All I could think when we hung up was, What the serious fuck? I almost preferred that she yell and scream. Despite her enabling my behavior, I felt like shit over it. Especially when the Vegas incident sparked another round of obsession with me in the media.
Suddenly I became the rock star’s son who was a chip off the old block. With that, old articles surfaced about my dad and even my mom. They both seemed unfazed and claimed it was nothing they hadn’t seen before. As hard as it was, I needed to ignore the whole thing.
That was easier said than done. Those press pricks even pulled out pictures of Alivia and me, using them to play the “wronged” girlfriend card. And during it all, for the first time I was actually grateful she wasn’t in New York.
Not surprisingly, the mania did hit Italy. Alivia said one of their gossip channels ran an exposé that everyone was talking about. Strangely enough, no one made the connection in her small circle of friends. If the two girls and one guy she’d been hanging out with had an opinion on Alivia’s background, they didn’t show it. Except, I worried every damn day that at one point that could change… and that would bring a fucking tsunami to the doorstep of the place she went to escape it all.
It couldn’t have been easy hearing any of that shit, or even ignoring it now that she knew it existed. The domino effect had every conversation, every video call, every text after that day becoming more and more strained between us. It had gotten to the point where she said worrying about me ironically caused the distress that I claimed I didn’t want to cause. Because of it, her school work, her experience in Florence, and her nerves all suffered.
So I’d spent the last few weeks on tour acting like an altar boy to stop from hurting her, and I counted down the days until we reunited. Meanwhile, there would be days that went by without contact. Long stretches of time without communication—something that had never happened to us in all the years we’d been together.
Life went on around us. Lori had scheduled us to play in the city during Thanksgiving. Being with my family provided a comfort I hadn’t realized I craved. Usually, Alivia and her family were part of our meal. This year, Trey, Camilla, and Trestan were obviously absent. At the last minute, they’d decided to spend it with Alivia in Italy instead of flying her home. I suspected my Vegas stint had a lot to do with that decision.
It didn’t matter. I let it go and enjoyed the end of the tour. The reviews were amazing, and chatter on whether I would be joining Cannon’s band permanently seemed to be the common thread. Cannon left it vague for my benefit. It was something we needed to discuss. I wasn’t sure that was the route I wanted to take. I was young, had proven my talents thanks to Cannon, and now had many options because of it. I had experienced things at a young age, something the rock stars in my life hadn’t had the privilege to do. As my father said, I could write my own ticket now, and it had nothing to do with my name. Mission accomplished. That had been my purpose all along.
But none of that meant a whoop to me at the moment.
I had only one thing on my mind.
Even though Alivia was supposed to come back to the States in two weeks for winter break, I hopped a flight to Italy. My parents knew, but I didn’t tell hers and made mine swear to keep the secret.
After arriving in Rome and having to wait for another flight to Florence, it was evening by the time my car service pulled up to her building. As the driver dragged my suitcase and guitar case out of the trunk, I stared up, wondering which window on the fourth floor was hers. Knowing I would be seeing her in less than a minute had my heart pounding in my chest.
Grateful that it seemed to be a new building with ample security, I shamelessly charmed my way past the concierge. By pulling out pictures of me and Alivia together since childhood, I managed to convince Sofia not to ruin my surprise. I wasn’t sure I would’ve had the same luck had it been a man and not a pretty young Italian woman.
When the elevator deposited me on her floor, I practically ran the short distance to her door before knocking on the gray-painted wood.
“I’m coming!” she said before going completely silent. I eyeballed the peephole and winked just as she yanked the door open. My heart went from pounding to flipping behind my chest wall at the sight of her standing there.
“Shane!”
“Liv.”
“What are you doing here?” She remained stone-still in the doorway, in a state of shock. I truly couldn’t blame her. Meanwhile, I struggled to keep a distance between us for fear I would pounce on her like a lion catching a gazelle.
But after a few seconds had passed, I smirked and asked, “Can I come in?”
“Oh my God. I’m so sorry. Of course.” Moving aside for me, I walked past her into the apartment and placed my luggage next to the door. “Can I take your coat.” I shrugged out of it while checking out the place.
It was small yet adorable, and so very Alivia. Pictures of us and her family decorated tables and windowsills. The furniture was modern and bland, but the colorful pillows and some trinkets she must have picked up added plenty of color.
When that familiar hissing that I actually missed sounded behind me, I regarded the white ball of fur and smirked. “Miss me?” I swear that cat scowled.
“Yes! I am so happy to see you.”
But just as I turned toward Alivia, she catapulted into my arms, forcing a huff of air to escape. “I was actually talking to Miss Evil… ,” I claimed with an amused half chuckle. “But I’m glad to hear it. For a second I wasn’t so sure that you did.”
“Of course I do.” She squeezed me hard before putting distance between us as she took me in from head to toe. Her fingers fiddled with the dog tags around my neck while I failed to contain myself and gripped her face, kissing her long and hard.
Memories of our lovemaking rushed to the surface, competing for space in my mind along with relief to finally have her in my hold. But I needed to take it slow.
First to pull away, I saw the lustful gleam in her eye matched mine. She stroked my face before running her hand through my hair. Loving her touch, I closed my eyes, thanking God for bringing us back together. When I opened them, the love in her expression was unmistakable.
“I know you just got here… I know we have a lot to say, and we need to say it all… but please make love to me, Shane.” She didn’t wait for a response before dragging me down a hall toward her room.
No sooner had we stepped through the door than I bent to kiss her, driving my tongue back in to caress every part of her mouth. She reciprocated by sucking on it, sending a crackling jolt directly to my cock. Needing more of a connection, I sank my hands into her hair and held her as though I wouldn’t ever let her go again.
When that still proved not to be enough, I slipped my hand beneath her T-shirt, practically moaning at the touch of her warm, silky skin.
“Baby, I missed so much,” I said, trailing my lips across her jaw and down her neck. I needed to feel every inch of her against every inch of me.
She gripped my head to catch my attention. “Me too.” While we stared deep into each other’s eyes, all the awkwardness lacing our relationship these past few months was forgotten. It was now time to remember how perfectly we fit together.
Slowly, I peeled off her T-shirt, revealing a lace bra that did little to hide her beautiful pink, pebbled nipples. In awe, I skimmed my fingertips across one and then the other, and then gently bit down on one through the lace. She gripped the back of my head, further arching into my mouth.