61. Chapter Sixty-One

Chapter Sixty-One

Anna

N ot only did Aria and Cedar show up with an entire wardrobe of clothes for me to try on, but they also came toting a fancy charcuterie board and enough ice cream to feed an army.

I pull my office door closed and shut the women in with the white noise of a comedy movie on the small TV.

So glad I kept a guest bed in there.

There's a lightness to my steps, and I'm fairly certain I'm going to need anti-wrinkle cream in the morning from all the emotions displaying on my face.

I wouldn't take back a single second.

In fact, I'm not sure how I'm going to keep on once they leave come tomorrow, but that sounds like a problem for the Anna of tomorrow to think about.

I head to the small kitchen and fill a glass of water from the filtered tap that I down to prevent the hangover I know is going to come if I don't. I didn't drink much, but the wine Cedar picked was perfect with the little cubes of cheese.

Leaning into the fridge, I pull out the leftovers and pop a few of those same cubes into my mouth.

There's just something about eating cheese at night in the dark.

With a little jiggle, I bump my butt back against the barely lit counter, the Tupperware perched beneath my chin, and glance out at the mess of clothes and makeup containers left strewn about.

My eyes twitch with the need to tidy up, but the memories outweigh the need to fix it.

Aria on the floor, clipping and trimming material. Sharp threaded needles pinched between her teeth.

Cedar sitting cross-legged in the chair next to the window with her gallon of mint chocolate chip …

My smile falls straight off my face and I squeeze my eyes shut against what I think I see.

I've been drinking. That's all it is.

When I reopen them, a scream lodges in my throat, and I drop the container to the counter to make space in my hands for my phone.

A tap has me freezing, Jonathon's speed dial stuck on my screen, unengaged.

"Oh, my God…"

Another tap and I know the person standing on the fire escape, just on the other side of the glass, can see me.

I'm shaking when I risk a glance through my lashes, hoping that staying still will prevent the stranger on my little terrace from busting through, and that's when I see it.

A face, lit up by the screen of a phone, is staring right at me.

A face I'd recognize in my sleep.

Even though his beard is trimmed back and his hair is tamed.

" Jeffers ?"

I take a tentative step around the breakfast bar and squeeze my eyes closed again.

Sure enough, when the darkened view of my living room comes back into focus, there most certainly is a rock star standing outside my window.

With his phone screen facing toward me, playing a Papa Roach song just loud enough that the melody barely bleeds through the pane separating us.

I'm stuck in my tracks, eyes darting between the screen showing what's playing and the face behind it all.

Every nightmare and every steamy dream.

The one taking up more of my memories, my waking thoughts, than I'd care to ever admit out loud.

The beat of my heart.

I pad across the hardwood floor and reach the lock of the window.

The thing slams open, probably triggering the stupid sensor Jonathon insisted on, and clears the way for As Above's bassist to climb through.

Music fills the space, and Toby stretches to his full height.

"Hey, Mama."

Even if he hadn't spoken that phrase, his grin would have done it for me.

He's here.

Before I can respond, he wraps his arm around my hips and moves into the apartment, hauling me to his hardened body.

"Your damn bodyguard wouldn't let me in the front," he mumbles, his face going to my neck and drawing in a breath. I snake my arms around his neck to hold some of my weight.

The first thing my mind suggests is that he's out of breath from carrying me across the floor.

But then my calf hits the arm of the couch and he perches me on top of it.

The man buries his face against the skin of my neck and inhales so deep that I worry his lungs might actually burst.

"Jesus Christ, Mama," he growls, his lips moving against the sensitive spot behind my ear. "I could eat you right here, right now. Drown in this ocean. Fuck , I missed you."

He scrapes his teeth along the same trail his lips just crested and it takes everything in me not to moan.

"Wh—what are you doing here?" I croak out as Toby's hands wander all over me, leaving goosebumps in their wake. He's grabbing my hips and pinching my butt, smoothing down my spine and hooking around my knees.

"Taking the next step in my journey," he says in that deep voice that does things to me as his hands migrate to the sides of my neck.

Toby's sight slams to mine, all amber brown and clear as freaking day, and my breath catches in my throat.

With my heart stuttering in my chest, I meet his gaze head-on. "What step is that?"

The smirk that crests the man's face is somehow both devilish and soothing. Damning and downright sexy.

"The one with you next to me."

I only have half a second to think about his words before he's leaning in. I manage to wedge my hands between us, when his lips press against my knuckles.

"Wait!"

Our breaths mingle through the cage of my fingers, his darkening eyes only millimeters from mine.

"I've been drinking," I rush out and lean back, dropping the defense I threw up. "I don't want … I mean, I do want to kiss yo—"

I don't get a chance to get the rest of my rambled thoughts out or throw up another blockade.

Because my bassist slams his mouth against mine.