He shakes his head. “We did this. If I didn’t have the support from you and Mom, I would’ve never gone out and started playing in public. Everything that has happened to us did so for a reason. We struggled, but we overcame it and now I want to know why you think you’re not good enough.”
“He tells me I’m not. He tells me I’m fat, or that I don’t extend properly. He tells me my hair isn’t pulled tight enough.”
“Oliver?” he asks and I nod, wiping away a tear. “Is that why you left him?”
“Yes, and he wants to settle down and I don’t, at least not with him, but I’m so torn because he can make or break my career. I want to leave Enchantment, but am afraid he’ll give me a bad reputation, and I can’t afford that.”
Harrison pulls me into his arms, and I let the tears fall. It’s Christmas, and I shouldn’t be crying — especially over Oliver.
“What’s up with you and Xander?”
I pull back and wipe at my cheeks. “I like
him, but he’s here and I’m there. We’re friends and it’s good to have friends, especially someone who isn’t in the business.”
“Yeah, I know what that’s like.”
Harrison trails off and the room grows quiet. It’s only a matter of time before the kids wake up and the house is crazy.
“Have you ever talked to Liam about how he ended up in California?”
I shake my head.
“Do me a favor and ask him today when we go over. His story might help you figure out yours.” He leans over and gives me a kiss on the cheek before getting up and leaving the room. He starts banging around in the kitchen, making enough noise to wake the house.
The first one down is my mom, and when Harrison returns with coffee, the three of us cuddle on the couch. We haven’t done this in years, and it feels good. Five minutes later, Katelyn comes down, followed shortly by Quinn. He climbs in between my mom and me, and Katelyn takes an awkward family Christmas photo. It’s going to be one that I look at every day to remember this morning. As soon as the girls wake, the stockings are passed around. When Katelyn hands me one with my name on it, I can’t fight the tears. It’s easy to see how Harrison fell for her so fast.
Once breakfast is done, Harrison dons a Santa hat and starts the process of handing out present by present. Each time my name is called, my heart stops a little. By the time we’re done, we have just enough time to shower and head over to Liam and Josie’s. The thought of seeing Xander has me on edge. Memories of last night haven’t escaped my mind all morning. Each time I’m not focusing on what’s going on around me, it’s because I’m reliving last night.
The night we had in the gym was erotic and I’ll never forget it, but standing there in his room with the moonlight shining through the window as his fingers moved lightly over my skin, is engrained in my mind forever. The softness of his lips as they created a fiery path over my body is still being felt. The way my fingers curled around his hard muscles when he rocked into me. Knowing that he was the cause of my head falling back and my eyes closing on their own free will is something I’ve never experienced before. We were slow and precise, everything that we weren’t before. There wasn’t a piece of flesh that our mouths didn’t cover. He was making love and that scares the shit out of me.
The kids run into the house, yelling and screaming as Josie and Liam greet us at the door. Kisses and hugs are exchanged as if we haven’t seen each other for years, not hours. Liam and Josie’s house is almost twice the size of Harrison and Katelyn’s and decorated like a window display on Fifth Avenue. Garland, lights, and red ribbons are everywhere, reminding me of home.
“Would you like a tour?” Liam asks when he catches me looking around. I smile sheepishly as he takes my hand and starts showing me around. We start upstairs and he shows me Noah’s room and the room where all the magic happens. I pretend to gag and slip out of his grasp when he rubs his knuckles on my hair.
We walk down the stairs to the basement and when he flips the light on, the studio comes to life.
“This is the magic room,” I say, staring into their recording room.
“Yeah, I guess. We’re getting ready to go on tour again. It’s big this time though. The kids won’t be able to join us until schools out.”
“No tutor?”
Liam shakes his head. “Noah plays baseball, and I don’t want him to miss it.”
“What about you missing his games?”
Liam pulls out a chair and sits down. “I’m torn, but this is my job. I’m not the only musician with kids, and they all make it work. I think it’s because I haven’t always been there that it’s more of a problem.”
“That’s not your fault.”
Liam’s crinkles his face. “I know, but it still hurts them when I leave.”
I lean against the wall and realize that Liam is probably a little bit like me. When I first met him I had a crush on him, but Harrison nipped that quickly. It didn’t take long before I saw Liam as a brother and not a love interest.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, what’s up?” he leans on the desk, clasping his hands.