Lily

Only a week to go until Christmas and I still had no clue what to get Will. Maggie had offered a couple of ideas, but nothing really did it for me.

“I better figure out something fast or our first Christmas might be our last,” I grumbled to the pot of sauce I stirred on the stove.

“Are you talking to our dinner?”

I jumped and whirled around, spattering sauce across the counter from the spoon I held as I went. “Will! When did you get here?”

He walked over and managed to avoid the saucy wooden spoon as he gave me a quick kiss hello. I could feel the wintery air that clung to him.

“I just walked in,” he said as he lifted his head, “but I think you were too deep in conversation with the sauce to hear me.”

I rolled my eyes at him and turned back to the pot and cleaning up the counters. “How did your meeting go?”

“Not bad, not bad. It was good to have the band together again. I can’t wait to get back to work after the holidays.” He grabbed my wrist, stopping me mid-stir, and lifted my hand, spoon and all, as he leaned in to take a taste. “That’s good stuff.”

I smiled distractedly, but my mind was on what he’d just said. It occurred to me for the first time that he had this whole other life I knew nothing about.

I mean, I knew he was a rock star on a general level. But until this second, I hadn’t really thought about all that entailed. I’d met Paige and Jared a couple of times now when we were in the city, but I hadn’t met the other members of his band yet.

We’d been so occupied with each other in our own little bubble, I hadn’t let myself think too much about the fact he’d have to get back to real life soon. I hated the thought that things were going to change between us. My apartment was going to be so empty when Will wasn’t here every day.

The good news, the news I still had to break to Will, was that I wouldn’t be here too much longer. I finally saved up exactly what I needed, and I’d be making an offer on my house as soon as possible.

I shook off my thoughts and smiled at him as he leaned his hips against the counter. We’d gotten into the habit of talking while we took turns making dinner. I’d been surprised to find Will was a pretty good cook for a spoiled rock star.

“When do you have to return to work?” I tried to keep my voice neutral.

“Christian gave us our schedule today,” he said, referring to the man I hadn’t met yet, but knew was the band’s manager. “The week after New Year’s we’ll have a promo tour just to remind everyone we’re still alive and kicking. And the week we get back we’ll head into the studio to start working on some new stuff.”

As I listened, it occurred to me there was one question I’d never thought to ask him. “Where’s your home?”

He tipped his head to the side and his dark hair slid over his eyebrow. He pushed it off in a gesture that had become as familiar to me as my own little habits. “Well, I told you my parents are retired down south. I have some stuff stored with them and go spend a few weeks at a time with them whenever my schedule allows.”

I wrinkled my nose at him. “Not your parents’ house. I mean, your house. Where do you live when you’re not crashing in my luxury accommodations?”

“Why? You getting tired of me yet?” he teased.

“Never.” I tipped my head reconsidering my hasty response. “Well, almost never. There was that time in the middle of the night when I went into the bathroom and found myself sitting in a bowl of cold water because someone left the seat up. Maybe for a few minutes that night I was rethinking this arrangement.”

He grinned. When I fell in, I’d screeched loud enough to wake the dead. Will had come pounding on the thankfully locked door until I’d gotten myself together and flung the door open to give him a piece of my mind.

“Anyway,” I said pointedly changing the subject, “where do you live? Or are you avoiding telling me in case I rat you out to the paparazzi?”

We’d had a few encounters with the vultures who seemed to pop out of nowhere to snap photos of us as flashes went off over and over in our faces. It was enough to make me rethink how great life was for celebrities. Luckily, the press hadn’t found our little hideaway here yet. And the residents of this neighborhood who recognized him seemed happy to keep his whereabouts to themselves. At least so far.

“I don’t have a place of my own. Unless you count a tour bus.”

I scrunched my face at him. “No, I don’t know that I’d classify a tour bus as a home of your own.”

He shrugged. “It works for me. I love traveling around, exploring new places, meeting new people. Being able to store stuff with my parents means I don’t really need a home base.”

For the first time in weeks a shard of fear stabbed through me. Was I just one of the new people Will met while exploring a city? Did he intend to move on from me as soon as his wanderlust took hold and he was ready to move onto another city?

While question after question shot through my mind and anxiety grew in the pit of my belly, Will tested the pasta I had boiling on the stove.

“I think this is ready,” he said.

I did my best to smile at him, but I was happy for the excuse to turn away and get the colander from under the sink. I couldn’t help but wonder, even if Will had no intention of moving on from me, how on earth was my dream of buying a home of my own and settling down and putting down roots in a small town going to fit into the life on the road he so obviously loved?

* * *

Will

I smiled as I watched Lily fidget in her seat. Her nerves were obviously getting the best of her, but she wouldn’t tell me why. She’d woken me this morning with her mouth on my cock—my very favorite way to start the day—and before we got out of bed, she’d impaled herself on it and gotten both of our days off to the best possible beginning.

Afterward, she rested her head on my shoulder, her finger tracing patterns over on my chest and quietly asked me if I had any plans for the day. I’d have been happy to spend the entirety of it doing just what we’d spent the morning doing, but I sensed she had other plans.

She’d informed me she wanted to show me something and was hoping to borrow my driver. Which is how I ended up tucked in the back seat of the Town Car with her as we headed out of the city for some mysterious destination she’d only shared with my driver.

Actually, the car and driver belonged to the record label. One more perk that made it easy to keep my life as unencumbered as possible.

Looking down at Lily, an adorable furrow between her brows, I had to admit that not all baggage was bad. In less than a month, hell, less than a night together, she’d become the most important thing in the world to me. Jared ripped on me about disappearing with her the last few weeks every chance he got, but it was worth it. I loved every minute I’d gotten to spend with Lily.

I couldn’t help myself, I leaned down and pressed my lips against her temple. She immediately gave me the result I was hoping for—the furrow eased and her face softened and she looked up at me with the wonder of a child who just spied Santa leaving presents under the tree.

As we turned onto the main street of a charming village full of shops and restaurants, all decked out for the holidays, I raised an eyebrow at her. “You going to tell me where we’re going now?”

She picked up her phone and sent a text before she looked up at me with a nervous smile. “We’ll be there in a minute.”

After a few more turns, we came to a stop in front of a cute cottage on a wide, tree-lined street. Steps led up to a front porch with lights and greenery wrapped around the railings and a big wreath on the door.

I couldn’t help my grin. “This looks like your snow globe.” I glanced down at her. “Does someone you know live here?”

“Um, not exactly.”

Before I could question her further, a car pulled up behind us. Lily tugged on my hand and pulled us out of the car. She shot me a nervous look before she stepped forward to meet the woman who had just gotten out of her car to meet us at the bottom of the driveway.

“You must be Lily.” The woman stuck out her hand. “It’s so finally nice to finally meet you in person.”

Lily shook the woman’s hand and returned her greeting before turning to me. “Will, this is Elise. She’s my real estate agent.”

I had the woman’s hand in mine before Lily’s words really sank in. “Your real estate agent?”

Lily nodded, but instead of elaborating, she addressed the realtor. “Elise, would it be okay if I took Will inside to look around first?”

“Sure. Let me just get you guys inside.” She led the way up the front porch and fiddled with the lockbox on the door for a moment before she opened it and ushered us into the house. “How about if I stay right here and let you guys have a peek?”

“Perfect,” Lily said.

Completely confused, I allowed her to take my hand and pull me from room to room. As we went she rattled off information about the house. Like the fact the floors throughout the first floor were made of reclaimed barn wood. And though the kitchen had been brought up to date with all the modern conveniences, the farmhouse sink was completely restored and original to the house.

It wasn’t until we were standing in an oversized, bright and sunny bedroom upstairs that I finally made her stop and explain what we were doing here.

She stood in the middle of the room and held her arms out to encompass the whole room. “It’s my house.”

“Your house? Like you own it?” I drew my brows together, not understanding what was going on here.

“No. Well, at least not yet.”

“You’re buying a house.”

She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before she explained. “When I was a kid, I was in foster care.”

I nodded. She’d told me a little about the tough time she’d had growing up. I knew she’d been in a few foster homes.

“Well, the home I was happiest in was one in this town. I was eight. I’m not sure how I ended up getting moved out of the city, but coming here was like magic. I loved the couple who fostered me. I loved my school. I was here for the longest I’d been anywhere since I entered foster care. Seven months.”

Pain gripped my chest at her words. I’d known she’d moved a few times, and she’d never really talked about having a family. But I hadn’t realized she’d been moved around that often. More than one home a year for several years by the time she was eight. How had I not known that?

“Go on,” was all I managed to say.

She shrugged. “I’d done exactly what I’d told myself I shouldn’t do. I got hopeful.” She raised her eyes to mine. “I thought maybe I’d found a home. But fate had other ideas.”

I knew a little something about being blindsided by destiny myself. The proof stood in front of me—a petite, curvy brunette with shiny blue eyes and a smile that made my heart ache a little every time she aimed it my way.

“I think if it was just one thing, they would have kept me.”

I couldn’t stand the forlorn and lonely tone of her voice another second. I moved to her and pulled her into my arms.

She gave me an absent smile and looped her arms around my waist before she continued. “The man got transferred to an office in another state at the same time they found out they were expecting a baby of their own. They even talked about how I was going to be a big sister. But then the woman’s mom died and things just sort of unraveled. Before I knew it I was back in the system and being sent to a new place back in the city.”

I gave her a gentle squeeze and rested my cheek on her hair. “I had no idea, sweetheart.”

I felt her shrug under my arms, but her arms tightened and I could feel her relaxing into me. “It’s okay. But the whole time I was growing up, no matter how bad things got, I always remembered this place. I started planning on how when I grew up I’d buy a house here.”

I had to fight not to tense up as I started to realize where she was going with this. I kept quiet as she went on.

“So a couple of years ago, when it looked like I’d have enough money for a down payment soon, I contacted Elise. I gave her an idea of what I was looking for and told her my timeframe. She promised she’d let me know if she found anything, and back in October, she did.”

“This place?”

“Yup. I came and checked it out from the outside and wandered around town. I looked at all the pictures posted on the internet, but I didn’t quite have my down payment yet, so I couldn’t bring myself to come see the inside in person. I knew I would love it and if it got sold out from under me, I’d be heartbroken.”

“So can I take it since we’re here, you have enough money saved up now?”

I felt her nod against my chest.

“And? After seeing it are you still thinking you want it?”

She pulled back so she could look up at me. “I love it. It’s my dream house. It’s everything I always hoped to have.” She glanced around the room. “Just being here it’s like I can feel my roots being planted. I feel like I’m meant to settle down here.”

A sick feeling started to grow in the pit of my stomach. Her dream was my nightmare. Spending the last few weeks in her apartment together felt like an adventure. I still had some clothes in the duffle bag on the floor of her closet. I had no plans to leave her. Ever.

But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit the plans I’d been making for us lately involved her being on the road with me. I even thought if she wanted to keep her apartment for a while, I could pay her rent for a year.

None of the plans I had involved a picture-perfect house on a picture-perfect street in a picture-perfect town. Just the thought of it made my feet itchy.

But as I looked down into her beautiful face, her eyes shining and full of hope as she looked up at me, I didn’t have the heart to stomp on her dream.

“If it’s your dream, sweetheart, you should go for it.”

She beamed at me, and I did my best to find a genuine smile in return.