He stood and then took a step back so she could get up from her chair. "I probably should have checked with you first before inviting Riley over."

"It's not a big deal. I'm looking forward to seeing him and to meeting Savannah." She stepped around him and walked out of the office to the kitchen. Matt found her staring into the refrigerator. "What do you think we should make?"

"Something that will be done before they get here, so you don't have to get up and cook," he suggested. "Maybe one of your soups or the chili you made last weekend? We could do some salads and bread, maybe those tartlet things for dessert?"

Closing the refrigerator door, she turned toward Matt and clapped.

"What? What's that for?"

"I'm just so proud!" she cried, grinning from ear to ear. "I feel like the student has become the teacher."

He rolled his eyes and grabbed her hands to stop the clapping. "Okay, okay, knock it off."

"What? I'm serious! Not only are you thinking of practical ideas for lunch so I can still get to visit with everyone, but you've also even thought of what will go with it and dessert." She beamed at him. "You've been paying attention."

"Well, of course I have," he said with a hint of defensiveness. "You were taking the time to teach me and help me out. Why wouldn't I pay attention?"

"Okay, okay, I was teasing, Matt," she soothed.

"Oh. All right."

Vivienne looked around the kitchen and then stepped away from him. "I like the idea of the chili if you think they'll like it."

"I know Riley will. I can't speak for Savannah. I don't know her very well."

"Hmm...then I guess I'll make sure we have plenty of side options, just in case it's not something she eats. I'll do corn bread and some of my homemade rolls, a salad..." Walking over to one of the drawers, she pulled out a pen and pad and started making a shopping list. "I'll have chips and salsa and a black-bean-and-corn guacamole out when they arrive. And maybe I'll whip up some chicken tortilla soup just in case. And-"

"Vivienne?" he interrupted, walking over and taking the pen from her hand. "It's only lunch. And there's only four of us. If you make all of those things and the chili and the dessert, no one will be able to move for a week."

"Oh...maybe I am going a little overboard. I love cooking for guests, and it's important to me that there's something everyone will eat." She nibbled her bottom lip. "I just wish we knew if Savannah eats chili and..." When Matt moved away and pulled his phone out, she quickly reached over to stop him. "Don't you dare call Riley and ask him!"

"Why the hell not? It seems like it would save us both a lot of time and anxiety if we just knew the answer."

"But-"

"Viv, relax. It's not a big deal." He quickly typed up a text and sent it to Riley before returning his attention to her. "So I guess we need to hit the grocery store."

"Yes, we do." She sighed.

"Do you have time to do that? Are you done working for the day? Should we go after dinner maybe?"

"I'm good. Like I said, the call went really well, and we're on track with everything. I was just looking over some proposals for upcoming issues and topics to explore. Nothing that can't wait." She glanced over at the clock. "Give me ten minutes to freshen up and change and I'll be good to go."

She was sprinting up the stairs before he could stop her. Then he figured it was probably for the best. If he'd stopped her-or followed her-it would be a lot longer than ten minutes before she was ready to go anywhere.

His phone chimed with an incoming text and he saw it was from Riley, confirming that both he and Savannah loved all kinds of Mexican food-and adored chili. It made him smile, and Matt knew Vivienne was going to be relieved. It was going to make shopping so much easier.

Picking up the shopping list, he began adding the items Vivienne hadn't gotten to and then some things he wanted to get as well, and he had to stop and laugh at himself.

He, Matt Reed, was making a shopping list and going to the store to shop and purchase it himself. It was like he barely recognized himself anymore.

And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Chapter 8.

"So there I was, thinking I was going to get to do all kinds of cool stunts like we'd done on the Exposed tour and Mick was like, 'No. You need to keep it real and personal, like you did at the Hollywood Bowl.'" Riley shrugged. "It's a completely different vibe on this tour. I'm way more relaxed than I can ever remember being when we toured."

Matt laughed. "Well, to be fair, we were largely responsible for all the stress and craziness that followed us around on tour." He shook his head, still laughing. "I'm surprised Mick didn't hire babysitters more often for us."

"It would have been like trying to herd cats. It just wouldn't have worked. The four of us were masters at creating distractions to keep everyone on their toes," Riley said, joining in the laughter. "If you ask me, I wouldn't mind touring like this all the time. If there was a way to keep this kind of level of Zen going and do it with you guys, I'd be a very happy man."

"It could happen," Matt said, instantly sobering. "I think when the time comes, we're going to be a completely different bunch of guys going back into the studio and then on the road."

Riley rested his arms against the back of the sofa as he looked at Matt and smiled. "I agree," he said easily. He studied Matt for a little bit longer. "You're different. I can see it. I'm not going to lie, I was a little bit nervous about coming here today."

"Why?"

A shrug was Riley's first response. "I wasn't sure what I was going to find. We've been talking, and I knew you sounded good, but I was afraid it was all a show. But now that I'm here, and I see you-and Vivienne," he added with a wink, "I'm really happy for you."

Matt looked over his shoulder toward the kitchen, where Savannah and Vivienne were huddled together talking. As much as he had helped Vivienne prepare food so she wouldn't end up chained to the kitchen, she was still in there, fussing over the meal. Typical of her and just one of the many reasons he loved her.

"It's a good look on you," Riley said, interrupting his thoughts.

"What is?"

"Love."

Matt rolled his eyes but couldn't stop the grin on his face. "Oh, God. Are we going to be those guys?"

"What guys?"

"You know, the sensitive ones who talk about their feelings." He burst out laughing. "Weren't we just talking about how wild we used to be?"

"Used to be-key words," Riley stated. "Look, I don't regret the things we did when we were younger and on the road. It was great. It was fun. But what I have now with Savannah?" His smile grew. "There are no words to describe it. It's just...the best. Every day with her is amazing and...and...and..." He threw out his hands and laughed. "She's everything."

Matt knew exactly what he meant because he felt the same way about Vivienne. Leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees, he lowered his voice and asked, "Can I ask you something?"

Riley nodded.

"When did you know? I mean, how long did you and Savannah know one another before you knew she was it for you?"

"The first time she came to the house to start interviewing me. And it was only the second time we had ever seen each other."

"Seriously?"

Riley nodded. "We talked, we had lunch, and the interview got off to a bad start. I already knew I was attracted to her, but I figured that was about it. So we mutually agreed to stop the interview and just sort of hang out and get to know each other. We went down to the game room and challenged each other to a game of ping-pong."

Matt shook his head and chuckled. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen."

"I know, right? If word got out at that time that one of America's hottest bachelors was happily playing table tennis-and it wasn't a euphemism for sex-I would have totally lost my credibility as a sex symbol."

"Boohoo," Matt teased.

"Anyway, we challenged each other, and it was winner's choice. I chose to kiss her."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Damn."

"I knew instantaneously that I was in trouble. And I couldn't wait to see where it would lead."

"But it wasn't all smooth sailing, right? I mean, I remember you being pissed at her over the article."

"I was pissed at her for a lot of things-and they weren't her fault. I was a mess during that time and overly sensitive about everything." He stopped and looked at Matt. "Not unlike how you were feeling not too long ago."

Matt nodded.

"Thanks to me acting like a damn diva having a hissy fit, I almost lost her. It didn't help that we were both stubborn," he said with a chuckle. "But in the end, we made it work." He turned and looked toward the kitchen and then back at Matt. "How does Aaron feel about all of this?"

"He doesn't know yet."

"Uh-oh."

"Yeah, I know," Matt quickly interrupted. "Things sort of got off to a rough start here." He told him about kissing Vivienne two years ago after a show.

"Oh my God! I remember that night! I remember seeing her and helping her get backstage to see you. Wow! I can't believe I didn't put it together until just now."

"Yeah, well...I didn't remember it either. So when I showed up here-"

"She was a little less than enthused to see you," Riley finished.

"Exactly. So the last Aaron saw of us, Vivienne was barely tolerating my presence."

"So what happens when he gets home? What do you think he's going to do?"

"I'm sure he's going to be pissed, although Vivienne and I are undecided on who he's going to be more pissed at." He shrugged. "We're both adults, and I'm not just killing time here, screwing around."

"And how does she feel?"

Matt looked down at the carpet and shook his head before looking at Riley again. "I honestly don't know. I can't get a straight answer out of her, and I don't want to push. Just because I realized how I felt after such a short amount of time doesn't mean she was going to do the same."

Rile nodded. "Okay," he said slowly. "And you're okay with it?"

"I don't have a choice, do I? I don't want to push her away, and I don't have the greatest reputation coming into this. I have to prove to her that I'm serious, that I'm not looking to take off and start having orgies on the road again."

"Look, I know I'm no expert, but can I offer you a bit of advice?"

"Absolutely."

"You need to talk about it before Aaron comes home. Because if you both come at him with differing stories, or if he senses she's not serious about you, I can guarantee you he'll use that to his advantage to try and break you up."

Matt shook his head. "Uh-uh, Aaron wouldn't do that."

"Dude, I speak from experience, as someone with a younger sister. If I even thought for a second that Darcy was involved with someone who wasn't right for her and she wasn't too deeply committed? I would do whatever I could to break them up." He shrugged. "It's the right of the big brother. And no matter how tight you and Aaron are, his sister is always going to come first."

"Shit."

"Exactly."

The sound of female laughter broke into their conversation. Vivienne and Savannah walked toward them. "I'm going to show Savannah my office," Vivienne said excitedly. "I like showing off to a fellow writer!"

Matt watched them walk away before turning back to Riley. "In a million years, I never thought I'd be in a situation like this."

"What? In love?"

"Yeah. And in love with Vivienne Forrester. I mean, she was always around when I was hanging out with Aaron, but she wasn't on my radar at all. She was younger than us and... I don't know. I just never thought of her that way. The night she showed up at my dressing room, I just about had a stroke when I realized it was her."

"So I have to go back to asking: What are you going to do about it? Let's just say you talk to Aaron and he doesn't kill you. What then? Are you going to stay here? Go back to LA? New York? Vivienne has a lot of freedom with her writing, like Savannah did, so it's not like she's tied to this area for her job, but...this is her home. Are you willing to move here?"

"You have no idea how much I've been struggling with that. If she lived anywhere else in the world, I wouldn't even have to think about it. But I don't know if this is someplace I want to live again."

"Have you gone into town?"

"Not much," Matt said with a shrug. "We've picked up takeout, gone food shopping, and went to the beach, but...I do my best to avoid it at all costs."

"Are you even sure he still lives here?"

"Yeah. Aaron's mentioned it a time or two. It pissed me off at first because I was like, 'Why do I need to know this?' but then I realized it's just something Aaron does. He's the same way with Vivienne and their parents."

Riley paused for a minute. "Why? I don't remember Aaron having any issues with his folks."

"Not him. No. Vivienne." He shrugged. "Cold. Distant. Not the warm, fuzzy types at all. And apparently they're even more so with Vivienne than with Aaron."

"I kind of remember that. I know I never felt completely comfortable when we hung out there, but...still. That sucks."

"Yeah. Aaron's one of those guys who thinks everyone should just get along."

"Seriously? He knows better than anyone how much you went through at the hands of your dad. That's just messed up if he thinks you need to be okay with seeing him."