Cece
The next couple of days passed without incident. I didn’t see much of Leo or Auden, so there were no more awkward encounters. Knox and I had reverted back to the same flirty, fun foundation our relationship was built on. All in all, I couldn’t complain. But now Knox and I were sitting in the back of a limo on the way to my parents' place and it was the first time we’d been alone together since the morning in his bus. The air was charged and I was practically crawling out of my skin.
He reached for my hand, giving it a squeeze. “What’s got you wound so tight, gorgeous? You know I always have a good time with your Pops.”
“I know.” I wondered if my parents would pick up on the vibe and question us about whether we were sleeping together. Both of my folks were bold as brass and neither would hesitate to blurt that out over beers in the backyard.
I could hear my father now, ‘Hey Knox, you better not be bangin’ my little girl or I’ll have to kick your ass.” After an endless pause, everyone would have a good laugh about it and I would turn thirty shades of red before slinking off to the john.
My crazy family. Love em’ or kill ‘em. Those were the only two options.
“So, what’s the problem?”
I couldn’t tell him. Could I? “Uh, has my dad ever asked you if there’s anything between us?”
He shrugged. “Sure, once or twice. Not long after I met him. He couldn’t figure out why you were bringin’ me around. Said you’d never done that with your other guy friends.” He gave me that sexy side-eye. “In fact, he said he’d only met a few of your boyfriends.”
I choked out a laugh. “Uh, you’ve met my parents. You can’t be surprised.”
He grinned. “Anyone who doesn’t get your parents has no sense of humour, sweetness. They’re the best.”
I loved that he thought so. Most people didn’t know what to make of my folks. “I’m glad you think so.”
“You told them about what happened with Leo… or this Auden guy?”
This Auden guy was someone he’d liked and respected until a few days ago, but I wasn’t about to call him out today. He was doing me a huge favour by running interference with my parents, so I was indebted to him.
“They know Leo and I broke up.” I grabbed his thigh, digging my short nails in. “But don’t tell them the reason, whatever you do! God, my dad would hunt him down and castrate him.”
He chuckled. “Now that I’d like to see.” He glanced at my hand on his thigh before wiggling his eyebrows. “A little higher, I wouldn’t object.”
I sputtered a laugh before backhanding him in the chest with said hand. That was the kind of comment the ‘old Knox’ would have made, before things got all weird between us. “Shut up.” I said that, but loved that he could always help me loosen up, no matter how wound up I got.
He winked, grabbing my hand and kissing it. “Relax, pretty girl. I got your back today. And every day.”
He made comments like that and I wanted to kiss him, but given the hot zone we’d been in lately I worried the kiss would end with me crawling in his lap and straddling him, maybe throwing in a little grinding for good measure, while we played a spirited game of tonsil hockey.
“Whew,” I fanned my face while reaching for the button to lower the window. “Is it hot in here, or is it just me?”
He smirked. “It’s you alright.” His eyes trailed over my black jeans and V-neck tee, knotted in the front, before he said, “But I have a feeling you’re getting all hot and bothered thinking about all the things you’d like to do to me.”
He was teasing. He had to be, unless he’d added mind reader to his list of talents. “In your dreams.”
“You are.” He ran his tongue over his lower lip before sinking his teeth in. “Every. Night.”
“What is wrong with you?” I started shaking my hands like a lunatic. “You can’t say shit like that! We’re like, five minutes from my parents' place. And they cannot suspect there’s anything going on between us. If they do, they’ll be relentless.”
His smile spread, obviously taking pleasure in my meltdown. “What do you mean?”
“You know they’re obsessed with you. If they think there’s a chance…” I held my fingers apart a fraction of an inch. “Even a tiny one, that you’re into me, they’ll be selling you on my attributes all day.” I made matters worse by thinking the way they would, and ticking items off on my fingers. “Loyal, dependable, trustworthy, good teeth, child-bearing hips…”
He was laughing his ass off now, and I couldn’t say I blamed him. I’d plummeted right over the edge. “Quit laughing.” I pushed against his shoulder when he wouldn’t stop. “I mean it, I’m gonna smack you.” And I would too. Right upside the head.
“You’re too cute,” he said, bending over and out of reach.
I smacked his ass, since that was the only part of him within reach. “I’m not being cute. This is serious. Do not, I repeat, do not encourage them, Knox. They’ll go crazy if they think we’re a thing. Well, crazier than they already are. And I couldn’t handle that.” I had a hard enough time handling them when they were giving me grief about the usual things: not taking care of myself, not eating or sleeping enough, dating losers…
“You really think they want us to be a thing?” he asked, still grinning. “They told you that?”
“They didn’t have to. They talk about you all the time.” I stuck my tongue out at him when his grin widened. “Besides, they think I need someone to look after me.” I rolled my eyes. “They think this is the nineteen-freakin’-fifties, I swear. It was okay for them to be wild and crazy when they were young, traipsing all over the country, doing drugs and God knows what else, but when it comes to me and Charli… they want us to live like nuns.”
He shifted closer, reaching for my hand. “I don’t blame them for being concerned, Cec. Hell, I worry about you too.”
“What?” He was not allowed to jump on this bandwagon. I’d kick his ass right off. “Why would you worry about me? You know I’m not doing anything dangerous or—”
“I’ve seen the way guys look at you when you’re onstage.” His eyes were suddenly shuttered, like he was lost in thought. “You know how many times I’ve heard security scaring away some loser who’s trying to get at you?”
“Really?” Our security team must have been better than I thought, because I had no idea. Knox was the draw. I always thought I was just a small part of the show.
“Yeah, really.” He frowned as he ran his thumb over my palm. “You’re got to be vigilante, girl.” His eyes locked with mine. “Because I swear if anything ever happened to you, I’d lose my mind.”
The air was charged with emotion and if we hadn’t pulled up to the curb at that moment I would have bet a million dollars he was going to kiss me. And a million more I would have let him. Damn. What were we doing… and where the hell was it going to lead?
Knox
I was in the man cave with Cece’s dad, admiring his latest acquisition, a ’28 JH Two Cam. Salivating over the thing is more like it and he knows it. “Whaddya say, Chee? You gonna let me buy this beast off you when you’re done with her?”
Chee was a nickname he’d acquired as a biker, but I didn’t know, or care to know his real name. He’d always been Chee to me.
He stroked his long white beard and grinned, knowing my back was against the wall and he could name his price. You didn’t find these beauties every day and when you did they hadn’t been fully restored by a master like Chee.
“I don’t know about that,” he said, circling the masterpiece. “I’ve gotten pretty attached.”
“Come on, now. You know Aidy will bitch-slap you if you hang on to another one.” Aidy was Cece’s mom, a name I was pretty sure she’d acquired when she’d been running with some badass clubs back in the day.
He laughed, making me grin. He had the kind of booming laugh that drew stares and scared little kids. I loved it. Everything about Chee was big, bold, and unapologetic. I’d kn
own from the first time we met he was my kind of guy. Just like his daughter, we were kindred spirits.
“You’re right about that.” He was still chuckling when he said, “But that’s how we keep things interesting around here. If I didn’t get the little lady all riled up we’d be missin’ out on one of my favorite things… make-up sex.”
If Cece heard that she’d hurl, but I thought it was hilarious. Shed a whole new light on the reason they bickered all the time.
I clapped my hands, laughing. “You’re the best, Chee. I hope I’m still goin’ at it like that when I’m your age.” I wasn’t sure how old he was, but my best guess was early sixties.
“You will be,” he said, winking. “If you choose the right woman.”
That made me think of his daughter, and how Cece could inspire a man to go all night long, no matter how old or tired he was. I could tell I’d let my mind wander a little too long when I caught Chee sizing me up.
“Who is she?”
Shit. I’d never lied to him before, or even tried, but if he was as good at reading people as Cece claimed, I was in way over my head. “What do you mean?” I started circling the bike again, thinking about throwing an outrageous figure at him, just to throw him off the scent. I wasn’t sure it would work, but it would be worth an extra twenty grand just to test it.
“The girl you were thinking about just now. Who is it?”
I leaned down, wiping a smudge off the chrome as Chee cut the tip off a cigar before offering it to me. “What makes you think there’s a girl?” I smiled. “Or just one?”
He knew about my reputation, which was one reason I believed Cece was off base about him thinking I was the right man for her. He was one over-protective papa, and if he thought there was a chance I was jerking his baby girl around he’d pistol whip me.
He stared at me so long I felt the sweat beading along my hairline. Sonofabitch. He was on to me.
“Cut the bullshit, Knox. I saw the way you were looking at Cece earlier, when you thought no one was lookin’.” He pointed his fingers from my eyes to his. “You have ten seconds to spill.”
There was no way to play this off. This man wasn’t stupid and he wouldn’t settle for some half-assed version of the truth. “You want honesty, Chee?” I looked him in the eye, letting him know that as hard as he tried he wasn’t going to intimidate me. I’d earned his respect a long time ago, and didn’t intend to compromise it now. “I don’t know what the hell’s going on between us. She’s been one of my best friends for years, you know that, but lately…”
He cut the tip off his own cigar and clenched it between his teeth before lighting both. “Yeah?”
“I don’t know.” Cece would lose her shit if I gave her parents reason to start sniffing around us, but I didn’t see a choice. When Chee started asking questions you’d have to be an idiot to pretend you didn’t have the answers. “Lately, things have been getting real.” I took a long drag off the cigar and tipped my head back, blowing the smoke out. “She’s started seeing this guy, Auden—”
“That guy who’s opening for you?” Chee scowled. “He’s not her type. Looks like a pretty boy to me.”
I couldn’t agree more. “Yeah, well, she says she likes him.” I took another pull from the cigar. It had been a while since I’d had a smoke and it was just what I needed to relieve the stress of the past few days.
“And that pisses you off?” Chee popped the top on two more longnecks and handed me one.
We’d already had a few, but I wasn’t driving so I didn’t mind if he kept them coming. “What do you think?”
He set the cigar down on a nearby workbench before tipping his beer back. “I think you’d like to kick the shit out of him.”
“You wouldn’t be wrong.” I drained half the beer before adding, “But I can’t do that.”
“Why the hell not?”
I was pretty sure in Chee’s former life fists started flying before consequences were considered. “Because he’s my opening act. If the press got wind of trouble in my camp they’d be all over it. I don’t need that. The tour’s going well and—”
“So, how you gonna solve the problem then?” He sat back on a stool, reclaiming his cigar. “I know I don’t have to tell you it doesn’t take long for a woman to fall, and hard, for a smooth-talking SOB like that.”
“How do you know Auden’s—”
“Saw him doing an interview once. Said to Aidy that’s the kind of guy our baby girl would go for.” He grimaced. “When I found out he was goin’ on tour with y’all I thought, that’s it, game over. I was gonna have to get used to having a little puke like that for a son-in-law.”
Son-in-law? WTF? “No way would it get that far.” I wouldn’t let it. “They’ve just been… getting to know each other better, that’s all.”
He closed his eyes, like I was trying his patience. “To know Cece is to love her, right?”
“Well yeah, but—”
“So, how do you know this guy isn’t already planning on taking this thing with Cec all the way?”
“She has to want it too, man. Can’t be a one-way thing.”
“Oh, so she’s not interested in him then?” He raised his chin, staring me down. “That’s what you’re sayin’?”
No way would I tell Chee they’d already gone at it. He’d hunt that bastard down. “I didn’t say that. I just—”
“Quit talkin’ in circles,” he barked. “You’re startin’ to piss me off. Do you, or do you not, want my daughter? It’s as simple as that.”
There was nothing simple about my feelings for Cece. “We’ve been friends forever.” I drained the rest of my beer and tossed it in a bin with a dozen more empties.
“So?”
“So I don’t wanna mess with that.” Chee may challenge me, but I wasn’t afraid to push back just as hard. “She means too damn much to me. Not having her in my life… not an option, man.”
He looked at me a long time before he said, “You’re in love with her.”
“Of course I love her—”
“That’s not what I said.” He glared at me. “You’re in love with her.”
My heart started battering my chest. Was he right? Was I in love with his daughter?
“And if you don’t get your head out of your ass, you’re gonna lose her to that pretty boy, Knox. I’d hate like hell to see that happen.”
He wasn’t the only one. That would kill me.
Chapter 6
Cece
My mama and I had been getting along great, chatting while we prepared dinner, until she started trampling all over boundaries and telling me how me and my sister should be living our lives. Then the claws came out.
“Mama, would you just back off please,” I said, through clenched teeth. “Charli is gonna do whatever the hell she wants to do and so will I.”
She shook a blue-tipped fingernail in my face that matched the turquoise streak in her silver hair. “Don’t you sass me, young lady. I’m still your mama and that means you’ll respect me or else.”
She’d never made good on the ‘or else’ but was convinced it still scared us. It hadn’t since we were twelve years-old, but we let her cling to her delusions if it didn’t hurt anyone.
“Charli likes what she’s doing.” We’d had this argument before. Mama thought my sister was wasting her talent, and expensive degree, working as a V.A., but she was a people-person who’d always been obsessed with cleanliness, order, and schedules. I thought she’d found the perfect job.
“But she can barely support herself!” She threw her arms up in the air. “And those losers she dates couldn’t keep a puppy in kibble.”
She had a point. Charli had lousy taste in men. They usually tried to move into her small one bedroom apartment and mooch off her while they were ‘between jobs’. That continued for a few months before she wised up and kicked them out on their sorry asses.
“Still, it’s none of my business.” I loved my little sister and I wanted her to h
ave security and the love of a good man, but she had to find those things without interference from her well-meaning family.
“How can you say that?” Mama snapped, setting the casserole dish on the counter with a little too much force. “She’s your baby sister! It’s your job to look out for her.” She shook her head, looking disgusted. “I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have my sisters to look out for me.”
I didn’t think it would help to point out her sisters hadn’t been able to prevent her from running off and marrying a menacing biker, who’d been skirting the law, when she was only twenty.
“You want me to look out for her,” I asked tongue in cheek. “I could always get her a job in Nashville… working for Dade Jarvis. You know he’s a good friend of ours and Knox told me he’s looking for an assistant.”
I smirked as I braced myself for the screaming. But it didn’t come. Instead Mama looked pensive, like she was actually considering my ridiculous proposal. This woman not only liked country music, she lived it, so there was no way she couldn’t know about Dade’s track record with women.
“Mama?” She was starting to make me nervous. No way could she think this was a good idea.
“He’s single again, ain’t he?”
Uh oh. “Yeah, so?”
“You know your sister’s been crushin’ on him since she was a teen.” She laughed, a raspy sound that exposed her many years as a smoker. “Said she was gonna marry him someday. You remember that?”
I rolled my eyes. “How could I forget?” She had his poster on her bedroom door. I’d never caught her, but I swear she kissed it every night before bed. “She’s still crushin’ on him.”
“She is, isn’t she?” Mama tapped her fingertip against her lips.
“I don’t know what you’re thinkin’, but there’s no way I’m sending my sweet, innocent little sister into that lion’s cave.” I snapped her bare arm with the tea towel, making her flinch. “And shame on you for thinking such a thing!”
“Oh please,” she said, snatching the towel before I could inflict more damage. “She’s hardly a virgin. She’s twenty six years-old, and how old is your friend Dade now?”
Bad Habits (Nashville Outlaws #1) Page 5