Boxed Set:Taming the Rocker - Vol. 1-5 by Ella Cox Page A

She saw the bags in my hands and immediately grabbed them. I tried to stop her, but she pushed my hand away.
    “Relax. I can handle this. Just because I’m getting old doesn’t mean that I have to be treated like a senior citizen. Give me that, Chase.” she smiled and winked at Lila. I grinned and allowed her to take my bag. She still looked great for being almost 64-years old. I wanted them to retire. They didn’t care. They said their business kept them going. I could understand that. I just worried about them, but if I was bored all the time, I would probably go crazy.
    After she took the bags upstairs, I gave Lila a tour of the house. Her wide eyes took in everything around her. I showed her the sitting area, the special chinaware in the cabinet, the TV room with the giant flat screen and surround sound. I could tell she was impressed. After we stopped at the stairs, I wondered if she thought I had been bullshitting her when I said I came from a rich family. Either that or she was trying to be polite.
    We went up to my old room where we would be staying. Lila laughed at the Pokémon and Aerosmith posters that dotted the room. I blushed when she chuckled at some of the figures that I had lying around.
    “I never knew you were a geek like that,” she said.
    “Yeah…well—we all go through a phase. I still like this stuff, but I guess my parents never really threw these things out. Maybe it was to remember me or something. I don’t know.” I think they did miss me a lot. That’s probably why they placed this stuff around instead of leaving it boxed up. They also designed Tristan’s room as if he’d lived there. My room had the nostalgic messy feel to it from my childhood. I tensed when I glanced at Tristan’s closet and saw a box marked with a very current date.
    What the hell is that? Why isn’t that in his basement? Please do not have any evidence in there of our past.
    After we walked through the bathrooms, I showed her the master bedroom. They had changed it very little… added some edging and new wallpaper. We went back downstairs. My mother was in the kitchen. Lila gaped, eyeing the huge array of pots and pans. My mother asked while she looked around, “You like cooking?”
    “A little bit. I’m not as good as some of my friends, but I don’t mind doing it,” she replied. A small blush ghosted her cheeks.
    I could tell that she was starting to get comfortable around my mother. Everything was going great so far. I began to think that I was being a bit paranoid about Lila finding out. Maybe my secret was safe. The more I thought about it, the more it was eating away at me. I knew I needed to move on.
    After about ten minutes of Lila and my mother talking, the door to the study opened. My dad walked out. He looked tired. Of course, he always looked like that. I could tell that he'd had a very long and annoying day. I wanted to talk to him, but before I could, he stopped in the kitchen and looked directly at Lila.
    “Is this the new girl?”
    I blushed at his tone. Sometimes my dad was a bit socially awkward when it came to addressing people who weren’t business clients. I was used to it, but others sometimes took offense. I hoped that Lila wouldn’t be one of them.
    Lila turned around with a smile on her face. She didn’t seem annoyed or anything by his bluntness. “Hey, there! How are you?”
    “Fine. So, you’re his new girlfriend. You’re even prettier than how he described you.”
    Lila blushed a little. I immediately moved toward her and placed my arm around her shoulders. I told him, “Yep, this is my new girl. Her name is Lila.”
    “That’s very cool. You did well, Chase,” he replied.
    For once, I felt my dad’s respect. He had looked down on me ever since I told him I did not want to run the family business. He was not happy when I had told him that I wanted to do things my own way. He actually looked happy now that I’d found someone. It was an entirely different vibe to see