Nick Of Time (Blue Ridge Romance 2) (12 page)

“I am.” She wasn’t. She was already in too deep to get out of this with a wave and a good-bye.

“Okay. Then I guess all I have to say is . . . have fun.” He winced. “Though it seems unnatural.”

“More unnatural than when the two of us were together?”

He shivered at the memory.

“No. That was just creepy,” he said correctly. It had been so awkward, she’d nearly made him stop. The only reason they’d even tried it was because someone had told them it was impossible for a girl and a guy to be friends without eventually falling into a relationship. They’d decided to circumvent the chance of this absent affection turning up at an inopportune time by just going for it.

It had turned out the person was wrong on all counts. They’d never felt any kind of romantic tug toward each other. Even when they tried to force it.

“Thanks.” They laughed together.

“You know what I mean,” he said.

“I do.”

“I’m going home to my wife. And to let you two do whatever it is you were doing.” Another shiver.

“You do that.” She laughed. “Tell her I said hi.”

“Maybe we’ll have both of you over for dinner soon. Once I get my head around this.”

“Sure.”

Cooper left, and two minutes later Tucker came in.

“I can heat up the spaghetti,” she offered.

“That’s okay. I walked down to McDonald’s.” He leaned against the counter but didn’t make eye contact. She had a feeling she knew what he was going to say. Might as well get it over with.

“Are you leaving?” she asked, trying to brace herself for his answer.

His head shot up and he finally looked at her. “Should I go?”

“This just got complicated, and I know you don’t do complicated.” She bit her bottom lip to keep it still. She was in danger of choking up. She knew he’d be leaving eventually.

“I can handle my brother. Do you want me to go?” he asked point-blank.

“No, I don’t,” she answered honestly, with a bit of defiance in her voice. Let him accuse her of getting too close to him. Real people cared about each other. They got attached. She wasn’t a freak.

“I don’t want to go,” he said after a moment.

Her face showed her surprise. “You don’t?”

“No. Why do you seem so shocked? If you remember, I’m not the one who wanted to keep it a secret in the first place. That was you.” He grinned and stepped closer, resting his hands on her waist.

“That’s because I was afraid you’d freak out and leave, and then everyone would say, ‘Poor Nichole let another one get away.’ And then I’d have to punch someone.”

He laughed and leaned in to kiss her neck, right by her ear.

“I want to stay,” he whispered, and then placed another kiss on her jaw. “I’m not going to freak out.”

“They invited us to dinner,” she warned, making him chuckle against her skin. “Like a couple.”

“I think you may be worse at this than me,” he said.

“No. That can’t be,” she disagreed as his hands roamed down her back, squeezing and drawing her closer. She decided to just give up easily. If Tucker wasn’t freaking out about them being outed, she was going to enjoy the time she had.

“My dad used to say, ‘Don’t go looking for tomorrow’s troubles.’ Of course if he had been looking, he might have noticed my mom was knocking boots with Cooper’s karate instructor. Just sayin’.”

“Wow. You have a way with words.” She smiled at him.

“That’s why they pay me the big bucks.”

“Good thing it’s not your only talent.”

She raised her leg slowly, brushing against the inside of his thigh.

“As I recall, we were in the middle of something when my brother showed up and caused a bunch of unnecessary drama.”

“Yes.” She sounded breathless as his tongue tickled along her collarbone. Soon they had picked up where they’d left off.

 

A week later, they were still happy. Nichole had allowed herself to relax into the relationship because, despite not liking the word, that was exactly what it had become.

“So, I think I’m done with our song,” he announced when she got home from work. She couldn’t tell him how hearing him call it
our song
made her weak in the knees. “Can I play it for you and get your opinion?”

“Of course.” She crossed her legs as she sat across from him on the end of the sofa. He picked up the guitar and strummed it before adjusting the tuning. He strummed twice, then, satisfied, looked up and gave her a wink before he began to play.

She wasn’t a baby by any means. She’d seen the worst of what the human body had to offer and scoffed, but hearing him sing the song they’d created together made moisture come to her eyes.

She opened her eyes wider, trying to keep the tears contained, but it didn’t work. By the last strum, she was wiping them away.

“It’s beautiful, Tucker. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m being such a girl all of a sudden.”

“It’s a good sign if it can inspire emotion. Those are the songs that become hits.”

“It’s definitely a hit with me, but I might be a little biased.”

“I’m going to Final Track Studios tomorrow to burn it. Then I’ll send it to my agent to see if he can make the magic happen.”

“You’re selling it?” She knew that was how he made money, but she felt a little uneasy, trusting some stranger with their song.

“That’s the plan. We’ll see.” So Tucker Matthews did make plans.

Nichole wondered where she might fit into it.

“Tucker?” She paused. “I think you should try to put this song out yourself.”

“No.” He shook his head right away.

“You deserve a second chance at your dream. You made a mistake. You’re not the first performer to realize the dangers of fame. But you’re better now. Stronger. Every day you’re faced with that fight and you’re doing it. I think you need to forgive yourself and give this another shot.”

“What if I fail again?” he asked, his brown eyes studying her face intently.

“If you don’t try, you’ve already failed.”

He nodded and kissed her.

“I’ll think about it.”

 

Tucker didn’t see what the big deal was. It was only dinner with his brother and sister-in-law, but he could feel the tension coming off Nichole as he drove across town.

“You need to relax,” he told her.

“I am relaxed.”

“My ass.” He shook his head. It got a chuckle out of her, and she did seem to calm down a tiny bit.

“I’m worried they’re going to put undue pressure on us.”

“How so?”

“They just got married. They’re in that stage where they think marriage is wonderful and everyone should be married.”

“You don’t think marriage is wonderful?” he asked, his brows pulled together. “Weren’t you like ten seconds from getting married yourself?” How was it possible he was willingly having a discussion about marriage?

“Yes. That’s how I know what they’re thinking. It’s all love and butterflies and unicorns.”

“Unicorns?”

“Trust me, I have the same odds of finding love as I do a unicorn. I’m cursed. Which is why what we’re doing is so perfect for someone like me.”

“And what exactly are we doing?” he asked with a grin. Had he actually asked her to define the relationship? He needed to stop watching so much daytime television. It was turning
him
into a girl. He glanced down at his chest to make sure he hadn’t grown boobs.

“It doesn’t have a name. That’s the best part.” Nic beamed.

They pulled into Cooper and Roslyn’s driveway and got out. He took her hand, rubbing the back with his thumb to help with her nerves.

“I’ll protect you if a unicorn tries to attack you,” he promised, leaning down to kiss her neck.

“Thanks for having my back.”

They walked into the house still holding hands. Roslyn took one look at them and looked at Cooper, who seemed smug.

“You weren’t joking,” Roz said, blinking at them.

“Nope. I win the bet,” Cooper all but sang.

“What do you win?” Tucker asked.

“Can’t say,” Cooper answered with a devilish twitch of his eyebrows. Ah. It was a sex bet.

“Good for you, bro.” Tucker slapped him on the shoulder but didn’t let go of Nichole.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Roslyn asked, the happy little hostess. She was showing a little. It was odd, thinking the little person in there was going to be his niece or nephew. What was odder still was the fact that he was kind of looking forward to it. He’d never had much interest in kids before.

“So, when do we find out what kind it is?” he asked as he gestured toward Roslyn’s stomach.

“Not for a few more weeks. Cooper doesn’t want to know.” She frowned.

“What?” Tucker and Nichole both said at the same time.

“I see I’m outnumbered, but if pressed, I can still support my view with a twelve-point brief.” Cooper poured on the lawyer speak, which made everyone moan.

“Ugh. Never mind.” Tucker waved his arms in front of him to fend off the bullshit.

“I thought it would be nice to know, so we could paint the bedroom blue or pink,” Roslyn defended herself.

“It’s a nice green color,” Cooper explained as Roslyn pouted.

“When will it be able to learn how to play the guitar?” Tucker asked.

“Let’s give it a few years.” Cooper rolled his eyes. “Besides, if the baby has my musical abilities, you probably won’t do any better now than you did with me.”

They sat down for dinner a few minutes later. Tucker noticed Nichole had asked for water instead of wine. She hadn’t drunk anything alcoholic since she’d found out about him. He wasn’t sure if he was appreciative or annoyed by that fact, so he let it go.

Roslyn brought out the lasagna as Cooper followed behind with the salad and rolls. They were the perfect married couple. Tucker felt a surge of something he chose to chalk up to nausea from all their gooey sweetness.

They were having a cozy little meal without any sign of unicorns when the doorbell rang.

Cooper stood and went to answer it.

Two seconds later, Tucker heard his mother’s voice.

Tucker and Nichole looked at each other with matching expressions of horror.

“I see Nichole is here. I wanted to say hi,” his mom said as she walked into the dining room and stopped. “Oh! Tucker. You’re still here? I thought you went back to New York.”

“Um. Not yet.”

“Where are you staying? You know I have a room available.”

It was a question he didn’t want to answer.

“I’m staying with a friend,” he tried, knowing it wasn’t going to work.

“Which friend? None of your old friends here are people you should be hanging around with. You know that, Tucker.”

“Yeah, Ma. I know. I’m fine.”

“Who are you staying with?”

The room was silent for a full second before he let out a breath and pointed at Nichole. “I’m staying with Nic,” he answered, not having any other choice. His mother would have followed him to his fake friend’s house to make sure there weren’t any temptations there.

His mother actually flinched at this information. It would have been funny if it were happening to someone else.

“
Nichole
? You’re staying with Nichole? Under the same roof?” she asked incredulously.

“In the same bed.” Cooper disguised his words in a cough, and Tucker flipped him off behind Nichole’s back.

“That’s very nice of you to take him in, Nichole. You’ve always been such a dear friend.”

“Yes. Nichole is Tucker’s dear,
dear
friend,” Cooper said, smirking. Roslyn smacked his arm while trying to hide her own laughter.

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” Roslyn offered.

No! Say no! Please say no!
Tucker wished as hard as he could wish.

“It does smell delicious.”

Crap. Wishing had never worked for him.

Cooper went to grab another plate as their mother sat down next to Tucker.

No one said anything. The room was silent except for the scraping of silverware against plates.

Finally his mother spoke. “So, what have you been up to lately, Nichole? I haven’t seen you since the wedding.”

“Oh, you know, work mostly.”

“Is it grueling work? Sweaty?” Cooper asked, and then said, “ouch, dammit!” when Nichole kicked him under the table.

The conversation turned to the expectant mother, and from there moved through a play-by-play of Cooper and Tucker’s births. Tucker relaxed, having heard the stories a million times before. He could even keep eating through it.

When he was done, he leaned back in his chair and instinctively rested his arm on the back of Nichole’s. He brushed his thumb along her neck, loving the way her soft skin felt. He didn’t understand why he felt her shoulders tense until he realized what he had done.

It was too late. His mother’s eyes were locked on his display of affection.

“Fuck me,” he murmured, too low for anyone to hear.

His mother’s smile took over her face as she leaned closer. “My, my. I didn’t understand why on earth you would have been staying with Nichole; you two were never that close. I’m glad to see that’s changed.”

“Watch out,” Tucker whispered to Nichole. “I see a unicorn closing in.”

They got away from the house without having to cut off an appendage to escape. His mom had a thousand questions, none of which Tucker or Nichole felt comfortable answering.

“I guess the cat is really out of the bag now,” he joked as they drove home. “It wasn’t that bad.” It was absolutely horrible.

“Does that mean you’ll come with me to go visit
my
mother?” she asked.

“No.” He shook his head and waved his hand in front of him, still watching the road.

“Come on,” she pleaded. “I have to go sign some kind of bank document, and I won’t be able to get away without a meal and a PowerPoint presentation on all the ways I’ve disappointed her.”