“No. You know you have another show tomorrow, and there will be interviews before that. There’s no time. If you miss a show, do you know what the tour manager is going to do to you?”
“Rex will have to get over it.”
“Rex will lose over a million dollars if you miss a gig. I don’t think he’s going to get over it.”
“What am I going to do?” Tucker felt helpless. Normally, when he felt helpless, a drink fixed it.
“Let me fly her in for a show. You’d have some time with her before and after.”
“Okay. Thanks.” Tucker calmed down slightly. “I don’t like the way Lydia dances against me during our songs together. Can you do something about that?”
“The crowd seemed to like it. The public likes the idea of a romance or a scandal between the two of you.”
“I don’t want anyone to have that idea, so if you don’t want me to push her off me the next show, you’d better find a way to get her to back off.”
“We could give her Jason as a play toy. She seems to like him.”
“He’s supposed to be my assistant. Where is the goddamned phone I asked for?” He looked around his bus and shook his head. “Isn’t this the twenty-first century? Why is it so fucking hard to find a phone?”
“Why so blue?” Roslyn asked as Nichole stirred the tiny straw in her drink.
“I haven’t been able to speak to Tucker in over a week. We keep missing each other.”
“How is that?”
“He’s busy. He’s usually doing sound checks and interviews when I get off work and then going onstage all night. When he’s done, I’m in bed. In the morning he’s sleeping in. Our schedules conflict.”
“That sucks,” Lexi said with a sympathetic frown.
“Plus he’s on tour with Lydia St. James, who is like sex on a stick without the stick.” Nichole knew she shouldn’t let it bother her, but come on . . . The girl was hot. Not to mention available and, from the looks of the pictures she’d seen from the concert the night before . . . eager.
“Wow.”
“Yeah. I know I shouldn’t be worried. It’s stupid. Tucker said he only wanted me. I trust him. I know I can. But she’s so . . .”
“Tempting,” Riley supplied.
“Yeah. That.” There was no way around it.
“Cooper said Tucker used to have a problem with women, but he’s changed. He believes Tucker really loves you, Nic,” Roz said encouragingly.
“He said so. I just miss him.”
“When will you see him again?”
“I don’t know. He’s touring the West Coast and then hitting Vancouver before coming back to end the tour in Baltimore and New York.”
“Just keep yourself busy, and don’t watch those stupid entertainment shows,” Riley suggested.
“I’ve seen a few pictures on the Internet. The girl is rubbing all over him,” Nic said.
“Should we fly out there and beat her up?” Roz offered. It sounded funny coming from someone who was extremely pregnant.
“Maybe you should pee on him, you know, mark your territory,” Lexi said with a smile, making them all laugh.
“I know from experience, a man you have to question isn’t a man you want,” Roz said, speaking of her relationships before she met Cooper.
“I trust him. I do.”
“Good, then have another drink for me. I’m driving.” Roslyn took a sip of her sweet tea and rubbed her belly.
“This is quite a perk,” Riley said with a big smile while holding up her drink.
“You won’t be saying that in the morning,” Lexi said, laughing.
To her happy surprise, Nichole had a message from Tucker when she checked her phone. The bar had been too loud to hear the ringtone, which she’d changed to their song.
“He lost his phone again.” She held up her own phone as she wobbled toward Roslyn’s SUV. “He’s always losing his phone, or people steal it.” She laughed, feeling much better having heard his voice. Especially hearing him tell her he loved her.
It made everything right again.
Or maybe it was the tequila.
Tucker dialed her number, waiting for the voice mail to pick up. It had been another week of no actual contact and he was nearly ready to give up. Mitch had been called away on urgent business and never got in touch with Nic about flying out.
It took days for Jason to show up with a phone, mainly because he was sniffing around Lydia’s tour bus every free moment of the day and night.
“Tucker?” Nichole answered.
“Nic? Is it you?” It would have been two in the morning in Virginia. His new phone was waiting for him after the signings backstage, so he had called without thinking.
“Yeah.” Her voice was rough from sleep, making his heart yearn to be next to her.
“Oh, baby. I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.”
He was so happy to hear her voice, his throat tightened.
“I hate this, Nic. I just want to come back to Virginia and lie in bed with you all day.” She laughed at his confession, but he’d meant it.
“It looks like you’re doing well. Um . . . Lydia seems to enjoy performing with you.”
He couldn’t help but laugh at the way she worded her sentence.
“She’s all over me. I can’t seem to shake her. I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s part of the act.”
He remembered Lydia being in his bed last week. That wasn’t part of the act.
“Yeah. I guess. There’s nothing going on with us; you know that, right?” God, he sounded guilty.
“Right. I know.” He couldn’t tell if she believed him. Her voice just sounded sad and tired.
“I’m sorry I woke you. I wanted to hear your voice.”
“I wanted to hear yours, too. I turned the volume up on my phone so I’d hear if you called. I didn’t want to miss it.”
“You coming to party with us, Tuck?” Lydia shouted from behind him.
“Uh, no, thanks. Have a good time,” he said back.
“Great show tonight. Let me know if your bus gets lonely,” she cooed.
“It won’t.” He picked up his pace to get away from her. “Nic?”
“Still here.”
“Sorry about that.”
“She seems . . . helpful.”
He couldn’t help but sigh at her tone. He could almost hear the sound of her claws being sharpened. He couldn’t even blame her. He knew what it felt like to see her with Collin, and that had been completely innocent. This thing with Lydia wasn’t. At least not on her side.
“I asked Mitch to do something about her, but he’s as scared of her as I am. I think Jason wants a chance with her, so he’s reluctant to upset her. It’s ridiculous.”
The sound of her laughter made him feel so much better.
“It’s not funny,” he said, but he was laughing, too.
“I miss you. I trust you,” she said simply.
“I trust me, too. It’s her I don’t trust.”
“The next time I see you, I’ll pee on you,” she said with a chuckle.
“Excuse me?” He didn’t think he’d heard her correctly.
“Nothing. Never mind. Just keep your door locked.”
“I do.”
“I love you, Tucker.”
He took a deep breath as he sat on his small sofa.
“I love you, too.”
“Are you doing okay?” she asked.
“Better now that I talked to you.”
“Don’t lose your phone. Call me. I don’t care how late it is.”
“Okay. I will. I’m sorry. I hardly get a second alone. It’s all rehearsals, sound checks, interviews, signings, meetings, backstage parties with fans. I don’t have a minute to myself.”
“Have you checked in with Carmine?”
“Twice.”
“When it gets to be too much, just step away for a second. Take a breath. Know that I love you, and then remember why you’
re doing this. It’s your dream, Tucker. It’s a lot of work, but they wouldn’t be our dreams if they were easy.”
“Like four years of college followed up by four years of med school?” He chuckled, knowing her dream.
“With no sleep. I know how you feel. A little bit anyway.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
“Is it okay if I’m counting down the shows until the end of your tour?”
“Six more,” he said, making her laugh.
“Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Baltimore, New York and then you’re done.” He heard her yawn.
“I know I need to let you sleep, but I’m afraid if I get off the phone with you, I’ll never get you again.”
“You know where I live. We’ll meet up at some point.”
“Good night, Nichole.”
“’Night, Tucker. Fight the good fight.” She laughed.
He laughed with her as he disconnected the call.
For the first time since he’d signed the contract for this tour, he felt sure he could handle it.
Nichole supported him and trusted him. He felt the relief in a rush. He could do this. He could even have fun while he was doing it.
As if to test his newfound resolve, he stepped off his bus and went next door to join the party.
All the old temptations were there. Alcohol by the gallon. Someone had some lines of cocaine set up on a CD case and was passing it around. In the midst of the scene was Lydia, propped on her sofa like a queen entertaining her court.
Jason was next to her, hanging on every word.
“Oh my God!” she chimed when she saw him. “Tucker’s finally decided to live a little!”
She stood and gave him a hug. The final temptation from his past. Women.
He smiled, feeling no interest in any of it.
He had everything he wanted back in Virginia. He would spend the rest of this tour drinking in the experiences he’d missed the first time. How he felt with his fans, seeing a new city each night, and letting the songs flow out of him. Then he would go home to Nic feeling accomplished and ready to start a life with her.
That was turning into his new dream.
He took a bottle of water from the cooler and sat on the opposite sofa to bide his time. He was going to make it.
Chapter 14
She knew something was up the second she walked into the clinic. The nurses looked away from her. Was that pity on their faces?
She spotted the flowers with the card and smiled.
“From Tucker?” Collin teased her as her cheeks warmed.
She plucked the card from the plastic prongs and smiled for a second.
Dear Nicki, I’m thinking of you every second. I love you and always will, Tucker, the card read. Nicki? Okay, so obviously he hadn’t done this himself. He was busy. It was the thought that counted.
One of the interns walked past and gave her a sympathetic smile.
“What’s going on?” she asked Sabrina, knowing the nurse wouldn’t have a problem spilling it.
“Have you been on Lydia St. James’s Web site today?”
“I’ve never been on her site.” She shook her head.
“Well . . . you might want to take a look today.”
Nichole went into her office and sighed as she opened her laptop to see what kind of swill this woman was writing about Tucker.
She had prepared herself for claims of them being together. Something she knew couldn’t be true. What she hadn’t expected were . . . pictures.
No single picture proved anything, but as a whole they spoke volumes.
There was a photo of Tucker sitting on a sofa with a bottle in his hand. The type of bottle was obscured, but Nichole thought it appeared to be water.
He was smiling or laughing at someone other than the photographer, because he wasn’t looking at the camera. The next photo was Tucker on the same sofa. He was asleep, and Lydia was leaning against him drowsily with her shirt open to her belly button.
The last photo showed Tucker at the bottom of the steps of her tour bus. She was smiling down at him. Nic couldn’t see his face because his back was to the camera.
The caption under the photo said, “It’s official! I just had the best night of my life!”
Nichole hadn’t noticed her hands were in fists until she went to try to shut the laptop.
It didn’t make sense. He’d called her early this morning. Everything had been fine then. He’d told her he loved her. She’d told him she trusted him.
But then she’d also heard Lydia’s invitation to come next door to party. Tucker must have gone after he got off the phone with her.
How stupid she’d been to think he would spend his time in the spotlight alone and missing her on his bus.
She pulled out her phone and called his number, but his voice mail wasn’t set up to take messages.
Sabrina knocked on the door.
“Sorry, but you have a patient waiting.”
“I’ll be there in a second. See if one of the interns can start,” she said as she dialed the next person who could help. Sabrina nodded and closed the door.
Mitch answered in his official capacity.
“Hey, Mitch. It’s Nichole. Can I speak with Tucker, please?”
“I’m sorry. He’s in an interview right now. Then he has a photo shoot. I’ll try to work a few minutes in there somewhere for a chat.”
“Thanks. It’s just that I saw those pictures on Lydia’s Web site.”
“What pictures?” he asked, instantly interested.
“Pictures of Tucker on her bus.” Nichole wasn’t surprised Mitch hadn’t seen them. He had plenty of actual work to do rather than spending time scouring Lydia’s Web site.
“She’s very aggressive,” Mitch said. “The pictures were most likely set up to look as scandalous as possible.”
It was true. There were no pictures of him touching her or them kissing. If she had any, she most likely would have posted them. They were just enough to cause a seed of doubt, which was sprouting and taking root in Nichole’s stomach.
“Yeah. I can see that. Please just keep her away from him, okay? Maybe put a guard outside his bus.” She forced a laugh, but it was a good idea.
There was an uncomfortable pause and then Mitch said, “He told you about that?”
Her entire body stopped moving for a few heartbeats. She had to try twice to make a sound in order to answer him.
“Yeah,” she bluffed.
“Look, when I walked in, he was very upset. He asked her to get dressed and leave. He was so worried you were going to find out. He wanted to tell you right away, but I told him to wait until he saw you. It wasn’t something you wanted to hear over the phone.”
“No. You’re right.” It definitely wasn’t something she wanted to hear over the phone. Or at all, for that matter. “I’ll send him an e-mail, Mitch. No need to bother him with one more thing to do today.”
“I’m sure he’ll want to talk to you.”
Yeah. No doubt.
“I need to get to work,” she said.
She could barely press the End button on the screen, her hands were shaking so badly.
She opened the laptop, and there were the photos again. Mocking her.
After speaking with Collin about taking a few days off, she sent Tucker an e-mail.
I just called to speak with you, but you were busy. Look, I don’t think this is going to work out with us after all. It’s too hard for both of us. I wish you the best. I hope you have success.
Please have your assistant stop sending me flowers. I know they’re not from you. He’s not even using the right name.
Take care of yourself. Nichole
She was surprised by how calm she was as she hit the Send button.
Maybe on some level she’d expected this would happen.
She stood up from her desk, and without a glance at the nurses who had gathered in the hall, she left the office to go pack for her trip.
He took a shower and flopped down on his sofa with a Gatorade.
Mitch had told him he needed to talk to him, but then he got sidetracked with a conference call or something. Tucker couldn’t wait any longer.
He was happy to see an e-mail from Nic.
Until he opened it and read it. Four times.
One of the things he loved about Nichole was that she wasn’t a game player. She didn’t do dramatic shit just to get attention. Her e-mail ending their relationship wasn’t dramatic either.
It was very cut and dried.
With shaky hands, he called her, only to go straight to voice mail.
“Nic? I got your e-mail, and I don’t understand. I thought everything was fine. I thought you were supporting my decision to stay out here. I would have come home if it meant this.
“Please call me so we can talk about this. Please? I love you. We’ll work this out. Whatever I need to do, I’ll do.” He sounded like a pussy, but he didn’t care. She owned his heart.
When he got off the phone he called Mitch.
“I was just getting ready to come see you,” he said.
“Get Jason and come here. I’ve got a big problem.”
Ten minutes later, the two guys walked onto his bus looking beat. He had been pacing and calling Nichole until they got there. Now he was throwing some clothes into a bag.
“What’s going on?” Mitch asked, watching him pack.
Instead of answering, he turned on Jason. “I asked you to send flowers to my girl!” he said, sounding accusatory.
“I did!”
“What did you put on the card?”
“Exactly what you told me to say, ‘Dear Nicki, I’m thinking of you every second. I love you and always will, Tucker.’ A dozen roses of different colors!”
“No one calls her Nicki!” Tucker yelled. “You’re fired!”
Mitch cursed under his breath and then shook his head.
“You can’t fire me for not getting flowers right!” Jason protested.
Nick Of Time (Blue Ridge Romance 2) Page 18