Kiro's Emily(12)

“You ever been to L.A.?” I asked, already knowing the answer to this.

She shook her head no.

“You would love it there. The sun and the beaches. It’s beautiful.” I had to sell her on this. Because I wasn’t leaving without her.

She blinked. “I’m sure I would.”

I shifted and moved her to sit beside me so I wouldn’t grab her and take off running if she said no. Also, I was getting a fucking hard-on from her plump little ass in my lap.

“Before I left on tour, I had to fire the house manager. She fucked Dean and got all territorial. It was ugly. So I need someone else to oversee shit. Like the groceries and making sure the cleaning lady and the lawn man get paid. I also need someone to get the mail and make sure everyone on my payroll is doing their job. It’s a job I can’t just trust anyone with. Salary is two hundred grand and health benefits. Living expenses are covered, since you’d be staying at my house. I’ve thought about this for a while. I’d really like for you to take it.”

She was silent for a moment as she stared at me. I held my breath.

“Did you just offer me a job to move to L.A. and manage your house and get paid two hundred thousand dollars a year?” she asked.

“Yeah, I did.” I had paid the last house manager seventy-five thousand. But Emily didn’t have to know that.

She rubbed her eyes and muttered, “I think I’m still asleep. Crap.”

I couldn’t keep from laughing as I pulled her hands away from her eyes. “Told you once, babe, this isn’t a dream. It’s real, and I’m here. Now I want you to tell me, ‘Yes, Kiro, I accept the job offer.’ ”

She sat there and stared at me with her mouth slightly open. Sticking my tongue in there was real damn tempting.

“I . . . but . . . school starts in the fall. If I leave my job now, I won’t have it when I come back, and I need it to—”

“We have colleges in L.A. This job doesn’t end in the fall. We don’t have a tour scheduled until next summer. We’ve got an album to record this year, but first we have to write the damn songs. I need you there.” I had come prepared for anything she threw at me. I was getting this. I wanted Emily with me.

“But . . . OK, let me think,” she said, looking away as she frowned.

“I can get you enrolled in classes for the fall. That will be a part of the work perks, too. College tuition paid.”

“I have college loans. I don’t need—”

“I’ll pay those off.” I rushed, cutting her off.

Emily put her hand on my chest and let out a laugh. “Stop. I’m trying to work this out in my head. I don’t expect you to pay me all that money and cover my college expenses. Even if I lose my college loans, I’ll be making enough money to pay my tuition, I think. How much do colleges cost out there?”

Didn’t know or fucking care. “It’s paid. Doesn’t matter.”

Her frown was adorable. “Kiro.”

“Emily,” I replied, just as seriously.

Then she laughed and laid her head on my chest. God that felt amazing. I wrapped my arms around her and held her there, not wanting to let go. Fucking ever. “Just tell me yes. I can do this all night,” I told her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“My mother will flip out,” she said, lifting her head to look up at me again. “She will have a fit. A bad one.”

“You’re twenty years old,” I reminded her. I would deal with her momma, too, if I had to.

She sighed and nodded. “I know. But she’s not going to like this. She knows I talk to you. I told her. But she won’t be OK with me living in L.A. with . . . a rock band.”

Probably one of the reasons my Emily was so damn sweet and innocent. I couldn’t dislike her momma. She’d raised my angel. “If I need to, I’ll talk to her. I swear, you’ll be safe. A hell of a lot safer than you are in this place. No one will touch you. I swear. I’d kill ’em, and they know it.”

“If I point out that I have a lease on this apartment and that my things are here and I have nowhere to take them, you’re going to have an answer for that, aren’t you?” she asked, looking like she was ready to cave in.

“I’ll pay off the lease, and we will put your furniture in storage.”

She studied me a moment, and then a smile slowly spread across her lips. “I can’t believe I am saying this . . . but yes. I accept.”

Fuck, yes!





One week later

Emily

Life with Slacker Demon was like a movie. I hadn’t thought about what it would look or feel like, since I had been so busy taking care of things in the last week. I had let Will know I was resigning, which hadn’t gone well. Then my mother had begged me not to go. In the end, she had given in and told me that home would always be there when I needed it.