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Thirty minutes later, Reese giggled as Sterling’s total rang up as eighty-seven dollars. “Told you,” she said, from a few registers away. He had tried to buy her stuff, but she refused. “What did you even buy?”
“I don’t know,” Sterling said. “I found a few T-shirts and a pair of jeans and then there were these shoes and they have the kinds of sunglasses I like …”
“You’ve been Ross-ed.” Reese said, laughing.
Sterling walked back to join her with this big plastic shopping bags as she signed her receipt. “Is that a thing?”
“It is now.” Smiling, she linked her arms through his and they walked out of the store. No one had seemed to recognize him in there. That was the power of Ross. No one really made eye contact. They were there to shop.
Outside he put his new sunglasses on awkwardly, without unlinking his arm from Reese’s. “Okay, Reese. I know what we’re going to do today.”
A little thrill went through her just at the way he said her name. And the fact that he was making plans of what “we’re” going to do? She was totally sunk. “What?”
“You’ve shown me your world. Now I’m going to show you mine.”
Reese sat in semi-stunned silence. “Wait, exactly when did I show you my world?”
He grinned at her as he opened her car door, taking her bag and dumping it with his in the back before closing her door. He jogged around to his side of the car and got in. She fastened her seatbelt, trying to think about what Sterling meant.
Half of her was caught up in the swoony idea that he was going to share his world with her. But when had she shown him her world? Her world was mostly in Nashville. Her apartment with Staci. Church and her small group. Her three favorite restaurants with live music and open mic nights. The coffee shop ten miles away and totally worth the drive. He had seen exactly none of that. She turned a curious face to him as he started the car.
Sterling’s grin stretched wider. He pointed to Ross. “The way you talked about it, I just figured that Ross was your world.”
Teasing! Reese slapped him on the arm and he grabbed her hand, managing to back out of the parking spot with only one hand, something that made her as impressed as it did nervous. He actually looked out of the windows, not at the backup cam. Reese would have hit multiple things that way.
“I’ll have you know that Ross isn’t my world. Well, not all of my world.”
They wore matching smiles as Sterling drove away. “Keep telling yourself that.”
Chapter Eighteen
Sterling could not remember a day in which he smiled this much. His cheeks felt cramped and overworked. Reese just had that effect on him. Part of it was her wide-eyed excitement at everywhere he took her. They got out at Venice Beach, where Reese immediately took off her shoes and ran full-speed into the ocean. Well, a few steps in. She had on cropped pants since they had come straight from Ross, not changing first, and she stepped in far enough that her feet were in the water, but her pants were dry. Until a wave crashed over her legs, sending her squealing and making her pants wet to above her knees. Sterling had still been laughing when she ran straight into his arms. He couldn’t complain about that. Not even a little.
The weather was warm and perfect, almost hot, and there was less smog in the air. Sterling bought her an ice cream cone along the boardwalk and then stopped so she could get a henna tattoo on the inside of her wrist. Sterling had never really spent much time looking at women’s wrists before. But watching them put the tattoo on the inside there had his thoughts spinning out into some other directions. It was all he could think about: pressing his lips there. He promised himself that he would. Later.
From almost the start, their dynamic was different. Even before he gave his little speech about not being at work. They were away from the tour, away from their normal day-to-day. Away from Morgan and the fake relationship. Away from the crowded bus where there was no privacy. Away from their normal roles where he was her client. Here, he wasn’t boss and she had no social media issues to fix. They could just be.
Every so often there was a jarring reminder, like when they saw paparazzi just down the boardwalk, following some celebutante. Sterling grabbed Reese’s hand more tightly and turned them both quickly around. He had on a hat and sunglasses still, the celebrity cliché, but it did make him look like every other person on the boardwalk.
He had felt Reese tensing beside him until they lost sight of the photographers. He had no desire to fall prey to a mob of paparazzi. Especially when Reese had been spinning the whole relationship with Morgan thing. The cameras reminded him just how risky he was being. Being spotted together would be the end to this trip and its magical powers to suspend time and reality.
Even though it felt very, very real. More real than anything else he could remember.
Sterling felt the same energy and fire he did on stage sometimes, but now all that energy was focused on Reese. He wanted to be touching her every second, even in sweet, casual ways like holding her hand. He wanted to show her a good time and pamper her as much as she would let him in the tiny window of time they had. Even if this whole trip was a big risk. He had no idea what would happen when the wheels touched down in Denver tomorrow night and they returned to the tour bus. But for now: Sterling could pretend that Reese was his and all was right with the world.
Actually, not until then. His happy little bubble would burst—at least temporarily—tomorrow morning at the intervention. Every time he remembered, it made his chest freeze up so tightly that it was hard to breathe.
After Venice Beach, Sterling took her to the hotel in Santa Monica. She had clearly never heard of Shutters, but he could read the awe on her face when they arrived. It was a Cape Cod style hotel right on the ocean, totally different from the more modern and art deco styles often seen in and around L.A. or the Mediterranean-style beach resorts. He used to stay here when he visited home. It was just twenty minutes from his mom and though she let Sterling know he was welcome, after he left for Nashville, he didn’t want to sleep in her house. It stopped feeling like home when he left.
As Sterling got them checked in, he watched Reese’s face as she wandered the lobby. He loved how Shutters felt luxurious, but also like a living room. The lobby wasn’t some ostentatious grand affair but had vaulted ceilings with wood beams and comfortable seating areas with patterned rugs and upholstered chairs. It felt like somewhere you could relax. Just with high-end touches and a concierge.
Sterling didn’t think of himself as spoiled. He could live on a crowded tour bus, obviously, but he had to admit that he loved being able to afford something like this. For himself, but also to see Reese’s face. She shot him a glance with wide eyes, mouthing “thank you” as he finished speaking with the concierge. He left the car keys for the valet and took their key cards. Someone would bring up their bags soon.
“Let’s go see our rooms,” Sterling said, touching Reese’s shoulder. Though it was warm outside, she sat on a leather ottoman just in front of a fire.
“This is beyond amazing,” she said. “I love it already. I want to move in.”
He grinned. “Then you’ll love your suite.”
