Driving Tempo

by Raine Thomas

  Her voice didn’t sound sleepy or weak. He took that as a positive sign. When she reached over with her splinted hand, he carefully took it in both of his. He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

  “Is Sydney okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah. She’s sleeping right next to us.”

  “Thank God. I was so afraid we were going to die.”

  The words had him swallowing hard. “Do you want to see her?” he managed.

  She shook her head. “Let her sleep. Can I have some water?”

  He reached for the plastic cup containing ice water sitting on the table beside the bed and held the straw for her. She drank the entire cup before collapsing back against the pillows.

  “Thanks,” she said. “Whatever drugs I’m on are stupendous, but they’re giving me a serious case of dry mouth.”

  He smiled. “Stupendous, huh?”

  “Oh, yeah. I’m feeling no pain.”

  He was beyond grateful for that.

  “Guess I’m going to look like a mess for the wedding, huh?” she said.

  “You’re going to look beautiful.”

  “Liar. I’ve got bandages wrapped around my head. I look like a mummy.”

  Rolling his eyes, he pointed out, “You won’t have bandages on your head by then. The doctor said the stitches will come out in a week.”

  She made a disgruntled sound. “I’m going to kick Rhonda all the way down the aisle for this. She made me look like a mummy right before my wedding. Told you she’d screw this up.”

  He was still thinking of a reasonable reply when the door to the room opened. He and Lily both glanced at the curtain, wondering if a nurse was coming in to check on her.

  “God, Syd.”

  It was Keith. His voice was laced with pain, likely over the shocking sight of seeing Sydney against the stark white hospital sheets. Before Archer could greet his friend, Lily held a finger up to silence him.

  “Keith?” Sydney said in a sleepy voice.

  “Yeah, I’m here, Slick,” Keith said.

  “I’m so happy to see you.” Sydney sounded like she was crying. “I love you so much. Please don’t be angry.”

  “I love you too,” Keith assured her. “I’m not angry.”

  “But you will be,” Sydney sobbed. “I didn’t know. I mean, I wondered because I was late, but that happens to me sometimes and we’ve been using protection. Except that one time when things got a little out of hand. So I took a test this morning and...well, I was going to tell you. I wanted to tell you that I’m pregnant and I’m sorry.”

  Lily’s eyes went wide. Archer was the one who held up a finger this time.

  “You know what I’ve said before about apologizing,” Keith said gently. “I know you’re pregnant.”

  Sydney sniffled. “You do?”

  “Yes, and this isn’t something you should be crying about. We’re going to be great parents.”

  “We are?”

  “Of course we are. Don’t you think so?”

  Sydney’s voice wavered. “Yes. But...oh, Keith,” she cried. “This isn’t what I pictured. My mother isn’t ever going to speak to me again. It’s one thing for her to suspect I’m having premarital sex. It’s another for me to give birth out of wedlock.”

  “So we’ll get married,” Keith said reasonably.

  If Lily could have fallen out of the bed, she probably would have. Archer wanted to laugh over how wide her eyes and mouth had gotten.

  “Married?” Sydney echoed.

  “Yes,” Keith said in the same equable tone. “I was always going to marry you, Slick. This just bumps up the timeline a little. If we do something quick, your mom can live with the illusion that our baby is a honeymoon child.”

  “You mean like...go to the courthouse?” Sydney asked. She sounded uncertain.

  “Maybe. Or Vegas. We’ll think of something. I figure it’ll have to be in the next week or two to possibly appease your mother.”

  Archer looked at Lily. She looked back at him. They nodded to each other.

  Walking over to the curtain, Archer pulled it back. Sydney and Keith glanced over with surprise.

  “You can have our wedding,” Archer told them.

  “What?” Sydney sputtered. “We couldn’t possibly—”

  “You can too,” Lily argued, leaning over to see Sydney around the curtain. “My family has made this wedding a living hell for me anyway. You’ll be sparing me from having to deal with them another minute. It would make me unspeakably happy, Syd. You helped me pick most of the elements anyway. The wedding is practically yours.”

  Archer met Keith’s eyes. He saw his friend’s gratitude there and knew he wouldn’t need convincing to accept their offer.

  “But—but I don’t have a wedding dress, or a ring, or invitations,” Sydney began.

  “You know what?” Lily replied. “I happen to know a truly exceptional wedding planner. Something tells me that she can make miracles happen.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Ten days after the accident, Sage attended the rehearsal for Sydney and Keith’s wedding. He’d never been to the Iben Conservatory before and was awed by its grandeur. It had high ceilings and marble floors throughout. The building’s signature architectural feature was a high domed glass ceiling that allowed in plenty of natural light.

  Half of the conservatory was reserved for events like the wedding. The corridor housing the event space, which was essentially an indoor-outdoor courtyard, was lined with floor-to-ceiling windows and doors overlooking one of the most magnificent gardens Sage had ever seen. In the center of the garden was a lovely wrought-iron gazebo, which was where the ceremony would take place the next day.

  The gardens were the ideal setting for someone with Rosemary’s natural beauty, he thought as he watched her conduct the rehearsal. She wore Petit Planning’s signature black, a knee-length skirt paired with a flowy black top and colorful chunky jewelry. Her hair was pulled back at the temples in Bohemian-style braids but otherwise hung in loose curls around her shoulders. She wore just the right amount of makeup that made her seem to glow almost as much as the joyful expectant bride.

  Seeing her again had produced a low ache in his chest that hadn’t dissipated throughout the rehearsal. There was so much he needed to tell her. He’d been trying to reach her for the past three weeks, ever since he’d been so unceremoniously shoved out the door of Petit Planning by her friend, Monique.

  A move he admitted he had deserved.

  Showing up there unplanned on the heels of discovering Rosemary’s love note had been highly ill-advised, especially since he had done it without even clarifying his feelings with Kaila before he left. Kaila had been so adamant that he had to talk to Rosemary and he’d been so shocked to learn of Rosemary’s love that he’d acted without thinking. Then he’d gotten kicked in the teeth for it.

  That Monique sure had steel-toed boots.

  His efforts to contact Rosemary by text had gone unanswered, as had his voicemails. After a couple of weeks passed, he had gone back to Petit Planning in hopes of reaching her. She hadn’t been in the office, so he’d left a message with the office manager that also went unanswered.

  He knew he was getting a taste of his own tormenting medicine after doing the same thing to her after the tour ended. He’d been a complete imbecile. It made him more desperate than ever to talk to her, give her the apology he owed her, and convince her how he felt about her.

  At the moment she was busy talking to the happy couple. They had all just done a run-through of the processional and now Keith and Sydney stood with Rosemary beneath the gazebo, their hands entwined as they listened to her run through what the ceremony would be like. Sydney’s parents stood a few feet from them. Her mother seemed really happy, though she kept dabbing at tears. Her father kept giving Keith a level stare that Sage noted wasn’t exactly approval, but also not outright hostility.

  In Sage’s mind, pulling off this wedding had been nothing short of mag
ic. He couldn’t believe everything Rosemary and the Petit team had managed to make happen in only ten days. They’d somehow gotten the word out that Lily and Archer’s wedding was off and Sydney and Keith’s wedding was on. They’d managed to make it seem like the last-minute switch had been planned all along for entertainment value, something it seemed Sydney’s family and the general public believed. The last Sage had heard from Noelle, who was his primary source for information on Rosemary at the moment, more than a hundred of Sydney’s family and friends from Bakersfield were making the last-minute trip. Sage supposed it helped that most of the guests lived fairly close by.

  Sydney had managed to find a gown that hadn’t needed much altering and Keith had taken her to buy her engagement ring and their wedding bands the day she was released from the hospital. To look at her now, one wouldn’t know what she and Lily had been through.

  Lily, on the other hand, was sporting a white cast on her left arm. She had decorated it with The Void’s logo and had all of the band members sign it. He figured there was a strong possibility that she’d end up auctioning the thing off or giving it away once it was removed in a few weeks. He knew her ribs were also still tender. She had expressed earlier that she was just glad all of her bruises had healed before the wedding so she didn’t ruin the photos.

  Archer didn’t leave her side. Sage didn’t think he’d seen the two of them apart since the accident. He couldn’t blame Archer for being protective. What Lily and Sydney had gone through was beyond terrifying.

  The investigation into Nikki and her plans was nearing its conclusion. The band had been informed that there was plenty of evidence to support everything Lily had remembered about the incident. That offered little comfort considering how close they’d come to losing both Lily and Sydney. As a result of Nikki’s actions, security had been tightened up for all of The Void members. Even now, Ordinem had the perimeter and interior of the venue under surveillance.

  Sage gradually made his way closer to the gazebo, drawn to Rosemary like he was metal and she was a magnet. He heard her laugh and the sound had his chest tightening.

  “I really appreciate it, you guys,” he overheard her saying to Sydney and Keith. “I would normally never cut out in the middle of a rehearsal like this. We’ve just had these plans for almost a year and, well, thank you for understanding how important it is.”

  Sage froze. The memory of Rosemary talking about her annual outing with her friends ran through his mind, as did his promise to attend it with her.

  He closed his eyes against the shame and self-loathing that rolled through him. He was just one huge screw-up.

  He had to make it up to her. She deserved that much and more.

  So much more.

  “Of course,” Sydney told Rosemary. “Have a great time with your friends. We know everything will go perfectly tomorrow.”

  “You’ve got my cell number if you need anything,” Rosemary said, hugging both Sydney and Keith.

  “We’re good, thanks,” Keith said. “Have fun.”

  “Okay, everyone,” Rosemary announced, turning to look at everyone in the wedding party. Sage didn’t fail to notice that she avoided his gaze. “We’re about to do the second run-through. Please gather at the beginning of the aisle and we’ll get started.”

  She walked over to talk to Monique and Ines, who were also in attendance. They went through one of the doors into the conservatory. It was a struggle for Sage not to follow them. He was looking for any opportunity to finally talk to Rosemary.

  Seeing no other choice, he walked back over to the start of the aisle. It was framed with flowering shrubs near the beginning before opening up into a circular seating area on the grass surrounding the gazebo. He joined the rest of the wedding party, which included Archer and Lily as the best man and maid of honor, Xander, Sage, and Sydney’s brothers, Luke and Benjamin, as groomsmen, and Aria, Noelle, Sydney’s sister, Mikaela, and Keith’s sister, Lex, as bridesmaids. Keith’s mother, Megan, was also there to assist with signing for Lex.

  A minute or two later, Ines walked back out from the conservatory. Sage looked behind her for Rosemary but didn’t see her.

  “All right, everyone,” Ines said with a smile. “I’ll be conducting the second run-through so Rosemary and Monique can get to their other engagement this evening.”

  “They’re gone?” Sage asked loud enough that heads turned.

  “Yes, they just left,” Ines confirmed. She turned again to face the group. “I’d like to see if everyone remembers how you were told to line up, so—”

  “Where are they going?”

  Ines appeared unruffled by his rudeness. “I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to say,” she said politely. “Why don’t we focus on going through the processional again? Then we can let everyone get on to the rehearsal dinner.”

  Sage remained right where he was as everyone else started lining up. His gaze went to the doors leading to the lobby and the valet.

  He had to get to Rosemary. This had been his one big chance to finally speak to her...the opportunity he’d been awaiting for three tortuous weeks.

  Seeing that he hadn’t moved, Ines said, “Mr. Strickland, today is about celebrating your friends.”

  He forced himself to turn away from the doors, knowing she was right. “Of course,” he said, turning and taking his place in the processional lineup next to Noelle.

  “I told you that you should have gotten here early to talk to her,” Noelle told him.

  As his best friend, she was, of course, fully aware of everything that had taken place between him, Rosemary, and Kaila. She was also, of course, not letting him live any of it down.

  “I tried,” he grumbled. “Traffic was unreal.”

  “Excuses, excuses.”

  “What do you want me to do?” he asked, keeping his voice low as Ines guided the parents through their part of the processional. “Stalk Rosemary and corner her until she’ll talk to me?”

  “You made a plan to get her to listen to you and prove how you feel about her,” Noelle reminded him. “It’s a good plan. You need to see it through.”

  “What are you talking about? She left.”

  “So find her and implement your plan there instead.”

  That was easier said than done when he had no clue where she was. Rosemary had mentioned an escape room and karaoke, but there were hundreds of potential locations around the city.

  Seeing that Ines was staring at them, Sage shut up. He did his best to ignore the frustration festering inside him over missing his chance with Rosemary yet again. What if she was attending this event with another guy? When Monique had said she’d convinced Rosemary to start dating again, the words had impaled him. The thought of her with anyone else made him want to rend his own chest like a wounded beast.

  What if he was too late?

  The rest of the rehearsal went smoothly. When Ines declared that everyone had done a spectacular job, they all started discussing transportation to the rehearsal dinner. Sage stood with Noelle, his hands in his pockets and his mind on Rosemary.

  “Mr. Strickland, may I see you for a moment?”

  Sage looked up and saw Ines standing nearby. “Of course,” he said.

  They walked over to a quiet section of the garden before she stopped and turned to him. “I know it must have been quite difficult for you to give your friends your attention when you so clearly wanted to pursue Rosemary.”

  He looked away from her pointed gaze. It was rather embarrassing to be read so easily.

  “Your show of unselfish loyalty to your friends gives me faith that you will love Rosemary as she deserves to be loved.”

  His eyes lifted to hers. He knew she had to see the hope reflected there.

  “You’ve earned a chance to redeem yourself. Your best bet to meet up with Rosemary this evening will be after the escape room, at karaoke. Here’s the address.”

  She handed him a slip of paper. He didn’t even think. He just stepped forward and threw his
arms around her.

  “Thank you,” he said when he stepped back. “Seriously, thank you so much.”

  She smiled. “You’re quite welcome. Bonne chance.”

  He turned to see everyone standing and watching them. When he hurried back to the group, he focused on Keith and Sydney.

  “Listen, you guys—” he began.

  “Go after her,” Sydney said with a grin. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yeah,” Keith seconded.

  Noelle stepped forward to give him a hug. “You got this, V. Now don’t screw it up again.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  The neon lights of the karaoke bar gleamed cheerfully in the Los Angeles night. The limo that Rosemary and Monique had used part of their recent sales bonuses to rent for the night glided to a stop to let everyone pile out. This would be their final stop of the night before everyone headed home and they were left to look forward to whatever outing they planned the following year.

  Rosemary struggled to keep her enthusiasm up so she could enjoy this evening with her friends. The escape room really had been a blast. She’d narrowly averted succumbing to a zombie apocalypse. Monique’s group had been less successful, failing to create a way to escape Mars after their spaceship crash landed there.

  As she had feared, however, the evening was bittersweet. She couldn’t help but observe everyone else with their significant others while she attended alone. They were all so well paired. Even their arguments made her envious.

  She was pathetic.

  It made her especially pathetic that her heart hadn’t stopped racing the entire time she had conducted the rehearsal that evening, and all because Sage was there.

  Sage, the man who had come to her place of employment to presumably declare his love for her and then had promptly dropped off the face of the planet when her best friend challenged him to prove himself.

  It had been three weeks without a single peep from him. She could only guess that Monique had scared him off. If so, then whatever he had thought he felt for her couldn’t have been love. If he loved her, he would be in as much pain as she was because they were apart.