Knox

“The tour is over. How do you feel?” Thomas asks.

I arrived back in the city last night after my final stop of the tour in Latin America ended. Thomas picked me up and is letting me stay in his guesthouse until I find a new place here. I haven’t been back to the house that Nate trashed, but according to my new assistant, Anna, all of my belongings have been cleared out, and someone has already put an offer in on it.

“Exhausted. Eighty performances in six months in I don’t know how many countries will drain you.”

“People might give you shit, but you’re a hard worker. The tour is getting fantastic reviews. Now we need to get you working on a new album. Secret of the Day is blowing up the charts. Women are loving the romantic side of you, and Anna says you’ve been writing a lot on the road.”

“I already have studio time scheduled. But first things first, I have to find a place to live.”

“You can stay here for as long as you’d like.”

“I appreciate it. I’m meeting with my realtor in about an hour, so hopefully she has some good shit lined up for me.”

“You want me to come along?”

“I’m picking up Libby, and she’s coming with me.”

His brows bump together. “Libby?” I nod. “Interesting.”

“Why is that interesting?”

“According to her father, she’s seeing a new man and he’s about to propose.”

My back straightens, and I feel all of the color draining from my face. “What?”

Thomas laughs and pats me on the back. “I’m fucking with you. I like you two together. She keeps you grounded, so make things right with her now that you’re home for awhile.”

“Trust me, I’m trying.”

“Good boy.”

* * *

Me: I’m five minutes out. You ready?

Libby: Yep! I’ll be outside waiting.

She walks to my car and opens the passenger door as soon as I pull up.

“Hey stranger,” I greet, giving her a smile.

“Hey,” she says. She’s acting shy … like the last time I saw her I wasn’t eating her pussy. She folds her hands in her lap. “So what are we going to be looking at today?”

“The realtor sent me pictures of a few homes, but there’s one I think might be the winner. I’m having her show us it first and then we’ll go from there.”

“Sounds good to me.”

I put the car in reverse, back out of the drive, and head through the gates. “How did your finals go?” I ask, turning out of her neighborhood. “You didn’t fail, did you?”

She laughs. “No, thank God. I did pretty well and took some extra credits this semester so I won’t have to take on such a heavy course load this coming semester.”

“Good, you’ll have more time to hang out with me.”

She grins. “I guess so.”

The house we’re looking at is only a ten-minute drive, and the realtor, Debbie, is already there. She jumps out of her red Mercedes when I pull up and struts over to us in her black heels.

“Knox,” she says, her red finger-nailed hand shooting out my way. “It’s nice to finally meet you.” I shake her hand, giving her a smile, and her attention then moves to Libby. “And you must be Libby. Knox says he can’t buy a house until you see it first.”

“That’s right,” I say as Libby gives me a strange look.

“You’re both going to love this place,” Debbie says. We follow her up the walk and into the home. “Your assistant told me you’re looking for something modern. It’s twelve thousand square feet. Price is a little over eight million, so we’re in budget, and it also has the guest house you were looking for.”

“Sounds perfect,” I say. “Let’s see if the pictures do it justice.”

If the place looks anything like I saw online, this will be my next home. It’s nothing like my last one, which was a total bachelor pad. This one is more settled down and homey. I won’t be throwing any wild ass parties here. I’ve learned my lesson from trusting people around my shit.

Debbie gives us the tour, and I can tell Libby loves it.

“What do you think?” I ask her when Debbie leaves the room to take a phone call, but I’m pretty sure it’s to give us time to talk.

Libby takes a look around. “I think it’s absolutely breathtaking.”

I smirk. “Beautiful enough that you’d want to live here?”

Her blue eyes narrow in on me. “If you’re seriously trying to hint that you’re giving me this house or something ridiculous along those lines, I’m telling you no right now and there’s no changing my mind.”

“That’s not what I’m hinting at. What do you think about staying in the guesthouse? It’ll be perfect for you.”

“Why? I already have a place with Mia.”

“You’ll have more privacy here and a place of your own. The guesthouse is just as beautiful as this home with a living room, a full kitchen, and a kickass master suite with an awesome bathroom.” Her hesitation is evident, so I move onto reason number two on the list I had lined up for this moment. “It would also help me – give me a peace of mind. If you’re here when I’m gone, I know it’ll be taken care of. You won’t pull a Nate on me, and my mom will try to get another one of my family members to move in so I can take care of them if that place has open vacancy.” She’s still giving me that nervous look. “You don’t have to give me answer right now. Think about it and then let me know, okay?”

She bites into the edge of her pink lip and nods. “Okay.”

“Final thoughts?” Debbie asks, interrupting us as she comes back into the room with her hands thrown out and a bright smile on her face.

I glance over at Libby, and she nods. “I think we’ll take it,” I answer.

Both Libby and Debbie pick up on my choice of words. We’ll take it.

Debbie claps her hands in excitement that she’s about to get a nice little commission check. “Perfect. I’ll make an offer on it today.”

I shake Debbie’s hand when we make it back outside, and we tell her goodbye. Libby slides back into my car when I open up the door for her.

“You hungry?” I ask when I get into the driver’s seat.

“Starving, actually. I planned on making lunch before you picked me up but decided against it when I realized Mia was waiting for me to come out of my bedroom so she could give me instructions on what to say to you today.”

“She’s on Team Knox, isn’t she?”

“She’s definitely on Team Knox.”

“I knew I liked her.”

I grab my phone and text Anna to set up lunch plans somewhere we can go without having cameras in our faces. I’ve had enough radio and TV interviews to last me for the next few months, and I don’t want them bringing up Nate trashing my house.

I pull into the back entrance to the Italian restaurant and park the car. I get out, open her door, and then lead her into the building. The chef is waiting and takes us to a table in a vacant room.

“I haven’t been to this place in forever,” Libby says, sitting down. “It’s one of my favorites. My dad and I used to come here all the time, but it’s a little too overpriced for my budget now.”

I smile and make a mental note to thank Anna for making a good decision. “So how’s the new job going?” Thomas mentioned that Libby has been doing some light work for him when she’s not busy with classes.

“It’s fine. Thomas works around my schedule, which is nice. I’m also doing my community service at the city’s social work office, and they told me I have a job lined up as soon as I get my degree.” I love the way her face lights up at the mention of her new career starting.

“That’s awesome. I’m excited for you.” Would I rather her get her degree and work for me? Absolutely. But I can’t ask her to give up her passion because I know what it feels like to love what you do.

“And it’s all thanks to you. Thank you for helping with my tuition.”

“If you thank me again I’m going to bend you over this table and spank you. It’s not all thanks to me. It’s all thanks to you and your hard work.”

We keep the rest of the conversation light and catch up on what’s going on in our lives until we finish our lunch and get back in the car. I stop her before she gets out when I pull in front of the condo.

“I’m having a Christmas party for the kids at the hospital on Saturday. Come with?” I ask.

She smiles, nodding. “Text me the details, and I’ll be there.”