Never Tied Down (The Never Duet #2)(20)

“I did. A few days ago.”

“And yet you haven’t been there since.” He didn’t sound angry, but maybe a little disappointed.

“I’d kind of been lying to myself since I moved here. I told myself that I probably wouldn’t see you, and if by chance I did, I would be able to handle it.” I saw his head turn toward me out of the corner of my eye, but couldn’t bring myself to stare into his eyes while so close to him. Baby steps.

“So, you came and found me?”

“No. Well, yes, I guess so. I spent the last three days working up enough nerve to sit at that coffee shop and wait for you, and when you never showed I was a little pissed. So I went on a mission. Luckily, you weren’t hard to find.”

“Erin, the girl you bumped into with the clipboard? She helped me find out where you were working. You happened to literally run into the only person in the world who knew I was looking for you.”

“You never came. To the coffee shop, I mean.”

“I did,” he said, his head turning to me once again, and that time I couldn’t resist, so I turned to look at him as well. “I went there all three days, but you weren’t there. No note in return. Nothing. But I hadn’t given up. I just got caught at work shooting that scene. If I weren’t in this truck with you right now, I’d be sitting in that coffee shop waiting for you. I’d have waited there forever if there was still hope you’d show up.”

With his gaze darting between me and the road, I never got a clear look, but I knew his eyes had softened the way his voice did. The softness I heard there only went further to melting me on the inside.

A breathy, “Oh,” was all I could manage in return.

“We’ll talk about it at dinner.”

“Okay,” I said. Then he turned his head again and gave me that brilliant smile and my nerves came down another notch.

A few minutes later he pulled into a parking lot and made sure I knew to stay in my seat so he could open my door. I smiled as I climbed out, and then laughed when I saw his choice of restaurant.

“Pizza? What are you? Twelve?” I laughed and smiled at him, my belly flipping when I heard him laugh along with me.

“What can I say? I haven’t gotten the lay of the land here in LA completely, but I do know this place has excellent pizza and beer.”

“Well, in that case….” I laughed.

He opened the door for me and when we were led to our table he scooted in my chair. I wasn’t surprised; Riot had always been rather chivalrous and thoughtful. But it also made me feel slightly uneasy. It was feeling too much like a date and I wasn’t sure what was happening. Then suddenly, Riot Bentley was sitting across from me, smiling, and I didn’t know if I’d be able to stay away from him any longer.





Chapter Seven


Beautiful Torture


Riot

The past three days, waiting for Kalli to show, had been tough. At first I was optimistic she’d come, hopeful she’d take my note as a sign that it was time to move forward. But as each day passed and I sat there for hours, I began to worry she’d disappeared again. Retreated back into the darkness I’d left her in months before. It was difficult, but I knew I would go back there until I was sure there was no point any longer.

So, when Erin told me Kalli was in my dressing room, I’d never sprinted anywhere so quickly. I’d gotten to my room out of breath, but deliriously happy to see her there. In the months since I’d seen her, I had moments of panic when the dark thoughts would take over and I’d give in to the fear that I’d never see her again. But there she’d been, waiting for me. It was something I never imagined would actually happen, and I wasn’t about to let this opportunity go to waste.

Kalli was with me and it took every ounce of self-control I had not to reach over and take her hand, or brush her hair away from her face, which was so f*cking beautiful. I wanted to hold her and touch her, but I couldn’t scare her away. I could already tell she was skittish. She’d changed from the Kalli I’d first met so many months ago. She’d been feisty, snarky, and sassy. Obviously, the hurt she’d been through had buried some of that. I was going to enjoy bringing it out again.

She was looking around the pizza place, obviously trying to avoid eye contact, but I let her. I wanted her to be comfortable, so if it took some time to warm her up, so be it.

The waitress came and Kalli ordered a beer, which I loved. I loved that she could hang. She liked her girly cocktails, but wasn’t afraid to drink a beer with her pizza. I ordered the same.

“So, how long have you been in LA?” I tried to open up the conversation with something light, something that felt like normal conversation.

“About four weeks. I started my new job about a week after I came to town.”

“How are you liking it so far?”

“It’s pretty crazy,” she said, her sweet laugh mixing with her words. “I never thought I would live here. We talked about that once,” she said, her hand motioning between us. Then she shrugged. “But the time was right and the job is amazing, so I made the leap.”

“Even though you knew I would be here?” I asked, my smile widening, eyes locking on hers. I watched her throat dip as she swallowed. Jesus.

“Even though.”

“I can’t tell if you think it was a mistake or not, coming here and having to see me.”