“But we’ve spent so little time together lately. I can’t just go away right before the weekend right when you’re back in D.C.”

“Yes, you can and you will. Don’t worry about me. I’m sure Andy can find me a speech to write or something equally exciting.”

The next words burst out of my mouth without me thinking them through. “Why don’t you go to the Hamptons then?”

Josh frowned. “I accepted tonight’s invitation but a whole weekend with Megan and I could become homicidal.”

Megan Alistair with an axe planted between her eyes? Nice… “You said she’d invited some of her friends too.”

“Yeah, Jack will be there.” Josh liked the guy: We’d stayed at his place in Alexandria before moving into our apartment.

“Then it’s a deal.” I laid my hands on his chest and went on my tip-toes to touch the tip of my nose against his. I got a smile from him and some more dimples.

Josh disappeared into the service stairs and I took my smartphone out of my clutch. Hopefully after this call, Shawn would be off my back.

I was flying to L.A!

Cassie

“Now that work’s over and you’re all refreshed...,” Shawn opened the door of the limo for me to get in, “…let the fun begin.”

“Today has already been fun and scary and exhausting and goddamn amazing.” I didn’t often let myself go overboard but, after my first day in a recording studio, I was allowed to ramble about it.

I looked up at the clear blue sky and let the January sun warm my skin. It was my second time in L.A. The last time was an overnight stay during the tour back in September. A California winter definitely had its upside.

“Babe, I’ve got tonight all planned. So let’s start right now.” Shawn gestured for me to get my ass into the limo.

It was only the two of us inside, plus the chauffeur and a gigantic dude on the passenger seat who followed Shawn everywhere. He was paid by the studio. I wondered when Shawn would start minding his shadow. I’d be fed up with it pretty quickly.

“Gin & Tonic for our Kansas girl?” Shawn opened a mini-bar in the middle of the car. I was still trying to get my head around the idea of having a bar… in a car.

“Calm down, Shawn. It’s only just turned five.”

He let out a short laugh but ignored my comment by pouring me the stiffest Gin &Tonic ever. The limo had started moving throughout the West Hollywood traffic, but the car was so huge I couldn’t even feel the engine vibrating under my butt.

In a weird way, I felt more comfortable in the car than in my own room. “Don’t you mind living in a hotel?”

He chuckled in his drink. I hadn’t touched mine yet. “Cass, I’m not living in a hotel, I’m living at the fucking Chateau Marmont. Not the same. At. All.”

I shrugged. “I’d never heard of it before.”

“Don’t tell me you’re not even a tiny bit tempted by the lifestyle?” Shawn indulged in a big gulp.

“I loved recording the song with you, meeting the people from the studio, all the technicians, I mean, all those people I didn’t even know were involved in making an album.”

“Tonight I’m going to show you what it’s all about. What do you want to do first? You need to tell me now because someone is going to join us soon.”

I felt my mouth twisting sideways. I’d met my quota of new people today and what I needed right now was peace. “Can’t it just be the two of us tonight?” Shawn arched his eyebrows over the rim of his glass. “And no, Shawn, that wasn’t me trying to get all cozy with you.”

“Babe, you’ve got no idea what you’re missing.” He pushed back the curl of blonde hair that always fell over one of his eyes. “In the South, we know a married lady is off-limits though. Gentlemen’s code, ya know.”

I allowed myself a sip of gin because thinking of Josh put me on edge. I nearly gagged because it was all gin and no tonic. “It’s inspiring to see how considerate you can be. So who is joining us?”

Shawn ignored my question. “Where do you want to go first?”

Definitely nowhere Shawn was spending his nights since he’d become hot property. “The beach?” Before the tour I’d seen the ocean only once.

“Damn, seafood and fresh air… Not rock ’n roll at all.”

“You asked me and that’s where I want to go.”

Shawn didn’t answer. Instead he got his cell out and left a mystery person a voicemail asking him or her to meet in Santa Monica in a restaurant I didn’t quite catch the name of. After Shawn hung up, all I got was, “He’s staying near Venice Beach so he’ll be there before we are.” So definitely a ‘he.’

I let Shawn be all mysterious and started throwing questions about the people I’d met today and what the next steps would be for our duet. He didn’t want to talk shop, but that was why I’d come to L.A.

I was relieved when I got out of the limo. We were now out of built-up West Hollywood.

“You asked for the ocean and I’m delivering the fucking Pacific.” Shawn waved at the long expanse of beach that spread as far as the eye could see. From where I stood, the brown sand was peppered with glistening shells that sparkled under the rays of the late afternoon sun.

The limo drove away leaving us on the sidewalk. Shawn’s bodyguard hovered nearby but I psyched myself up to forget he was meters away. The surroundings felt familiar, with the pier and the long walkway bordered by a wooden balustrade. I’d seen it in many movies and TV shows.

It was also chilly and windy. Goosebumps broke out on my bare arms. I’d changed into a new pair of jeans and a clean T-shirt at the hotel. The palm trees had duped me.

Shawn sighed. “You keep speaking to the Southern gentleman in me.” In one move, he’d taken off his jacket and had wrapped it around my shoulders.

I thanked him but shivered anyway. He put his arm around my shoulders and we started strolling along to reach the shore. My body temperature started climbing back to normal and I focused on the ocean. I’d dreamt of it for so long, of how the sun would fall or rise over it, how the waves would crash on the sandy beaches. Maybe there was something to those crazy escape plans in Cancun after all.

We left the shoreline and headed back onto solid ground.

“That’s the place.” Shawn led me inside a simple-looking restaurant. There was a long bar with a dark wooden top and the floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooked the old pier. It wasn’t so crowded and I liked that.

“Good, he’s made it.”

I followed the direction of his gaze. There stood a big guy with his back turned towards us. I squinted because his silhouette reminded me of…

“Well, I’ll be damned!” I mumbled to myself.

The guy pivoted on the bar stool and my hand flew to where my heart was pounding against my chest. Hard.

“Kitten, please don’t faint.”

My legs were faster to react than my brain and, in four strides, I crashed into Sam’s bulky chest. Seeing him was so unexpected—and so welcome—I had to fight back tears.

I could count on Shawn to break the magic though. “Let’s not get too emotional. At least, not before we’re totally wasted.”

Sam led me away from his stool to a bench and one of the tables alongside the glass window. I sat down, unable to break away from him because his grip around me made me feel safe. “What are you doing in L.A? The last time we spoke you were going back to England.”

He moved away from me but his hand remained against the nape of my neck, forcing me to face him. For a moment, he simply stared at me as if he could read all my secrets. “It was six months ago.”

Six months since he came to Steep Hill to propose to me. My life had turned on its head since that night, but I hadn’t tried to call him. Maybe I should have but instead I’d listened to that voice inside my head warning me against it.

“Don’t worry, kitten. I understand your silence.”