I couldn’t believe I had shared my sad upbringing with him, twice now. He was just so easy to talk to, never judging, only offering a kind ear and a gentle smile. Jade was the only other living soul that knew about my past. I didn’t like the idea of people feeling sorry for me or taking pity on me. I wanted people to see me for what I had become and what I had to offer now; they didn’t need to know how I had gotten there. I guess my thinking had been that I was only going to be with him a short time, and then he would most likely be out of my life. Sure, I would continue to buy his music, so in theory he would still be speaking to me through his lyrics, but I didn’t anticipate this would go anywhere beyond this week. He was a famous musician who had the world at his fingertips, and I was just a girl from Michigan with a dream of making my mark in the culinary industry. We ran in different circles and lived in two completely different worlds. He could have any woman he wanted, and I would be lucky to get a date with the fish monger I visited three times a week to place my seafood orders.

That night, I slept restlessly, hoping my decision to stay had been the right one. He wanted me to meet his family. From what he described it seemed as if he had been blessed with the quintessential upbringing, something I had sorely lacked. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I could tolerate witnessing everything I had missed out on. My mother and I had more of a love/hate relationship, the love being on my end. She had made it clear to me time and time again that love was for fools; even her very own flesh and blood couldn’t make the cut. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to harbor full-on hatred for the woman. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I still believed that true love was out there to be found; I just needed to be patient. Trouble was, I wasn’t a very patient person. For some strange reason, at the young age of twenty-four, I felt my biological clock ticking loudly. Even though I longed to pursue my dream of becoming an executive chef, I wanted a family. I wanted a man who loved me, faults and all, and I wanted to have children to love and encourage. When I pictured myself in my happy place, it always included a husband and at least three children. Kids should always have siblings to prevent them from being lonely. I should know. I knew lonely very intimately, having spent most of my childhood there. I don’t remember falling asleep, but I was thankful that it finally came.

* * *

We spent the next morning hanging out in the house; he appeared to live a normal life. I prepared a nice breakfast of French toast and bacon with maple syrup, which we both ate heartily until it was gone. He did some work from his office while I played around on my iPad, poking around on the numerous websites that mentioned anything about Sebastian or Paradox. I had been reading an article and clicked on one of the photos to find him posing in a pair of black leather pants and nothing else. I stared at it for a long time, memorizing each line of his face and chest before I sat back against the arm of the sofa and closed my eyes, drifting off with the iPad flat against my chest, waking only when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” he greeted me playfully. “Are you up for a drive, or do you want to sleep all day?” I sat up quickly, closing the cover on my tablet.

“Sure, that sounds great. Just let me freshen up a bit.” I stood and stretched, bending slightly at the waist to work out the knots in my spine from sleeping while sitting up. I lifted my head, finding his eyes glued to my rear end. When he caught me looking, he quickly averted his eyes. I smiled sheepishly and dashed upstairs.

We drove up to Malibu, following the coast until we came to a strip lined with outdoor restaurants and boutiques. We got out and strolled side-by-side along the brick path. Neither of us spoke, but there were a few stolen glances. He led me through store after store, pointing out rare finds and tourist collectibles. I opened the door to the next boutique and was immediately hit with the warm scent of the beach and loud music being piped through the overhead stereo. I made my way into the store, sifting through rack after rack of overpriced merchandise before I came across a rack of Paradox memorabilia. I held a shirt in front of me and turned to face him, eyebrows raised in question.

“I don’t know,” he replied, finger tapping against his chin as he studied the shirt I currently held. He moved to the rack and flipped through the remaining shirts until he found what he was looking for, then pulled it out, a broad smile filling his face. “I think this one is a much better choice for you.”

I looked at what he held out before me and burst into a fit of giggles. This one was still a band shirt, but it featured Sebastian performing on stage and read ‘I’d walk a thousand Miles on my knees to kiss Sebastian’.”

“Cute,” I smirked, “nice play on words.” I held it up in front of me, mock modeling the garment, fluttering eyelashes abound. “So, do you think it suits me?” I asked playfully as The Vamps serenaded me with their current hit Somebody to You, which happened to be one of my new favorites. “I love this song,” I exclaimed, swaying my hips to the catchy beat.

His eyes locked on mine, remaining there as if bound by some mystical force. I tried to look away but remained frozen, completely star struck. It was at that moment it hit me. I was walking around Malibu with Sebastian Miles, and he was totally flirting with me. I knew it sounded crazy, he could have any woman he wanted, and probably has, but right now he was standing in front of me and looking at me like he wanted to kiss me. He was totally staring at my lips, which in turn made me focus on his. Damn, his lips were perfect, full and pouty. They were made for kissing. I was willing to bet good money he was a great kisser, and I would kill to nibble on that lip piercing. I needed to pull it together, so I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened one just enough to see if he was still staring at me. He was, only this time he was also laughing. How embarrassing. I felt my ears getting hot. Damn.

“Aw, you’re blushing. You look really cute when you’re embarrassed,” he said mockingly, voice low and sexy. “And yes, that shirt most definitely suits you. I’m buying it for you right now.” He snatched it from my hand and started for the register. I followed closely behind.

“You don’t have to buy that for me. I have money now, remember.” I reached for the shirt, but he held it higher.

“Nonsense. I want to buy it for you. Think of it as part of the memories we are making this week, a tangible memory of your crazy visit to L.A.” By now we were standing in front of the register, and my hands were planted firmly on my hips. The clerk looked at the shirt and then at Sebastian, taking a few moments to put two and two together.

“Fine, but I won’t be wearing this while we are making said ‘memories’.” I made finger quotes in the air to get my point across and followed it up with exaggerated eye-rolling. I couldn’t let him on to what I was really thinking; I would rather die a painful death than admit that I was crushing on him, big time. Let’s face it, Jade and I had been Paradox fans since they broke out with their first single. How on earth I didn’t recognize him when we first began speaking at the beach was beyond me; maybe it was because I wasn’t expecting to meet anyone famous, let alone on a public beach.

He leaned in close. My heart hitched as I thought he was going to kiss me right there in the store in front of the sales clerk, but at the last second his lips kept moving until they reached my ear, and as he whispered, I could feel his lips brushing against the tip of my earlobe. “We’ll see about that.” He pulled away slowly, giving me a flash of his dimple before turning to pay for the shirt.

“No flipping way. You’re Sebastian Miles!” the clerk, Katie, according to her name tag, shrieked loudly. Thankfully, the store had only a few customers, none of which paid the screeching clerk with the spiky pink hair any attention. “I am such a huge fan. Can I have your autograph?”

“Sure, doll.” He took the offered pen and scrawled out a quick note on a piece of receipt paper. Katie, thanks for being such a fan. Love your hair. Rock on, Sebastian. He slid the paper over and she snatched it, holding it tight against her chest. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes when she told him that the shirt was on the house.

“Does that happen often?” I asked as we left the store.

He grunted and nodded his head. “Yeah, but you get used to it. The fans are what pay the bills. Besides, they are usually pretty harmless. Here,”—he thrust the bag into my hand—“I’m not carrying your stuff.” His smile was going to be the death of me. I took the bag and made like I was going to throw it in the nearest trash can, smiling devilishly. “Be nice. I flirted extra hard to get you that free souvenir.”

“Thank you. I love it,” I mumbled, letting my guard down just a little.

“Hey, are you hungry? There’s a bar over here, and they do a pretty mean fish and chips.”

“Starved.” I clapped him on the back. “Lead the way O Cap-i-tan.”

We stopped at an English Pub that looked like a hole in the wall and smelled heavenly. They handed us our fish and chips, and we made our way out back to sit at one of the outdoor picnic tables that overlooked the ocean.

“Oh my gosh, I’m done. Uncle.” I pushed my plate away, leaning back and rubbing my belly. He had been right; the fish was killer. “That was a lot of food.”

“Well, you didn’t have to eat it all,” he joked and ducked as my hand swung out to slug his arm.

“You know how I feel about wasting food. And did you just make a reference to my weight?” I pretend pouted.

“What? Hell, no. I would never do that. I mean, I just…” he stumbled over his words, trying to apologize. I thought about letting him suffer a minute longer but decided to cut him a break. After all, he did call me gorgeous earlier.

“Hey, I was just kidding. Relax, dude. No hurt feelings here.” I held up my hands in mock surrender. “What do you say we call it a day? I’m beat.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” He stood up and held out a hand for me to take, which I grabbed greedily. His skin felt so warm, and his hands were huge compared to mine. His fingertips were calloused, and when we walked, he stroked his thumb repeatedly over the back of my hand. The more he talked, the longer the stroking continued. It felt amazing, like little sparks of electricity shooting through my arm and working their way to all the right places. If someone had told me I would feel this way by a simple touch on my hand, I would have thought they were crazy. But now…

* * *

SEBASTIAN

Holding her hand felt amazing. I wasn’t sure if she would keep it there while we walked. When she didn’t try to pull away, I did what came naturally to me, my thumb stroking over the tender flesh just behind her left thumb, moving back and forth methodically. I felt a long scar and wondered what it was from, maybe a kitchen injury, or maybe something from her childhood. The longer I held her hand and moved my thumb, the more relaxed she became. I couldn’t help but notice the way she moved closer to me, our shoulders almost touching, and the way she threw her head back and laughed at nearly everything I said. As we walked, her hair bounced around her shoulders, and I found myself wanting to bury my hands in it, letting them get lost in the silky strands.

The drive home was quiet. We both seemed to be lost in thought. When we arrived home, I wasn’t quite ready to say good night. “Hey, want to go outside and sit on the beach?”

“Sure, why not?” She shrugged. We followed the wooden path down to the beach and sat down at the top of a small hill of sand. She leaned back on her elbows and looked up at the sky. I mimicked her actions.

“The stars are beautiful over the ocean,” she gasped, lying flat on her back, arm pressed against mine.

“I love coming out here at night, especially after a long day.” We sat there quietly for what seemed like an eternity. I was dying to kiss her, to feel the soft press of her lips against mine. It was too soon; I didn’t want to scare her off. She appeared to have finally let her guard down after we left the store, and during dinner she even flirted with me. No, I had to fight the urge, no matter how great it was. I needed a distraction.

“Hey, how is your head feeling?”

“About the same, I guess. Still having headaches but not as intense.”

“I’m glad you decided to stay. I would have been worried if you had tried to fly this soon.”

“Yeah, it probably was for the best. Thanks again for being in the room with me. I don’t like confined spaces.” She shivered slightly.

“Are you cold?” I asked, genuinely concerned, not only for her comfort, but also because I wasn’t ready for her to head off to bed just yet.

“Maybe just a little.” I snuggled closer, careful not to overstep any unwritten boundaries. I felt my heart rate increase, knowing what I was about to do. I took a deep breath and moved my hand slowly, stopping only when it covered hers completely. Before I knew it, her hand had enveloped mine, squeezing it for a brief moment before lacing her fingers through mine. She never made eye contact, just kept looking straight up into the nighttime sky as if this were a natural occurrence for us. I licked my lips nervously, feeling the heat that had begun to radiate throughout my body, letting it warm me completely. The effect she had on me was amazing. I felt like a young schoolboy waiting for his first kiss. For the first time in my adult life, I wondered what it would be like to just kiss and hold a woman without all of the expectations of sex. I had a feeling that, with Brooke, kissing would more than satisfy my needs.