Restless (Relentless Series Book 2) (15 page)

I was running again. Not figuratively, literally. The sand under my feet that I normally counted on to help ground me wasn’t helping. Everything was so fucked up. A week after my talk with Gage and I still didn’t know what to do. Going to hang out with Rhys right now wasn’t the best idea, especially after how Gage reacted to seeing up together. What would happen if it was Stephen? I shuddered at the thought.

Rhys was great. He was funny and sexy and knew how to put me at ease, but he wasn’t Stephen. I needed to fix myself before I tried a relationship with anyone. For me, Stephen would always be the love of my life. Whoever I ended up with wouldn’t compare to him. Gage told me I was pushing him away, and he was right. I didn’t want to risk hurting him again.

The solace I had found running up and down this patch of beach was gone. Frustrated, I walked the last half mile just to try to get my head on straight. I needed to focus. Today I was babysitting Harper for Violet and Jax and I wanted to have fun with my niece, not be distracted by my stupidity.

When I walked back downstairs after my shower, Harp was sitting in her highchair happily munching on some Cheerios. I kissed her head and went to pour myself a cup of coffee. Jax was halfway asleep at the table. He looked up at me and smiled. I sat down next to him.

“Late night?” I asked.

“You could say that.”

“Did Harper keep you guys up? I didn’t hear her.”

“Nope, Harp slept like a rock. Your sister on the other hand, she—”

"Yuck! Stop Jax.”

His chuckle filled the kitchen. Violet came in looking entirely too happy for it being so early.

“Good morning,” she said cheerily. “How did you sleep last night, Taylor?”

“Not as good as you apparently,” I mumbled into my coffee. "You guys are so fucking gross."

"Language," Vi said smirking as Jaxon laughed again. I shuddered.

“Just leave so I can take care of my niece without you two grossing me out.”

Violet stood pouring a cup of coffee. Jax kissed her neck softly and went to get ready for work. I was green with envy. I missed having that connection with someone.

Vi must have noticed the look on my face when she turned around because her expression changed.

“Are you sure you’re okay staying with Harp today? I can ask Alice to watch her if you need more time.”

“I’m fine.”

She sighed. “Never mind.”

“Time with Harper will be good for me. It’ll keep my mind off things.”

“Okay, but call if you need anything.”

I nodded. We finished our coffee in silence. I could tell Violet wanted to say more, but she didn’t. Thank goodness. Harper cooed from her high chair and we both laughed as we glanced over at her. She had Cheerios stuck in her hair and to the side of her face. This was exactly what I needed.

Every time I pushed Harper in the swing her delighted squeals filled the air. I laughed as her little face lit up. Rhys watched us from the park bench across from the swings with a smile curling his lips. My skin felt hot from his eyes travelling up and down my body. After ten minutes Harp finally got tired of the swings, so we stopped.

We slowly walked over to where Rhys sat, and I chuckled as she went directly to him, demanding to be picked up. He reached down and pulled her into his strong arms. The sight about made my ovaries explode. I wiped at cracker crumbs that clung to Harper’s chubby cheeks and I heard a sigh come from the older lady sitting next to us.

I looked over and a soft smile covered her wrinkled face. She blushed when she noticed me looking at her.

“I’m sorry for staring. You just make such an adorable family. It reminds me of when my kids were young.”

I opened my mouth to tell her we weren’t together, and that Harper was my niece, but Rhys cut me off. “Thank you, ma’am. I love my girls so much. This one here won’t make an honest man out of me though. Can you believe she’s turned me down twice already?”

My mouth dropped open in shock. Never one to be outdone, I gritted my teeth. “That’s not exactly how I remember it, babe.”

“Oh honey, life is short and can be taken from you in an instant. Take advantage of the fact you have a man that loves you and wants to be with you,” the lady lectured.

This time it was me blushing. “Thank you. I'll consider that the next time he asks.”

I buckled Harper into her stroller and we walked away. He laughed as I punched at his arm.

“You. Suck.”

His throaty chuckle filled the air. “You should have seen the expression on your face. It was pretty awesome.”

“I cannot believe you did that.”

“She’s right though. Life is short.”

I sighed. “You know I’m not ready to make any decisions, Rhys. And you promised you wouldn't push.”

He tugged the stroller to a stop and placed his hands on my hips. The stubble on his cheek brushed along my neck as he whispered in my ear. A shiver ran up my spine and I felt light headed.

“You don’t have to decide yet, but I want you to know that I’m fighting, darlin’. You deserve the world and I want to give it to you.”

Turning to look at him, his icy blue eyes met mine. Rhys fingers gently cupped my face as he kissed me for the first time since Vegas. My lips touched his, and I felt lost. My life was officially spiraling out of control. He pulled back quickly; we were in the middle of a park full of children. It surprised me when I missed his warmth.

“I wanted to remind you of the chemistry between us,” he whispered.

“I couldn't forget it.”

We leaned back, and I tried to figure out what the hell had just happened. His hand lightly rubbed up and down my arm.

“I need to get back to the bar, but I’ll see you later. Taylor, I don’t want to make this harder on you, but I want you to know I’m still here. I want to be with you, and I won’t be the one to let you run.”

He kissed my forehead and tickled Harper’s feet once before walking off towards his car. I pressed my fingers to my tingling lips and sighed. Rhys wasn’t kidding when he said he was fighting. The chemistry between us was hard enough to ignore, but if he started kissing me, it would be damn near impossible.

Gage hadn't been wrong; Rhys definitely wanted to be more than just friends.

“Harper, Aunt Taylor’s life just got a little more interesting.”

My palms were sweaty. How was I supposed to hold a microphone if my hands were sweaty? Maybe I should take a shot before it was my turn? Alcohol had helped the first few times I did this. Why in the hell was I so nervous?

I hadn’t told anyone where I was going or what I was doing. When I found the little bar forty minutes from the house, I decided to go for it. There was no rhyme or reason to why I should to do this; all I knew was that I wanted, no needed, to sing. Everyone was used to me disappearing for road trips, so it wasn’t hard to sneak away. This was the most nervous I'd ever been for a performance. Even the first time I stepped in front of all those people, I hadn't been this amped with nervous energy.

The announcer called my name and I climbed onto the small stage. I closed my eyes and starting singing “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day. Today the song was fitting. My mood for music was never the same and it was habit to sing what I felt. Songs on my phone ranged from Motown to the current country top 100.

My eyes flew open as I finished, and the entire bar was cheering for me. It always surprised the hell out of me when it happened. More often than not I was asked to do an encore, and it always floored me. Sure, I was talented, but I did it as a hobby more than anything else.

I handed the microphone over to the announcer and walked straight to the bar. The bartender poured me a whiskey, and I took it gratefully. She smiled and asked me if I wanted another, which I took as her code to ask me if I was going to let anyone buy me a drink, and I told her no. Nodding once, she moved to help her other patrons.

A man who wasn’t all that bad looking, sandy brown hair and eyes that reminded me of Jaxon’s, sat down next to me. I stared at my glass, unwilling to give him any kind of go ahead. He was brave though because he talked to me, anyway.

“Hey, sugar. You looked good up there.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled before taking a gulp of my drink.

“So what’s a pretty little thing like you doing out here all alone?”

“Really?”

“Really what?” he asked with a slow smile.

“That’s the best pickup line you can come up with?”

“It’s not a line. If I wanted to use a line it would be—”

"Just stop right there. I'll be honest with you. I don’t really give a fuck what your smooth pickup would be. I have enough man problems to put me off them forever. In fact, the bartender’s pretty hot. Maybe I'll see if she's up for some fun. You should move along, honey.”

He grumbled as he picked up his drink and walked away. The bartender shot me a wink, and I snorted a laugh. Apparently she’d heard me.

“You sure you don’t want another one? It would be on me,” she asked laughing. “It would help keep the pricks at bay.”

“Thanks hon, but I’m headed out.”

“Awe, there goes my entertainment for the evening,” she joked.

“I’ll be back soon,” I said laughing.

My phone rang, waking me up from an amazing dream. I swatted at it to stop, but the annoying ringing only continued. It was too early for me to talk. Emmy's name flashed across the screen and I groaned.

“Why do you insist on calling at ungodly hours?”

“Most people are already awake by now.”

“On the east coast, not in California.”

“So why is there a YouTube video of you singing in a bar coming to my email this morning? You’ve been named as the next best thing in the music industry.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah, fuck. Holy hell, why haven’t I ever heard you sing before?”

“You have.”

“Not like this, Tay. I want to sign you.”

“No.”

“What? Just no?”

“Just no,” I confirmed. “I don’t want that life, Em. Singing is a release for me and I’m not messing with it. Don't you think if I actually wanted a career singing I would have sung for you before?”

“But you could—”

“Nope. Don’t waste your breath.”

She was silent for a minute. “Promise you won’t sign with anyone else.”

“Em?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t be an idiot. I’m going back to sleep.”

I hung up, but I was too wired to fall back asleep. Damn Emmy and her tendency for early morning calls. The screen on my phone said it was six am. I groaned and cussed her under my breath again. It was time for a run.

The barista called out my name, and I grabbed my coffee. When I turned around to leave, I ran into a solid, muscled chest. Rhys reached out and balanced both me and my precious cup before I fell on my ass. Luckily he did it without spilling a drop on either of us. I stared at him for a minute, a little off balance. I hadn't seen him since our non-date.

“Are you okay, darlin’?”

“Yeah, fine. I think.”

He pulled me out of the way and handed me back my coffee.

“How have you been? I haven’t heard from you in a few days.”

“I’m good, just busy.”

“I’m sorry if I came on too strong the other day. I don’t want you to forget that there are some guys out there that fight for what they want. Really, I should already be in Washington, but I’ve been putting it off to see you one last time before I left.”

“Rhys, don’t put off work for me. I’ve already told you, I’m not ready to date.”

“I get that, but there’s something between us. Don't you feel it too?”

I bit my lip. “You need to go to Washington, Rhys.”

He knew I felt whatever was between us, but I wasn’t ready and didn’t know if I would ever be ready to act on it. Rhys Brooks was a force of nature that made you forget where you stood in the forest when his full attention was on you.

“Okay,” he said. Disappointment shadowed his expressive, blue eyes. “I’ll text you when I head back this way to see if you want to hang out.”

I nodded.

“Have a safe trip.”

I would be surprised if that text ever came. Although he always shocked me, so maybe I hadn’t heard the last of him. Only time would tell. All I knew was that I needed to figure my shit out before I made any rash decisions when it came to Rhys Brooks.