Never Tied Down (The Never Duet #2)

“I’ll take an iced latte, please.”


“Coming up.” He headed toward the counter and I took the opportunity to watch him walk away. He was dressed casually, jeans and a t-shirt, but the jeans made his ass look amazing. After a few moments of completely selfish, yet gratifying, ogling, I turned back to the table and eyed the script lying atop it. I peeked at the paper, then used a finger to swing it to face me, letting my eyes peruse it.

It seemed to be a scene between Riot’s character and the person who played his rookie partner. I read it for a few pages and surmised the two characters were trying to out a dirty cop who was high up in the ranks.

“I’d get in a lot of trouble if my producer knew I’d let you read my script. That’s the midseason cliffhanger you’re sneaking a peek at.”

I smiled and turned his script back to him. “Looks exciting.”

“You know, I really like the writers. They’ve got a good storyline going, or as far as I can tell they do, anyway.” He put my coffee in front of me and I felt like Pavlov’s dog, nearly drooling at the sight of the cup.

“Thank you,” I sighed, then took a satisfying drink.

“You’re welcome,” he said, a smile tugging at his lips as he sat down across from me again. “I’ll buy you coffee every day if I get to watch you take that dreamy first sip.”

I gave him a flirty smile, but then took one more sip. “I slept for crap last night. This coffee is going to get me through the fittings I have scheduled this afternoon.”

“Measuring more inseams?” He waggled his eyebrows at me and I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me.

“No, no inseams.” I blushed at the memory of kneeling in front of Riot, measuring tape in hand, praying he couldn’t see my hand shaking as I took his measurement. That was the day that had started everything between us, and I was glad I could look back on the memory with a smile. For the last couple of months, every memory that included Riot had sent me into a panic. I loved thinking about him, remembering the good moments between us, and having no apprehension.

“Do you have any plans this weekend?”

I shook my head. “None. I was just going to stay home and get some work done.”

A slow and easy smile spread across his face. “My little sister’s birthday is this weekend and my family is having a party. Would you like to take a trip to San Francisco with me?”

Suddenly, I didn’t need coffee to wake me up. Riot was asking me to go away with him for the weekend. One day after we’d started talking to each other again. I was wide awake. My heart rate picked up and my mind started working overtime. Sure, I wanted to spend time with him, wanted to explore where our relationship could go from here, but I didn’t think it would be going to San Francisco for the weekend. He must have seen the panic in my face, or noticed the way my entire body tensed at his question, because he immediately tried to soothe me.

“Hey, Kal, listen. It was just a suggestion. I thought it would be fun to get away. No pressure.”

“I’m sorry. That just really surprised me.” I felt terrible. First, because I didn’t want him to think I didn’t want to spend time with him, and second, because as soon as he started to tell me it was okay if I didn’t want to go, I wanted to go. Sure, my first reaction was terror, but once I thought about it for a moment, spending a weekend with Riot somewhere new sounded like the perfect way to ease back into whatever it was we were trying to build between us. “So, does your family know you’re inviting a woman to the family gathering?”

“No. But they’d love to meet you, so I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem.” He eyed me warily, which made me feel even worse.

“Where would we stay? At your parents’ house?” The idea of seeing the house Riot grew up in made my belly warm, then the feeling spread throughout my body. Even though I’d fallen totally and madly in love with Riot months before, we’d actually learned quite little about each other. All he really knew of me was what I showed him, and all I knew of him was what I was able to surmise from a brief yet entirely passionate long-distance relationship.

“Well, unfortunately, since I haven’t RSVP’d yet, all the rooms are spoken for, so we’d have to stay at a hotel. Obviously, we can get two rooms… if you’re worried about…”

His voice trailed off and I wanted to end his misery. “I think it’d be really fun to go to San Francisco with you.”

“Great,” he said on a sigh, obviously relieved. He smiled as he brought his coffee to his lips, and I couldn’t help but smile back.

“How old is your sister turning? What is she into? I need gift ideas.”

“She’s kind of a nerd,” he said in a big brother, teasing-with-love kind of way. “I usually just get her a gift card to her favorite bookstore and call it good.”