Always Rayne (The ALWAYS SOMETIMES NEVER Rock Star Romance Series) by Sierra Avalon Page B

now.”
    When I look back over at Nic I notice he’s got his swimsuit on. It’s one of those longer swim trunks with all kinds of crazy colors and patterns. They kind of make him look like a little kid going to the beach for the first time.
    I actually like Nic Rayne much more when he’s vulnerable.
    Okay, maybe I like him a lot. But it’s still not something I’m ready to admit to anyone. Not even myself.
    “You don’t usually wear swim trunks, do you?”
    “Is it that obvious?”
    I nod.
    He grabs my hand. “Come on. I’ll show you the hot tub.”
    When Nic turns on the lights to the pool area I nearly gasp. His backyard looks like a resort. He’s got a giant infinity pool with the most beautiful postcard mountain view I’ve ever seen. On one side of the pool is a large bar and outdoor kitchen area that looks like a party hub. On the other side is a large hot tub surrounded by a luscious waterfall garden.
    “This is magnificent.”
    “I tried to make it a show piece. Although I have yet to invite anyone here but the guys and Raven. I’m just too busy. When I’m not on the road with the band, I’m usually on a movie set somewhere. Not a lot of time to entertain.”
    The sadness in his voice makes it sound like he has some regrets about his life—or maybe his lifestyle.
    He pulls me over to the hot tub and turns on the jets. The interior hot tub lights come on and the water begins to bubble. Even though it’s hot outside, I can see steam rising up from the water.
    “Looks inviting,” I say.
    Nic opens a small closet next to the hot tub and removes two fluffy towels. He places them on the edge of the hot tub and then steps in.
    “Ready?”
    I nod and he helps me in with him.
    The water feels like a warm blanket covering my body. And the bu bbles feel so soothing I almost feel like I want to go to sleep.
    “Do you like it?”
    “No.” I laugh. “I absolutely love it.”
    “I’m glad.”
    Nic leans back and closes his eyes for a few seconds. Then he says, “I rarely do this.”
    “What?”
    “Nothing.”
    I can’t help but smile because I rarely do nothing either. I’m usually too busy with work and Brooke and trying to write the next great Amer ican novel.
    “Well, I hate to spoil your nothingness but you did promise me an interview.”
    “You’re right.” He turns to face me. “You can ask me anything you want.”
    “And you’ll answer no matter what the question?”
    He laughs. “I never said that. I said you could ask me whatever you want. The answers cost extra.”
    “Oh, really?” I tease. “And how would you like me to pay for these answers?”
    “I’m sure we can work something out.”
    “The first question I have is how you got together with Leo and Xander and formed the band.”
    Nic leans back again and I do the same. The sky is turning dark and soon we’ll be able to see the stars on display in the night sky.
    “My mom died when I was eight and I was raised by my dad, if you can call it that. He was a jazz musician and tended to be gone a lot. If he wasn’t playing local gigs until all hours of the night he was on the road for weeks at a time. So I spent a lot of time with my aunt, my mom’s sister, and her kids, my cousins Leo and Xander. My aunt was mentally ill. Bipolar. So we were left on our own a lot. Especially when she was in a down cycle and stayed in bed for days at a time. We didn’t have much but we had a lot of instruments. Leo and Xander’s dad was in a rock band before he died of a drug overdose. So we played music because we didn’t have anything better to do and it kept us off the streets.” He laughs. “It kept us off the streets until we were old enough to figure out how much fun it was on the streets.”
    “It sounds like all three of you might have had music in your blood. Your dads were musicians.”
    He nods. “We started our first band when we were in our teens. Xander and I were sixteen and Leo was fourteen. We called ourselves Tuna