sound booth, my eyes catch on Brix behind him, staring at me with that concerned scrunch in his brow again.
Jamie says something from the couch behind where he stands.
He presses the button for the intercom into the studio. “Jamie’s making a coffee run. You want your usual?”
“Make it a double shot,” I grumble.
When she leaves, he enters the studio and comes over to the piano.
I wish this place wasn’t glass on all sides. My hands itch to reach for him and pull him against me, but it’s not a question of someone possibly seeing, it’s basically a definite.
“I think you should call it a day,” Brix says.
“I can’t. I need to get something down the label can drool over.”
“No offense, but they’re not going to drool over a song you’re forcing. You can hear it in your voice.”
“Yeah, I know. I need to get out of my head. I can get this done today.”
“You could, if you push yourself, but what’s the worst that could happen if you don’t get it down today?”
What would be the worst? The label would be pissed. Hello, they’re going to be mad anyway. A half-assed on brand song for them isn’t going to turn it around.
“Damn it. You’re right.” I hate that he’s always right. “You’re annoying.”
Brix laughs. “I know. We should go home. Just take the day to—”
“Yeah. I can write more at home.” I stand.
“No, that’s not what I meant. You need a break.”
“What kind of break?”
He grins. “I know exactly where you want to go.”
We drop Jamie home, thankful for the absence of any paparazzi as we arrive, and Brix runs inside to grab a bag of stuff.
When he gets back, Brix gets back in the driver’s seat and heads west.
“Okay, so you aren’t taking me to the ranch again,” I say.
“Nope. Too far.”
The closer we get to Santa Monica, the more worried I become. “We’re not going somewhere super busy, are we? I’ll be recognized faster than you can say, ‘Oh look, I led Harley into another horde of fans.’”
Brix laughs. “Not going there.” He turns south, heading away from Santa Monica.
It takes another half an hour for him to pull into a nature preserve in Rancho Palos Verdes, but the sign out front says it closes at four. It’s currently five past.
“It’s closed,” I say.
“Not for me.” We pull into the parking lot, and Brix takes a permit out of the glove compartment and puts it on the dashboard. “Trav uses this place for training, so we have special permits that allow us to use the beach when it’s closed so our cars don’t get towed.”
I smile. “The beach. You brought me to the beach.”
“You said it relaxes you.”
“I thought you’d forget because it’s not like I can go to the beach a lot.”
“I can bring you to this one whenever you want. Even when it’s open to the public, not many people come here.”
We get out of the car, and Brix grabs his bag out of the back.
It’s a tiny beach surrounded by high cliffs, but as we get about halfway down to the water, we realize there’s no sand.
“It’s high tide,” Brix says, “but we can go onto those rocks over there.” He points to a lower cliff that overlooks the water.
“All right, but if I break my neck, I’m pretty sure you’ll be fired.”
“I’m pretty sure the female population will track me down and murder me.”
“Well, if you want to get technical … yeah.”
We climb over some rocks and head out to the cliff, but Brix pulls up short from the edge.
“Just in case you have surprisingly horrible balance, let’s sit here.” He lays down towels for us from his bag. “Sorry we can’t go down to the sand.”
“This is perfect.” I breathe in the salty air as I sit on the hard surface. “I like the water. It seems to go on forever and reminds me I’m not cooped up in a tiny studio booth. I don’t like feeling … trapped.”
Brix smiles. “Kinda surprising considering you never leave your house unless it’s for work.”
“I can’t leave my house, and you know why. When I’m out and I’m recognized, it’s not only by one person. Everyone tries to get in my face and get my attention, and then I’m more trapped than being inside.”
He nods. “Yeah. I just figure there has to be a way around that.”
“Like what?”
“I haven’t worked it out yet. Well, I mean, there is this.” He holds his arms wide.