This Is Our Song

by Samantha Chase

  “I know…I know.” She sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I’ll find something else to do. I just thought…well…it’s been a while since I’ve seen you two and I missed you.”

  “You know we miss you too, and really, your mom and I have been talking about doing some traveling this summer. We just didn’t know where.”

  “I don’t want to pressure you on such short notice—”

  “Nonsense. We’ve never really traveled east. This could be fun!”

  “Really?” she cried. “You mean it?”

  “You know I’m a man of my word, Savannah. Text me the address of where you’re staying and I’ll get the RV ready.”

  “Dad, you have no idea how much this means to me!”

  “It means a lot to me that you called and invited us,” he said sincerely. “Get me the address and I’ll see you Friday.”

  She put her phone back down on her nightstand and smiled. She’d get to see her family, the Shaughnessys would get their privacy.

  Everything was falling into place.

  Chapter 7

  For three days, she and Riley had been spending time doing nothing but working on the interview. They had eased into a routine where they met up for breakfast—after Riley did about thirty minutes of vocal exercises—and pretty much talked from morning until night. And what was most enjoyable to Savannah was that it didn’t feel like an interview. They simply talked.

  When Ian would come home at night, they’d have dinner together and he would chime in with funny stories about raising six kids. It was a nice break from simply talking about Riley and his career.

  She had a lot of conversations on tape regarding his love of music and his life leading up to his big break, and Savannah knew at some point she was going to have to weed through it all and pick out points that would benefit the story the most. It was going to be hard because everything he’d shared with her, she found fascinating.

  They didn’t flirt with one another again—nothing even close since their time out on the deck Sunday night—and she found she missed it. Not that Riley didn’t take every opportunity he could to touch her. Like when they were making breakfast and he’d walk by and his hand would skim her lower back. Or they’d be sitting next to one another and he’d touch her hair to get it out of her eyes.

  They were little things—and ones neither openly acknowledged—but they were slowly making Savannah…restless.

  For the most part, she kept her hands to herself. Not because she didn’t want to touch Riley, but because she had a feeling if she did, she wouldn’t want to stop. And now that they’d started working on the interview, she didn’t want to do anything to hinder their progress.

  No matter how badly she wanted to.

  Focus!

  Thursday morning, she was up earlier than usual and met up with Ian and Riley in the kitchen. “Good morning,” she said to them both. She had gotten up and showered and was ready to start her day.

  “Good morning, Savannah,” Ian said. “I wasn’t expecting to see you up this early.”

  She shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep and decided not to fight it anymore.” She looked at the clock. “It’s a little late for you, isn’t it? I thought you were normally gone by eight.”

  He smiled at her and then looked over at Riley. “Change of plans for today. I took today and tomorrow off, and Martha and I are going into Raleigh to look at some furniture and fixtures and whatever else we may need to do this master bedroom makeover.”

  “And you have to go to Raleigh to do that?” Savannah asked and noticed Riley was frowning as he drank his coffee.

  “There are a lot more businesses out that way for us to get what we’ll need and at a lower price than what we’d find here at one of the big home improvement stores. I’m not looking to break the bank on this renovation.” He took a sip of his own coffee. “She wants to go on to High Point too and look at furniture.”

  “How far is it?” Savannah asked.

  “Raleigh’s about three hours from here and High Point is an additional three hours west.”

  “Wow! That’s a long day. You probably won’t be back until after midnight. Lots of driving.”

  “We’re going to make it a two-day event and stay overnight somewhere along the way. We’re going to see where the day takes us and not rush.”

  “Oh,” she said, trying not to sound surprised. Then she looked over at Riley and realized that was why he was frowning. He was still a little uncomfortable with this new aspect of his father and Martha’s relationship. “I’m sure you’re going to have a great time.”

  “There’s plenty of food in the refrigerator for the two of you for dinner and—”

  “You don’t have to worry about us, Dad,” Riley finally said. “We know how to fend for ourselves.”

  Ian frowned at his son. “I was merely stating some facts, Riley. I know you both know how to take care of yourselves.” He put his mug in the sink before turning back to them. “I’ll be back tomorrow night after dinner. What time are your parents getting in, Savannah?”

  She had told them both of her plans for her parents’ visit, and while Ian had seemed excited at the idea, Riley had seemed a little confused by it. “As far as I know, it will be around eight tomorrow night—if everything goes as planned.”

  “Great. I’ll plan on bringing some dessert home with us and then we can all get to know each other while relaxing.”

  She waved him off. “Ian, I don’t expect you to entertain them. They’re coming here so you and your family can have a nice visit together without the pesky reporter hovering around. I gave them the address of one of the hotels close to the beach where they can park the RV and stay for the weekend. I already booked us two rooms.”

  “You did?” Riley asked, putting his coffee mug down with a little too much force. “When?”

  Savannah shrugged. “I don’t know. Tuesday, I guess. I took care of that when you had the conference call with Mick and your publicist. Or was that the call about artwork for the album cover? I can’t remember. Why?”

  He rolled his eyes. “We all told you that you were invited to the christening. I don’t understand why you’re not going.”

  “I already explained this to you, Riley. And besides, maybe I just want to have some time with my family. Have you thought about that?”

  Ian walked over and picked up his overnight bag before coming back to the two of them. “I need to get going. But before I do, I’m going to add one more wrinkle.”

  “Uh-oh,” Riley murmured.

  Ian looked at Savannah. “I talked to both Hugh and Aubrey about your situation and how you felt and that your parents were coming to visit. So they invited your parents to join the party too.” When Savannah made to protest, Ian held up a hand to stop her. “I have to go.”

  And then, in a move that surprised her, Ian leaned over and kissed her on the top of the head. “It’s a day to celebrate, Savannah. And it would mean a lot to Hugh and Aubrey if you were there. But I’m leaving the choice up to you.”

  He leaned down and even kissed Riley good-bye before walking out of the kitchen and out of the house.

  They both stood rooted to the spot, staring at the closed door. Although she couldn’t speak for Riley, Savannah knew what was going on in her own head—they were going to have the house to themselves for two days.

  Alone.

  No disruptions.

  No distractions.

  Just then, Riley turned and looked at her, and she knew he was thinking the exact same thing. But rather than comment on it, Savannah decided the best plan of attack was just to act as if everything was the same—like it wasn’t a big deal that Ian wasn’t going to be home for lunch and then back for dinner.

  Maybe she should suggest calling one of his brothers?

  Or maybe she should call Anna or Zoe and s
ee if they wanted to shop?

  Or maybe…

  In the blink of an eye, Riley was standing right in front of her—the sight of him making her gasp.

  “We can go over to Quinn and Anna’s if you’d prefer,” he said, his voice low and gravelly.

  She knew what he was asking, and Savannah wanted to think they had a little more self-control than this. They needed to. Eventually they were going to be back in L.A. and would have reasons to be alone again, and that shouldn’t be a major issue.

  Doing her best to sound calm and neutral, she said, “I don’t think it’s necessary.” Walking past him, she went to the living room, picked her notepad up from the coffee table, and then went back to the kitchen. “I have an outline of things I’d like to cover today. With my parents coming this weekend, we really should make the most of the time we have.”

  Yeah, that could totally be taken a couple different ways, she chided herself.

  Riley stared at her without speaking for several minutes before nodding curtly. He walked over to the cabinets and began scrounging around and mumbling.

  “What are you looking for?” she asked.

  “Tea,” he said distractedly. “I know I normally keep some herbal teas here for when I’m home. They’re…they’re better for my throat than coffee.”

  “Is your throat bothering you?”

  He shook his head but didn’t turn around. “It’s just something I tend to do when I’m home and I haven’t since we got here. It just… It just seemed like a good time for a cup of tea.”

  Savannah sighed with relief that he wasn’t arguing with her about her parents or about staying here to work on the interview.

  They moved around the kitchen in silence, each doing their own thing. Savannah helped herself to one of the muffins Ian had brought home the previous day to go with her coffee. Riley opted for a bagel.

  “We can start while we eat, if you don’t mind,” Savannah said as she sat down at the large table.

  “Whatever,” he replied, but his voice was fairly mild and calm. His spoon kept a slow rhythm as he stirred some honey into the steaming mug.

  Flipping through her notes, Savannah took a bite of her muffin and got her head focused on what she wanted to begin with and how much she was hoping to get done by lunchtime.

  “I think we’ve pretty much covered your life up until you moved to L.A.,” she began. “I guess what I’d like to start looking at is how the sudden fame and fortune and notoriety made you feel.” She paused. “After meeting your family and seeing how you grew up, I would imagine it was overwhelming.”

  Riley nodded. “It scared the hell out of me.”

  “Really?”

  He nodded again. “I wasn’t comfortable with it, and some of the guys in the band went a little wild—they bought mansions and cars and just started blowing through the money like it was water. I remember Matty going to one of those big rock auctions and spending almost a hundred grand on memorabilia—one of John Lennon’s guitars, a jacket worn by Mick Jagger… It was crazy. Me? I called my dad and asked him what he thought I should do.”

  Savannah almost wanted to question it, but after spending so much time with his family, she was certain it was exactly something Riley would have done. “And what did he tell you?”

  “He told me to invest and to invest wisely. It was okay to buy a house, but I didn’t need to buy a mansion. I obviously would need a car, but I didn’t need ten of them. My dad is very practical.”

  “I can see that. What was your first big splurge? Surely you had to have bought something that was impractical but you just had to have it.”

  Riley chuckled. “I don’t know if I can tell you without having you laugh at me.”

  “Believe me when I tell you I’ve heard a lot of weird things during interviews. Nothing you say is going to shock me.”

  “Oh, I don’t think it will shock you, but I think you’ll laugh.”

  “Okay, I promise not to laugh.”

  He took a long drink of his tea and slowly put it down. “I flew home, rented a limo, and took the whole family to dinner and wouldn’t let my dad pay the bill. Then I took Darcy to Disneyland.” He smiled at the memory. “She’d never gone anywhere on a vacation. After my mom died, we stopped going. I asked my dad if he wanted to go with us and he said no—that it would be something special for me and Darcy. And it was. She was ten and I can still remember the way her eyes lit up the first time she saw Sleeping Beauty’s castle. We watched the fireworks show that night, and when it was over, she looked at me and smiled and said it was the most magical day of her life.”

  Savannah reached out and placed her hand over his. “Why would I laugh at that?” she asked, her throat thick with emotion.

  He shrugged. “Most guys would go out and blow the money on themselves and I took my sister to Disneyland. I’m like one of those cheesy Super Bowl ads.”

  She shook her head. “No. You are an incredible man with an incredible heart. I don’t know very many people who would put not only their family, but their little sister first. You’re amazing, Riley.”

  He looked up and their gazes locked. “It wasn’t entirely selfless. I’d never gone to Disneyland either.”

  She smiled. “You wanted to do something for your family. I’m sure your father was very proud of you.”

  Riley nodded and his eyes welled up. “He cried. When we got home that night and everyone went to bed, we sat down on the living room sofa and he cried. He said he was proud of me—for following my dream and for proving that he and my mom raised me right.” He sniffed and wiped at his eyes. “We said Mom was looking down on us and smiling with pride.”

  Savannah couldn’t stop her own tears from falling. She squeezed his hand again because it was all she could do.

  “Dad never expects us to do anything for him—only for each other. Sometimes I wish he’d let us do more. We all try—like the dinner or helping out when he was renovating the house—but he’s always saying it’s his job to take care of us. How it’s what Mom wanted him to do.” He swallowed hard. “I think she’d be happy to see us take care of him once in a while.”

  “You all do in your own way. And he knows it. And so does she. By coming home and supporting him in his endeavors, you’re all taking care of him and giving him what he needs. He loves all of you so much—that much is obvious—and it’s important to him to have a nursery here so you’ll all stay close. I think it’s wonderful. It’s a lovely gesture and I know everyone feels the same way.”

  “Sometimes I feel guilty for living so far away, but it’s where everything was happening for my career—the studio, management, the band—but I wouldn’t be entirely opposed to having a second home here.”

  “It’s beautiful here. When your dad showed me around town over the weekend, I was really impressed. Zoe was telling me about hers and Aidan’s place and it sounds wonderful.”

  “Don’t tell anyone I said it, but I like Quinn and Anna’s place better.”

  She chuckled. “Only because they have a game room.”

  “Busted,” he said and smiled at her and then looked at their hands. Their fingers were now twined together. He looked like there was something else he wanted to say, but he slowly disengaged their hands and sat back. “So…um…I have some pictures of my trip with Darcy that I think you could use in the article if you’re interested. I mean…I don’t know if you’re going to use them, but if you wanted to…I have those available.”

  And she knew what he was trying to do—trying to keep them on track. Focused on business even though they were both like a moth to a flame with one another. It was bound to happen—they were going to hit a point when they wouldn’t be able to deny it or ignore it. Savannah just hoped it wouldn’t ruin everything. Sex had the ability to do that—ruin relationships, friendships, business agreements—yeah. Pretty much everything she had righ
t now with Riley could be destroyed if sex got in the way.

  Okay, so just don’t have sex.

  She wanted to tell her inner voice to shut up. Did her inner voice even see Riley Shaughnessy? It was easier said than done. He was a living, breathing fantasy. Her own rock and roll fantasy at that! And every minute of every day it was getting more and more difficult to ignore the attraction brewing between them.

  Maybe she was just getting ahead of herself. Just because Riley touched her hand or her lower back or looked at her with those deep, dark, sexy eyes didn’t mean he necessarily wanted to have sex with her, right? She’d been around enough musicians to know that, for some of them, that look came as easy to them as breathing.

  Ugh…maybe she needed some fresh air.

  Or a cold shower.

  Or both.

  Finishing the last of her muffin, she picked up her plate and rinsed it off before putting it in the dishwasher. Using cold water, she rinsed her hands to try to cool herself off—at least until she could get a cold shower. When she was done, she turned back to Riley as if she hadn’t just been having all kinds of sexy thoughts of him.

  “How about we go out to the living room and continue? Let’s talk about the first real tour.”

  * * *

  It was after one in the afternoon when they stopped to make some lunch. Savannah had offered to make them some sandwiches, and Riley decided he needed a few minutes to himself. She had been making him crazy all day. As soon as his father had announced he was going out of town for the day and night, Riley’s mind had been racing with images of Savannah sprawled out in his bed.

  Not that he’d done a damn thing to act on it.

  Getting women to go to bed with him had never been a problem. But now Riley realized getting the right woman to go to bed with him wasn’t an easy task at all. He didn’t want to scare her off or have her reject him.

  Which was another new thing—he suddenly had a lot less self-confidence than he’d ever had before in his life.

  He followed Savannah into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. “Um…if it’s all right with you, I’m going to go up and grab a shower. I didn’t get to do it earlier—we jumped into the interview and I…I’d just like to do that while you’re getting lunch together.”