by Nicole Vidal
“Thank you for sharing.”
“I don’t have anything to hide. It didn’t cross my mind that the owner would be important.”
“It isn’t to an average person. If someone is savvy enough, they would know where to look for real estate holdings of corporations. It’s another layer of protection you didn’t even know you had.”
A small smile graces her face. “Are you set? I’m hungry.”
“Yes. I need to make some notes, and you need to change the settings for the alarm notifications. We can do that after you order something. What’s good around here?”
“Don’t you worry. I can handle takeout.”
I laugh and follow her swaying hips up the stairs. My phone vibrates in my pocket as we enter her kitchen. She’s rifling through a drawer in the island.
“Hi, Jake.”
“Hey. I have an update on Shelley and Bruce.”
“Great.”
“Shelley has been eased out of her medically induced coma. She’s awake, alert, and would like to speak with Callie. This update is from the Los Angeles detective assigned to her case. I’ll leave it up to you and Callie to decide what she wants to do. As far as her security goes, a call to the hospital wouldn’t raise any red flags, especially if you call from a secure line.”
“Calliope will be happy to hear that. What about Bruce?”
“Blaine finished a complete financial dive on Bruce Weston. Debra Weston filed for divorce. Unfortunately for Bruce, they don’t have a prenuptial agreement and he has made some very smart investments since their marriage, so he needs to cough up half his assets. There’s nothing nefarious going on with him liquidating his retirement accounts or putting his home on the market.”
“That is somewhat of a relief.”
“Hey, I need to wrap up my office time. Will you be here tomorrow or are you leaving for Boston before dinner?”
“We’ll be there. We’re going to fly out first thing on Monday. It’ll be a longer day, but I’m going to take advantage of two family meals in one week. Please say hi to Norah for us.”
“Will do. See you tomorrow.”
“Later, Jake.” I end the call and jot down some notes on my phone to add when I reach out to the builder on Monday.
After we gorge on the best takeout Italian dinner I’ve ever had and I share Jake’s update with Calliope, we cuddle on her couch and promptly fall asleep.
Chapter Thirty Two
Connor
Near six I wake up alone on the couch. I may have met her when Jake assigned me her contract, but I know she won’t take off. I wander around searching for Calliope. For the most part, she’s completely safe at her home, especially with me here. I find her wrapped in a blanket on the sun porch. She’s writing furiously in a spiral notebook in her lap and making notes on another one that looks like sheet music. I retreat quietly and make coffee for both of us. We’re going to have to deal with black coffee this morning.
Her composing lyrics is one of the main differences between us. I’m not creative at all. I take the cups out to the porch and sit across from her. She told me she writes after her shows, but I’ve never seen her do it before. The wrinkle in her nose is mesmerizing—as if I need another facet of her to add to the list of why she’s utter perfection in a tiny blonde package.
“Morning,” she mumbles when her pen stops moving.
“Morning, gorgeous. How long have you been out here?”
She leans forward and kisses me tenderly. “A while.”
“Whenever you’re ready, we should head back and pack for Boston before dinner.”
She frowns. “I don’t want to.”
I set her cup aside and take her hands in mine. “You don’t want to what?”
“I don’t want to be Carys ever again.”
My chest tightens. “Why not, beautiful?”
“I don’t want to hide anymore. I want to be good enough as Calliope.”
“You are more than enough as Calliope. I’m insanely proud of you for wanting to move forward.” The rest of my words catch in my throat. The very last thing I want to do is remind her she doesn’t have a choice, at least not yet.
“Go ahead, finish your thought.”
I try to finish my thought but fail more than once. “You need to be Carys for a little longer; only six more shows, and then you can leave the colorful wigs in the box. I’ll be with you every step of the way.” I tug on her hands gently and guide her against my chest.
“I know you’re right. I don’t have a choice, but I’m sincerely looking forward to the last curtain call in Atlanta. Then for the first time in a decade I can be me every minute of the day.”
“You’re pretty incredible.”
“So are you.” She presses a kiss to my neck and burrows deeper into my arms. Too soon, Calliope moves to her feet.
“Ready?”
She shakes her head. “As ready as I’m ever going to be to finish this tour. I’m looking forward to dinner though. Your family is wonderful.”
“They are. They loved meeting you and are looking forward to seeing you again tonight too. Is there a bakery nearby so we can grab breakfast?”
“I’ll place a mobile order before we leave. We can pick it up and go to the park to eat before heading back.”
Within an hour, we’re on our way to my condo and nearing the end of our peaceful vacation. Once we arrive, we clean up, pack, and dress for dinner.
“Calliope, are you ready to go?” I left the bedroom about twenty minutes ago dressed in jeans and a button-down shirt.
She steps into the hallway wearing a dress that’s fitted to the waist and flares over her hips slightly.
“You look beautiful.”
She smiles, but she’s fidgeting. “Thank you. Is it too much for family dinner?” Her voice comes out soft.
“Not at all.” I offer her my arm and escort her to my truck. The ride to Jake’s isn’t far. My parents, Cam, and Jill are there when we arrive.
“Hey, bro. Hi, Callie,” Cam greets us as we step inside.
“Hi, Cam. How are you?”
He wasn’t very talkative earlier this week. I wonder what changed. We catch up with Cam before we make the rounds and say hello to everyone on our way to get drinks.
“Callie, want to give me a hand in the kitchen?” Norah asks her.
“Sure.” She rises on her toes and brings her lips near my ear. “Can I kiss you right now with all these people around?”
I smile. “You can do whatever you’re comfortable with.”
Then she surprises me. Calliope presses a kiss to my lips that leaves me pining for more. That isn’t unusual, but our company is. She isn’t gone for more than a minute before my mother drags me outside to chat.
“When are you leaving?”
I shake my head. That isn’t what my mom wants to know. “In the morning. Her next tour stop is in Boston. What do you really want to ask, Mom?”
Her face lights up like a kid on Christmas morning. “She barely skimmed the surface of her childhood on Wednesday, didn’t she?”
I nod curtly. Calliope didn’t tell me exactly what she shared about her childhood, but I’m sure Tristan and the numerous foster families wasn’t part of it as well as her attitude at the time.
“Yet she shared with you.”
“She did.”
My mother takes my hand in hers. “I haven’t seen that smile on your face ever before. She’s special, Connor.”
“More than you know.” She’s everything I ever hoped for in my wife. I suppose we’ve already started our life deciding to build a home together. Calliope deserves the wedding of her dreams, and I’m going to give it to her.
“Have you shared with her?”
My parents know a sanitized version of how I was injured in Afghanistan. I couldn’t add to the burden they were already carrying. I always have Jake to talk to. Now, Calliope knows too. “Yes, she knows.”
“All of it? Not the clean version you shared with us
?”
I hope this doesn’t hurt my mother. “Yes. It was easier to share with her since her experience wasn’t any better. I didn’t want to add—”
“Stop. I’m not angry. You have Jake. At the time, I wasn’t ready to hear the whole truth. Not sure I am now, if I’m being honest. I’m so happy for the two of you. Take care of her, and she’ll take care of you.”
“I plan to. Thanks, Mom.” I am happy too. More than I ever thought possible.
“When will you be back for good?”
I shouldn’t be surprised that she knows I plan to leave the field for Calliope. I may not have voiced it to her, but it was always my intention when I found my other half. “In about a month, her tour will be over.”
“Let me know in enough time to have you both over for dinner at our house. I’m sure I have some embarrassing photos I could share with Callie.”
I scowl at her. I could plead with her not to share, but she will anyway. “We will.”
“I’m looking forward to spending more time with her. I love you, son.”
“I love you too, Mom.” I hug her tight, and she heads back inside. I glance through the French doors and see Calliope is laughing with Norah and Connie in the kitchen.
“You good, C?” Jake approaches with Tank and Sabre from the side of the house.
“Yeah. I’ve never been here before.”
Jake doesn’t even attempt to gloat.
“I’ll send you a list of upgrades for her property that need to be installed before the end of her tour.” I glance inside to verify that Calliope is still inside. “Also, there is a box in her office that I need you to bring to me.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll apply for the building permit and coordinate the builders in the next few days. Can you create a temporary code for the gate?”
A smug smile appears on Jake’s face.
“Gloat away. You put the woman of my dreams directly in my path, and I’m forever grateful.”
“I’ve done enough of that. I’m happy for you and Callie. If I’ve learned anything since you called me a coward for failing to share my feelings with Norah, love happens on its terms, not ours.”
“Thanks, Jake.”
“Anytime, C.”
We head back inside as the ladies are bringing dinner to the table. Calliope takes the seat beside me and links her hand with mine while we eat. We dine and laugh until the men wash the dishes. As the night winds down, I can feel her demeanor shift a bit. She’s not close enough for me to comfort her now either.
“Go, Connor.” My father nudges me toward the backyard.
I look over at him with a questioning look.
“You and Callie have a connection like I’ve never seen before. You can feel she’s upset, and she isn’t even in your line of sight.”
“Thanks.” I dry my hands and stalk straight out the back door. One look at her and I know she’s upset, but her face isn’t showing it at all. I’m sure it has more to do with leaving rather than something one of the women said. I catch her eye as I round the women in my life and hug Calliope from behind. “You good?”
She turns so her lips are near my ear. “Better now that you’re here. No, they didn’t say anything wrong. I’m anxious.”
I press a kiss to her cheek. The rest of the men join the group and slowly everyone heads their separate ways, but not before my mom pulls Calliope aside. She returns to my side with a huge smile on her face, so I gather their conversation wasn’t awful. Calliope even let my mom hug her.
“Let’s go home.” I offer her my arm and lead her to the truck.
We shed our clothes and curl up on my bed. Her head rests on my chest, and her body is tucked against my side. “What time are we leaving in the morning?”
“Our flight is at ten.”
“Okay.” I share that information with Christoph in a text. He’ll pick us up in the morning. “How are you doing?”
“I don’t want this vacation with you to end, but I know it has to. I’ll pull myself together before I get to the arena tomorrow.”
I press a kiss to the top of her head. “If anyone can, it’s you.”
“Your faith in me means so much.”
It’s so much more than that.
She pushes off my chest and melds her lips over mine. I surround her with my arms, roll to the right, and cage her beneath me. “How tired are you?”
“Never too tired for nakedness.”
I love this woman. “You’re perfect!”
“So are you.”
I strip off her camisole and panties and kiss, nip, and suck my way up her lush body to her mouth. Once she can reach, she lowers my boxer briefs down my legs. We spend the next few hours memorizing one another until sleep claims us both.
Chapter Thirty Three
Calliope
I can do this! I have been giving myself a pep talk since we left my home on Sunday morning. We flew here early on Monday morning and checked into the hotel. The good news is, I’m here on time and ready to work. The bad news, however, is part of the set is not here yet. How it didn’t arrive with more than ample time is beyond me. There’s nothing I can do, so I send the dancers home and handle the vocal arrangements. This will allow my sole focus on the dance routines tomorrow with a complete set.
As promised, Connor is dutifully standing stage right. Now I know he’s there because he wants to be, not because it’s his job. Christoph is roaming around backstage as well.
Back at the hotel, I take a quick shower to wash off the day and place a call to Shelley in the hospital, only to learn she’s been discharged to a rehab facility. I crawl onto the bed with my laptop as soon as I finish eating, especially since we need to be that the venue even earlier tomorrow to check the set.
“Sweetheart, what time do you want to leave tomorrow morning?” Connor peeks his head into the bedroom.
“We need to leave here no later than seven.”
“Okay, I’ll be done in a little bit.”
I nod, and he closes the door. I boot up my laptop and scan my email. There’s the weekly email from Olivia, but otherwise nothing of note. I then shift my attention to my lyric notes.
Clearly, I fell asleep while I was writing. Connor is wrapped around me protecting me from the drama outside this room and even in my own mind. I shimmy downward a little so I can read the clock on the side table. It’s a little after five.
A muffled groan falls from his lips. “We don’t have time for that right now, sweetheart.”
“But….”
“Not even hard and fast. You can’t be late when you asked everyone to come in early.”
“Fine.” I know he’s right, and I don’t like it one bit. I attempt to move, but he doesn’t loosen his hold on me yet.
He nips the back of my shoulder, followed by a kiss, and skims his fingers down my belly and over my hip before moving away. “Come on, sunshine. You have work to do.”
Christoph arrives with breakfast for three right before seven. Once we arrive at the arena, my work begins. I buzz around checking the placement of the set that finally arrived and mark off the routines before the crew arrives at eight. After a few times through with the dancers, I hop off the stage and watch from the orchestra pit.
Connor approaches from my left while I watch the routine. I hate that he’s not right beside me, in my space here. “You good, gorgeous?”
I smile and check around me for other people. It’s then I realize I don’t care. I want the world to know Connor is mine and I’m never going to let him go. “Come closer.”
He does as I ask.
“I’m fine, but I’m ready to tell the world about us, and I know I can’t yet. Even with Christoph at your post when you hopped down here, people will ask questions.”
“I understand. We knew it was going to be difficult to keep our hands to ourselves.”
I lean even closer. “I don’t like it one bit.”
“Neither do I.” Connor adds some space between us
and follows me back onstage, and Christoph disappears again. The difference between Blackthorne and the other firms is distinct and telling. No wonder they’re highly sought-after. They are professional and work seamlessly.
Near the end of the final rehearsal, I verify a time to meet with Melissa tomorrow for makeup before the meet and greet. Then I walk sandwiched between Connor and Christoph to the car. I’m not paying much attention to our surroundings. If I were, I would have realized we didn’t drive toward the hotel. Christoph pulls over to the curb and hops out. Minutes later, he returns and continues driving.
“What are you up to, Connor?”
“We’re going on a date.” He pins up a dark blanket between the front and rear seats and hands me a bag. “You can choose to stay as Carys until we get inside, or you can change into regular clothes now.”
He not only planned a date, but he considered that I might not want to go as Carys. One of the main reasons I didn’t go out in the cities is I had no one to go out with and I didn’t trust my security enough. “You did all of this for me?”
“I’ll do anything for you.”
Oh my heart. This man is everything I ever wanted. “Where are we going?”
“I would prefer to keep it a surprise. What are you concerned about?”
“Press.”
He nods. “I gave you a bunch of options. You can change your shoes, your clothes, and your hair to a normal color, but not blonde, if you want.”
I rifle through the bag and make a few selections. I pull on the jeans and a hoodie, tennis shoes, and a brunette wig. Minutes later we stop behind a nondescript building.
Connor checks his phone, presumably a message from Christoph. “You have about five minutes.”
“Perfect.” I close the distance between us and kiss Connor boneless until Christoph knocks on the window.
Once again between them but with my fingers linked with Connor’s, we enter the building. I figure out we’re at a movie theater, except there is a table set for dinner at the front of the room.