Home Is Where You Are

by Melissa Grace

Mama was the ornery tuxedo cat I’d adopted from the humane association a couple of months ago. “She doesn’t even hiss at me when I feed her now. We’re making great progress.”

All I knew was the voice behind it was like a velvet robe for the soul.

Queen shirt,

Yassssss

“Oh to be twenty-eight and not that old again.”

“And this is my Aunt Liv,” Grace said finally, squeezing my shoulder. “She’s very cool.” Ella’s voice was at least a full octave higher as she chattered nervously. “Soooo much cooler than me and a total smokeshow.”

Wow. This girl was beautiful. The way her fair skin flushed with embarrassment was adorable.

“I think we could make room for you guys to watch the show from the side of the stage, but I’m going to need one small favor in return.” “Yes! Anything!” Grace shrieked. “Whatever it is, yes.” Liv and Ella eyed me suspiciously. Not nearly as suspiciously as the rest of the band. What the fuck was I even doing? “I’m gonna need your Aunt Liv’s phone number.”

“Excuse me?” Liv asked. “You want my number because why?” “Here it is.” Before Liv could protest any further, Grace had already pulled up the number on her phone and had it in my hands. “Grace,” Liv hissed.

“I see how it is.” Dallas feigned offense. “Nobody’s got love for Dallas.” “Without Dallas, there is no Midnight in Dallas, so you better get your ass over here,” Liv joked, holding her free arm out to him.

“I want to make your night too, Olivia Sinclair.” “Oh, I didn’t mean—” “Nope. I’m gonna make your night too. Those are the rules.” His eyes sparkled, and he shrugged nonchalantly.

He smiled at me in a way that made me understand why women used to throw their panties at rockstars. Did people still do that? If not, they should.

“Famous people fall in love with normal people all the time. Look at George Clooney.” “The fact that you are now comparing me with Amal Clooney should be a clue as to how far we’ve strayed from reality.”

Well, shit. You had one job, Cash.

“Hello?” I answered cautiously. “Where do you think you’re going?” Jax’s warm voice came through the phone.

“Correction,” he said. “Giving Ella and Grace a ride home. You’ve got a prior commitment.”

A few feet beyond where their tour bus was parked, he stopped in front of a vehicle that could only be described as The Batmobile. “This is us.” “When you said you wanted to make my night, I had no clue we were going to be fighting crime in Gotham City.” My eyes widened. “I left my superhero cape at home.”

Surely not, right? I hadn’t given any indication I would be down for a trip to the Lion’s Den, had I? This guy was hot, but I was definitely not ready for him to see my Batcave. He began to slow the car as we got closer to the neon pink beacon in the night.

I trailed off as we passed by the pink neon lights, and he turned right into the Krispy Kreme parking lot. The donut shop sat far back enough that I couldn’t see it until that moment, and conveniently enough, the light on their road sign was out. “Wait, what?” Jax looked over at me, confused. “I thought everyone liked donuts.”

“Please.” I pretended to beg. “Donut run away.”

When Craig died, I knew I had to make the business work. It had to succeed because I had to make sure she and Grace were taken care of. So, Ella joined me full-time, and now we’ve been named the city’s top bakery six years in a row. I couldn’t do it without her.”

“So, do you have someone special in your life?” She looked at me pointedly, tossing my own question back at me. I looked at her as she waited for me to answer, her skin illuminated by the twinkly golden lights. “Not yet.”

At that moment, all I wanted to do was hold her like she deserved to be held. I took a step toward her, placing my hand on her arm. “Any man would be lucky to have you.”

“I gathered that.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Not because I think you don’t look it, but because you keep saying the word ‘twenty-nine’ like it’s poisonous or something.”

“Will you let me know you?” Ella squealed. She took my face in her hands, causing me to narrowly avoid spilling my coffee. “That’s so fucking romantic. Oh my God. You’re gonna marry him. I can feel it in my bones.”

We don’t get to choose when we meet the right person, babe. Sometimes it happens when we least expect it.”

I’m an almost thirty-seven-year-old woman with a hostile kitty guarding an even more hostile uterus. I’ve already been traded in for a newer, younger model, and I’m not real anxious to go through that again with anyone.”

“I’ve never seen you get all googly-eyed like that before, but the second Liv walked in you turned into a giant weirdo.”

The guys and I had come up with some promising new beats and melodies, but for the past six months, I’d not been able to write anything worth listening to. I knew it, and the guys knew it. What they didn’t know was why, and I wasn’t ready to tell them. They thought I was merely suffering from a massive case of writer’s block. At that moment, that was all I wanted them to know.

“So, you’re really thinking of moving here?” “It’s something I’ve been considering.” Jax smiled at me as we strolled down the sidewalk. “The idea is getting more attractive by the second.”

“Cash’s wife, Carrie, died almost a year ago. It was the week after Thanksgiving. Brain cancer.”

‘don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.’

At least now I know how cute you’re gonna look if you borrow my T-shirts.”

I’d never seen a woman look more beautiful than she did at that moment.

I was in my room writing songs about boys who had no idea I existed.” “That seems unlikely,” I said softly. “It’d be impossible not to notice you.”

If I were your husband, I never would have let you stop, but then again, I never would have let you go.”

“Besides, who said you had to go to a bar? Write with me.”

You deserve to be center stage.”

“You deserve to be on that stage, Liv, and I believe it will happen one day.”

“Scared of love?” “Scared of losing it.”

“I’m a little in awe of you, to be honest. You’re real, you’re funny, and your heart is genuine. God, you’re so beautiful, and you don’t even realize it. I know you think we couldn’t work, and I know you’re scared, but Liv, I want this. I want you. You’re—”

What if we could do something together? We could have our own duo and...

Jax kissed the top of my head and softly sang the words in my ear, causing my insides to turn to mush. Without thinking, I covered his hand with my own, our fingers intertwining for one sweet moment. Maybe Jax and I were a bad idea, but I had to admit, I loved this song.

“I wonder if you ever wonder about the man that I’ve become. If you ever think about the dreams I dreamed or the battles that I’ve won.”

“Olivia,” she cut me off. “Do you really think I haven’t noticed? I’ve seen the way you look at each other. I’ve seen the way he is around you, all squishy and adorable.”

“The last week and a half, I feel like I finally have you back. Ever since Jax came into the picture, you’ve been more you than you’ve been in years.

“He encourages you to do the things you love instead of shoving them out of sight like they’re something to be ashamed of. Benton wanted you to suppress so many of the beautiful things that make you who you are. Jax doesn’t want to change a single thing about you.”

Love isn’t about choosing who you think won’t hurt you. It’s about choosing who’s worth hurting for.

“Can I hold your hand? Will you let me walk you to your door? I know we just met, and it's 3 am, but all I want is more.”

“I want to be the man who is better than every other man that came before. So, give me a chance. May I have this dance? Baby, will you let me love you more?”

“Ella, I was with Ben for seventeen years of my life. He’s the only person I’ve ever been with.”