Page 35 of Stormswept Colorado (Hart County #3)

THIRTY-ONE

Ayla

Teller wanted to win me . That sounded romantic. But I didn’t know exactly what to expect.

Until he showed me.

The next few weeks were amazing. And also the worst kind of torture.

He texted religiously every morning and night, and sometimes in between.

Mostly with sweet messages like missing you more than ever today .

Or pictures from around Silver Ridge. Like melting icicles on the eaves of his house.

Maisie and Ollie clutching cups of hot chocolate in their mittens.

Or Stella the dog prancing through snow.

At night, after my usual calls with Maisie, I called Teller and chatted with him, sometimes for hours. A few times, I’d gone to sleep to the sound of his deep, melodic voice and had the most relaxing, comforting dreams.

The rest of my days were spent in the recording studio.

Either mine at home, or the Ruxton Records studio in Santa Monica, where I’d started to share my new songs with my producer and favorite collaborators.

Everyone was thrilled with what I’d come up with so far.

Together, we’d actually finished a couple of the compositions, though I still wasn’t completely satisfied with them.

But my new album was actually taking shape. I couldn’t remember another time that I’d been this happy, even though I longed to see Teller again with every fiber of my being.

He kept insisting that he didn’t want any definitive answers from me. Teller said he only wanted a chance to prove himself. I already thought he was worthy. I definitely didn’t want to see anyone else.

How a relationship between us was supposed to work logistically, though? I still didn’t know.

When I was home one afternoon, a call came in from Bryan. “Hey, we have a delivery here. Something perishable. Delivery guy says it’s…ice cream?”

Bryan and the other security guys knew about my possible stalker, though not all the gritty details. But the stalker hadn’t bothered me once in the five weeks or so since Emma and Ashford’s wedding. As if he’d vanished from the face of the Earth, and I was all for it.

I set my songwriting notebook on the coffee table, jumping up from my seat on the couch. “That must be from Teller.” His text that morning had said, Expect a surprise today . Sending some cold to you since there’s no real winter in LA .

“Yep, just checked,” Bryan said. “Delivery sent by Teller Landry. We’ll bring it in.”

“Thanks.” I ended the call and hurried to the front door.

Two minutes later, Bryan and the other security guy on duty carried two boxes inside. Frost dotted the tops of the cardboard. They set them on my kitchen island. When we opened the boxes and saw what was inside, the guys looked confused.

But my heart was bursting.

“Mint chocolate chip,” I said. “He remembered.”

Teller had sent me two cases of mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches. While we were stuck in the snow, I’d told him how my sister bought these when we were kids .

“That mean something to you?” Bryan asked.

“It does.” It meant Teller was incredibly sweet.

I gave the guys a couple of ice cream sandwiches, then stacked the rest in my freezer. When that was finished, I unwrapped one and video-called Teller.

“Hi.” He was in his office. He grinned when he saw me on the screen, but his expression turned to pure lust when I licked along the edge of the ice cream sandwich.

“Delicious. This is an amazing present. Thank you.”

Eyes heated, he got up from his desk and went to close his office door. “You’re welcome. But you better stop licking your treat so suggestively or I’m going to get hard at work.”

“Should’ve thought of that beforehand, Chief Landry. I have enough ice cream sandwiches to send you a sexy dessert video every day for the next month.”

He laughed. I loved it when his face lit up that way. “I miss you, Troublemaker.”

“Miss you too.”

My heart ached. This was getting dire. If we both didn’t have work responsibilities, I would’ve been on a plane already to see him.

How could I miss someone this much when, overall, we’d spent only a few days together in person? I didn’t get it.

I also still didn’t know the endgame that Teller had in mind. But he was winning me over more and more every day.

Making me want to fall for him.

During one of our nightly conversations, I told him I didn’t like watching TV, but I was a huge fan of reading. Sometimes Hayleigh and I cruised the shelves of our local bookshop and left with a haul. I secretly kept a Little Free Library by the Santa Monica Pier stocked with my old books.

But what I really wished I could do was while away an afternoon at a bookstore myself without being recognized. Without having to go after hours or ask the owner to keep people away from me .

A few days later, Teller wrote me to expect another delivery. It arrived while Ricky was doing my makeup for that night’s event.

Hayleigh dashed into my spacious bathroom, where Ricky had spread his supplies over the vanity counter. “You’re not going to believe what just got here,” she squealed. “I saw the truck drive past my house and hurried over as quick as I could.”

We all went out to my living room, where Bryan was wheeling boxes inside with a dolly. “Landry strikes again. Warn him we’re going to need hazard pay for carrying all these delivery boxes. Geez.” Bryan grinned.

As it turned out, Teller had asked the clerk from the local independent bookshop to send me a copy of every single current bestseller, plus a selection of the bookshop’s recommended favorites.

I mean, what ?

Ricky picked up a hardcover and thumbed through it. “This guy is going all out for you. Is he your boyfriend yet?”

“If you don’t marry him,” Hayleigh said, “I want his number.”

I just stared in awe at the books that now filled my living room. There had to be a hundred at least. “I don’t know what we are. But he’s pretty incredible, isn’t he?”

“Surprised he hasn’t bought you an entire flower shop yet,” Ricky said.

The thought of flowers gave me an uneasy shudder. My stalker had ruined flower arrangements for me, at least for the foreseeable future, and Teller understood that without me needing to say it.

Plus, a bookstore delivery was far more creative.

But I was guilty about how much Teller must’ve spent on this. Thousands?

I slipped into my bedroom and called him. “I can’t believe you sent a bookstore to me. Thank you so much.”

He was in uniform in the driver’s seat of his department SUV, maybe on his way home given the hour. It looked like he’d pulled over to answer my call. “So you like it?”

“I do. It’s over the top in the best way.”

He grinned.

“I just…I don’t want you to feel like you need to spend money on me.” It was no secret that I made a lot more money than he did. I could’ve asked the bookshop to make a bulk delivery myself. Of course, I wouldn’t have thought of it, and it wouldn’t have been nearly so special.

Teller smoothed a big hand over his sharp jaw. “Sweetheart, don’t worry about that. I like doing things for you. Thinking of ways to make you smile.”

Ugh, this man. “Thank you,” I said again. “This made my day.”

When had someone done anything like this for me, ever?

I’d had boyfriends who bought me diamonds and exclusive, expensive trinkets. But nothing that truly meant something to me. Teller knew how to speak directly to my heart.

He wanted to show me that he listened. That he cared. I cared about him too. More with every passing day.

I touched my thumb to his face on the screen. “I really need to see you again.”

He sighed and said, “Soon.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to talk before I had to jump back in the makeup chair and get ready for my obligatory appearance that night.

On Paul Ruxton’s arm, no less.

But I took a sexy selfie before getting dressed. My hair and makeup were styled, but I still wore my bathrobe. I draped it down around my shoulders, showing the tops of my breasts and giving a sultry pout to my phone camera.

Me

You might see pictures online from the event tonight. But this one is only for you.

Teller

Wow. Will you be thinking of me at your event?

Every minute. Especially later when I’m alone in my bed.

You make me so hard, Troublemaker. Good thing I just got home, because the tent in these gray sweats is very much NSFW.

Gah. Shivers of desire made me rub my thighs together.

While we spoke every day and flirted and teased one another, we hadn’t done more on our calls.

Teller could say such dirty things in that commanding tone of his, but he also had a gentlemanly streak.

It seemed like he wanted to wait for more sexy times until we could see one another in person again.

Just one more form of delicious torture. As soon as we could find a few days to get together, I planned to jump him and spend the whole time naked.

Why couldn’t I be doing that tonight instead of this stupid party?

The gatehouse at the edge of my neighborhood called ahead to my security guys, letting them know that Paul had entered the neighborhood.

I heard the loud rumble of an engine before I stepped out my front door. Paul was in his bright orange Lamborghini.

I’d dressed in a wide-legged jumpsuit, sliding my feet into a pair of Jimmy Choo heels.

The event was a pre-release party for another artist on my same label.

Not even an actual release party. It was being held at a fancy restaurant in Beverly Hills.

And because Paul insisted on escorting me, he was driving .

Bryan opened the passenger door for me. “Let us know if you need anything tonight,” he murmured.

He would be following separately and parking down the street from the venue, just in case. I’d agreed to ride with Paul to the event so we could step straight onto the red carpet together, but I wasn’t going to be stranded with the man.

“Thank you,” I whispered to Bryan, then slid into the low leather seat.

“You look gorgeous,” Paul said as I got in, his eyes roving.