After his meteoric rise to superstardom, Jim O'Brien is no longer a small-town boy who plays in bars and dreams of success. His handsome face is plastered on the covers of celebrity gossip magazines, and his voice alone is enough to make girls swoon...
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The view of the night city was as breathtaking as usual. I came to this spot whenever I felt overwhelmed and wanted some peace and quiet to put my thoughts in order. After tonight, this place wouldn't be just mine anymore. It would remind me of Ava and our first kiss.
My longest relationship was the one I had with music. Since I held a guitar in my hands for the first time, I'd dedicated my time to playing the instrument and writing lyrics. I'd been with girls but never wanted a committed relationship.
Finding a girl to spend the night with was easy — too easy and very far from being satisfying, apart from the physical release. Deep down, I craved a meaningful, genuine relationship. I wanted what Kennedy had with Ellie. Hell, I would give whatever to have the connection my parents shared even now, two grownup kids, and many years later.
I hadn't been in the industry for too long, but I'd seen enough to realize genuine feelings and relationships seemed to be out of reach for many of my fellow musicians. Our career was time-consuming, and as cliche as that sounded, it wasn't easy to dedicate time to your partner when your time hardly ever belonged to you.
Of course, some people made it work. Now, as I held Ava in my arms after kissing her, I was awash with certainty that it was worth it — trying to make it work with her was worth it.
I'd never felt what she made me feel. I didn't think I'd ever kissed a girl for the sake of it, knowing it wouldn't lead to anything else, except for my first kiss when I was fourteen and awkward.
Not that I didn't feel awkward now. I smiled, tightening my arms around Ava. As if she felt that, she tilted her head up and looked at me.
"Cold?" I asked, smoothing my thumb over her cheek. The wind whipped Ava's hair around, and I tried to tuck the strands behind her ears while she blushed. I had no idea if she was blushing at the gesture or at the kiss that happened some minutes ago.
So, I kissed her again, slowly and tenderly, just a soft caress of her lips with mine.
"Not cold," Ava whispered when we broke apart.
"Blush again, and I will kiss you once more," I teased, laughing when Ava buried her face in the crook of my neck. I felt her smile against my skin.
"Although now that I think about it, I will do it anyway," I added, "after we eat."
Ava glanced up at me and frowned. "Eat? Where?"
"Here. Come with me."
I took her hand in mine, lacing our fingers, and led her to my car. I'd stopped by Thierry's bistro on my way to meet Ava and asked him for something that would taste well cold.
I opened the rear door and grabbed the bag with food from the back seat.
"You thought about everything," Ava said, trying to peek into the bag.
