the plates before halving it and sliding the rest onto the other. Then I grabbed the smaller, plain egg omelet I’d made and called to Muffin. “I checked, cats can have eggs. So I made her a little omelet too.”
Muffin hopped up onto the counter and sniffed at my offering, licking it tentatively before taking a small bite and chewing like her life depended on it.
“I think she likes it,” Sienna said, eyes sparkling as she watched us. “Thank you for this. Seriously. I really didn’t feel like leaving the house tonight.”
I chuckled, picking up the plates and heading over to the pink sofa when Sienna gestured to it. “Well, I’m honoured to have been the only person to have seen you in that dress tonight.”
Her answering laugh was quiet, a tinge of pink appearing on her cheeks as she sat down next to me on the sofa and placed two wine glasses on the coffee table in front of us. “White okay?”
“Sure.” I grimaced when she turned away, unsure why I’d agreed when I knew how wine affected me. Muffin trotted over, having devoured her mini omelet, and now she reached up to place her gray paws on my knees, eyeing up my dinner.
“I have beer if you’d prefer,” Sienna called and I looked over in time for her to bend and grab something from the fridge under her counter.
“They’re Cade’s, but he won’t mind sharing.
” She straightened and held the beer up for me to see and I dragged my eyes up, settling on the bottle without really taking it in.
“Um, sounds good,” I muttered and she walked back to the sofa, her silky black pajamas clinging to her thighs as she moved.
The beer was cold, already starting to sweat in my hand when she gave it to me, and I popped the top with relief after glancing at the label.
At least this wouldn’t give me a migraine like the white wine would have done.
It was quiet for a little while as we dug into the food, the TV on for background noise, but it felt comfortable rather than strained. Domestic, almost.
I restrained my sigh, focusing on chewing my food rather than on thoughts of Sienna. I’d almost succeeded, when she spoke.
“His early albums are my favorite.”
My head jerked up and I raised an eyebrow in question before realizing what she was talking about.
The TV was on a music channel, a black box slowly filling with mist as a guitar twang rang out followed by the pound of drums. Kenneth Slade had been many things, but nobody could deny his talent.
It had to be strange for Sienna to suddenly find herself faced with him out of the blue, but she only looked a little nostalgic, a softness on her face that felt raw.
“Is it hard? Seeing him everywhere?” I hadn’t experienced much loss in my life, barring some grandparents when I’d been nearly too young to remember it.
“Sometimes.” She lifted a shoulder and let it drop as she pulled her gaze away from the screen and instead met my eyes. “It’s weird having thousands of people share in your grief like they knew him.”
The bass rang out, signalling the end of the song, it was one of the band’s most iconic melodies. Sienna shook her head when the song changed and her own voice rang out, like the station was trying to deliberately draw a comparison between Sienna and her father.
“He would have hated my album,” she said and I made to protest when she waved me off. “No, no, it’s okay. I’m not being self-deprecating. He just really thought pop was a waste of time.”