It Must Be Your Love
Page 40
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Nodding in the driver’s direction, she said, “Thanks for the ride.” Turning back to Ford, she said, “Let’s go, Jeffrey. We’re late for that documentary they’re filming about your secret acne problem.”
Ford was laughing as he slammed the door shut behind them. “Jeffrey? Acne?”
She patted his perfect face. “Don’t worry, you’ll grow out of it one day. If the girls are smart, they’ll wait for you.”
He was still laughing when she went to say hello to the intelligent woman who was standing beside two men with big cameras. “You must be Natasha. I’m Mia. I hear you’re the one who’s responsible for bringing you-know-who back into my life.”
“And?”
Mia looked back at Ford, and as a group of tourists coming out of the EMP Museum recognized him and surrounded him, she said, “The jury’s still out.”
She’d always admired how great he was with his fans, but this time Mia wished he wasn’t quite so friendly as they vied for autographs. Some of the women were standing just a little too close...and when one of them asked him if he would sign her br**sts, Mia’s hands actually fisted at her sides.
So far this week they’d only been together at the tower house, her cousin’s winery in Napa, and her office. How could she have forgotten that women threw themselves at him everywhere he went? Or that groupies would do anything to try to get Ford into bed with them.
She’d never been an insecure woman, but who wouldn’t be threatened by that? No matter how over the past she thought she was.
“I’ve been on the road with Ford for months,” Natasha said, “but do you know one of the first things that really struck me about him?”
Mia could barely drag her narrowed gaze away from the fan who by now was practically topless. “What’s that? How talented he is?”
Natasha shook her head. “That he never once went off with a groupie or brought one onto his bus.”
Now the other woman had her full attention. “Never?”
“Nope. Not even once. When I realized he wasn’t even the slightest bit interested in the girls who threw themselves at him, I knew for sure that he was one of the good ones. And,” Natasha added after a weighted pause, “that was when I also knew that his heart must already belong to someone.”
“You’re not just making this documentary about him because it’s your business, are you?” Mia studied the redhead with new eyes. “You’re his friend, too.”
Natasha nodded. “He’s an easy man to like.”
And to love, Mia found herself thinking before she could stop herself.
Chapter Twenty
Ford was on a total high, the kind that only the stage—and being with Mia—had ever given him before. It had taken only a handful of hours for them to agree that the large warehouse half a block to the west of the EMP building was the best choice for the camp. Ford had asked Mia what a fair price for the building was, and when he promptly asked her to make a verbal offer to the seller, they accepted immediately.
Sure, everything was moving really fast, but it was all great stuff. A fantastic waterfront house in Seattle. The perfect space downtown for a camp for kids who could use music to get out of their shitty lives and into better ones.
And, he thought as he watched Mia going over the huge pile of contracts he’d just signed for the commercial property, the most beautiful woman in the world back in his life.
Since her employees had already shut down her office for the night, instead of heading there, Mia suggested that they print out and fax in all of the contracts from her condo. They’d ordered in Chinese and eaten it out of cartons while she took him through the seemingly endless paperwork—at least twice as much for the commercial property as there had been for the home he’d bought the day before.
She was all business while they did this, and while she was busy double-checking the final details of the contracts, he got up to study the photos that covered nearly every surface in her home. The windows of her condo were big and the ceilings were high, but there was so much color, life, and personality in her home that the large living room and dining room didn’t feel the least bit cold or hard-edged. The house he’d just bought was great, but he knew that if Mia shared it with him, she’d be the one who would bring real warmth to it.
Five years ago, when his fans had begun to multiply outside his hotel room, they’d decided it would be easier to disappear for a night to her place. Though her previous condo had been small, he’d loved it. She obviously had a knack for creating a comfortable home and because it was the first he’d ever really known, it had been a revelation to be surrounded by so many photos of her family and friends.
Perhaps, he admitted now, it had made him feel like even more of a loner, and that was yet another reason why he’d bolted the way he had at the end of that week.
He picked up a small frame that held a picture of Mia and her brothers from when they were kids. She was on her oldest brother’s shoulders and only one of her pigtails was still in, as if they’d been playing hard before the picture was taken. He looked at her over the top edge of the frame. Though her hair was glossy and perfect now, he could still so easily see the happy and carefree little girl she’d been in the gorgeous, polished woman she was now.
He put down the photo and picked up another of Mia and her parents, taken at her high school graduation. They were so proud of their daughter, and instead of looking like she wanted to bolt out of their hold, she was leaning into both of them as if there was no place she’d rather be.
It was nearly midnight by the time she announced, “All of the official paperwork is now on its way. Congratulations.” She held out her hand to shake his, and he used their grip on each other to tug her against him.
But the wickedly sensual thank you on the tip of his tongue dried up as he realized how stiff she was against him. Clearly, he now realized, her uber-professional behavior all evening hadn’t just been because she wanted to make sure she didn’t miss any details of the property transaction.
He brushed his thumb across her full lower lip. “Is everything okay?”
She hesitated for a moment before saying, “I should be asking you that. After all, you’re the man who just spent less time thinking over buying a major commercial property than most people take to decide what to have for dinner.”
Even though it didn’t escape him that she hadn’t answered his question, her mouth was so tantalizingly close that he lost the thread of anything but how good it felt to hold her...and how much he wanted to kiss her.
Ford was laughing as he slammed the door shut behind them. “Jeffrey? Acne?”
She patted his perfect face. “Don’t worry, you’ll grow out of it one day. If the girls are smart, they’ll wait for you.”
He was still laughing when she went to say hello to the intelligent woman who was standing beside two men with big cameras. “You must be Natasha. I’m Mia. I hear you’re the one who’s responsible for bringing you-know-who back into my life.”
“And?”
Mia looked back at Ford, and as a group of tourists coming out of the EMP Museum recognized him and surrounded him, she said, “The jury’s still out.”
She’d always admired how great he was with his fans, but this time Mia wished he wasn’t quite so friendly as they vied for autographs. Some of the women were standing just a little too close...and when one of them asked him if he would sign her br**sts, Mia’s hands actually fisted at her sides.
So far this week they’d only been together at the tower house, her cousin’s winery in Napa, and her office. How could she have forgotten that women threw themselves at him everywhere he went? Or that groupies would do anything to try to get Ford into bed with them.
She’d never been an insecure woman, but who wouldn’t be threatened by that? No matter how over the past she thought she was.
“I’ve been on the road with Ford for months,” Natasha said, “but do you know one of the first things that really struck me about him?”
Mia could barely drag her narrowed gaze away from the fan who by now was practically topless. “What’s that? How talented he is?”
Natasha shook her head. “That he never once went off with a groupie or brought one onto his bus.”
Now the other woman had her full attention. “Never?”
“Nope. Not even once. When I realized he wasn’t even the slightest bit interested in the girls who threw themselves at him, I knew for sure that he was one of the good ones. And,” Natasha added after a weighted pause, “that was when I also knew that his heart must already belong to someone.”
“You’re not just making this documentary about him because it’s your business, are you?” Mia studied the redhead with new eyes. “You’re his friend, too.”
Natasha nodded. “He’s an easy man to like.”
And to love, Mia found herself thinking before she could stop herself.
Chapter Twenty
Ford was on a total high, the kind that only the stage—and being with Mia—had ever given him before. It had taken only a handful of hours for them to agree that the large warehouse half a block to the west of the EMP building was the best choice for the camp. Ford had asked Mia what a fair price for the building was, and when he promptly asked her to make a verbal offer to the seller, they accepted immediately.
Sure, everything was moving really fast, but it was all great stuff. A fantastic waterfront house in Seattle. The perfect space downtown for a camp for kids who could use music to get out of their shitty lives and into better ones.
And, he thought as he watched Mia going over the huge pile of contracts he’d just signed for the commercial property, the most beautiful woman in the world back in his life.
Since her employees had already shut down her office for the night, instead of heading there, Mia suggested that they print out and fax in all of the contracts from her condo. They’d ordered in Chinese and eaten it out of cartons while she took him through the seemingly endless paperwork—at least twice as much for the commercial property as there had been for the home he’d bought the day before.
She was all business while they did this, and while she was busy double-checking the final details of the contracts, he got up to study the photos that covered nearly every surface in her home. The windows of her condo were big and the ceilings were high, but there was so much color, life, and personality in her home that the large living room and dining room didn’t feel the least bit cold or hard-edged. The house he’d just bought was great, but he knew that if Mia shared it with him, she’d be the one who would bring real warmth to it.
Five years ago, when his fans had begun to multiply outside his hotel room, they’d decided it would be easier to disappear for a night to her place. Though her previous condo had been small, he’d loved it. She obviously had a knack for creating a comfortable home and because it was the first he’d ever really known, it had been a revelation to be surrounded by so many photos of her family and friends.
Perhaps, he admitted now, it had made him feel like even more of a loner, and that was yet another reason why he’d bolted the way he had at the end of that week.
He picked up a small frame that held a picture of Mia and her brothers from when they were kids. She was on her oldest brother’s shoulders and only one of her pigtails was still in, as if they’d been playing hard before the picture was taken. He looked at her over the top edge of the frame. Though her hair was glossy and perfect now, he could still so easily see the happy and carefree little girl she’d been in the gorgeous, polished woman she was now.
He put down the photo and picked up another of Mia and her parents, taken at her high school graduation. They were so proud of their daughter, and instead of looking like she wanted to bolt out of their hold, she was leaning into both of them as if there was no place she’d rather be.
It was nearly midnight by the time she announced, “All of the official paperwork is now on its way. Congratulations.” She held out her hand to shake his, and he used their grip on each other to tug her against him.
But the wickedly sensual thank you on the tip of his tongue dried up as he realized how stiff she was against him. Clearly, he now realized, her uber-professional behavior all evening hadn’t just been because she wanted to make sure she didn’t miss any details of the property transaction.
He brushed his thumb across her full lower lip. “Is everything okay?”
She hesitated for a moment before saying, “I should be asking you that. After all, you’re the man who just spent less time thinking over buying a major commercial property than most people take to decide what to have for dinner.”
Even though it didn’t escape him that she hadn’t answered his question, her mouth was so tantalizingly close that he lost the thread of anything but how good it felt to hold her...and how much he wanted to kiss her.
