his. “When Sole Regret’s tour is over, I want you to come see me in L.A. and maybe come with me to Europe.”
“I’m sure I’ll see you before the tour is over, Dawn. We’ll find a way.” He took his eyes off the road long enough to glance at her. Her lips were pressed together, and her eyes were glassy. “Hey,” he said, elbowing her gently, “we’ll find a way.”
Her smile was a bit wobbly, but genuine. “I have the feeling this meeting tomorrow is going to change my life and make it harder to be with you, not easier. And then . . . and then I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Don’t worry about that until you know for sure.” He shook his head. “Actually, don’t worry about that at all. If opportunity is knocking on your door, you’d better fucking open it.”
Her smile brightened. “We’ll find a way,” she said.
Traffic into Houston crawled—nothing unusual about that—but he was now worried that she’d miss her plane and opportunity would miss the opportunity to knock.
“When is your meeting?”
She glanced at the clock. “In about eight hours.”
“So if you miss your flight?” He squirmed in his seat, wishing the rental car had wings so he could soar over stalled traffic.
“I’ll miss the meeting and maybe my flight to Prague. My life will be over.”
His eyes widened, and he whipped his head around to stare at her. She winked at him and leaned over to rub his thigh. “It will be fine. If I miss the flight to L.A., I’ll just hang out at the Houston airport until my flight to Prague leaves tomorrow.”
“They must really need to see you to put such a burden on you. You’re going to be exhausted for your performance.” Momentarily glad they were sitting on a freeway-turned-parking-lot, he brushed her hair from her face and kissed her cheek.
“I’ll be okay, and I’m sure they didn’t do this to me because they need to see me immediately. They’re in a rush because it serves their Hollywood agenda. I’ve no doubt that my hectic schedule didn’t even come into consideration when they made their plans.”
Traffic inched forward and after they’d creeped through a relatively mild accident scene, the interstate opened up and the rest of their journey was swift. A bit too swift. Kellen had been planning to drop her off at the door and make his way to New Orleans, but he needed more time with her. He pulled into the parking garage, and Dawn shook her head at him.
“I’m not the only one with a tight schedule here. You have a concert to get to.”
“I have plenty of time,” he assured her. He unfastened her seat belt, needing to touch her as much as he could.
Once he started kissing her, he didn’t want to stop. He almost had her convinced to venture to the back seat when she pulled away.
“I have to go now,” she said, succumbing to one more kiss before she opened the door. “You sure don’t make this easy on a girl.”
He grinned. “I don’t want you to forget me while you’re away.”
“As if I could.”
He climbed out after her and opened the trunk, lugging her bags out. She had four, and it hit him again that they wouldn’t be returning to the beach house.
“You should have just dropped me off at the curb. Let someone else handle my bags.”
“They wouldn’t have let me linger.”
She shook her head, but her soft smile told him that she was pleased and that maybe she didn’t want to part from him any more than he wanted to part from her.
Glad her expensive-looking luggage set—he was pretty sure it was genuine leather—at least had wheels, he grabbed her two large suitcases and slung her carry-on over one handle while she carried her smaller suitcase and her purse.
“When you get back from Prague—”
“I’ll catch up with you as soon as I can,” she promised. “I hope to see you by Friday.”
Less than a week, and yet it stretched out before him like a desolate eternity. “We’ll figure it out,” he said. “How to be together.”
“We have to,” she said as they exited the parking garage and headed for the terminal.
They found her airline and got in line to check her luggage.
“What’s your house like?” he asked, realizing they hadn’t discussed things like that over their weekend. He needed more time. He wasn’t sure why he felt that way. This wasn’t a forever goodbye—not like the one he’d had to suffer through with Sara—but that knowledge didn’t make separating any easier.
“It’s a condo, actually. Ground floor because my piano wouldn’t fit on the elevator.” She grinned. “Another reason why I decided to rent a place to compose. My neighbors were starting to complain about the three a.m. writing sessions.”
“If you ever need a quiet place to work, my cabin doesn’t have neighbors. At least, not any you can see.”
They moved forward a spot in line, which got her closer to leaving. He placed a hand on her back and shifted into her warmth. He didn’t want her to go. How would he get through the next five days without seeing her, touching her, tasting her? He hoped she liked talking on the phone, because at the very least he’d need to hear her voice.
“You live in the wilderness?” she asked.
“Surprised?”
She laughed. “Not one bit.”
“It was my grandfather’s property. He left it to my mom when he passed, but she’d always hated it out there in the sticks, so she sold it to me. She’s down in Florida with her new husband. Well, not so new. They’ve been married almost ten years.”
“You never talk about your family,” she said.
“Nothing to tell.”
“I’m sure there’s plenty to tell, so I want to hear about them the next time we’re together. It will give us something to talk about.”
He wrapped a wavy strand of hair around one finger and leaned closer. “The last thing I’ll want to do when we see each other again is talk.”
He kissed her to give her a small sample of what he had in mind.
When they separated, she said, “You really don’t make this easy on a girl.”
Once her bags were checked, he followed her to the security checkpoint, knowing they wouldn’t let him through without a ticket. He considered buying one just so he could sit beside her until she boarded.
“As much as I want you to stay here with me, I know you have a long drive ahead of you. You need to go.”
“I know.” He pressed his forehead against hers, one hand resting on her cheek to commit the texture of her skin to memory, his other hand clinging to her fingers. “I’ve never been good at goodbyes.”
“This isn’t goodbye. This is until next time.”
She kissed him, soft lips lingering on his for a long moment that felt much too short, and then she slowly pulled away. He held onto her hand as she backed up, forcing his feet to stay rooted to the spot. When their fingertips separated, a lump settled in his belly, but he let her go. He did watch until she made her way through the X-ray machine and disappeared from sight.
Yep, he sucked at goodbyes. “Until next time,” he whispered under his breath as he turned away.
*****
The drive to New Orleans was unbearably long. Kellen reminisced about the amazing weekend he’d shared with Dawn and tried not to worry that she’d be too busy to see him again anytime soon. He had every other weekend off—thanks to Jacob’s visitations with Julie—and there were these inventions called airplanes. He’d be sure to make good use of them. The two of them just had to coordinate schedules, that was all. And once the summer was over, he’d be off tour and in the studio recording Sole Regret’s next album—assuming that Adam starting writing songs soon. But his time would be much less restricted than it was for the next several months. He hoped Dawn was okay with him following her around, because he planned to make a genuine nuisance of himself.
The sun was already setting when he reached the Louisiana border. The guys were going to be beyond pissed with him if he was late. He
ll, he’d be pissed with himself. He’d needed just one more kiss before he let Dawn go through airport security. He’d needed something to keep her with him for as long as possible.
An incoming call made his heart leap. Had Dawn landed already? He smiled when he saw it was Owen calling. He suddenly missed the guy terribly. They hadn’t spoken much that weekend. A brief call or text seeking advice about Caitlyn and their apparent breakup—temporary, Kellen was sure—but otherwise, silence.
“Glad you called. I was getting really bored,” Kellen said.
“How far out are you?”
Owen sounded as desperate for company as Kellen felt. The drive from New Orleans to Galveston with Dawn beside him had flown by. The return trip to New Orleans alone seemed to be taking eons. And as much as he enjoyed listening to his personal virtuoso play the piano, listening to the classical music on the radio was a total snorefest. He was surprised he hadn’t yet nodded off and driven into a ditch.
“I got a late start this morning,” he said. “If traffic cooperates, I should get there about an hour before we go onstage.”
“Oh.”
Yeah, the guy definitely needed a sounding board. Maybe Caitlyn’s dumping Owen had been more hurtful and permanent than Kellen had suspected.
“How are you holding up?” he asked. “I know what you’re like after a chick dumps you.”
“She didn’t dump me. At least I don’t think she did. I’m not sure. She’s none too happy about Lindsey living with me.”
Wait, what? When had that happened? Kellen really was out of Owen’s loop.
“Lindsey is living with you? I thought Mom was going to take her in.” At least that had been the last plan he’d heard.
“She tried. My parents were going to rent the apartment to her.”
The one over their garage. “That’s a nice place.” He’d have suggested it if he’d thought of it. It hadn’t occurred to him until that moment that it might be vacant since its usual renters were college students who took off for the summer months.
“Was a nice place. Lindsey had a huge asthma attack. Apparently there’s mold in the bathroom, so everything has to be ripped out and redone.”
“That sucks. So she’s just staying with you until the bathroom is finished.”
“God, I hope so. It’s nice to have someone to cook me breakfast, but Caitlyn was none too pleased when she overheard Lindsey calling me to eat this morning.”
Kellen shook his head. “You didn’t tell her about Lindsey? So she caught you.”
“I didn’t have the chance to tell her. She wasn’t talking to me, and then when she finally answered my eight millionth call, Lindsey had completely slipped my mind.”
Typical Owen. Kellen couldn’t help but laugh at him. “Well, you know how you could have avoided the entire situation,” Kellen said, surprised Owen hadn’t mucked up things even worse without Kellen there to interject his advice any time his friend needed it, which happened to be quite often.
“How?”
“Told her up front that Lindsey was living with you and not tried to hide it.”
“I wasn’t trying to hide it. Lindsey wasn’t staying at my place when I’d last spoken with Caitlyn. Circumstances changed.”
“So you really want to make this thing with Caitlyn work?”
Kellen liked Caitlyn, so he wasn’t sure why the idea of Owen committing himself to her settled oddly on his stomach. Maybe he just needed a taquito and some cranberry orange juice.
“I do.”
Kellen spotted a sign for a gas station. Perfect timing. Apparently he was starving. “Whatever makes you happy. I’m stopping for gas now. I’ll see you when I get into New Orleans.”
“Okay,” Owen said.
Several hours later, Owen called back. And thank heavens. Kellen had been sitting on the freeway, inching his way through some accident scene for well over an hour now.
“Hey,” Owen said. “Are you okay? I have this weird feeling that something is wrong.”
For some reason hearing Owen’s voice made Kellen’s thoughts drift to the night Dawn had tied him. His cock twitched at how amazing it had felt to have that twine wrapped around his dick, those beads up his ass, and when he’d come, it hadn’t been Dawn’s name that had spilled from his lips. Heat flooded Kellen’s face as the image of Owen tied over a pommel entered his thoughts. What the fuck was wrong with him? He must be fucking bored. And horny. Why was he horny? He missed Dawn. It was the only explanation.
“I’m fine,” Kellen said. Well, mostly. “I’m stuck in traffic. Some accident has the entire highway closed. I hope I can get to the show in time.”
“You’re okay, though?” Owen asked.
“Of course. Other than being highly annoyed. Sorry to worry you.”
“Like I’d ever worry about you.”
Kellen knew he was lying, but he didn’t embarrass Owen about his concern. That big heart of his was what allowed their friendship to develop and stay strong through the years.
“I’ll let the guys know you might be late.”
“I refuse to be late, even if I have to hydroplane this rental car through the bayou.”
Owen’s laugh made Kellen smile. He missed the guy and couldn’t remember the last time they’d been separated for longer than a day. He wondered if now that they both had girlfriends, if they’d see each other less. Kellen guessed it was inevitable. While he was excited to build a future with Dawn, he’d likely never get over Owen. But maybe he didn’t have to. They could be couple-friends with Owen and Caitlyn; that was a thing. And he was sure Dawn would love Owen as much as he did once she got the chance to know him. Kellen had enjoyed what little time he’d spent with Caitlyn, and he could see the two women becoming friends just as he and Owen were friends. Caitlyn was busy with her company, but surely they could make this work.
Kellen was thinking about the future and all the fun times in store for the four of them long after Owen disconnected. The next time his phone rang, it was Dawn. And immediately the semi he’d been sporting became a raging hard-on. He glared at his crotch, wondering what was so stimulating about talking on the phone while stuck in traffic.
“I’m safe in L.A.,” she said. “And so nervous, I think I’m going to be sick.”
“You’ll be great. They’ll love you.”
“I’m not even sure why I want them to love me. I can’t believe Wes is being so tightlipped. He’s usually the type to brag about how awesome his plans for my future are.”
She laughed, and he had to admit that she sounded nervous. Or maybe he heard nerves in her voice just because they were speaking on the phone for the first time. She might always have that high-pitched edge to her voice on the phone.
“So do you think that means this potential deal is huge or embarrassingly small?”
“Oh,” she said. “You know, maybe that’s it. I never even considered that it’s something so small that he was too embarrassed to tell me about it.” She laughed—almost hysterically. “That must be it. And I worried over it the entire flight.”
Kellen didn’t have the heart to point out that they probably wouldn’t have flown her to L.A. in such a rush if it wasn’t a big deal.
“So how is New Orleans? We really need to spend more time there. I had so much fun.”
“I’m not quite there yet,” he said. “I ran into more traffic.”
“Oh no, will you make it to your show in time?”
He glanced at the clock, and his belly fluttered. “I’ll be cutting it close, but I’ll make it.” He hoped.
“I’d say you should have just dumped me off at the terminal, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like your many marvelous goodbyes.”
He loved the way she made him feel. Not just in the bedroom—though that was pretty spectacular—but every single time she opened that gorgeous mouth of hers.
“If I’m late, I’m late,” he said. “The guys will get over it. I’ve never been late in my life. Adam’s the one that
usually has us waiting.” Making people wait never gave Adam pause, but being late would bother Kellen.
“I hope you make it on time, but don’t be reckless. Get there safe.”
Not many people cared about Kellen enough to tell him to be safe, so her words hit him hard. Hell, everything about Dawn O’Reilly hit him hard. He was lucky to have found her. Lucky to have bought that stupid house on the Galveston shore. Lucky that she’d been playing that song—their song—that night when he’d been mourning on the beach. Their stars were aligned, perfectly aligned. His only fear was that something would fuck it all up.