by Kylie Walker
“Guilty,” Ashley smiled. “I’m the sister.”
“Now that introductions have been made,” Chloe beamed. “You can come back inside.”
Chloe’s mother Donna was on the phone in the other room; Roman guessed talking to one of the doctors or nurses and getting the enlightening update on her husband’s condition.
“Mom said he woke up in the night and started asking for a steak,” Chloe laughed. “They said he told them he was starving.”
Roman laughed. “That’s great news. The man is hungry, get him a steak.”
“If he wants one!” Chloe shrugged, hugging Ashley as if they were still in a dreamy state and couldn’t believe that their father was starting to recover so quickly.
Chloe gave him a look of determination. “I guess that means I can travel back to Europe with you.”
Roman approached her, gently stroking her hair. He glanced down at her. She was so petite and slender, so perfect. “If you feel like that’s the best decision for you and your family.”
Chloe glanced at Ashley for a slice of reassurance. “What do you think?”
Before Ashley had a chance to answer, her mother walked into the room and noticed him standing there. “Hello,” she greeted him with a polite and friendly smile. Her cheeks were warm and rosy, and she had the same silky blonde hair as her daughters.
“I’m Roman.” He approached and reached for her hand, giving a gentle shake.
“Nice to meet you, Roman.” Donna remained on the other side of the room as she glanced at her daughters, addressing them directly. “They are releasing daddy today.”
“Thank God!”
The women joined together in a group hug. Roman smiled, his chest expanding with warmth. What if things had been different for him? What if he’d gotten the call that his sister was stabilized, would recover, instead of the tragic ending she’d suffered? He was so grateful Chloe and her family had this second chance with the man they loved. He was thankful they didn’t have to suffer the way he had been since his sister’s passing.
“We’ll get dad settled in, and then... I guess we should get on another flight. Roman?”
Chloe was looking at him, but he’d been so lost in thought, he hadn’t immediately noticed.
He nodded. “If that’s what you want to do, yes.”
She hugged him, wrapping her arms around his waist and hanging on tight.
“I guess it won’t take me long to pack, given that my suitcase is still upstairs and hasn’t been touched.”
He chuckled and held her back, as tightly as he dared. “I didn’t even pack a bag. I just jumped on a plane and flew straight here.”
Chloe’s mother’s eyes sparkled. “I think it was really a romantic gesture, what you did for Chloe.”
“Yeah,” Ashley agreed with a smile. “She’s lucky to have a guy who cares so much about her.”
Chloe was blushing from the compliments. “Stop you guys. You are going to make me cry.”
“No, you aren’t,” Ashley rolled her eyes. “You are way too tough for that.”
“She is a fighter, that is for sure.” Roman kissed her forehead.
Chloe beamed as she jogged up the steps. Roman knew by the look of resilience splashing across her gorgeous blue eyes that she was determined to finish what she started.
________________________
ALMOST TWELVE HOURS later, after saying their goodbyes to Chloe’s mother and sister and making a venture to the hospital to meet Chloe’s father, Roman and Chloe finally made it through customs and the international boarding. They were exhausted, but excited and ready to make their journey to Paris, the next leg of their tour.
“Are you going to miss the tour when it’s over?” Chloe asked as she settled into her seat and looked out the window. The plane was nearing the end of its taxi. With a smooth burst forward, it ascended into the air. Fluffy cotton ball clouds tickled the side of the plane and breezed past them.
Roman sighed and sagged back into his own seat beside hers. “I don’t know...I’ll miss the fans and the crowds, the energy of each venue.”
Chloe glanced at him with a smile. “But not the jet lag and the paparazzi every time you make one step out of your hotel room?”
Roman chuckled. “Definitely won’t miss the paparazzi or the jet lag,” he affirmed. “I will miss the Red Bulls and the Reese’s though,” he added.
Chloe laughed, patting his thigh. “I can still give you one every night if that makes you feel better.”
Roman high-fived her. “Baby, you can give me something every night, and it doesn’t have to be food.”
The truth was, he was excited about starting the next chapter. He didn’t have to dread the lonely, empty feeling he always had when a tour ended. This time, he would have Chloe by his side. He couldn’t wait to begin their next adventure together.
“Do you want a snack?” He asked after the pilot gave them the green light to roam about the cabin safely when they reached the maximum height they would climb into the sky.
Chloe rubbed her flat tummy. “I’m starving actually.”
They hadn’t been able to eat more than a skimpy breakfast since earlier that morning because everything that happened after that had been a whirlwind.
Roman approached the flight attendants, retrieved a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. It would be the warm up to their entrée of pasta.
“A toast?” He proposed as he poured the drinks into the glass flutes.
“That sounds wonderful.” Chloe leaned up in her seat, gratefully retrieving the glass.
“To new adventures,” he chimed as their flutes clanked together.
Roman watched Chloe take a delicate sip, puckering her lips in the delicious aftertaste. “I could get used to this,” she joked, plucking a strawberry from the container.
Roman wanted to pamper her and give her all the finest luxuries that money could buy. Chloe had been through so much turmoil with her father’s cancer. He wanted to start a new chapter of memories with her and show her how amazing the world could be.
“It’s just the very beginning,” he whispered softly as he kissed the side of her cheek.
She was the total package; a fantastic catch and he wouldn’t let her go — not this time.
“I’m just glad I am able to soften your tough exterior edges,” she teased, nudging his shoulder by bumping hers against him.
He laughed lightheartedly. “Baby, you haven’t seen anything yet. I’m a man of mystery.”
Chloe smirked. “Isn’t that James Bond? Or Austin Powers?”
“Both. Now, lean over here and kiss me, baby.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“We’re here.” Roman’s masculine voice sent a tickling sensation through Chloe’s ears as he nuzzled his five o’clock stubble against her cheek.
“Erm?” She yawned, blinked and stretched. She wiped the sleepy, dazed feeling out of her eyes and glanced around. The plane was on the ground, sitting on the tarmac. They had landed safely in Paris.
“Paris...” she trailed off with a dreamy tone. “The most romantic city in the world.”
Roman shrugged. “Any city can be romantic if you make it that way.” He gently pressed his hand between her legs through her shorts, giving her a melty, tingling sensation.
“Stop it,” she whispered before the flight attendant pushed down the aisles. “We’re unloading now.”
Roman groaned into her ear as she felt the bulge in his pants pulsing against her thigh.
She gave him a mischievous glance. “You’re so bad.”
“It must be Paris,” he joked. “The romance is already having an effect on me.”
She playfully swatted at his chest. “Oh, I bet it is!”
Roman chuckled and held his hands up by his sides. “What?” He feigned innocence as Chloe continued to give him a devilish smirk.
After the grueling process of going back through customs and international security, they finally made their way back to Ro
man’s hotel suite. The travel back and forth between America and Europe was making Chloe feel somewhat delirious, but they were in the final stretches now. Soon, a few months of quiet downtown would stretch out before them.
Chloe followed him inside, recognizing the familiar sights and smells that came along with life on the road.
“I swear, each hotel we go to seems fancier and ritzier than the last,” she chuckled as she paced the room, trailing her fingertips across the threads of the luxuriously silky bedsheets.
“Here,” Roman said as he plucked a mint into his mouth, throwing one to Chloe. “A token of my appreciation for the fact that you traveled back to Europe to end the tour with me.” He cast her a teasing wink.
Chloe unwrapped the mint, plopping it into her own mouth as the sweet chocolate exploded her taste buds. “I could eat about a hundred of these,” she mumbled with a mouth full.
“I’ll buy you all the mints in the world,” Roman said as he casually draped his arms over her shoulders, leaning over to give her a sensual kiss that captured her breath.
She gazed into his eyes, already becoming lost in the whirlwind of lust that he had to offer her. She pressed her lips to his again, but this time they were interrupted by a pounding on the hotel room door.
Roman groaned with frustration and trudged over to the door. “Who the hell is it?” He shouted, giving Chloe a joking smirk.
She sat on the edge of the bed and began to bounce up and down, testing its comfortability and agility.
“Your worst nightmare!” Chloe recognized Asher’s voice erupting in the hallway right before Roman let him in.
“Oh, it’s just this dipshit,” Roman mentioned to Chloe as he pointed a thumb at his fellow band members.
“That is my formal title,” Asher quipped back, never getting embarrassed by being the brunt of any random taunting.
Asher’s eyes sparkled. “I’m glad to hear that your father is on the road to recovery.”
Chloe stood up and breathed a sigh of relief. “Me too. I’m happy to be back where I belong, with my tour family.” She reached out and took Roman’s waiting hand.
Colton entered the room behind Asher. “I heard you two lovebirds were back,” he teased.
“We couldn’t stay away,” Roman jested.
“Well I’ll tell you what will happen to you if you disappear like that again,” Colton pretended to lay a punch into Roman’s gut, stopping short right before landing on his stomach.
“Yeah okay.” Roman rolled his eyes, taking it all in stride.
He had mentioned to Chloe on the flight over the Atlantic that the guys might give him a hard time, although it was all in good fun because they understood where his priorities were.
“The gang is getting ready to go to dinner at this fancy French Bistro,” Asher mentioned. “Do you guys want to join?” He raised an expectant eyebrow.
Chloe exchanged a glance with Roman. “I’m game,” she admitted. “The flight worked up my appetite.”
“Let’s get some real food,” Roman proclaimed.
“I just need to freshen up first,” Chloe stated. “Can Roman and I meet up with you in the lobby in half an hour?”
“That’s enough time for a quickie,” Asher chortled, high-fiving Colton.
“You guys should grow up,” Roman smirked, closing the door behind his friends.
________________________
EXACTLY HALF AN HOUR on the dot later, Roman and Chloe spilled out into the lobby from the emptied elevator. She ventured over to Emelia, giving her a hug in greeting.
Emelia patted her back, giving her a sympathetic glance. “I’m glad everything is okay with your dad now,” she stated, pushing her clutch back up under her arm.
“Me too,” Chloe nodded, pushing a strand of her blonde hair off her face.
She was wearing a similar cocktail dress like Emelia; only Chloe’s was shorter and red, not black like Emelia’s. Emelia was wearing combat boots to give her look an edge, Chloe in silver stiletto pumps.
“I really appreciate everyone’s support,” Chloe confessed “It’s so touching.”
Emelia’s cheeks flushed at the compliment. “We will always be here for you, babe.”
“Is everyone ready to go?” Trevor announced to the group, clapping his hands together to get everyone’s undivided attention.
The group proclaimed they were ready to go out on the town to have drinks and dinner. Chloe couldn’t wait to stuff herself sick with wine, cheese, and bread. What was a trip to Paris without loading her body with carbs? She could always work off the calories wrestling in the sheets with Roman.
Even the image of him between her legs, wiggling around on top of him while she rode him in a seductive way sent shivers of pleasure up Chloe’s spine. She gripped his hand as they plunged into the sea of waiting paparazzi cameras on the sidewalk outside.
“This entire restaurant shut down just for us,” Asher boasted.
“Oh wow,” Chloe said as she crossed her legs, making room for Roman sitting beside her. “That’s awesome.”
“Most of the tour crew will be there,” Emelia mentioned. “We basically reserved the entire restaurant.”
“I guess I will just have to save my jet lag for another night,” Chloe chuckled.
As soon as they arrived, the driver took them to the back of the restaurant so that they could unload in seclusion.
The restaurant was the epitome of Parisian romance. Beautiful warm hues adorned the walls. Lanterns flickered with a soft yellow glowing light on the walls. Abstract art was spread out evenly across the area. Chloe glanced around in awe of the culture. It was a privilege to be immersed in this lifestyle.
She sat down next to Roman as the waiting staff of the restaurant began to sprinkle around them, fretting and fussing over the group as they took orders with beaming smiles.
Chloe determined that there must have been at least a hundred people or more attending the party, and she was lucky to be a part of the atmosphere. She took a sip of her wine and ate the expensive cheeses off the platter, filling her belly with warm food and her soul with fantastic conversation.
She knew she had found the root of happiness and contentment in her heart as she squeezed Roman’s hand under the table. She wanted to take a mental picture of the party and the company, making sure to view it as a keepsake for the memory book stored in her heart.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Are you guys ready to blow the roof off this house tonight?” Roman held his hand in the circle where the band members always congregated to reel in for a countdown.
“Let’s make the fans go crazy tonight!” Asher shouted as the rest of the group followed in unison.
Adrenaline pumped through Roman’s veins. He was electrically charged tonight, relishing the roar of the crowd from backstage, the shouts of joy as the fans waited for them to rush the stage in less than a minute. It was a powerful sensation that had become an addiction in his mind, something that he craved night after night when they performed.
“Hey!”
Roman spun around at the familiar female voice purring behind him.
“Hi.” He gave Chloe an earnest grin as she snaked her arms around his neck. She pulled him in for a sensual kiss that lingered on his lips. He was met with a tingling sensation that lingered even after the kiss had ended.
“Good luck tonight.” Her cheeks were rosy, flushed and her tone was breezy as if she had just finished running up a flight of stairs.
“Thank you,” he whispered in her ear, tucking a tendril of her silky, soft blonde hair behind her ear. “It’s going to be epic.”
“I know it will be,” Chloe smiled. “Because I’ll be watching from the front row.”
Roman snickered at her joke. “Yes,” he nodded conformingly. “You will be the fresh air in my lungs. You’ll be the sunshine radiating through my mind as I look into your ocean blue eyes tonight.”
Chloe gave him an awestruck gaze. Her jaw went slack. “Wow,�
�� she finally managed to whisper. “You are incredible, reminiscent of a poet.”
Roman laughed. “I’m a songwriter baby!” He exclaimed. “Would you expect anything less from me?”
Chloe paused, leaving him in suspense as she pretended to ponder his assumption. “Yes,” she nodded with an edgy grin because she loved being coy with him. “You sure are a songwriter.”
She gave his ass an affectionate smack and flashed him a sultry wink. “Now, go knock em’ dead, soldier.”
He gave her one last hug before walking out onto the stage with his band brothers. Life was exceptional, and he never wanted to stop riding the wave. The natural high was too incredible to let go of. It had been too damn hard to achieve. Roman had worked his ass off to get where he was in life, and he would never let go of his dreams.
As soon as he was behind his drum set, he knew he was at home. Besides being wrapped up in Chloe’s arms and legs while they wrestled in the bed and sitting at his drum set was where Roman felt most comfortable. His drums were a part of his soul, engraved into his spirit.
As the lights above his head went out and the strobe lights flashed to the roaring crowd, Roman searched for Chloe. He finally found her. She was the one jumping up and down with the most exuberance. Her hands were held high above her head, the extension and perfect token of adoration and excitement.
He pounded his heart and soul into those drums, giving it his all. Exhilaration pulsed through his veins and shot out of his fingertips, giving his drumsticks a wild ride as they pounded against the surface of the drums.
The fact that Chloe was sweating in the crowd, dripping with sex appeal and ambition was enough to fuel Roman for the rest of the concert. He had everything he needed in life. His heart was full.
___________________
THE SECOND TO LAST show was now under their belts. The endorphins were still blazing through Roman. He wouldn’t be ready for bed for hours. He had to climb down from this euphoric state, and it took time.
After Roman had showered and Chloe freshened up, they set out into the sizzling Parisian night.