Reckless Hearts
Vegas Nights
By
Lucretia Richmond
Reckless Hearts 1
Chapter One
Luanne couldn’t deny the passion she felt between her and Adam. She sat at the desk during the office meeting and couldn’t take her eyes away from him which made it difficult to concentrate at all. They had been dating for six and half months and she hadn’t had a call from him in three weeks. She thought talking to him after the meeting was her only chance to get a word in since they always usually busy especially for a Monday that’s what happen’s when you work for a gossip magazine.
Luanne had been given the opportunity to interview celebrities; actors, actresses and musicians. Her co-worker Liz wasn’t at all sure what she was seeing Adam that had made her so attracted to him in the first place. Their boss handed them a list of names they would be interviewing and their work had to be turned in early.
Well, that’s one way to get my mind off of him, Luanne thought.
“No pressure or anything.” Susan Peters whispered to Elena Douglas as they left the room. Their boss was usually more professional than that but had been in a hurry.
“Brock Ashton.” Luanne knew that name very well, he was a rock musician very popular, his recent song had made the top 50 list of Rock lit magazine who only published articles on that genre.
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Every woman at his concerts threw themselves at him, he was known for being the only member in his band to write the lyrics to his songs and he sang the vocals, she had met Brock before and told herself he was one she needed to stay away from.
She sat down at her desk ready to make the phone call, if she could have gotten a hold of him.
“This is Ashton.” Brock answered surprisingly on the second ring not giving her enough time to rehearse her conversation with him.
“It’s Luanne, we met not too long ago I’m with Eye Candy magazine.” Luanne said nervously.
“You want an interview?” He asked bluntly. He had given her his number the first night they met, but not on a professional manner, he was interested in her and had expected her to call him than not months later.
“Yeah, that would be great.” Luanne admitted, “If that’s possible?”
Brock had a hectic schedule and hardly had any time for the press, she was lucky he even answered his phone.
He set up a date for the interview and she was satisfied, she felt anxious to see him and wasn’t sure. She had felt the same butterflies she had felt the night at the club after his set when she walked up to his penthouse door on the 33rd floor. Butterflies she used to feel for Adam. He opened the door in an opened, long black buttoned shirt and black leather pants, his medium length hair looking as though he had just stepped out of the shower. He quickly smiled when he saw her standing there.
“You’re early.” He said happily.
She had already won him over, it felt as though she was trying hard to get his attention but she didn’t even have to try.
“Have a seat anywhere you like.” He insisted. She took one next to a giant fish tank which she didn’t expect him to have and seemed to take good care of the water was a clean blue and the fish were growing and healthy, it showed how caring his heart was.
Reckless Hearts 3
Luanne placed her notepad in her lap and held up her pen as he stood in front of her ready to talk on a business level but was also hoping to get personal.
“Your music, it not only seems very original but with a lot of heart as well. Is it something you’ve always wanted to do.” Luanne asked curiously not sure what would happen between them if they had gotten to know each other better.
“Yeah I have, music is in my blood my father was a musician and my grandfather was a musician, it’s what I’ve waited my whole life for.” Brock answered.
His reply was something she was proud to have had the chance to have been able to write down.
“You don’t seem to be the kind of musician who does this for the limelight.” Luanne said flirtatiously.
“No, that wasn’t what I was after, music is what I love and it makes others happy when they hear it.” Brock replied.
As she was getting to know him more, who he truly was on the inside she began to actually fall for him and it wasn’t because he was her staring into her eyes with his own that made her body quiver. She knew he had got her gazing at his lips and knew she was going to leave that penthouse with more than she went there waking up in his arms, she felt what she had never felt before not with Adam, not with any relationship, she dreaded the thought of having to leave within the hour. She had to give the interview to her boss to be published the next day who was always in a hurry to beat the other magazines. Brock could feel how much she wanted to stay and he knew how much he wanted her to.
“I’ve got a fax machine will that work.?” Brock asked hopefully.
“Possibly.” Luanne replied with a smile anxious to kiss him, she leaned in reaching for his lips.
Making their morning even more wonderful. She wasn’t sure how it would have affected her relationship with Adam or how she would even tell him but at that moment she didn’t much care.
“I wanted to do that the first time I saw you.” Brock said happily, he was almost afraid of admitting what he was truly feeling; he had never let himself get too close to any woman.
Falling in love with a nineteen year old would have brought complications to the relationship, issues he was ready for being a rock star and having to deal with it on stage made him ready for all of it.
Reckless Hearts 4
Luanne could feel her thrill and excitement as she dressed for the day, making her happier she didn���t take the job at the campus newspaper like her friend had suggested. Instead she took a chance on fate which led her to him. There was a strong passion between them as she gazed at him through him the mirror she put on her sparkling earrings and as he kissed her neck, she wondered why she bothered getting dressed at all.
The morning turned out more perfect than she had thought it would. He had made her breakfast in bed and rented a video she hadn���t seen years. It felt like she was in heaven, it made her wish she had given into her heart sooner.
The world around them didn���t seem to exist the longer they stayed in bed, loving each other deeply and intensely until the stars came out. She had broken up with Adam just for the moon settled into the night sky; with Brock was where she wanted and needed to be.
She had found love; the real can���t live without him love and work was the last thing on her mind. She loved being able to have all her days with him not wanting to leave his side. Going into work on a Saturday wasn���t what she wanted, if Brock hadn���t had to go into the studio she would have called in again still glad she had gone in she would have been lonely in his apartment and seeing all his photographs would have made it worse.
She couldn���t exactly understand why or how the connection between them had been so strong from the first moment they both laid eyes on each other until she saw her father and Brock���s father in the same room being interviewed. He knew his daughter worked for a magazine but hadn���t known which one because she kept a few things to herself for a reason just like he did.
���Dad, what are you doing here?��� She asked as she gave him a tight hug., ���Me and Mr. Ashton here were in a band in the late 80���s and got called for an interview and decided to take it.��� Her father replied.
���I can assume you���re related to Brock Ashton.��� She said nervously, she didn���t think she would have been meeting her boyfriend���s father at her p
lace of business let alone so soon.
���Yes, are you two close?��� His father asked suspiciously.
���Quite close actually.��� Luanne answered.
Reckless Hearts 5
She could see in her father���s eyes, he wasn���t approving of what he just heard. He never wanted his daughters to get caught up with musicians he had seen for himself their kind of lifestyle.
���Your daughter gave a delightful interview on Mr. Brock Ashton, I quite enjoyed it.��� Her boss said as she entered the room with a charming smile.
���She did, did she?��� Her father was happy to hear how good she was doing at her job and her living situation. She had just purchased her own house which can be expensive in Las Vegas, but she had been saving up for years to buy her dream house and she finally had. He just hadn���t gotten around to seeing it since his new wife had just had a baby.
Luanne was glad she had been able to get phone calls from her father since visits from him were so few. She still couldn���t help but wonder why her boss had kept his interview a secret from her.
���I think we should have lunch after I���m done with this interview, got to head back to New Jersey.��� He said hoping she would have agreed to it. He never had that kind of opportunity before when he was on business and he wanted to have that time before he had to leave again.
It seemed to him he was always leaving sometimes without saying goodbye.
���Yeah I can do that.��� She said giving him another hug and walked toward her desk.
���Now, where were we?��� Her boss said following Luanne���s father and Brock���s into her office. She closed the door with a smirk.
Luanne looked at her strangely not exactly knowing what it was for, all she knew was how lucky she was to have a father in her life and a wonderful boyfriend no matter how often she got to see them.
Having the sense that her father didn���t approve of her relationship, she knew what their conversation would start off with.
Reckless Hearts 6
Chapter Two
Brock hadn���t expected his ex-girlfriend to be in the studio before he was, recording her own song for her new album, he used to sit and watch her sing for her hours; left him begging for more. Luanne instantly came into his mind as Bella Rose also flooded his thoughts. She had been in Italy for a year after they broke off their relationship. She had changed image, but to him she was still the girl he knew; her longer and darker hair and hazel eye contacts didn���t do her justice.
He didn���t want hurt Luanne. He knew just being in the room with her would. He was ready to turn around and walk away when the producer noticed he was there.
���Brock my boy, were just about through here.��� Tom said thrilled how great her sound had enhanced.
���Well, what���d you think?��� Bella Rose asked excitedly.
���I think you���ve got power in your voice never seen you like this before you go to Italy and come back a brand new person.��� Tom replied.
���That was the plan, didn���t think it���d work so well.��� She said looking at Brock;
Feeling her love for him return.
���How long have you been here?��� She asked wondering if he believed she was really that surprised.
���Long enough.��� He said annoyed, mostly with himself.
***
Reckless Hearts 7
The restaurant her father chose had a beautiful setting; the lights were low with candles on the tables and roses in the center. It was the restaurant she wanted to go to for her birthday with her mother and father, but neither of them could be in the same room let alone breathe the same air.
���I���m sorry we haven���t spent much time together, if we had you might not have gotten involved with Brock.��� Her father said before they even ordered.
I knew this was coming, Luanne thought.
A waiter approached their table.
She suddenly wasn���t in the mood for a meal she ordered a salad and tall glass of water. Her father didn���t order anything at all.
���He isn���t as bad as what people have said, I���ve seen who he really is.��� She said hoping to have changed the conversation quickly.
���You���ve seen what he shows you.��� Her father was trying to protect his daughter from being hurt, he was known as the Playboy of Vegas. He dated woman after woman after woman they were never sure if he was ever going to settle down, but no one knew how close they had become only what the media had always said.
Luanne was hoping to keep their relationship a secret from her work. She didn���t know what kind of gossip they would have come up with, but she knew it wouldn���t have been anything good. She wanted to enjoy their quietness while they could.
When Debra Andrews assigned Luanne to interview Brock Ashton she had something else in mind for him. She knew he was a star on the rise with his fame skyrocketing, she promised full exposure from her magazine. She could read it in Luanne���s face there was something she hadn���t told them which could have meant Debra���s career.
It was the big boss of Eye Candy Magazine that wanted the interview since he had been a fan of his father���s, if he didn���t get his way she wasn���t going to count the hours when she would have had to pack her office.
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Luanne���s father poured himself some whiskey the second he got down into the bar when he got home. He knew what kind of heartache his daughter was in for and she wouldn���t hear a word he was telling her, he was too late she had fallen hard for him and there was no turning back from it.
She waited for him at the penthouse after she had left her dad; she had a yearning to see him again, to see his smile, to feel his touch; to feel his heart beating next to hers. She wanted it all and over and over again.
He had gotten there after her anxious to write down a new song that had been running through his head continuously as if it was in a time loop that he couldn���t break. Luanne didn���t know much about musicians, if she had she would have known music was all they knew. They rarely had time for relationships, her father knew from personal experience that wasn���t what he wanted for her he wanted her to feel happiness not deserted and abandoned.
Brock hadn���t even said hello before he went straight into the room and grabbed his notebook and pen.
���Hello to you too.��� She said with frustration as she slightly slammed the door, not as though he would have heard it with his mind somewhere else.
She didn���t bother going into the room and causing an argument instead she began cooking dinner making the mistake of assuming he was going to make it to the table, he had written a whole new album in less than the hour he believed it had been Bella Rose who had motivated him. She had always been the one have that effect on him and he had to admit to himself he missed it. He wasn���t sure how he felt about seeing her until his creative side kicked in.
He thought about her a lot while she was gone. His thoughts of her always ended the same with the same feeling he had the night they first kissed, she looked into his eyes with so much love and he could feel her heart melt the closer she was to him.
Bella Rose was always going to be a part of his life because of the child they had together; a secret they both kept from the media to keep her out of the limelight just so she could have the normal life they wanted for her; a secret he planned to keep from Luanne.
Reckless Hearts 9
He knew if Luanne found out any other way she would have left him and he didn���t want that but also knew he couldn���t just forget about Bella Rose. He kept telling himself after dinner he should have walked away from the studio not even let himself hear her recording. Luanne would soon question what was on
his mind and what was he to tell her?
Not the truth, he didn���t want it to be the truth if he lied he would have made it so much worse. He had asked her to move in with him, he had already given her a copy of his penthouse key. He always wanted her there, he had hoped his thoughts wouldn���t have become distracting, he didn���t want to hurt her or lose her. What he found with her was far different than what he had with Bella Rose. Their son would always be a reminder of how love consumed them and gave them a world they had never expected. It was because of him their music changed and became what it was. Their son was most precious to Bella Rose when music had once been the only important thing. She had felt every feeling for Brock she had once hidden away rushing back as she held their son in her arms and stood by the window staring out unto the majestic cloud covered mountains; the air filled with the scent of rain reminding her of the night their son Christopher was conceived, that was a memory she could never let go of, a memory that had entered mind any time they were standing in the same room together.
Christopher continued to look at the photograph of him and his father as his mother massaged his back hoping to put him to sleep after the rough night they had. She had went home after the studio and discovered he had a cough; she did what any mother would do to get him healthy.
Christopher was named after Brock���s great, great grandfather who had gone into the army when he was eighteen.
���Are you ready for sleep yet Christopher Samuel?��� She said tiredly ready to have a nap with him.
She hadn���t thought of calling Brock before but she needed the rest to take care of him.
���Brock?��� She didn���t have to wait until he said a word to know it was him, ���It���s Christopher.���
She said worriedly.
���What is it? What���s wrong?��� He asked looking at Luanne who was sleeping soundly.
���He���s got a cold.��� Bella Rose didn���t have to say anything else before he ran out there door even left behind his coat.
reckless hearts: vegas nights Page 1