His newer stuff earned him a lot of applause and excitement.
When he was finished, he took a towel from the stage manager and pulled out his phone.
“How was your first show?” Nichole asked without even saying hello.
He laughed at her enthusiasm.
“It was amazing. It wasn’t a huge crowd, but I think they enjoyed it. There’s a power you can feel from the fans right before you go out. When they’re amped up and ready to see you, you can feel it coming off them.”
“It sounds great.”
“It is. This part, though, where I go back to my hotel room alone and miss you, is not that great.”
“I wasn’t going to tell you I missed you because I was afraid I’d sound like a needy girl.”
“I don’t care if I sound like a needy girl, Nic. I just had an awesome set and I’d really like to have you in my bed. That would make the night perfect.”
“I’m sorry I’m so freaking responsible, and that I can’t bail on my job to follow you around like a groupie.” He loved the sound of her laughter.
“Hmm. Some girlfriend you turned out to be.”
“I wish I could have seen it. I wish I could have been there to cheer you on. And I miss you.”
“Don’t go getting needy on me, Nic.”
They laughed together, and he felt like the night was pretty close to perfect, no whiskey or pain killers necessary.
“Hey, Collin. How’s it going today?” Nichole smiled. She needed a favor.
“Oh, no. What do you want?” Apparently, Collin knew her too well.
“I was wondering if you could cover my shift next Friday. Tucker’s playing in Raleigh. I can make it if I leave by five.” She put her hands in front of her, prepared to beg. She hadn’t seen Tucker since she left New York three weeks earlier. Their phone conversations had been sporadic because Tucker wasn’t capable of keeping a cell phone for more than a few days. He needed a chain on it like some guys had on their wallets.
“Yes, I can cover your shift. Besides, you know when Number Two gets here, I’m going to need you to cover me.”
“How’s Wesley feel about being a big brother?”
“Well, he’s five, which means he’s excited one day and disinterested the next.” Collin shrugged his giant shoulders. He and his wife were expecting their second child. Collin was already one of those superdads. He was a soccer coach and his office was dripping with photos of his family.
“I feel the same way.” She winked at him. “Thanks for covering for me. You’re the best.”
“So I’ve heard.” He chuckled as she ran to her office to buy her ticket.
She called Tucker as she ran out of her house with her rolling bag bumping along behind her.
His voice mail picked up and she frowned. “You’re probably in rehearsal or sound check right now, but call me when you get a minute. I have a surprise for you.”
As she drove down 220, she was aware that surprising her rock star boyfriend while he was on tour might not be the best idea. She’d missed Tucker’s return call, and hadn’t heard back. Now she was heading to his concert.
While she’d never been on tour, she’d seen documentaries on MTV and heard stories. Along with performing came fans. Not just fans but groupies. Girls who would sleep with rock stars just to say they did. They were available, something Nichole wasn’t.
She bit her lip, knowing he might have given in to the temptation already. It had been almost a month since they’d seen each other. A month was a long time in sex time.
“No expectations,” she told herself. She’d known this relationship was a long shot from the beginning. They were from two different worlds, not to mention they used to hate each other. Still, she loved him. Something she’d lied to him about when he’d overheard her fighting with her mother.
She thought she’d covered it well.
When she pulled into the parking garage next to the venue, she could hear the drums. She’d run into traffic and didn’t get there as early as she’d wanted.
She left her bags in the car and practically ran to the gate.
It was too late; the crowds of people were already surging up against the stage. Tucker came out and everyone screamed and cheered.
She stood there watching him take the stage like he’d grown up there. So comfortable with the people shouting his name. He bent down at the edge and reached out as his fans reached out for him. That small connection between reality and the dream.
As the music swelled, he picked up his guitar and started singing one of his older songs. The fans yelled and sang along with him, knowing the words.
Her eyes stung with silly tears. It wasn’t every day a person got to witness someone’s dreams coming true.
He played a few more songs, new songs she hadn’t heard, and then played the song they had written together. The crowd already knew the lyrics. It had been playing steadily on the radio for the last few weeks. The fans swayed, and she watched couples holding one another and singing to one another. She was happy to have some small part in their happiness.
When that song was over the band exited the stage, leaving Tucker front and center, alone. The lights dimmed, except for a spotlight trained right on the man she loved.
“This is a new one I wrote a week ago. Hope you like it,” he said. He strummed the guitar and then before he started, he said, “Nichole, this one’s for you, baby.”
There were a few yelps in the crowd, probably other Nicholes who liked the dedication.
She felt her heart fill with warmth as he began to sing. To her.
It was a sad melody and it spoke of letting someone down but still trying. Of second chances and everything working out in the end.
To her surprise, she found tears rolling down her cheeks.
She loved this man, even if it wasn’t smart.
When his set was over, the main act started moving their equipment onstage.
She maneuvered herself closer to the edge so she could catch someone’s attention.
“Excuse me!” She had to yell three more times before someone finally stopped and came over, looking utterly annoyed.
“Yeah?”
“I’m a friend of Tucker’s.”
“Everyone is a friend of Tucker’s.” The long-haired man wearing black shorts with black socks and black work boots—the off icial uniform of a roadie—sighed.
She was nearly run over by a group of screaming girls with backstage passes hanging around their necks as they pushed past her to get through the gate when it opened. The man checking the passes looked slightly more helpful, so she went to see him.
“Hi. I’m a friend of Tucker’s.”
“You got a pass?” he asked.
“No. I wasn’t able to talk to him before I got here, though I did leave a message. Could you just tell him Nichole Atherton is here to see him?”
“Let me see. Stay here a second.”
She paced for about ten minutes before the man finally returned, shaking his head.
“Sorry, ma’am. He doesn’t want you back there.”
“Oh. Okay. Thanks for checking.” She nodded and walked away, the rejection crashing over her so hard it stole her breath. He didn’t want to see her? She was stunned by the intensity of the pain. Worse than when Dennis had called off the wedding.
Two people ran into her as she tried to fight the crowd, going in the opposite direction.
Before she made it out, she heard her name over the hum.
“Nichole? Nichole Atherton?”
She turned back to see a man in an expensive-looking suit calling her name.
“Yes?” She walked back to the gate.
“You’re Nichole?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Can I see some ID, please?”
“And you would be?”
“His agent.”
“Oh, Mitch, right?” He only raised his brow with his hand still out. “Sure.” She dug in her purse until she found her wal
let and showed the man her driver’s license. Maybe Tucker’s agent’s name was common knowledge.
“Do you know Tucker’s middle name?”
Her brows creased in confusion before she realized it must be some kind of security measure.
“Wade.”
He smiled when she got it right.
“It’s nice to meet you. Sorry about the confusion. Tucker doesn’t want you back there with all the chaos. He wanted me to give you this, and asked if you would meet him at his hotel. I have a car waiting to take you there.”
“Oh. Sure.” He handed her a key card and gestured toward a town car on the other side of the barricades. She followed him over to the car.
“It can get kind of rough with the fans backstage; he didn’t want you to get hurt. He’ll meet you in about an hour. Make yourself comfortable.”
“My car and my suitcase—”
“Give me your keys and I’ll have them both brought over to the hotel.”
“Thank you,” she said as she got in the car, handing over her keys.
“No problem at all. I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s nice to finally meet you. Here’s my card, in case you ever need tickets or anything. If you can’t get hold of Tucker, try me.” He closed the door, and the driver gave her a smile in the rearview mirror.
The driver carefully maneuvered the car through the crowd of women wearing shirts with Tucker’s face on them. She understood he was famous, but seeing it firsthand made her feel insignificant.
Still, she was the one being invited back to his hotel room. She smiled and prayed she was the first for this tour.
She wouldn’t think about the other women who wanted him. She and Tucker had agreed to see where this went, no promises, no expectations.
The hotel was only across the street. Had she known, she would have just walked because it wouldn’t have taken as long as it did to drive through the crowd. More people were arriving for the main act, and the car inched out slowly.
By the time she opened the door to Tucker’s room, her bags had already been delivered. Her keys were sitting on the desk with a number for the valet.
“Wow.” She muttered as she looked around the room. He had a great view of the city from the top floor. She sighed as she looked at the big bed.
His clothes were neatly folded in his suitcase, with the exception of two shirts hanging in the closet.
She wandered into the giant bathroom. His toothbrush sat next to his toothpaste. So normal.
She startled at the sound of the door.
He was here.
“Nic!” he yelled, and her heart warmed at the sound of his voice.
“Nichole?” Tucker called again as he pushed the door closed and slid the extra lock into place. If this was some kind of prank, he was going to be pissed.
When he turned she was standing in the doorway between the bathroom and the bedroom. He could feel the smile take over his face.
“God, girl. It’s so good to see you.”
She crossed the room as he reached for her and their lips crashed together. She almost knocked him over, but he didn’t mind. He held her tight and moved his lips down her jaw to her throat.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” he asked, his voice already ragged.
“Well, I did call. I missed your call. Then I left a message, but I guess you didn’t get it.”
“Someone stole my phone this time. I’ll make sure you have my new number.”
They were carrying on a breathy conversation while still kissing each other in a panic.
He tried to slow down, knowing she would be with him all night, but it was impossible. He wanted her badly.
“I’ve missed you so much,” he said, nipping at her collarbone as he moved his hands under her shirt.
“I’ve missed you, too.”
“Show me,” he said with a grin as he undid her pants and slid them off with her panties.
He wrestled off his own clothes, throwing them in every direction until they were naked.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried her to the bed, and they fell together in a pile of limbs and bodies.
“Do we need a condom?” she asked, her voice coming in gasps.
“What?”
“You know.” He didn’t know. Had she stopped her birth control?
“Aren’t you still on that shot thing?” he asked.
“Yeah, but I meant if you had been with someone else since you were home.”
It was as if someone had thrown cold water on him. He pulled back, his eyes wide.
“What? Why would I have been with someone else, Nic? I’m with you.”
“I wasn’t sure if it was too long to wait.” She shrugged and started nibbling on his ear.
“Was it too long for you to wait?” he asked, wondering if this was her way of telling him she had been with someone else.
“No. But I’m not a guy or a rock star with all those girls throwing themselves at me.” Again with the shrug.
“Nic, I’m faithful to you. We said we weren’t going to have any promises or expectations, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to respect you. I’m with you. That means I’m only with you. I only want to be with you anyway, so I’m not about to mess around with someone else.”
“Okay. Good. I was trying to be cool about it, but it would have upset me.”
He chuckled at her admission. She didn’t play games.
“You don’t need to be cool with me.” He sighed. This was it. He knew it. The way his heart had seized in his chest when he first saw her in his room satisfied every doubt he’d had in the past. “I love you,” he said, knowing it was true.
She stopped kissing his bare chest so she could look up at him. Her green eyes like molten emeralds. Her perfect lips pulled up on the one side, before the other side caught up in a full smile.
“You love me?”
“Yeah. Go ahead and make fun of me.” He held his arms out wide, not caring.
“I love you, too. I have for a while, actually. Since I told my mom.”
“You said you told her that to push her buttons!”
“I did say it to push her buttons, but it was also true.”
“You’re a piece of work,” he said with a laugh before they started kissing again.
Then the kissing turned into more, and before long they were loving each other pretty fiercely.
He tried to take his time, but as she’d pointed out, it had been a long time since they’d had sex. The first time didn’t last as long as it should have. Fortunately, they had all night, so he was able to enjoy it even more the second time. And the third.
“I just had sex with someone I love,” he said, amusement in his voice.
“First time?”
“No. All three times.”
“I meant the first time you were in love with someone.”
He knew that was what she meant. “Yep.” He nodded. “If I’m being honest, the other times I was with you should have counted, too. I think I’ve loved you for a long time. Except for when I hated you.”
“What?” She laughed at his crazy declaration.
“I’m pretty sure I fell for you the second time you drove me to Boy Scouts.” She obviously didn’t remember, and she wouldn’t be able to understand the significance.
“When was that?” She squinted.
“The time you dropped me off and Roy Barrows punched me in the face.”
She gasped, remembering the incident. To her, it must have looked like the giant boy-man had walked right up to scrawny Tucker and just hit him unprovoked. “You were out of the car so fast.” Tucker chuckled at the memory.
“He knocked you on your ass!”
“You pushed him, even though you were probably seventeen and he was only eleven. Then you helped me up and took me to your house. You got a pile of Pop-Ice out of the freezer and asked me which one was my favorite and which was my least favorite.”
“The grape was for you to eat
and the cherry was to hold on your cheek,” she recalled.
“I knew it wasn’t the first time you’d used Pop-Ice to help with a bruise. I could tell even then. I guessed it was your mom.”
She shrugged and looked away.
“It hasn’t happened since I went to college.” She was trying to shut down the conversation. Part of him wanted to let her. It was easier to talk about happy times and have fun, but she knew his struggles and he wanted to know hers.
“It only happened when she was between husbands,” she elaborated. “I think she blamed me for her being alone. And for a long time, I thought it was true. A lot of men don’t want to bother with a woman who has a kid.”
“That’s ridiculous, Nic. A lot of men don’t want to bother with a woman who has a pointed tail and horns coming out of her head. It didn’t have anything to do with you.”
She smiled at his joke and nodded.
“I realize that now. But back then, I thought it was me. I could tell when one of my stepfathers was unhappy and planning to leave. I tried even harder to be perfect so he wouldn’t go. It never worked. I think that might be why I’ve always felt more comfortable in a relationship, even if it isn’t a very good one. I’ve had it ingrained in me that when a man leaves, it’s the worst possible thing that could happen.”
“You’ve always had a serious boyfriend, ever since I’ve known you.”
She laughed at that. “Yes. But after Dennis, I realized I can make it on my own. It might not be the greatest thing in the world, but I’ll survive. Just like I did when my mother smacked me around. I’m stronger than I think I am.”
“It shouldn’t ever have happened to you. A parent shouldn’t hurt a kid,” he said sadly.
“Neither should Roy Barrows,” she said in an effort to change the subject back.
“Actually, that time I deserved it.” He nodded slowly.
“How so?”
“Roy accused me of stealing a baseball card when I was at his house for his birthday party.”
“Right, and you told me you didn’t steal it.”
“I didn’t steal it. But I did throw it in the trash.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I was ten, and he was a dick who collected baseball cards with his dad. I didn’t have a dad, and at the time I didn’t know why. I was angry and wanted them both to pay.” It felt good to finally confess.
Nick Of Time (Blue Ridge Romance 2) Page 15