Chapter 30
Lorenzo sleeps soundly and I feel like a stalker watching him. It’s strange to think a few weeks ago, he was one of my favorite athletes and I would have done anything to meet him. He seems like a nice enough guy but he has eyes for my woman and that changes how I feel about him. He’ll always be in her life and I will find a way to come to terms with that. For now, I’m letting myself feel a little competitive. I’m taking Katrina home today, to our home, and I wanted to talk to him before we go.
“I can feel you staring at me. It’s creepy.” His voice is laced with sleep. The remnants of an Italian accent apparent every time he speaks.
“Sorry,” I chuckle. “I wanted to stop by and check on you before we head out.”
“How’s Kat?” He sits up a little and cringes. I know he’s in pain but he fights through it.
“She’s healing. She’s not very good with pain, is she?”
He laughs and holds his shoulder. “Not even a little. She’s the toughest woman I know but when she’s down for the count, she’s really down.”
I sit up a little straighter. “Listen, I’ve asked her to move in with me and she’s agreed. I wanted you to hear this from me. I know how you feel about her. I knew the day you told me not to hurt her. I can appreciate that. She’s incredible so why wouldn’t you love her? I want you to know that I’m in it for the long haul. I don’t plan on stepping aside and I hope you’ll respect that.”
“You don’t need to say anymore. I know how much she loves you. I won’t stand in the way of that. Yes, I love her but I won’t stand in the way of what makes her happy. I’ll step aside. But know this, if you ever fuck up, I will be there to pick up the pieces.”
I nod my head. “Fair enough.”
He reaches out to shake my hand and I take it without hesitation. “Be good to her, Chance. She’s got a big Italian family and my mom doesn’t tolerate anyone hurting any of her kids.”
“I know that should intimidate me, but honestly, it makes me happy to know that.”
“It will make us happy to know she’s happy.”
I stand to leave but turn before I walk out the door. I take a deep breath to steady my nerves. “Before I go, I need to ask you something.”
I stand at the edge of the ocean appreciating how powerful it is. Katrina is safely asleep in our king size bed, feeling less and less pain every day. It’s been a week since the accident and six days since she came home with me. We haven’t gotten any of her things yet. That will come when she’s feeling better. The most difficult part was telling Ray and even though she was sad, she packed a bag of her clothes and brought it to me. I assured her she was welcome any time and I even had to promise I’d introduce her to the rest of the band.
“The surf is pretty tempting today.” Harley’s voice startles me.
“Hey, brother.” I give him a hug. “What brings you out here?”
“We just wanted to check on you.” Harley points to my back deck and I can see everyone watching us.
“Kat’s sleeping.” I wave to them.
“She actually let us in.” Harley takes a deep breath and smiles. “You and Max have the right idea. Living on the beach is heaven. Wonder if I’ll ever convince Laney to move again.”
“Tell her you bought her a place as a wedding gift.” I laugh when I see Harley considering it.
“How are you? You had us all worried.”
I look at Harley. Where would I be without him? If it hadn’t been for him and Della, who knows what would have happened to me. He saw something redeeming in me all those years ago. I will never be able to thank him enough.
“I’m doing alright. Rachel’s been here every night and talking really does help. Who knew?” I laugh when I see Harley’s face. I seem to remember a time, not too long ago, that he said the exact same thing.
“Rachel’s pretty good at what she does.” He looks back at the ocean. “I want you to know that I’m here if you need to talk. I’m not going to have any good advice and probably won’t know what to say. But, I’m an ear to listen and I keep everything that’s said to me to myself.”
“I know you do. I appreciate it, brother.” I put my arm around him and we both watch as the waves break and wish we were out there. “I’m sorry about cutting your wedding short.”
“Don’t ever worry about that. You were there for the important parts and there’s no way in hell we weren’t going to be at the hospital. Katrina is one of us now. Of course, at that point, we didn’t know you were going to try to steal the show and pass out on all of us.”
I punch him in the arm. He’ll always give me shit. “She was getting all the attention. I’m an attention hog. You haven’t realized that yet? I like to feel important. I need people to know who I am.”
Just as the words are out, two girls in bikinis walk by and wave at me. Harley belly laughs and I follow. “Perfect timing.”
“Just a few months ago, I would have run after them. Funny how fast things change.”
“Katrina’s a good match for you. I think she’ll keep your ass in line. I’m happy for you.”
I smile at Harley. “I’d settle for her keeping my ass in bed.”
“Come on, Casanova. Let’s head back. Mia brought a ton of food. We all thought we needed a family night.”
“That sounds perfect.”
As I follow Harley up the beach to my back steps, I think about how much has changed. We started out as four single men, living with Della in a cramped apartment, and willing to sell our souls to the Devil to be able to play music for a living. Della and Harley became husband and wife as the rest of us vowed never to settle down. Before we knew it, Joshua Seymour, the hottest name on the music scene, was offering to manage us. We signed a record deal, played some shows, went platinum, and moved in to our separate places where life began to change so quickly we couldn’t keep up. Then Della was gone and we stumbled but Joshua picked us up and refused to let us give up.
Now here we are, all involved with the women we’re supposed to spend our lives with. Harley turned his life around and found love for a second time. Damien got a second chance with the love of his life. Max met his in the midst of the darkest days of our lives. And then there’s me. The one who no one ever thought would believe in love. I found it and it hit me like a four by four across the chest.
As I step onto the deck, I lock eyes with Katrina. She’s made me believe there are no accidents. God knew what he was doing when he put her into that awful foster home. There’s no coincidence that we came face to face again. We were meant to be together.