“Not something you do often?”
Emmie laughed. “I don’t like to give them that satisfaction.”
I couldn’t help but return her laugh just as the door was filled up with the delicious sexiness of Nikolas Armstrong. “What’s so funny?” His voice was just as sexy as when he sang.
“I’m sorry, Emmie blurted out.
Nik looked stunned. “About?”
She grimaced and told him about our day. Apparently, it hadn’t been Nik’s fault that he had to go into the studio this morning after all. Rich told him wrong, knowing that Emmie would be stuck with the movers on her own. Pay back for Demon’s Wings canceling their winter tour.
“I don’t know what to say.” Nik shook his head. “I’m speechless.”
“That Rich would do something like that?”
“No. That you would actually admit that it wasn’t my fault…” Emmie picked up her half full bottle of water and threw it at him with a precise aim that impressed the hell out of me. Nik had the good sense to duck.
The bottle hit the chest of pure male perfection behind Nik, causing the man to grunt. “Good arm, Em.” He bent to retrieve the bottle before pushing past Nik who was snickering.
Okay, I have to admit that I have always considered every member of Demon’s Wings sexy as hell, but I’m a freak for bald guys. Even with the little bit of scruff on his normally smooth head, which told me what I had always wondered about—did he shave it like that because he had to, or because he wanted too? Answer? Because he wanted to!
My reaction to him surprised me. If I see a bald guy I was usually interested enough to take a second look. Something about him, when those brown eyes caught mine and he shook my hand, the way that I felt like I was struck with lightning at just that innocent touch, and… I was ready and willing for him right then and there!
Then I remembered who he was and pulled away. Rockers were bad news. I knew that because my mother had had a thing for them. I was the result of her first journey into the world of hard rock and roll. Just as both my sisters were her continued need to be a rocker’s plaything. Rockers spelled trouble in my book, and I was not going to go down that road… No matter how wet my panties suddenly were, dammit!
I made an excuse to Emmie and got the fuck out of there. All the way home, I kept telling myself that I would have to stay away from Jesse Thornton…
I used my key to unlock the apartment door and was almost trampled when I walked through the front door. The first thing I was going to do with my first paycheck was get us all new cellphones so that we could stay in touch. Lucy was pale and Lana had a scowl on her beautiful face. I instantly felt guilty for having worried them. It was after eight, but I had always been home by six, even on my most busy of days.
“Where have you been?” Lana demanded, sounding more like a mother than our own mother ever had. She had taken care of Lucy for the first four years of the little girl’s life, so she was used to worrying about someone other than herself. Lana was strong and was extremely mature for someone so young.
I pulled the bag of greasy hamburgers from behind my back and offered it to her as a peace offering. “I come baring food and good news.”
“You got the job?” Lucy was already jumping up and down with excitement.
“I got the job,” I told her, hugging her close and dropping a kiss on top of her sweet smelling hair. Lana must have already helped her with her bath. “Let’s sit down and talk. I have some news.”
We sat down at the little scarred up kitchen table, and I handed out the burgers that I knew that they loved but we hadn’t been able to afford often. There was a saucepan with mac and cheese on the stove, so I knew they had already eaten, but the girls would never turn down grease and saturated fat.
I was going to miss this apartment. It had kept me safe and worn for the last five years. I liked it’s warn wallpaper and the dull, egg color paint on the walls. It was small, only a one bedroom, and barely housed three females. The girls took the bedroom while I slept on the worn, old sofa that I had inherited from the tenant before me.
I waited until they had inhaled the first half of their burgers before telling them about my day. I wiped my mouth and fingers on a napkin and took a sip of my bottled water. “So… I got the job, but they are hiring me straight out instead of through Stan.”
Lana’s brows rose. “Is that good or bad?”
I grinned. “It’s good. It’s really good, Lana,” I assured her. “We’re getting health insurance, and they are paying me triple what I would make working through Stan for a month…in a week.” Lana’s eyes got huge and I nodded. “So it’s a good deal.”
“Where will you be working?” she asked after swallowing a mouthful of beef, cheese and veggies.
“Malibu.” I didn’t know how she was going to react when I told her about us moving, but I had to do it now. “My boss has a guest house and she wants me to move into it, so that I will be on call twenty-four seven. She knows that I have you girls to take care of, and she said that it was okay.”
Lana nearly choked on the food in her mouth when she swallowed too quickly. I pounded her on the back a few times to help her catch her breath. Her eyes were watering but she was able to wheeze out a strangled, “What?!”
“Does that mean we’re moving?” Lucy asked, her little brow puckered up.
I nodded. “Yes, Lucy. We are moving, and our new place is right beside of the beach.”
She clapped her hands together. “That’s so cool!”
“But we can’t move!” Lana objected. “I mean that’s awesome and all, Layla. Really. It’s the beach, who wouldn’t want that? But I can’t transfer now.”
“You won’t have to. Lucy is going to have to change schools, but you won’t. You can use my car and drive to school. I won’t need it.” If her eyes got any wider, I was sure they were going to pop out of her pretty head. And I hadn’t even told her the biggest news yet!
“I don’t care if I change schools,” Lucy informed me around a mouthful of cow, pickles and ketchup.
“I’m glad, Lucy. I really think this is going to be a good thing for all three of us.” I took another drink of my water. “I just need you girls to do one thing for me, okay?”
“What?” Lana questioned, still sounding a little strangled. I knew how she felt. Today had been one big surprise after another for me too.