Page 44 of Indescribable Love

The house was stunning—not that she expected it to be anything but—but…it also wasn’t really his. He was renting it from a friend, and she was starting to notice a pattern.

And not a good one.

They were having lunch out on the back deck—which had jaw-dropping city, mountain, and ocean views—when she finally had to say something.

“Are you renting this place while your house is being built? Renovated? Is this just a place you use when you’re in California?”

Simon placed their salads down on the table with a serene smile. “This view is spectacular, isn’t it?”

“Definitely! I mean…I’d want to eat every meal out here if this was my home.” Picking up her fork, she studied him. “So tell me again why this isn’t your home?”

Shrugging, he seemed unfazed by her question. “I’ve been on the road so much for the last two years that it doesn’t make sense for me to own a house. Besides, there are so many places to see that I can always find a place to stay in between tour dates.”

“Okay, yeah, I get that, but…wouldn’t you like to have a place that’s yours? A bed that’s your own? You know, a house where you can come to while on a break and know that you’re…home! You saw my crappy apartment, but I kind of enjoyed sleeping in my bed. That’s what Nikki said too before they left Asheville—she couldn’t wait to go home and sleep in her own bed.”

Another shrug. “It’s not really a big deal to me. I always have a place to go, whether it’s here or another rental like we had back in North Carolina. Or I go and visit one of my brothers or my mom…it works.”

Honestly, Juliette didn’t know if she could stand it, but…luckily she didn’t have to. At least once the documentary filming was over, she’d get to go home.

And that’s when it hit her—she’d have to go home.

Alone.

Without Simon.

Well, crap…

While internally she was freaking out, outwardly she smiled and ate the Greek salad with grilled salmon that Simon had prepared for her. He was chatting about all the things he was going to have to do when they got to Seattle in two days. Just listening to it was exhausting. She had no idea how one person could do it. Sound checks, interviews, photoshoots…sure, Juliette had worked with plenty of actors and musicians, but it seemed like Simon did a lot more than the average celebrity.

Juliette already knew he didn’t require a lot of sleep. He was an early riser—no matter where they were—and tended to start the day on the go and didn’t stop until they went to bed at night.

Where she kept him going for a while longer too.

But honestly, the more she thought about it, it was like he never stopped moving. He never fully relaxed. When they were in Key West, he was jogging on the beach or surfing or wanting to go out on a boat to go fishing. In Nashville, they toured all the big music spots and then tried several restaurants. And in New York, he jogged in Central Park, went shopping all along Fifth Avenue, and she swore they must have gone to at least three different places to eat on their one night there. Did he ever just…relax? Shut down? Spend time alone?

Did he do all of that because it was what was expected of him or was being alone and quiet something he couldn’t deal with?

It would explain his sunny disposition. There was no way to dwell on the past and the trauma his father had inflicted on him if he was always on the go and keeping busy.

Hard to hit a moving target and all that…

But she kept that to herself and continued to listen to him talk about what life on the road was typically like. They were finishing up their lunch when he asked, “So? What do you think? Have you done anything like this with your previous clients?”

“Actually, I haven’t. I’ve never gone on tour with any of the musicians. The only tours I’ve done are promo tours for movies and those are relatively tame compared to what you do. Most of the time, the client stays in one place and the interviewers come to them. For me, it’s just a lot of standing around and watching.”

“That would make me crazy,” he said, popping an olive into his mouth. “With all the new music I’ve written, I can’t wait to get with the band and really flesh it all out. We have sound checks and rehearsals, but I tend to ask for a couple of hours to jam when I’m on tour and have new stuff to work on.”

Again, effectively eliminating any extra free time.

That was something she was going to comment on, but her phone rang and she saw Vanessa’s name on the screen.

“Um…I need to take this. It’s my boss,” she said as she got to her feet. “I’ll just go…”

“Take it in the office,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. “I’ll clean this up.”

“Thanks.” Clutching her phone, Juliette stepped into the house and walked down the hall toward the home office before answering. “Hey, Van! What’s up?”

“Hey! I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”