“Sal is married to my mom’s sister.”
“Ah ha,” I muttered. Sal took a few steps back, opening the door wider, allowing us in.
“I hope you guys are ready to get pounced on. Once the family sees you,” he said, looking at Riot and placing a friendly hand on his shoulder, “they’re gonna go ballistic. You’re like Hollywood royalty.”
I smiled at his uncle’s blatant admiration. Then I blushed when Riot’s hand came up and scrubbed over the stubble on the underside of his chin. That same stubble had been stinging along the sensitive skin of my neck just hours before. It was a habit of his, running his hand over his chin, but it felt more intimate than that to me. Every time he touched it, I wanted to touch it too. Wanted to feel it against my skin.
“It’s just a job,” he said, by way of brushing off his uncle’s comments.
“Oh, really? So, you don’t have to be good-looking and talented to get your job?” Riot’s uncle puffed out his chest and crossed his arms over it, looking at him with skeptical eyes.
“It’s really just about luck. Being at the right place at the right time, knowing the right people—stuff like that.”
“You’re not giving yourself enough credit,” I interjected before I could think about it.
“I knew I’d like her,” Sal said. Riot turned his head toward me and gave me his sweet smile.
“Let’s go inside and meet everyone else.” Riot took my hand and led me through the house I did not get a good enough look at the night before. It was beautiful inside, but not intimidating. It was homey. It looked as though really happy people lived there.
There were exposed beams in the ceiling, and the walls were all painted light, happy colors. We walked through the living room and all I could hear were loud voices, some speaking a language I didn’t understand, and laughter. High, trilling, infectious laughter. The room was packed full—built-in bookshelves were completely filled with books, knickknacks, beautiful vases, and a few beachy touches. The whole room reminded me of an extremely high-end beach house, one you’d rent on your honeymoon, when no expense was spared.
Riot, still holding my hand, led me past a wall of windows and my eyes, were they not connected to me, would have rolled right onto the ground when I looked at the view. Chad and Mara’s house sat atop a bluff on the Pacific coastline. I was looking at the most serene, peaceful, and breathtaking view I had ever seen. We were hundreds of feet above sea level, surrounded by trees and greenery, but there was a clear view of roaring waves crashing against jagged rocks.
“Oh, my God,” I said, stalling in the hallway, which was also lined floor to ceiling with windows. “Riot,” I whispered, unsure of what else to say. It was simply too beautiful.
“It’s incredible, isn’t it?”
I turned to look at him and felt my heart soften when I saw the happy look on his face, as if he were so happy to be back in his childhood home. “You grew up here?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I saw this view every day from the time I was seven years old until I moved out. I’ll admit, when I was younger I totally took it for granted. But the older I get, the longer I want to stand here and look at it.” He squeezed my hand gently. “I could never tire of looking at beautiful things.”
I melted a little bit more.
“Okay,” he said quietly, almost as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear. “My family will freak out when I go into the kitchen. They’re all in there, most of them from out of state, and they haven’t seen me since I started showing up on their televisions. I just want to warn you, it’s going to get loud and embarrassing.” His eyes lit up with his smile. “And they’re probably going to lay it on extra thick since you’re here, too.”
“I can’t wait,” I said with a wink. He pressed a fast and chaste kiss to my lips, then led me into the kitchen.
We were met with a loud eruption of noise. So many voices rang out with so many different greetings and exclamations. Mara was the first to embrace him, followed by the woman who was obviously her sister, as they looked nearly identical. Both could pass for women half their age, and both were drop-dead gorgeous. When more family members approached, Riot’s hold on my hand grew tighter and I was embraced right along with him. His family was congratulating him on his success in Hollywood, telling him they couldn’t believe how much he’d grown, and more than a few of them took a moment to size me up and make quite obvious and very vocal gestures of their approval. One or two of the women held up my left hand, looking for an engagement ring, then berated Riot, questioning him about why we weren’t headed toward marriage.
Halfway through the entire introduction, I caught Halah’s eye. She was standing in the back of the room watching her brother endure the third degree, and she was clearly enjoying it. Her smile was wide and she gave me a little finger wave. I smiled back and then I saw her chuckle.
After what seemed like an endless line of relatives had welcomed Riot home, we were finally released and led to the kitchen table, which was covered with food and surrounded by people talking with each other. Mara led Riot to the head of the table, forced him to sit there, then motioned for me to take the seat just to his left. Thankfully, Halah came and sat next to me.
“Isn’t this supposed to be your birthday party?” I whispered to her.
She waved her hand in the air. “I have birthdays every year. It’s not every day your brother becomes a big Hollywood star.”
It seemed like she sincerely wasn’t bothered by Riot hijacking her birthday party, and that spoke to me, showed me how she felt about her brother. “Besides,” she said, her voice lower as she leaned to whisper in my ear, “the more they are distracted by my brother, the less they will harp on me for being gone for so long.” She leaned away from me, smiling, then winked. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
I listened to Riot answer many questions about his life and his job, and he was patient, answering each question with sincerity and a smile. It didn’t take long for the conversation to steer toward our relationship.
“How did you and Kalli meet?” The question was asked by a woman in her fifties. I wasn’t sure how she was related to Riot, but she was warm and friendly.
“Kalli was the costume designer on one of my jobs,” he answered as he placed his hand on my knee under the table, giving it a gentle squeeze.
Mara’s eyes went wide when she heard his answer. “You work in the business too?”
“Well,” I started, smiling at her enthusiasm, “I work more behind the scenes. I just prepare costumes and manage wardrobe. That kind of thing.”
“She makes clothes too,” Riot offered, squeezing my leg again.
“Only when I can’t find exactly what I’m looking for. And I’m actually pretty terrible at it.”
“Which job did you meet on?” Halah asked, looking interested.
“The music video I did with Lexi Black.”
A bunch of knowing ah-has and ohs floated through the room, and it was then I saw Halah’s eyes light up with intrigue.
“Wait, didn’t you go to that movie premiere with her? The tabloids said you were dating.”
I tried to keep the smile on my face at the mention of the movie premiere, but I could feel it getting tight and strained. I probably looked tense and angry. I was a terrible actress.
“I never dated Lexi,” Riot responded with a little bit of bite to his words. I reached below the table and gave his hand a squeeze. I didn’t want him to get upset over Lexi in front of his family. And honestly, I didn’t want to talk about Lexi at all. She was a part of our past, but I still remember how much it stung to see her lips on his. I did the only thing I could think of and changed the topic of conversation.
“So, Halah, do you ever get celebrities on your cruises?” Her eyes lit up at my question and she launched into stories of all the famous people she’d ever encountered, including accounts of their drunken escapades. In the middle of one of her stories Riot slowly stood up, took my hand, and urged me to follow him.
We snuck out of the room, but I noticed Mara’s eyes on us, her smile widening across her face.
Riot led me to the library, a cozy little room with shelves built into the walls and benches with thick cushions for reading. He went straight for the French doors, opened one, and took us onto the deck.
If I hadn’t been completely blown away by his parents’ house before, the deck would have done me in. The wooden planks jutted out away from the hill the house was on and made you feel like you were floating in the sky, or in a fort high up in the treetops. It was big and sturdy. There was a built-in fire pit with surrounding chairs that looked like an amazing place to spend a chilly fall evening.
The best part, however, came when Riot walked me to the edge of the deck and took me down a long, steep, zig-zagging staircase that led all the way down to the cluster of jagged rocks where land met sea. At this particular point of the Pacific Coast, there were no beaches, no sandy shores. There were just rocks and waves.
“Wow,” was all I could mutter as I made my way onto the rocks.
“I haven’t been down here in forever,” Riot said, his voice wistful and deep. I pulled my hand from his grasp, but only so I could wrap both my hands around his waist and lean into his side. His arm came around my shoulders and he pressed a kiss to my temple. We stood on the rocks watching the waves crash up around us for a while. I loved his family, loved meeting all the important people in his life, but just standing together and staring out at the ocean was my favorite part of the day so far.
“Hey,” he said softly, causing me to lift my chin to meet his eyes. He turned, now facing me, and pulled me tightly to him. “It means a lot that you would come here and spend the weekend with my family.”
“They’re great. I’ve loved meeting them.”
His eyes darted back and forth between mine for a moment, but then he spoke again. “I’ve never even been inclined to bring someone home, Kalli. I’ve never wanted my family to get to know someone I was dating. The thought never even crossed my mind. And then I met you, and you’re here, and you’re perfect, and they love you, and….” His voice trailed off and he looked flustered. I leaned up on my tiptoes and caught his lips with mine, hoping my kiss could convey exactly what I was feeling.
“I love you, Kalli,” Riot whispered, pulling his lips away from mine. “I never stopped. It never went away. It never will.” He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him. I rested my cheek against his chest and let his words wash over me. After everything I had put him through, after every time I had pushed him away, he’d always been right there waiting for me. It was hard for me, in the past, to imagine a man would want me, even just for a little while, let alone forever. Every single man in my life had left—in one way or another. But I knew, and had known for a while, Riot was unlike any man I’d ever met.
“I love you too,” I said against his broad chest, squeezing him with my arms. I felt his chest seize at my words, his breathing stop, his heart race. I pulled away slightly to look up at him. His mouth was partly open and he looked sincerely shocked. Apparently he wasn’t expecting me to say the words back to him. That made me love him even more. I reached up, cupped his beautiful face, and pulled his mouth down to mine. I melted into him, his hand tangling in the hair at my nape, his other arm wrapping around my waist.
His tongue swept inside my mouth and tasted me. It was primal, the way he seemed to devour me. With just lips and tongue I was left to his mercy, wishing to feel his need for me always. I wanted to give him everything and feel like I was getting everything from him in return. It was new, this feeling of being 100 percent sure, but I was. And every time his lips caressed mine, it only solidified that I was making the right choice.
“You don’t know how happy you make me,” he said as he pressed his mouth to my neck, breathing me in.
“I could say the same thing to you,” I replied, my voice raspy and shaking, emotion making every part of me tremble.
“There’s nothing in the world, from this moment on, that’s going to keep me from you, Kal. Understand that. I get why you needed time, why you needed space, but I’m done giving it to you.”
I felt the sting of tears as they started to well in my eyes. I knew Marcus would want this for me, would want me to be happy with Riot. But sometimes, it hurt to be happy, to feel joy, knowing he wasn’t here to experience life at all.
“Babe,” he said, pulling me closer, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. “Marcus is up there, running around, and he’s happy. He’s free up there, Kal. You’ll see him again someday, and he’ll run to you with open arms, just like he used to, and he’ll be so glad you didn’t spend your whole life sad for him.”
“I know,” I said, my words muffled against his chest.
“Hey.” He pulled away and placed a finger just below my chin, pulling my face up to meet his eyes. “I don’t mean you can’t be sad anymore. I just want to make sure you know that you can be sad with me. If you’re missing him, tell me a story about him.” He pushed some of my hair behind my ear and then his fingers trailed down my neck until he was holding me around my nape, firmly gripping me, squeezing gently. “I want you to lean on me, let me in. I’ll always listen.”
“I love you,” I whispered. He didn’t answer me, just leaned down and pressed his lips to mine in a soft, lingering kiss.
Chapter Eleven
I’m Asking to Come Home
Riot
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. I never let Kalli out of my sight, always keeping a hand on her in some way or another. The words we’d exchanged on the rocks by the ocean were real to me; they meant something. I could tell they meant a lot to her as well, but I wasn’t ready to let her go yet, wasn’t ready to be away from her where I couldn’t read her face, or see in her eyes how she was feeling. I suppose a part of me was afraid if I wasn’t there to remind her of how much I loved her and wanted to support her, she’d disappear on me again. Maybe not physically, but emotionally. And that would be just as devastating.
After the sun had set and a lot of the family had left for the evening, Halah, Ma, Pops, Kalli, and I were sitting on the deck around the fire pit. My aunt and uncle had turned in for the evening.
“Did you have a good birthday, sis?” A smile spread across Halah’s face, but her eyes never left the fire.
“Yeah, I did.”
“It was good to finally have you home,” Ma said. “You don’t come home often enough.”
I watched as Halah resisted the urge to roll her eyes at our mother. I could see both of their points. Ma missed Halah. Halah wanted to be independent. It was every mother-daughter relationship I’d ever witnessed.
Ma must have picked up on the tension and didn’t want to upset Halah any more than she already had. “Kalli, would you like to go inside with me and look at some baby pictures of Riot?”
Kalli’s eyes lit up like my mother had offered her a diamond-encrusted tiara. “That would be incredible.”
My mother gave a small clap and then stood up and walked toward the house. Kalli stood too, but before she made it too far, I tugged on her hand and pulled her toward me, then tugged again, bringing her face down to mine.
“Don’t be gone too long,” I said, just before I captured her mouth with mine.
“Okay,” she breathed. I was satisfied I’d made her breath falter, so I let her go, watching her disappear into the house with my mother.
“I’m going to make sure the front of the house is all closed down. You never know which windows and doors have come unlocked with all our crazy family members visiting,” Pops announced as he stood and headed for the house.
We were alone for just a moment before Halah broke the silence.
“So spill, Riot. Is it serious with her?”
Halah had never been one to beat around the bush, so I wasn’t really surprised by her question.
“I don’t ever plan on being with anyone else.”
Halah wa
s quiet for a moment, but then her eyes met mine over the fire. “Good. I like her.”
It had never occurred to me that one of my family members might not like Kalli; there was absolutely nothing to dislike about her as far as I was concerned. So I wasn’t expecting the wave of relief that washed over me when my baby sister gave her approval.
“What about you? Why haven’t you been home in so long? Ma and Pops worry about you.”
She shrugged. “It’s a different life out there, Ri. Your boat docks in the most amazing places and when you get some time off you have to choose between going home or, I don’t know, spending a week in Italy. I’m never going to be young and carefree again. I was just trying to take advantage of the perks of the job.”
“What do you mean you’re never going to be young or carefree again? Halah, you’re just twenty-five. You’ve got plenty of time to figure life out.”
“I’ve got thirty more weeks to figure life out.”
Her tone was despondent and she was suddenly morose. “What happens in thirty weeks?”
“Never mind, Riot. It’s not important.”
“Of course it’s important. You brought it up, now explain it.”
“Really, big brother, it’s nothing.” She gave me the weakest smile I’d ever seen grace her face, but I could tell she really didn’t want to talk about it.
“Okay, well, I’m here if you ever need to talk. When do you have to be back to work?”
“I have a lot of vacation time saved up, so I’m not sure yet.”
“Kal and I are going to go down to the pier tomorrow before we head back to LA. Want to come with us?”
Finally, a genuine smile crossed her face when she said, “That sounds like fun.”
“I’m gonna head inside and make sure Ma isn’t embarrassing me.”
“I can guarantee Ma is embarrassing you,” she said with a laugh.
“Well, I’m heading in to do damage control then. You coming?”
“Nah, I’m gonna sit out here and stare at the fire for a while still.”
“Okay, sis.” I stood up and walked toward the door, but turned before I went in. “Halah?”
Never Tied Down (The Never Duet #2) Page 11