Not About Love (This Love Book 2) (5 page)

I WASN’T GOING TO EUROPE
for the redhead. I was going for a CrossFit convention, to spend time with my brother and to finally meet the girl he had fallen so hard for. Lou had been having a hard time the last year, trying to get over my ex-sister-in-law. The gossip sites were having a field day with their divorce, since the blonde bitch was a dancer on a popular TV show.

At first, when news got around that they were separating, things were pretty quiet. Then when she started dating a fellow dancer just few weeks into the separation, every goddamn website had to drag my brother’s name through the mud. They claimed Ashley had cheated on him. I never knew what the truth was, but my brother assured me it wasn’t like that.

I didn’t trust Ashley, and I didn’t know what to believe. I wasn’t like Lou, always trying to see the good in people.

I had been like that once, a long, long time ago, but I knew better now. I was never going to be anyone’s fool ever again.

Unfortunately for my brother, when news broke that his soon-to-be-ex-wife was dating someone new, the media was relentless. He got so bent out of shape, he couldn’t even focus on his record any more. That’s when a buddy convinced him to go to Europe for a while to work on his music. Some famous European producer was willing to work with him, and that sealed the deal.

While he was there in Amsterdam, he met Ella. She was a piano player, and he convinced her to work with him…falling for her along the way. Apparently, the girl was just as much in love with my brother as he was with her.

I hoped this was still true, because the fact of the matter was that they had been apart an entire year. How could he be so sure of her feelings? What if she’d changed her mind? I couldn’t bear the thought of seeing my brother’s heart get crushed by another woman. I had to watch out for him.

So, yes, these were my reasons.

I was going to Europe for business and to look out for my brother.

Ally had nothing to do with it.

Nothing.

Though just the thought of her made my pulse race and my dick twitch.

It wasn’t as if I had been celibate these last seven months.

I’d been with plenty of women, women of all ages, types, and sizes, but the image of her in bed that morning was etched in my memory. I tried to forget it, to make it go away.

I was all about having a good time, and I wasn’t interested in having any type of relationship with anyone. I didn’t care to cherish memories, but try as I might, I couldn’t erase her from my mind. I didn’t like that. I didn’t like it because it made me feel…
vulnerable
.

I should have drunk more that night. Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t remember every single detail…how she tasted, how her skin felt under my hands.

What was even worse than having memories of that night was that now that I had the chance to see her again, I wanted to go back on my words.

I had rules for a reason…but when I thought about her and the fact that I’d be seeing her soon, I wanted to throw them out the window.

I wanted to see her come undone beneath me again.

I shook my head. This was beyond ridiculous. I had no idea what was happening to me and why Ally affected me the way she did.

A few days later, I met Lou in Rome. He had booked me a room at the same hotel where he was staying. He would be there just two nights, and then later I was going to catch up with him in Florence after the CrossFit convention.

I went straight from the airport to the hotel. I saw Lou for all of thirty minutes before he realized I was exhausted and needed to go to sleep.

I was supposed to meet some organizers for the convention later that day, so I set my alarm and crashed.

The convention was a success. It was my first one out of the States, and I was a little nervous at first, but everyone was incredibly welcoming. I met a bunch of beautiful and inspiring people, and I had a fantastic experience in one of the greatest cities in the world.

I did get to spend some time with Lou and saw him play live in a little club in an old neighborhood of Rome. I moved around in the crowded space so I could take a few pictures of him to send to our parents. I was fucking ecstatic about the enthusiasm of the audience. I loved looking at the people in the crowd and watching their reactions as my brother slayed it on stage. Sometimes it made me miss playing. It almost made me regret saying goodbye to the world of music—almost.

Florence was a blast, too, and I got to meet some guys who had worked with Lou on his latest album, Giuliano and Michele. Lou even got me to jam with them one night.

My brother showed me around town, sharing everything he had learned and loved about the famed Renaissance city. He had spent weeks there recording the album just a year ago, and we were having a blast, but I knew he was impatient to get to Amsterdam. I could see it in the way he was constantly fidgeting; it wasn’t like him.

Lou was anxious to get to Amsterdam, and in a way, so was I.

* * *

I was nervous about meeting Ally again. Inevitably, it was always weird and uncomfortable when you saw people you had slept with, even when it had been a long time. It made no difference if you were both adults with no expectations. It was still weird. I had no idea what kind of reaction she’d have when I finally saw her, and although I did hate awkward situations, my ego wanted the attention.

It was now clear that I had gotten all worked up for nothing. On the second to last day of the tour, we arrived in Amsterdam, and after a shower and change of clothes, Lou and I headed for the pancake house where Ella worked. She was an au pair for the family who ran the place and played music in her spare time.

Lou told me she had recently graduated from a music program there in Amsterdam. They hadn’t been in touch, but he had been keeping tabs on her through their mutual friends.

The pancake house was just as picturesque as Lou had described it: it was hidden in a small alley with a wooden sign hanging outside a window and a chalkboard advertising the menu. The place looked like it had been there for more than a century.

The alley itself was so quiet that when we opened the heavy wooden door, I was almost startled by the jingle of the bell. The place seemed empty, but my eyes soon found Ally.

She was sitting at the bar, chatting with one of the owners. She smiled warmly at us and gave me a friendly hug after hugging my brother. After that, she wasted no time focusing on Lou, almost as if she were coaching him.

“Are you excited?” she asked him.

“I am, but I’m mostly nervous.” He cracked his knuckles and gave her a tight-lipped smile. “I haven’t seen her in so long.”

“You shouldn’t be. I’m telling you, she is dying to see you. I think she was worried you weren’t going to show up at all. I’m sure part of her thinks you don’t want to see her.”

“Nonsense,” my brother replied.

“I know! But think about it…she has no idea you are here today. We haven’t told her, even after you sent us your itinerary. I just hope she doesn’t faint or burst into some ugly cry. She’d hate herself for that. I’d hate that, too. That would be uncomfortable as hell, for all of us.” She made a disgusted face.

“Lord, Ally!” my brother teased. “You haven’t changed, have you?” She scrunched up her nose at him, and he laughed in response. Lou introduced me to the owners of the place, Johan and Helga, and their daughter, Lieke. Johan was a tall man with short curly hair, green eyes, and a bushy beard. He was only a few inches shorter than me and had broad shoulders. He gave my hand a good, firm shake.

“
Aangenaam
,” I told him, which I knew meant
Nice to meet you.

“I’m Johan,” he replied with a bright, genuine smile.

I introduced myself to Helga with the same Dutch greeting. She was much shorter than her husband with light brown, shoulder-length hair. Her eyes were sky blue and cute wrinkles appeared at the corners of them when she shook my hand and smiled. She looked beautiful, even though she wasn’t wearing an ounce of makeup.

Their daughter was the perfect mix of both of them, a beautiful little girl with long, wild, curly blonde hair and eyes as blue as her mother’s. Her rosy cheeks reminded me of the cherubs I’d seen in paintings and illustrations. She jumped right into my brother’s arms and hugged him tightly. She didn’t seem shy, but when I said hi to her, she hid her face.

My brother laughed, teasing me, “You might be scaring her with that long beard of yours.”

I scoffed. “Her father has a beard!”

“Yeah, but she knows him. You can look quite ominous.
Dit is mijn broer
, Lieke,” he told her, and only then did she show her face again. She gave me a small, shy smile, and I smiled back.

Johan offered me a beer, and we chatted for a while. Lou started playing checkers with Lieke at the bar. Johan, who spoke perfect English with a thick Dutch accent, told me how the pancake house had come to be. The place was rustic, and although it had a few modern accessories here and there, you could tell it had been there for many decades. It was a beautiful little place, and it smelled like home.

I was beginning to understand why my brother had decided to spend so much time here. Work was his excuse, but I never fully believed that. Sure, the girl was a big part of the motivation, but it didn’t take a genius to understand that this place and these people were special.

For a moment, I almost wished I had a reason to stay for a little while. My eyes fell on the redhead to my left; she had been engaged in a conversation with Helga the entire time we’d been there. She had been nice to me, but overall indifferent.

I had to admit I wasn’t used to that, and my ego didn’t like it. What I also didn’t like was that now that I was around her, I felt the urge to break my “one time” rule. As soon as I saw her, my mind immediately went back to that night and to the woman with fiery hair and milky skin I couldn’t forget about.

“Ally,” I said in a low growl. She turned around, seemingly startled, her eyes wide. They looked even more beautiful in the daylight, a gorgeous shade of blue. The way I remembered them did not do her justice. She was beautiful, confident, so damn sexy. I got closer to her and leaned down to whisper in her ear. Her hair smelled so good, I wanted to grab a handful just like I had that night.

“You’re looking good. It’s nice to see you again,” I told her, my voice low and smooth. Most times that’s all it took for the panties to drop to the floor.

She let out a loud breath, her chest heaving. I smiled. She wasn’t indifferent to me, then; she was just pretending to be.

She straightened herself and pulled her shoulders back.

“Thank you. You do, too,” she said with a mischievous grin. The look in her eyes was playful, similar to my own. She might have been a good liar, but she was no match for me. I was ready to call her bluff.

* * *

We left the pancake house a while later, after witnessing Ella and Lou’s reunion for a few minutes before Helga ushered us out. She wanted to give the lovebirds some room. I had seen pictures of Ella before so I knew she was really pretty, but there was something different about her in person. The girl I’d seen in pictures was…a girl, but in person…there was something grownup about her that I hadn’t noticed. She only had eyes for my brother. In fact, she didn’t notice any of us, not even Ally. As soon as she stepped into the place, she couldn’t take her eyes off Lou. Our mother was going to be ecstatic when I called to tell her.

Ally and I said goodbye to Johan, Lieke, Helga, and Hendrick, a musician friend of Ella who had arrived with her at the pancake house.

Helga and Lieke waved goodbye.

“I’ll see you later this evening, Boyd,” Johan said.

“Sure,” I replied, not really knowing what he meant.

“Ella is playing in a club tonight. We’re all going to the show later,” Ally explained.

I nodded and waved goodbye to Johan.

“Do you remember where your hotel is?” Ally asked.

“Not really,” I told her.

“Lou told me where you guys were staying. It’s not that far from here. Come, I’ll walk you.”