Never Tied Down (The Never Duet #2)(74)

Kalli,

By now I’ve left and trust me when I say, leaving you on Christmas was probably harder for me than it was for you. But I did it with good reason. I love you. More than any necklace or long-stemmed roses can say. Throughout this year we’ve hit a lot of bumps in our road, but we’ve also stopped to admire a lot of views. No matter what happens, Kalli, remember the beautiful views we’ve seen together.

Now, there’s one more view to add to the list. Please pack your bags and meet me at this address. Come alone, but come knowing I’ll be waiting for you.

Love,

Riot

There was an address at the bottom of the card, but the address was all the way back in LA. I looked up to find every person in the house staring back at me.

“Did you guys know about this?” I asked his family, my eyes darting between all three of them.

“No, sweetheart. He didn’t mention anything to us,” Mara said, looking to Halah and Chad. Both of them shook their heads. “What does the card say?”

“He wants me to meet him somewhere. Back in LA.” All of their faces were blank, just as confused as I was.

“Well,” Kevin said, “I guess you better get going.”

“Yeah, okay,” I said, then turned to go pack my stuff, shaking my head the entire way to Riot’s bedroom. I reread the card four times before I finally gave in and packed up all my stuff. When I went back into the kitchen it was with my bag packed and a worried look on my face. “I’m sorry to just up and leave. I’m so confused.”

Mara came and gave me a big, motherly hug. “Don’t worry. Riot has a plan. I’m sure it’s good news.”

“I feel bad leaving.” I looked at Kevin. “I hate leaving you here. You came all this way…” My words drifted off as I thought about everything he’d done to be with me on Christmas. Then he was next to me, his arm around my shoulder in a side-hug.

“It’s okay, baby doll. I got to see you open presents on Christmas morning. That’s all I really wanted. Plus, we’ve got years of Christmases ahead of us. Go. Be with him.”

At his words I turned fully into his arms and wrapped mine around his waist. My dad and I had a long road of building a stable relationship ahead of us, but his words were genuine and true. I never thought I’d ever spend Christmas morning with my father, so he’d given me a real gift the day he reached out to me.

“Okay,” I said, pulling away. Everyone walked me out to my car and Jordy helped Chad figure out how to secure my giant vase of flowers so it wouldn’t topple over as I drove. I said good-bye to everyone and that alone took ten minutes. I pulled out, made it to the freeway, and let out a big sigh. I had butterflies fluttering in my stomach, my hands were shaky, and my mind was spinning in a million different directions. Riot was up to something, that was clear.

I let out another sigh, took in a deep breath, and tried to calm myself down. I had a long drive ahead of me. I turned on some music to try and distract myself and that kind of worked, but being alone in my car only gave me time to think about Riot and everything he’d done for me since I’d met him. I focused on those thoughts as I drove to LA.





Chapter Twenty-One


It’s Our View

Kalli

Halfway into my solo road trip, I put the address on the card into my GPS to make sure I didn’t get lost. LA was still pretty new to me and I definitely didn’t know my way around well enough to get there without assistance.

I was surprised when the GPS took me off the highway and brought me onto some roads leading up the back hills of Hollywood. The higher I climbed, and the farther from the city I got, the more beautiful my surroundings became.

The GPS alerted me that my destination was 1,000 feet ahead on the right and my nerves shot through the roof. I slowly drove along the road and finally came to a house nestled on the edge of the tall hill. The sky was getting dimmer as the sun dropped lower in the sky, and I started to appreciate the view.

“What in the world…” I said to no one, but pulled into the empty driveway. The house was huge. Not as huge as all the other houses on that street, but it was still bigger than any house I’d been in. It was white with tall windows and two large columns in the front. I put my Rover in park, shut it off, then tentatively opened my door, expecting Riot to appear. He didn’t.

I walked up to the door and I noticed a piece of paper taped to it.

The door is unlocked. Come inside. Follow the trail and meet me at the end.

My nerves were ready to stop my heart. My fingers tingled as I turned the doorknob and pushed the door open slowly.

The beautiful house was empty and made me gasp. It was magnificent and gorgeous. But besides how beautiful the house was, what had been done to it was even more breathtaking. There were red roses everywhere. Vases and vases of red roses were strategically placed throughout the foyer and great room past it. Along the floor was a path made from rose petals, lit on either side with candles.

My hand came to cover my mouth and the tears welled, blurring the astonishing vision. Then I heard it. The soft sounds of a piano coming from everywhere. I heard the first word of the song and a sob escaped me. This couldn’t be happening. No one could pull this off. No one except Riot.

The song that was being softly piped through the whole house was familiar and I recognized it as the one and only song we’d ever danced to. The song from Tilly’s bar, the first night I’d let myself open up to him.