“Just well-wishers.” She ran her hand
lazily up and down his chest, as though she hoped to distract him. “They wanted
to congratulate me on the awards I won tonight.”
He wanted to believe her, but his gut told
him not to. “You got a call from someone you weren’t expecting to hear from?”
He waited for her to respond, but her silence only reinforced his belief she
was hiding something. “When I woke up, you sounded kind of surprised.” Troubled
would have been a more accurate description, but he was trying to get her to
tell him the truth, not put her on the defensive.
She laughed lightly. “You must have been
half asleep and hearing things.” She rolled over, pressing her back to his
front as she settled his arm over her. “Good night, hon. Sweet dreams.”
***
“I can’t believe that son of a bitch had
the nerve to set foot on your property!” Drake shouted.
“We don’t know for sure it was him,” Elle
said, trying to placate her friend. But when she’d gotten the call from her
head of security last night telling her someone wearing a ski mask had been
seen lurking about her property on the video surveillance cameras, she knew it
could only be one person. Ricky was back to finish what he’d started.
“Who the hell else would be bold or stupid
enough to trespass on your property when it’s obvious there are cameras?”
Elle tried to remain calm. “I guess that’s
why he was wearing a mask. So he couldn’t be identified.”
“Did they get a license plate number at
least?” Drake asked.
“They thought he was on foot.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” Drake rubbed
the back of his neck. “You live miles from town. He would have had to walk from
God knows where, which means he was taking a hell of a risk of being
apprehended.”
“I know,” Elle said, reaching for the glass
of water Drake had poured for her. She felt as if her whole body was trembling,
but when she reached for the glass, her hand was surprisingly steady. “I don’t
know what to think. I haven’t talked to the police about it. I don’t want to
risk this mess getting out, especially now that I’m joining the reunion tour.
It wouldn’t be fair to Trey or the rest of the artists to draw attention from
them with my personal problems.”
“I don’t know how long you can keep this
under wraps,” Drake said as he clasped his hands tightly on his desk. “He cut
your brake lines. He could have killed you—”
“Please don’t remind me,” she pleaded,
gulping down one breath after another. Elle felt on the verge of panic, not
knowing where to go or who to turn to. She knew it was time to get the
authorities involved. She needed their protection, but she had so much at
stake. Calling them would be like letting Ricky win, putting the focus on him
when it belonged on her career.
“Does Caleb know about any of this?” Drake
asked.
“No, and I don’t want him to,” Elle said,
raising her head and voice simultaneously, commanding his attention. “You have
to promise me you won’t say anything to him about this.”
“I read that piece on Donny’s website this
morning. Were those quotes the real deal, or was he embellishing again?”
“They were legit.” Elle was exhausted. The
lack of sleep coupled with her early morning flight were catching up with her,
but her home was the last place she wanted to be. Maybe if she offered to cook
Caleb dinner tonight, it would end in an invitation to spend the night at his
house. In his arms and on the stage were the only places she felt safe now that
she knew Ricky was on the hunt again.
“Sounds like Caleb is really into you.”
Drake smiled. “Not that I’m surprised. I knew he would be.”
“He thinks that whole story about me
needing extra protection was just a ruse. He assumes you were just looking for
an excuse to bring us together.”
Looking pained, Drake said, “I wish it was
as simple as that.”
“So do I.” Elle hated bringing her problems
to her friend, but Drake was the only person she trusted with the whole sordid
story. “But you have to let Caleb believe that. Please.”
Drake looked torn. “You know I’d do just
about anything for you. But you’re asking me to lie to one of my best friends.
Caleb’s like a brother to me. His mother and father—”
“I know,” Elle said, feeling even worse for
putting Drake in this position. “I know how much the Wrights mean to you.
You’re all like family.”
“If anything happened to you,” Drake
whispered, “and Caleb found out I knew you were at risk all along, he’d kill
me.”
Drake wasn’t the type of man to show fear,
so Elle was surprised when that’s what she saw in his eyes. “You’re doing what
I asked you to, being a friend to me. He can’t fault you for that.”
“Caleb’s a hell of a marksman, Elle. He
loves guns and has a really impressive collection. Maybe you should think about
asking him to teach you how to shoot. You wouldn’t have to tell him why. Just
make it seem like you’re taking an interest in something he’s passionate about
because of your feelings for him.”
Guns scared Elle. She supposed that was
because she saw the damage they could do in the wrong hands every time she
turned on the news. Accidents happened. Innocent lives were lost, and she never
thought she would be in the position of wanting to learn how to pull the
trigger. But if that was the only thing that would put Drake’s mind at ease…
“I’ll think about it.”
“Why don’t you stay with us tonight?” Drake
asked. “I know Cassidy and the kids would love to see you.”
Elle smiled. “Thanks, but I think I’ll head
over to Caleb’s office and see if I can talk him into having dinner with me.”
“Are you going to be spending the night
with him?” Drake asked, not sounding convinced that was the best course of
action.
“I’m sure I can wrangle an invitation,” she
said, trying to put a smile on Drake’s face. “Believe it or not, I can be
pretty persuasive when I want to be.”
“Oh, I have no problem believing that.”
Drake frowned. “How does Caleb feel about you going on this reunion tour? Is he
on board with it?”
“It took some convincing, but I think he
realizes this is something I need to do.”
“Still, the timing sucks.”
“You think so? Leaving town right about now
sounds like a great idea to me.”
“Even it means leaving Caleb?” Drake
searched her face for the answer. “If you love someone, leaving them behind
usually hurts like hell.”
Elle pursed her lips. “It will hurt to
leave him.” Drake was just trying to help, but hearing his concerns only
reinforced her own. She wanted to believe she and Caleb were strong enough to
survive a separation, even this early in their relationship. “But I have to do
what I have to do. He understands how much my career means to me.”
“Does he know how much he means to you?”
“Yes.” Elle thought of the confessions
she’d made last night. “I made sure he knows how I feel about him.” When Drake
seemed to be waiting for more, she admitted, “I’m in love with him. I know it
sounds crazy. We haven’t known each other that long…”
Drake chuckled. “You’re talking to a guy
who fell in love with his wife inside of five seconds. I know it can happen
that fast.”
“Then you don’t think I’m crazy?”
“I think you’re crazy not to trust Caleb
enough to tell him the whole story. He’s one of the most dependable guys I
know. Trust me, if I needed someone to have my back, Caleb’s the first guy I’d
think to call.”
Elle loved that she’d fallen in love with a
man she could always count on, but this situation required discretion. “I can’t
tell him. It wouldn’t be fair to him. He’d worry himself sick about me while I
was out on the road, and I can’t do that to him. He has a business to run, not
to mention a life.”
Drake shook his head. “I hear what you’re
saying, but I don’t agree with you. Caleb would want to know about Ricky.”
“Be that as it may,” Elle said, “this is my
call. I decide how to handle it, and if you’re my friend, you’ll back me up.”
She knew it wasn’t fair of her to ask Drake to prove his friendship.
“I’ll back you up,” Drake said, clenching
his teeth. “But you need to know I’m gonna hate every minute of it.”
***
Caleb was pleasantly surprised when his
receptionist told him Elle was there to see him. They’d only been apart a few
hours, and he missed her already. “Thanks, send her in. Oh, and push that
conference call back about an hour. I’d like to take Elle out to lunch.”
“You got it, boss.”
Caleb heard the excitement in his
receptionist’s voice. Debbie was a huge county music fan who was no doubt
tongue-tied meeting Elle. It was no secret they were an item after Donny had
posted his story that morning. He’d probably been up half the night writing it,
afraid another reporter would scoop him or Elle and Caleb would change their
minds. No fear of that. Caleb was thrilled the world knew about them.
He grinned, standing up when she walked in.
“Hey, beautiful.”
She looked amazing in a blue-and-lavender
wrap dress with strappy sandals, but the only thought running through his mind
was getting that sexy dress off of her. Usually at this stage in a
relationship, he was ready to move on, but with Elle, he couldn’t get enough.
“Hey yourself, handsome.” She stepped into
his waiting arms, tipping her head back for a kiss. “I hope you don’t mind that
I stopped by. I won’t stay long. I know you’re busy.”
His schedule was filled with appointments
and pressing matters demanding his attention, but he’d much rather spend time
with her. That spoke volumes about his commitment to her. Never before had a
woman come between him and his business. “I’ve always got time for you,
especially now.”
“Especially now?”
“You’ll be leaving soon. I need to get my
fill while I can.” He kissed away the frown line between her eyes, smiling as
he imagined what was running through her mind.
“What’s that supposed to mean? If you spend
enough time with me this week, you won’t miss me while I’m gone?”
He laughed. He loved teasing her. “I’m
gonna miss you like crazy,” he said, tapping her behind. “Don’t ever doubt
that. About this week…” Now came the hard part.
“What is it?” she asked, looking troubled.
“Is there a problem?”
“I have to go out of town for a few days.”
If he could avoid it, he would, but this trip had been in the works for the
better part of a year and calling it off wasn’t an option. “You know we’re opening
another office. I have to be there to oversee things for a bit, make sure we’re
off to a solid start.”
When her face fell, his heart felt heavy.
Leaving her behind was the last thing he wanted to do, especially since their
time together would be so limited over the next several months.
“Tell me you understand?”
She gave him a wobbly smile. “Of course I
understand. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I asked you to be patient
with me but wasn’t willing to do the same?”
If he could, Caleb would ask her to go with
him, but he knew that wouldn’t be possible given her upcoming tour. “I guess
you’re gonna be busy getting ready for the tour, huh?”
“Yeah. Having to step in for Clint at the
last minute means I’m going to have to bust my butt in rehearsals between now
and when we leave.”
Tightening his grip on her, he said, “I was
hoping I could take you to lunch.”
“I wish I could, but I have a rehearsal
this afternoon. Could I make dinner for you tonight, at your place?”
“Sounds perfect.” They’d been spending a lot
of time at his place, and he was anxious to know whether she could see herself
settling in there when she returned from the reunion tour. He knew he wouldn’t
want to spend their precious little time together occupying separate beds.
“What time works for you?”
“Seven?”
“Let me give you a key,” he said, rounding
his desk to reach into a drawer. “Just in case you beat me there.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.” He slipped a key off his key
ring and handed it to her.
“Thanks.” She gripped the key in her fist
as she slung her designer purse over her shoulder. “I wish I didn’t have to go.
I’d love to take you up on that lunch invitation.”
He was happy she was as reluctant to leave
as he was to let her go. “But duty calls.”
“Yeah.” She kissed him. “Did you happen to
read Donny’s article?”
He grinned. “Kind of tough to miss it. It
was the first thing I saw when I turned on my computer this morning.”
“Yeah, I guess we’re making headlines.” She
ran her hand over his light-green silk tie. “Are you okay with that, being
thrust into the limelight? I know you’re a pretty private person. I can’t help
but feel guilty about making you a part of all this craziness.”
He rested his hands on her shoulders as he
looked her in the eye. “This is your life. I want to be a part of it. That
means the good and the bad.” He could tell she was touched, but he wasn’t
trying to score points for his sensitivity. He just wanted to lay her fears to
rest once and for all.