I try not to look surprised. I mean, she’s dating a rock star. I thought there might be a little pomp and circumstance. I can’t think of a more boring way to get proposed to. “When’s the wedding?”
“Beats me. His schedule is up in the air right now. Ronni wants them back in the recording studio by summer. That is if Liam gets around to writing the music. Makes it hard to plan a wedding. Makes it hard to plan anything.”
My spine stiffens, and I get defensive. “He’s writing a lot of music. Has been for weeks.”
“Well, good. Maybe we can shoot for later in the summer unless something else comes up.”
Katie’s phone rings, and she hops up and walks down the beach with it.
“She’s … interesting,” I say.
“Katie’s nice,” Bria says. “And I love Brad, but it’s almost like the two of them are the piece that doesn’t quite fit in the RA puzzle.”
I watch Katie briefly before turning back to Bria.
Bria shields her eyes from the sun. “You fit, you know.”
I glance at Liam. “We’re not—”
“I know you’re not, but you still fit.”
Garrett strides by, following a group of bikini-clad women. It has me thinking. “You said Garrett’s a playboy. But Liam’s been staying in his room. How’s that working out for Garrett?”
Bria laughs. “Let’s just say Garrett is sexually frustrated. I’m not sure he’s brought anyone home since we’ve been here.”
“Why doesn’t Liam crash with Brad?”
Bria’s gaze goes to Katie. “Because those two spend hours on the phone every night.”
“I suppose I should feel guilty keeping Garrett from his … hobby?” I snicker.
“Don’t. It’s good for him to see how normal people live for a change. Some of the guys have strange vices.”
“Like Liam’s drinking?”
Before I get a chance to ask her more, two men drop on the sand next to us. “You girls don’t look like you’re from around here.”
“How do you figure?” I ask.
One of them gestures a hand up and down my body. “No tan. You’re from up north. Are you here on spring break?”
“You could say that,” I say.
“Where up north?”
“New York.”
Bria keeps glancing at Crew as we chat with the guys. One of them pulls suntan lotion from his shorts and squirts it on my back. You’ve got to be kidding me. I start to stand when suddenly the earth shifts next to me, and a shadow falls across my face.
“Can I help you gentleman with anything?” Thor asks.
The two strangers quickly back away. “We’re good. Just looking for our towels.”
Thor makes a big show of examining the ground around us. “I don’t see any stray towels, do you?”
They hurry off without saying goodbye.
“Ladies.” Thor returns to his beach chair.
I lie back down on my stomach. “I forgot he was here.”
“Yeah, he’s good like that.” She looks at the retreating men. “Unless you wanted them here. You can always tell Tom to back off, you know. He’s mostly here because of me.”
“Why? Did something bad happen?”
“Not to me.” She glances at Crew. “He lost someone a while ago. In a bad way. He tries to protect me. Tom’s a big part of that. But if you wanted to keep talking to them, just say so.”
“I didn’t mind talking to them, but when he squirted the lotion, he crossed a line.” Someone touches me and I turn, ready to call Thor.
“Didn’t mean to startle you,” Liam says. “Thought you could use a hand. You have lotion running down your back.”
I rest my head on my arms and close my eyes, enjoying the feel of his hands on me. The guy must have squirted a ton back there, because it takes Liam a while to rub it in. He’s giving me a massage, and it feels heavenly. I could lie here all day. His hand gets close to the side of my boob, and my eyes open.
“Sorry,” he says. “It was running down your side and I didn’t want it to get all over your top.”
I peek at Bria, who’s smiling from ear to ear. Then his hands are gone. I sit up to see him running full on into the water.
Garrett sits on the sand, laughing. “Who gave Pinocchio all the wood?”
I give him a puzzled look.
“You know, like how his nose grows, only it’s his dick. And instead of Pinocchio, it’s Liam.”
I turn bright red.
Bria touches my shoulder. “Ignore him. You’ll get used to his crassness.”
“You mean my awesomeness,” Garrett says.
Bria rolls her eyes.
Someone in the next group says something about a food truck. Garrett perks up. “Food?” he asks our neighbors. “What kind?”
“Tacos.”
“Hell, yeah!” He gets his wallet out of his bag. “You guys want some?”
“I’ll have to pay you back,” I say. “I left all my money in the room.”
“No need, I got it.”
Ten minutes later, Garrett returns with what I can only assume is half the food truck’s bounty. He’s got at least eight full bags. I get up and help him. Bria shakes the sand from her towel and lays it back down so we can put the food on it.
Liam comes back, staring at me as he approaches. Did he really get turned on by rubbing suntan lotion on my back? If I’m being honest, I have to admit I did, too.
“Are we feeding the whole damn beach?” Liam asks.
“This must have cost a fortune,” I say. “I promise to contribute.”
“You think G cares about your ten bucks?” Brad says. “He’s a damn millionaire.”
Garrett swats Brad. “Shut up.”
“My apologies,” he says. “He will be a millionaire when he collects his trust fund.”
“Rich grandma?” I joke.
“Rich parents,” Brad says.
“I’m confused.”
“His family is rich as shit,” Brad says. “But Garrett, for some unknown reason he’s never shared with us, hates them.”
“Can we not talk about this again?” Garrett asks.
“How about you tell us why you refuse to see them and then we’ll never talk about it again?”
Garrett throws his taco in the sand and stalks away.
“Brad, stop,” Crew says, glancing at Liam. “Garrett isn’t the only one with a rich family.”
Liam scoffs. “Dirk is not my fucking family.”
“Fair enough, but I still think we should drop it.”
Katie sighs heavily. “Does there always have to be so much drama?”
Liam shoots her a frigid glare and then runs after Garrett. Crew goes after them both.
Brad gets up too, but Katie latches onto his arm. “They’re big boys. They can handle it.” He sits back down.
Bria and I share a look. I get the feeling we’re both thinking about the puzzle these two don’t seem to fit into.
A short time later, I get so hot I go into the water to cool off.
Liam comes in after me. “I’m sorry about all that.”
“Doesn’t bother me. You’re a family. All families have problems.”
He murmurs something under his breath.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. The five of us like to give each other a lot of shit, that’s all.”
“I get it. And most of the time it’s funny. Unless you’re asking questions people don’t want to answer.”
“Ouch, woman. Hitting me where it hurts.”
“Just calling it like I see it.”
He makes a sudden move toward me, scoops me up in his arms, and throws me into the surf. I get pummeled hard. When I come up for air, spitting water, I gasp, “You’re toast!” and lunge for him.
He’s too strong for me to dunk. Not only does he stand his ground, he pulls me close, his hand on my back anchoring me against him.
“Liam, what are you doing?”
“El,” he says guiltily. “You lost your top.”
I instantly stop struggling and look down. My bare breasts are mashed between us. He’s not hugging me, he’s protecting me.
For a split second, before mortification overtakes me, I glory in the feeling of being skin-to-skin with him. I glance up. He’s not smiling. He’s not laughing. He’s gazing into my eyes, and I feel blood pulsing in my throat.
“Here,” a girl says, handing me my top.
“Thank you.” I slink down into the water and put it back on while waves lash me. I can’t get the back of it tied. “Liam, could you?”
He’s still close, shielding me in case I lose it again. He steps behind me and ties it. I make sure it’s covering all the right places and stand.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“It was. You should be mad as hell.”
“Liam, it was an accident.”
“I picked you up and threw you against your will.”
I get in his face. “They’re just boobs. Half the population has them. I’m over it already. You should be too.”
We walk back up the beach and a few teenage boys clap. Liam looks like he wants to kill them.
I put my hand on his arm. “Don’t. If I need protection, Thor has my back.”
He stops. “What if I want to be the one to protect you, El?”
I don’t know what to say. Part of me wants that. Part of me doesn’t. Part of me thinks it’s too soon. Part of me doesn’t want to ruin our friendship. All of me is confused.
“Forget I said anything,” he says. “Let’s join the others.”
“Epic wardrobe malfunction,” Garrett says, bobbing his head.
Liam snaps him with his towel. “Dude.”
Garrett holds up his hands in a gesture of innocence. “I can’t help it if I have a tit radar. It’s like a gift.” He turns to me. “Bravo, by the way. I give you a ten.”
I laugh. “I’m officially offended, but thanks.”
“Crew and I were thinking of going dancing,” Bria says. “We should make the most of our night off. Anyone else want to come?”
“I’m game,” Garrett says.
Liam looks at me. I shrug. “Why not?”
“Count us in,” he says.
“How about you and Katie?” Crew asks Brad.
“She’s only here for two days,” Brad says. “We play tomorrow, so tonight is our only chance to be alone. Sorry, guys, fiancée trumps friends.”
“What else is new?” Garrett grumbles.
Brad gets in his face. “You got something you want to say to me?”
“No, man. Do what you have to do.”
“Damn right I will.” Brad gathers their stuff, and they head back to the hotel.
“She’s no good for him,” Garrett says, watching them walk away.
“He loves her,” Bria says. “Give him a break. Being apart is hard on them.”
“Then maybe she should have come with us.”
“Katie isn’t like that. She’s not going to give up her job and follow us around, and she shouldn’t have to.”
“Then maybe she should find another line of work,” Garrett says. “One that gives her the flexibility to do shit like this.”
Liam catches my eye. I know exactly what he’s thinking.
“Not everyone wants to live this kind of life,” Crew says.
“She should have thought it through before dating someone in a rock band. This is only the beginning. Who knows what will happen next. US tour? International? What will they do then?”
“That’s for them to figure out,” Bria says. “Not everyone is lucky enough to work with the person they love.”
Crew leans over and kisses her. I reach for my phone and snap a picture. I show it to Bria. “I love it,” she says and holds out a hand. “How about I take one of you and Liam?”
“Okay.”
Liam stands next to me.
“Closer,” Bria says. “So I can’t see the people behind you.”
He closes the gap between us and puts his arm around my waist. His hand lands on my hip. His thumb gently rubs back and forth across my bare skin. Electrified waves pulse through me.
“I think I got a good one,” Bria says.
Neither of us moves.
She holds out my phone. “Want to see them? The last one is a keeper.”
Liam jerks away, and I take the phone and check out the photos. We’re both smiling in the first two, he blinked in the third, but the fourth picture is the one that captures my attention. Liam’s head is turned, and he’s looking at me. My eyes are closed, and my lip is between my teeth. If I didn’t know the two people in this picture, I’d say they were a couple.
I pick up my towel and wrap it around my waist. “I feel like I’m getting burned. I’m going to go back and get in a few hours of work.”
I told a lie. Two of them actually. One, my skin is not in the least bit red; and two, I’m almost positive I won’t be able to draw a damn thing. On my way back, I tell myself I won’t look at the picture on my phone again, but who am I kidding? That would just be another lie.
Chapter Nineteen
Liam
Watching Ella dance is making me hard. She doesn’t seem to give a shit who sees her. Half the time, her eyes are closed. The way she moves is so carefree. I envy that about her.
Ella seems to be the perfect specimen of a woman. Strong. Independent. Resilient. From what she’s told me about her past, she had the ideal childhood. She’s the polar opposite of any girl I’ve ever been with. Not that I’m with her. And not that I want to be. If I’m being honest, I do want to be, but I can’t. If I ever showed my true colors around her, that would be it. She’d be gone. Then what would I do? Go back to being the douchebag who can’t pull together a decent song if my life depended on it?
Even while we’ve been touring, I’ve managed to score two new songs. This afternoon when I came back from the beach, I started working on a third. Shit is flowing out of me like musical diarrhea.
I can’t stop watching as she and Bria dance and laugh. Usually at a club, the only thing I care about is how much whiskey is in my glass, but I couldn’t care less about that right now. Who needs alcohol when she provides a better buzz than I can get from liquor?
I’m not much of a dancer—never have been—but I’m acting like I know what I’m doing. Garrett and Crew are much better at this than I am. Crew spins Bria around like he’s Fred fucking Astaire. I wish I could do that shit.
“Oh, yeah,” Garrett drawls. “I think I see my next conquest.”
I lift my chin at him, not wanting my eyes to stray from their current position. There’s a guy behind Ella, dancing close. He’s been trying to butt in, without much success. One of his hands skims her hip. Her eyes are closed, and though it’s dim here, I think I see the edges of her mouth turn up. When she doesn’t protest, he puts a second hand on her, this time on her stomach. She wets her lips. My heart falls into my stomach. She likes it.
I should turn and walk away. Nowhere in our agreement did we stipulate anything about her not hooking up with men. But I can’t walk away. I’m glued to the floor, watching them like a goddamn voyeur.
What he does next drives a stake through my heart. He reaches around and grabs her breasts. She does the opposite of what I hoped. Her head falls back against the dude’s shoulder. Fuck.
I’m about to turn and leave when she opens her eyes. She sees me, and in a split second, her entire demeanor changes. Her eyes widen in shock and terror, her expression turning into a furious grimace. She spins and looks at the man behind her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she says, shoving him away from her.
I don’t think. I storm over and throw my fist in his face. He hits the ground. I flip him, twist his arm behind him, and plant a knee on his back. I lean down and yell, “Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to touch anyone unless you’
re invited to, you fucking prick?” Immediately Thor is at my side. “Keep him down,” I say, standing. Ella is being protectively flanked by Bria and Crew. “Are you okay?”
“I … yeah. I thought …”
“Call the police,” I tell Crew.
Ella protests. “I don’t want to cause a scene.”
I gesture at the club patrons staring at us. “Too late for that.”
Club security makes their way over and asks what happened.
“This asshole was groping her,” I say.
“Ma’am, is what he said true?”
“He was … you know, it’s fine. I’m okay.”
I move closer to her. “El, we need to call the cops. You have to press charges. If you don’t, the sicko will do this to someone else. He was touching you without permission. He’s scum. He should be thrown in jail.”
“Let’s just go. Can we go please?” She says something to security and walks away. One of them goes over to Thor and has a conversation. Next thing I know, the guy is let go. I lunge for him. Crew and Garrett hold me back. They drag me out of the club, with Ella following, as I watch the fuckwad over my shoulder. He brushes himself off and takes a drink from his friend like nothing happened.
I struggle to break free as we get to the parking lot. “We can’t let him get away with that shit.”
“Get in the van, Liam,” Crew says.
“Fuck that,” I say.
“You guys go,” Garrett says. “I’ll stay and make sure he doesn’t go back in. Besides, there’s a girl in there who wants me bad.”
“You’re not coming?” Ella asks.
I shake my head.
“Come on,” Bria says to her. “He’ll be okay. He needs to cool off. Garrett’s got him.”
They climb into the van and drive away. I sit on the curb.
“I wasn’t kidding,” Garrett says. “You are not going back in there.”
“Then I’ll wait for the motherfucker to come out.”
“Remember last year, when Crew asked us to tell him when he was crossing the line to batshit crazy?”
I eye him in disgust. “This isn’t the same, G. He was grabbing her fucking tits.”
Reckless Invitation (The Reckless Rockstar Series) Page 11