"I don't want a free ride. This is why I wanted to be with someone normal and not famous."
"Why? So you could struggle financially together? That would have made you happier?"
She lets out a strained little laugh. "Yeah, I guess in some ways, it would."
"Well, instead, you got someone with a shit-ton of money who's willing to give you everything you want as long as you don't fuck me over."
She shakes her head and looks me right in the eye. "I would never do something like that. I don't use people."
"Come here."
"What?" Her bottom lip quivers nervously.
"Come here. You're too far away."
She crosses the room tentatively and stops a few inches in front of me. Frowning, I grab her waist and pull her closer so her hips are resting against me.
"That's better." I capture her gaze with mine and keep my hands on her waist. "I know this money stuff is going to be a hurdle for you, but you gotta let it go. I'm gonna try to trust you here and be honest, okay?" She nods slowly, her hands on my biceps, gently squeezing me. "Obviously, I have money. But it's more than just the band. A few years ago when my grandfather passed away, I inherited five million dollars. I really haven't spent any of it, except for the cars and guitars and stupid stuff. It's all in the bank, some of it invested. We can have a stable future, just like you wanted."
She sucks in a quick, surprised breath. "That's a lot of zeroes," she whispers in awe.
"Yeah, it fucking is. I can afford to get us a nice place to live and pay for everything, including a website for you. I have zero issue sharing with you, as long as you're good to me. We'll take things slow and figure the us part out. But I don't want you worrying about trying to find a place to live someday. If things don't work, I'll make sure you have a nice place to live. I will not ever let you live in a place like this again, no matter what. You have my word on that. I just can't deal with this 'what-if' shit every time we make a move. We can't be putting up speed bumps at every turn. That's not my style. If I want to do something, I do it."
Her fingers dig into my biceps, her arms trembling. "I don't know what to say." Her voice shakes with emotion, and I don't like how hearing it makes my stomach feel funny. "Thank you doesn't seem like enough."
"Well…I'm still open to sexual payments." I squeeze her waist tighter.
Grinning, she leans back a little to look up into my face. "Are you always going to ruin every decent move you make with a sarcastic one?"
"Probably."
Her laughter fills the room. "The backwardness of this entire situation is going to take getting used to," she says. "This whole cart before the horse idea is much harder than I thought it would be."
"Hopefully things will get easier when we get more comfortable around each other."
"I hope so."
Me too.
Chapter 12
Asia
My brain is spinning as I sit quietly in the passenger seat of the bouncy monster truck with Pixie's little carrier on my lap. Talon's been listening to music as he drives and seems lost in his own thoughts, as he's being unusually quiet.
So much is happening in such a short amount of time. Leaving my apartment to go stay in his family guesthouse, going house shopping in the near future, and the fact that I just unknowingly married a millionaire rock star is all leaving me a little shocked and shaken.
Talon's got me in a twist too. He's all over the place with the way he acts toward me. One minute he's acting like he doesn't like me, then the next he's coming on to me. And then telling me he's going to make sure I never live in a ghetto again, which is the sweetest, most generous thing anyone has ever said to me in my entire life.
"We're almost there," he says, breaking the silence.
We've driven way up to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, which is a gorgeous area I've only been to a few times even though I've lived in New Hampshire since I was born.
"Are we near the waterfalls?" I ask, having never been, but I've always wanted to go.
"Yeah, that's not too far from here," he says, turning the truck down a wooded street. "You like the falls?"
"I've always wanted to go but never had the chance." Kind of hard to go anywhere without a car.
"Then we'll go sometime. In the fall would be best, when the leaves turn."
"I would love that. I can never get enough of the color of the leaves."
"We'll take my camera and get some good pictures to frame and hang in the house."
I smile at him, loving that idea. "Oh, that would be cool."
"I thought so, given your decorating skills, which are much better than mine. I think I'll leave the decorating up to you."
"No, we'll do it together."
He nods as he pulls into a driveway and puts the truck in park. "Okay, together, but I'll leave the creative direction to you. And we're here."
Wow. The property is gorgeous, with perfect landscaping featuring a huge weeping willow tree on the front lawn surrounded by gorgeous flowers and shrubbery. The guesthouse is pretty big judging from the outside, and the main house it's set apart from is a huge, sprawling L-shaped brick ranch.
"Hang on and I'll come get you," he says, jumping out of the truck and coming around to open my door. I hand him Pixie in her carrier and then he holds my hand as I jump out. Getting out is much easier than getting in.
"We should really switch up the cars so you don't have to keep manually getting me in and out," I say, taking the cat carrier from him. Although, I kind of like him lifting me into the truck and being able to watch his arm muscles flex.
"Let's put your stuff inside and get the creature situated, then we'll walk over to Gram's and say hello."
"Do not call her 'creature.' You should address her as Princess Pixie or she will get very mad," I tease, peering at her in the small carrier. She doesn't look too happy about all this activity disturbing her usual daily naps.
He regards me with one of his smirks while he grabs some of my things from the back of the truck. "I will never refer to her as Princess anything. I kinda like the idea of you calling me Lord and Master, though."
Laughing, I follow him into the guesthouse and set up the litter box, food, water, scratch tree, and bed for the cat while he brings in the rest of my bags. I didn't bring much—just what I thought I would need for about a week as he suggested. I have some soap orders to fill, and I had to bring some of those supplies so I don't lose any customers. Right now, most of my customers are by word of mouth and referrals, so the last thing I want is for someone to get frustrated with a late order.
"She never goes outside," I advise while Princess Pixie timidly explores her new surroundings. "So please be very careful opening and closing the door. I don't want anything happening to her."
"No outside. Watch doors. Got it," he says. "Let's go to Gram's. I'm starving."
We follow a stone pathway outlined with colorful flowers, leading to the main house. On impulse, I slip my hand into his at about the halfway mark, hoping it doesn't invite another of his sexual innuendos, but he surprises me by glancing down at me, winking, and squeezing my hand affectionately.
The front door swings open just as we approach and his Gram comes out, all smiles. I remember her from the wedding because she hugged me so tightly and held my hand in both of hers while she talked to me. She's the kind of grandmother we all dream of—sweet, accepting, and adorable.
"There you are!" she exclaims. Talon leans down and gives her a long hug, my heart practically exploding at the sight of this tall, long-haired guy covered in tattoos embracing this tiny elderly woman.
When he lets her go, I move in and give her a hug too.
"Come in, come in! I have lunch all ready for you."
"Thank God," Talon says as we go inside. "I'm starving, Gram. Asia's not feeding me."
I open my mouth to protest, but she beats me to it. "Tally, don't you start giving her a hard time already or you'll scare her away."
"I don't scare easily, thankfully." I smile at the two of them.
"This one is the brat of the family," Gram says as she leads us to the kitchen table. "Have a seat and I'll get everything."
"Can I help?" I offer, not wanting his grandmother to be slaving over us.
"No!" she protests. "You just sit and let me."
Talon pulls out a chair for me. "She loves to wait on people," he says. "And I'm not a brat." He flops into the chair next to me and stretches his long legs under the wooden table.
"He's the youngest boy and was very spoiled," Gram explains as she returns from the refrigerator with a small platter of assorted sandwiches, and then she goes back to get a large, fresh, garden salad. "He told me you don't eat meat, so I hope this salad and veggie wraps are okay?"
"They’re perfect. You didn't have to do all this!" I exclaim, not used to this sort of family treatment. "Thank you so much for going to all this trouble."
She waves her hand at me as she slowly sits in one of the chairs across from us. "I love to feed people. Dig in."
Talon does just that, piling several sandwiches on his place. "I don't know how you can be hungry after the huge breakfast you ate," I say playfully.
"He eats nonstop. He always has," Gram says.
"I have a voracious appetite for food. And other things," he hints, giving me the side-eye.
"Talon!" I can't believe he would hint at sex right in front of his grandmother. I can feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment.
Gram folds her hands on the table in front of us. "Speaking of, I see you decided to postpone your honeymoon. Are you two getting on okay?"