Compromise Me (Book Two of the Kirkland Family)

Compromise Me: Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Josie woke up to see Travis flipping through his mother's scrapbook and smiling at random pictures. "Hey," she said softly.

"Good morning," he said, and she sat upright quickly.

"It's morning already?"

"No," he chuckled. "It's about ten o'clock at night."

"Oh...whatcha smiling at?" She laid her head on his shoulder, mindful of the new tattoo and looked down at the open page.

"I was just thinking about that concert...you know, the one where you saved my band from total embarrassment."

"How could I forget?" she asked. "At the time, it was the worst night of my life."

He glanced over at her. "Yeah...you found out about Ari and Tristan that night."

"But it turned out to be a very good night," she admitted. "Those two are incredible."

"Yes...but I was actually thinking of the onstage part." He lifted a page to show her a photo, obviously printed off a computer and pasted on the paper. "Look..."

Josie drew nearer to study the picture.   There she was, in skin-tight pants, those ugly shoes and a microphone to her mouth.  She faced Travis in the picture, and the look on both their faces, even from the distance of the photographer, was blatant sexual tension.  "Oh...that's from the performance."

"Yeah," he said quietly. "My mother has a lot of pictures from my concerts...but this one has you in it." He looked over at her with a small smile. "She got to see you before she died."

Josie searched his face, glancing across both his warm eyes. "Are you okay with that?"

He turned back to the book. "She never got to meet you...but she got to see you, and now I think she'll be able to see how happy I am with you."

"Will you miss her?"

He sighed. "Mostly, I regret that, if she really was Livie's daughter, then Livie didn't get to meet her."

Josie chewed on her bottom lip. "Actually, Travis...Livie has."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not supposed to tell you, but I figured you'll find out anyway, since...well, since we have to tell Livie about her."

"Tell me what?"

Josie inhaled deeply. "Livie told me that she went to meet your mother not long after you started working for her...here in California. I think she just wanted to know why you left home."

He reclined quietly for a moment. Then he asked, "What did Livie say about her?"

"That she thought your mother was lonely," Josie answered. "I'm sure you both have a lot to talk about, so maybe we should leave it until then."

Travis closed the book and tossed it to the foot of the bed. "You hungry? I'm starving."

"You worked up quite an appetite," she reminded him, noticing that the sheet covering the lower half of his body began to rise. She smiled. "You want to order some room service?"

"I already have," he said, rotating to lay on his side and pulling her flush against his body. "It'll be here soon."

"Will I have time to take a shower?"

"You sure you want to do that?" he said playfully. "You might get sandy later."

"How so?"

"Because I plan to take you out for a midnight stroll on the beach and make love to you behind a sand dune," he answered with a grin.