Melody of the Heart (Runaway Train, #4)

I nodded and then let him lead me back into the bedroom. For the next three hours, we tumbled through the sheets, rolled around on the floor, and splashed water around in the Jacuzzi tub. The more I was with him physically, the more I began to slowly feel a more emotional connection to him.

My heart and mind felt even more at ease when he refused the invitation from AJ to accompany him and the guys to a club opening. Instead, we stayed at the house, eating Chinese take-out and watching goofball comedies. It felt just like old times.

Just before midnight, he took me for a walk along the beach. Hand in hand we walked along the cool sand, letting the waves lap against our ankles. Then we stripped down and made love on the beach by a secluded dune. On the way back to the house, he stopped to kiss me in the moonlight. “I love you,” he said.

“I love you, too.”

And in that moment, everything was right and perfect between us.





LILY


THE PAST


I yawned. “Good morning.”

Brayden laughed. “Try afternoon, sleepyhead.”

After I shot up in bed, I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was twelve-thirty. “Oh no!” I moaned.

“What’s the matter?”

Untangling myself from the sheets, I replied, “You shouldn’t have let me sleep so long.”

“Why? I figured you needed the rest.”

“I don’t have that much time with you, so I don’t want to waste a minute.”

“Sounds like you’ve been missing me pretty badly,” he mused.

“Of course, I have.” I brought my hand to his face and rubbed my thumb along his jaw. “I love you so, so much. I hate to have to spend any time away from you.”

“I love you, too.” Jerking the sheet away from my breasts, he grinned. “Now why don’t you show me just how much you’ve missed me?”

“I can do that,” I replied

“I’m glad to hear it.” He then pushed me onto my back on the mattress.

***

After I showed Brayden how much I’d loved him to the tune of two orgasms for him and three for me, I slipped into the shower. Any other apprehensions I had about his feelings for me faded away when he brought me a tray of bagels, croissants, and fruit to the bedroom. Bundled in a robe, I chowed down on the feast before me.

“I have a surprise for you,” he said.

“You do?” I questioned through a mouth of jelly-filled croissant.

“Remember how I said there was a party for my label tonight?”

The bite of croissant I swallowed lodged in my throat. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, I gave our assistant your size and asked her to find you a dress for tonight.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I didn’t want you to have to worry about getting a dress before you left. But more than anything, I wanted a dress you would feel comfortable in out here. I know how you feel about fitting in.”

And with those words, the happy little bubble of my day burst. “You mean you were worried about me not fitting in,” I countered softly.

He scowled at me. “That’s not it at all, Lils. I just wanted to get you something nice. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing.” I then forced a smile to my face. “I haven’t had a new party dress in a long time.”

He grinned and went over to the closet. He took out a garment bag and then unzipped it. “What do you think?”

It was a nightmare—both the dress itself and the world I found myself in. It was short, and I knew from the material it would be skin tight on me. With the cutouts on the halter top, it would be showing a lot of cleavage too. While I’m sure it cost a fortune and had a famous designer’s name attached to it, it wasn’t me, and Brayden should’ve known that.

“That’s some dress,” I finally managed to say.

“I know, right? Fuck, Lils, you’re going to look so hot in this tonight.”

“Thanks,” I murmured.

He glanced at the clock. “We’ve got a few hours before we have to get ready. What do you want to do?”

“We could recreate last night with the movies.”

His brows furrowed. “You’ve never been to LA before, and you want to stay holed up here on a gorgeous day?”

I shrugged. “I just want to spend time with you.”

“I think we can do that and see some of the sites.” He jerked his chin at the bathroom. “Go get dressed, and we’ll go for a ride.”

“Okay,” I agreed, although I would have much rather just stayed in with him.

After throwing on some shorts and a T-shirt, I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and went to meet Brayden. He ushered me into the garage where a sleek, black Aston Martin convertible sat. “Oh my God, is this yours?”

“No, it’s the label’s. But it’s ours to drive as long as we’re staying at the house.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Wait until you feel how it rides.”