Page 84 of Indescribable Love

Before Juliette could answer, Simon did. “The road up to this particular house was a little harrowing. None of us were prepared for it, but Juliette had more of an aversion than the rest of us.”

“It was a death trap,” she said firmly. “I cried the entire way up.”

“And she kept her eyes closed when I drove us down when we left. So…no narrow, scary, winding roads. That is request number one. Got it.”

“What about you, Simon? Where do you see yourself?” Lily asked.

“Hmm…I don’t really know. LA has sort of been my home base for a long time. I’ve lived in condos and a variety of different houses, but…most of the last few years, I’ve lived out of hotels. It would be too hard to pick a definitive place right now.”

“No one’s going to hold you to it,” Noah said, picking up his wineglass. “Just play along!”

Sighing, he picked up his own glass of wine and took a sip. He’d been thinking about this sort of thing more and more but had kept it to himself because he hadn’t wanted to freak Juliette out—especially because when he thought about it, it was the two of them buying a house and moving in together. But knowing that she was maybe thinking the same thing…

“The reality is that I don’t have to live in LA. I can live anywhere, have a studio in the house, and fly to New York or LA to meet with Mick or the record label. And instead of always staying in hotels, I’d probably want to have homes in both of those cities. Nothing big, just…someplace comfortable that we can make our own.”

Noah and Lily nodded.

“But a house? Hmm…I really do like it here in Charlotte, and I feel like I’ve spent a lot of time here since you settled here. I’m just not sure this is where I see myself.”

More nods.

He glanced over at Juliette. “I still think I’m more of a West Coast guy.” Waiting for her reaction—because he knew how much she loved New York—he wasn’t sure if he needed to clarify that he’d go anywhere for her.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” she told him. “I think I could get used to the weather on the West Coast. I loathe winters in New York, so…” She shrugged.

After that, they moved the conversation to the living room, where Lily served coffee and put out an assortment of pastries from her mother’s bakery. They talked and laughed and even though they never seemed to run out of topics, by midnight, everyone was exhausted and more than ready to call it a day.

Their guest room was on the opposite side of the house from Lily and Noah’s master suite. It was cozy and luxurious and beautifully decorated. Juliette came out of the bathroom in one of her silky sleep shorts sets and crawled into bed beside him.

“This was a good night. I had a lot of fun.” She fluffed her pillows and got comfortable. “I can’t wait to meet your mother tomorrow.”

“She’s going to love you.” Pulling her in close, he kissed the top of her head. “Just like I do. Well…maybe not exactly, but…you get what I’m saying.”

Laughing softly, she agreed. “I do.” Sighing, she snuggled closer. “So you’re thinking West Coast, huh?”

“What?”

“A house. You’re thinking you’d prefer to live on the West Coast.”

“Oh, that. Like I said, I’m not committed to anything. I haven’t given it a lot of serious thought.”

She was quiet for a moment before saying, “Maybe you should.”

He looked at her curiously. “Meaning…?”

“Meaning…it’s time, Simon. I understand the logic of not needing a home because you were always on the road so much. But…maybe you were on the road so much because you didn’t have a home.”

For a moment, he could only stare at her because…

It made sense.

So much of his life was spent looking at a house, a home, as a place that wasn’t good. Growing up in such a dysfunctional home made a lasting impression, and maybe there was a part of him that couldn’t differentiate between the fact that just because he had a house, didn’t mean things would go wrong or that he’d be unhappy.

“A home was never a happy place for me,” he quietly admitted. “And because so much of the animosity in that house was directed at me, it just felt like…”

“It was easier to live in someone else’s home,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.” Sighing, she added, “But I get it. My grandparents’ home was a happy place and I had great memories there, so I assumed everyone’s grandparents’ home was like that for them, and that everyone’s parents were awful to live with. It took a lot of therapy to get my head in the right place where that was concerned.”

“And I’m sorry that you had to go through that.”