It was almost six before I told Emmie that I was leaving. She was in the living room with a bowl of cereal. “Okay, thanks. Oh, tomorrow I want to show you the guest house. I meant to do it today but things got away from me. Have you talked to your sisters about it?”
“Yeah, they seem excited. Lana was worried about changing schools, but I assured her that she could use my car so that she wouldn’t have to.”
“I wouldn’t want to leave my friends either.” She put her empty bowl on the glass coffee table.
“That’s not it. I think she couldn’t care less about all of that. Mostly she was worried about all the extra classes she’s taking.” Emmie patted the sectional beside of her, and I dropped down on the edge. “She’s crazy smart, and I push her hard. She already has enough college credits from all the extra AP classes to start college as a sophomore. Her education is important to us both.”
“Wow. She sounds like a good girl.”
“She is. Lana has her head on straight.” I was proud of that girl. Even after all the shit our mother put her through she was still so strong and loving.
“Well, I can’t wait to meet her.” The front door opened without warning and in walked the band. She stood to greet them. “Hey!”
“Emmie, I’m starving.” Shane dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Tell me you made something that doesn’t have bacon on it.”
“I thought we could grill out on the patio. Burgers and hotdogs okay?”
“As long as it isn’t from a fast food place, that’s perfect.” He rubbed his hand over her distended belly lovingly before focusing on me. “Well hello there, beautiful.”
I couldn’t help but grin. I knew all about the reputation of Shane Stevenson. There didn’t come a bigger horn dog. This man was king of orgies, or so the trash magazines had said. “Hello.”
Emmie muttered something under her breath and shook her head. “Layla, since you are a fan I’m sure you know who this is. Shane, this is our housekeeper Layla Daniels. Our housekeeper, Shane. And her job does not include personal turn down services.”
He looked a little disappointed but still offered me his hand. “I love your name, Layla. I’m a huge Clapton fan.”
“You’re a huge something.” A deep voice informed him, and my heart actually skipped a beat. Jesse shoved Shane from behind. “I thought you wanted a run.”
“I changed my mind.” Shane gave me a wink. “Excuse me, Layla. It was a pleasure to meet you.”
I watched him go because it was safer to look at Shane than at the hulking piece of male perfection standing mere feet from me. “It was nice to meet you Shane,” I called after him.
“Baby, I missed you.” Nik came into the living room looking tired. I guess working on their new songs was hard work. He pulled Emmie close and kissed her softly on the lips. It was sweet and yet none the less passionate. I had to avert my eyes because the look on Emmie’s face was so full of emotions.
Jesse grunted. “Break it up, you two. I can only stand so much of that before I want to break Nik’s face.”
Nik shot him the finger without even lifting his head. I grinned and picked my keys up off the end table where I had left them earlier. “Well on that note I think that I will head out.”
“You can’t leave. We’re going to cook out.” Jesse followed me out of the living room and stood in front of the door, blocking my exit. “I grill a mean cow.” He gave me that cocky grin that had literally melted my panties yesterday. “Come on, Layla. Don’t go home yet.”
I was so tempted. I wanted to stay, and not just to try out his mad skills with the grill on the patio. My heart was aching to be close to him just as much as my body was. That alone terrified the shit out of me. “Maybe another time. I really have to get home.” Wait, why did I have to get home? Oh yeah, the girls.
His eyes narrowed. Was it me or had his eyes actually changed color? That was so sexy! “Do you have someone waiting for you?”
“Yes.” I told him honestly. His eyes darkened and for some reason I was quick to tell him about the girls. “My sisters.”
Those incredible eyes of his changed again, turning back to the brown from earlier. “Sisters?”
I grinned. “Yes. I have custody of both my sisters. They will be wondering where I am, so I really have to get home.”
“Call them and ask them to join us. Tell them to grab a cab, and I’ll pay the driver when he gets here.” He took a step closer to me, and my breath caught in my chest. “You know you want to stay,” he whispered.
I tried to keep calm, tried to remember how to breathe, but he was to close, too alluring and smelled to damn good. “I…” I had forgotten how to form words.
“Call them.”
Finally I found the strength to suck in a deep breath. “I can’t.” I couldn’t let Lana and Lucy ride in a cab by themselves all the way out to Malibu, especially when they had school in the morning. The disappointment in his eyes—oh goodness, they’ve changed color again—made my heart ache a little. “They have school in the morning,” I told him. “I would love to stay, really, but school is important.”
His mouth lifted in half a smile. “Okay, I understand.” He stepped back enough that I was able to breathe without getting assaulted with that deliciously sexy smell of his. It wasn’t cologne, but something both subtle and hypnotizing. “Drive safely.”
Jesse opened the door for me and I was reluctant to walk out. I had to force my feet to move. The entire drive home I felt almost depressed.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! I was already developing feelings for the rocker.
Jesse
It was crazy, but I felt depressed after I watched Layla pull out of the driveway in her beat up old car. I had been thinking about her all day, had woken up hard as a fucking rock twice the night before with her on my mind.
I hadn’t wanted to go into the studio this morning because I wanted to see her again. Then when we got home it was to find Shane undressing her with his eyes and her grinning up at him like she knew it too. So I might have shoved him a little harder than was deemed playful to get him to keep his eyes to himself.
Layla Daniels had invaded my mind, and I didn’t know why, but I was willing to explore the possible answers. I wanted her with an ache that I had never felt before in my life, but it was more that. I wanted to get to know her too, and that wasn’t me. Jesse Thornton didn’t care about getting to know women. All he cared about was his band brothers and Emmie. I was a bastard like that, but they were all I knew and all I loved. Nothing else mattered.