Nick Of Time (Blue Ridge Romance 2) (18 page)

“Tempting,” Riley supplied.

“Yeah. That.” There was no way around it.

“Cooper said Tucker used to have a problem with women, but he’s changed. He believes Tucker really loves you, Nic,” Roz said encouragingly.

“He said so. I just miss him.”

“When will you see him again?”

“I don’t know. He’s touring the West Coast and then hitting Vancouver before coming back to end the tour in Baltimore and New York.”

“Just keep yourself busy, and don’t watch those stupid entertainment shows,” Riley suggested.

“I’ve seen a few pictures on the Internet. The girl is rubbing all over him,” Nic said.

“Should we fly out there and beat her up?” Roz offered. It sounded funny coming from someone who was extremely pregnant.

“Maybe you should pee on him, you know, mark your territory,” Lexi said with a smile, making them all laugh.

“I know from experience, a man you have to question isn’t a man you want,” Roz said, speaking of her relationships before she met Cooper.

“I trust him. I do.”

“Good, then have another drink for me. I’m driving.” Roslyn took a sip of her sweet tea and rubbed her belly.

“This is quite a perk,” Riley said with a big smile while holding up her drink.

“You won’t be saying that in the morning,” Lexi said, laughing.

To her happy surprise, Nichole had a message from Tucker when she checked her phone. The bar had been too loud to hear the ringtone, which she’d changed to their song.

“He lost his phone again.” She held up her own phone as she wobbled toward Roslyn’s SUV. “He’s always losing his phone, or people steal it.” She laughed, feeling much better having heard his voice. Especially hearing him tell her he loved her.

It made everything right again.

Or maybe it was the tequila.

 

Tucker dialed her number, waiting for the voice mail to pick up. It had been another week of no actual contact and he was nearly ready to give up. Mitch had been called away on urgent business and never got in touch with Nic about flying out.

It took days for Jason to show up with a phone, mainly because he was sniffing around Lydia’s tour bus every free moment of the day and night.

“Tucker?” Nichole answered.

“Nic? Is it you?” It would have been two in the morning in Virginia. His new phone was waiting for him after the signings backstage, so he had called without thinking.

“Yeah.” Her voice was rough from sleep, making his heart yearn to be next to her.

“Oh, baby. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too.”

He was so happy to hear her voice, his throat tightened.

“I hate this, Nic. I just want to come back to Virginia and lie in bed with you all day.” She laughed at his confession, but he’d meant it.

“It looks like you’re doing well. Um . . . Lydia seems to enjoy performing with you.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at the way she worded her sentence.

“She’s all over me. I can’t seem to shake her. I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s part of the act.”

He remembered Lydia being in his bed last week. That wasn’t part of the act.

“Yeah. I guess. There’s nothing going on with us; you know that, right?” God, he sounded guilty.

“Right. I know.” He couldn’t tell if she believed him. Her voice just sounded sad and tired.

“I’m sorry I woke you. I wanted to hear your voice.”

“I wanted to hear yours, too. I turned the volume up on my phone so I’d hear if you called. I didn’t want to miss it.”

“You coming to party with us, Tuck?” Lydia shouted from behind him.

“Uh, no, thanks. Have a good time,” he said back.

“Great show tonight. Let me know if your bus gets lonely,” she cooed.

“It won’t.” He picked up his pace to get away from her. “Nic?”

“Still here.”

“Sorry about that.”

“She seems . . . helpful.”

He couldn’t help but sigh at her tone. He could almost hear the sound of her claws being sharpened. He couldn’t even blame her. He knew what it felt like to see her with Collin, and that had been completely innocent. This thing with Lydia wasn’t. At least not on her side.

“I asked Mitch to do something about her, but he’s as scared of her as I am. I think Jason wants a chance with her, so he’s reluctant to upset her. It’s ridiculous.”

The sound of her laughter made him feel so much better.

“It’s not funny,” he said, but he was laughing, too.

“I miss you. I trust you,” she said simply.

“I trust me, too. It’s her I don’t trust.”

“The next time I see you, I’ll pee on you,” she said with a chuckle.

“Excuse me?” He didn’t think he’d heard her correctly.

“Nothing. Never mind. Just keep your door locked.”

“I do.”

“I love you, Tucker.”

He took a deep breath as he sat on his small sofa.

“I love you, too.”

“Are you doing okay?” she asked.

“Better now that I talked to you.”

“Don’t lose your phone. Call me. I don’t care how late it is.”

“Okay. I will. I’m sorry. I hardly get a second alone. It’s all rehearsals, sound checks, interviews, signings, meetings, backstage parties with fans. I don’t have a minute to myself.”

“Have you checked in with Carmine?”

“Twice.”

“When it gets to be too much, just step away for a second. Take a breath. Know that I love you, and then remember why you’re doing this. It’s your dream, Tucker. It’s a lot of work, but they wouldn’t be our dreams if they were easy.”

“Like four years of college followed up by four years of med school?” He chuckled, knowing her dream.

“With no sleep. I know how you feel. A little bit anyway.”

“Thanks for understanding.”

“Is it okay if I’m counting down the shows until the end of your tour?”

“Six more,” he said, making her laugh.

“Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Baltimore, New York and then you’re done.” He heard her yawn.

“I know I need to let you sleep, but I’m afraid if I get off the phone with you, I’ll never get you again.”

“You know where I live. We’ll meet up at some point.”

“Good night, Nichole.”

“’Night, Tucker. Fight the good fight.” She laughed.

He laughed with her as he disconnected the call.

For the first time since he’d signed the contract for this tour, he felt sure he could handle it.

Nichole supported him and trusted him. He felt the relief in a rush. He could do this. He could even have fun while he was doing it.

As if to test his newfound resolve, he stepped off his bus and went next door to join the party.

All the old temptations were there. Alcohol by the gallon. Someone had some lines of cocaine set up on a CD case and was passing it around. In the midst of the scene was Lydia, propped on her sofa like a queen entertaining her court.

Jason was next to her, hanging on every word.

“Oh my God!” she chimed when she saw him. “Tucker’s finally decided to live a little!”

She stood and gave him a hug. The final temptation from his past. Women.

He smiled, feeling no interest in any of it.

He had everything he wanted back in Virginia. He would spend the rest of this tour drinking in the experiences he’d missed the first time. How he felt with his fans, seeing a new city each night, and letting the songs flow out of him. Then he would go home to Nic feeling accomplished and ready to start a life with her.

That was turning into his new dream.

He took a bottle of water from the cooler and sat on the opposite sofa to bide his time. He was going to make it.

S
he knew something was up the second she walked into the clinic. The nurses looked away from her. Was that pity on their faces?

She spotted the flowers with the card and smiled.

“From Tucker?” Collin teased her as her cheeks warmed.

She plucked the card from the plastic prongs and smiled for a second.

Dear Nicki, I’m thinking of you every second. I love you and always will, Tucker
, the card read. Nicki? Okay, so obviously he hadn’t done this himself. He was busy. It was the thought that counted.

One of the interns walked past and gave her a sympathetic smile.

“What’s going on?” she asked Sabrina, knowing the nurse wouldn’t have a problem spilling it.

“Have you been on Lydia St. James’s Web site today?”

“I’ve never been on her site.” She shook her head.

“Well . . . you might want to take a look today.”

Nichole went into her office and sighed as she opened her laptop to see what kind of swill this woman was writing about Tucker.

She had prepared herself for claims of them being together. Something she knew couldn’t be true. What she hadn’t expected were . . . pictures.

No single picture proved anything, but as a whole they spoke volumes.

There was a photo of Tucker sitting on a sofa with a bottle in his hand. The type of bottle was obscured, but Nichole thought it appeared to be water.

He was smiling or laughing at someone other than the photographer, because he wasn’t looking at the camera. The next photo was Tucker on the same sofa. He was asleep, and Lydia was leaning against him drowsily with her shirt open to her belly button.

The last photo showed Tucker at the bottom of the steps of her tour bus. She was smiling down at him. Nic couldn’t see his face because his back was to the camera.

The caption under the photo said, “It’s official! I just had the best night of my life!”

Nichole hadn’t noticed her hands were in fists until she went to try to shut the laptop.

It didn’t make sense. He’d called her early this morning. Everything had been fine then. He’d told her he loved her. She’d told him she trusted him.

But then she’d also heard Lydia’s invitation to come next door to party. Tucker must have gone after he got off the phone with her.

How stupid she’d been to think he would spend his time in the spotlight alone and missing her on his bus.

She pulled out her phone and called his number, but his voice mail wasn’t set up to take messages.

Sabrina knocked on the door.

“Sorry, but you have a patient waiting.”

“I’ll be there in a second. See if one of the interns can start,” she said as she dialed the next person who could help. Sabrina nodded and closed the door.

Mitch answered in his official capacity.

“Hey, Mitch. It’s Nichole. Can I speak with Tucker, please?”

“I’m sorry. He’s in an interview right now. Then he has a photo shoot. I’ll try to work a few minutes in there somewhere for a chat.”

“Thanks. It’s just that I saw those pictures on Lydia’s Web site.”

“What pictures?” he asked, instantly interested.

“Pictures of Tucker on her bus.” Nichole wasn’t surprised Mitch hadn’t seen them. He had plenty of actual work to do rather than spending time scouring Lydia’s Web site.

“She’s very aggressive,” Mitch said. “The pictures were most likely set up to look as scandalous as possible.”

It was true. There were no pictures of him touching her or them kissing. If she had any, she most likely would have posted them. They were just enough to cause a seed of doubt, which was sprouting and taking root in Nichole’s stomach.

“Yeah. I can see that. Please just keep her away from him, okay? Maybe put a guard outside his bus.” She forced a laugh, but it was a good idea.

There was an uncomfortable pause and then Mitch said, “He told you about that?”

Her entire body stopped moving for a few heartbeats. She had to try twice to make a sound in order to answer him.

“Yeah,” she bluffed.

“Look, when I walked in, he was very upset. He asked her to get dressed and leave. He was so worried you were going to find out. He wanted to tell you right away, but I told him to wait until he saw you. It wasn’t something you wanted to hear over the phone.”

“No. You’re right.” It definitely wasn’t something she wanted to hear over the phone. Or at all, for that matter. “I’ll send him an e-mail, Mitch. No need to bother him with one more thing to do today.”

“I’m sure he’ll want to talk to you.”

Yeah. No doubt.

“I need to get to work,” she said.

She could barely press the End button on the screen, her hands were shaking so badly.

She opened the laptop, and there were the photos again. Mocking her.

After speaking with Collin about taking a few days off, she sent Tucker an e-mail.

She was surprised by how calm she was as she hit the Send button.

Maybe on some level she’d expected this would happen.

She stood up from her desk, and without a glance at the nurses who had gathered in the hall, she left the office to go pack for her trip.

Tucker was glad to be back on his bus after another long day. It didn’t help that he’d had a sore neck from falling asleep on Lydia’s sofa the night before. It was a stupid thing to do. He’d probably fallen asleep out of boredom from watching everyone acting so stupid.

He took a shower and flopped down on his sofa with a Gatorade.

Mitch had told him he needed to talk to him, but then he got sidetracked with a conference call or something. Tucker couldn’t wait any longer.

He was happy to see an e-mail from Nic.

Until he opened it and read it. Four times.

One of the things he loved about Nichole was that she wasn’t a game player. She didn’t do dramatic shit just to get attention. Her e-mail ending their relationship wasn’t dramatic either.

It was very cut and dried.

With shaky hands, he called her, only to go straight to voice mail.

“Nic? I got your e-mail, and I don’t understand. I thought everything was fine. I thought you were supporting my decision to stay out here. I would have come home if it meant this.

“Please call me so we can talk about this. Please? I love you. We’ll work this out. Whatever I need to do, I’ll do.” He sounded like a pussy, but he didn’t care. She owned his heart.

When he got off the phone he called Mitch.

“I was just getting ready to come see you,” he said.

“Get Jason and come here. I’ve got a big problem.”

Ten minutes later, the two guys walked onto his bus looking beat. He had been pacing and calling Nichole until they got there. Now he was throwing some clothes into a bag.

“What’s going on?” Mitch asked, watching him pack.

Instead of answering, he turned on Jason. “I asked you to send flowers to my girl!” he said, sounding accusatory.

“I did!”

“What did you put on the card?”

“Exactly what you told me to say, ‘Dear Nicki, I’m thinking of you every second. I love you and always will, Tucker.’ A dozen roses of different colors!”

“No one calls her Nicki!” Tucker yelled. “You’re fired!”

Mitch cursed under his breath and then shook his head.

“You can’t fire me for not getting flowers right!” Jason protested.

“Yes, he can. He just did. You need to go.” Mitch pointed toward the door. As Mitch called security and explained the situation, Tucker finished packing.

“Where are you going?” Mitch asked, the phone still to his ear.

“I need a flight into Roanoke. Right now. I need to see her. I need to fix this.”

“She can’t be that mad about the flowers,” Mitch said.

“She ended things with me.”

“But she seemed so understanding about Lydia being in your bed.”

Tucker froze. “What?”

“You told her about Lydia. I told you not to, but you did and it worked out. She took it fine. She was a little pissed about the photos Lydia posted from last night, but she seemed to understand how Lydia is.”

“I never told her about Lydia in my bed.”

“Then how did she know?” No doubt Mitch had given something away and Nichole had weaseled the information out of him. She was very smart.

“Wait. What pictures?” Tucker asked.

It took about ten minutes of replaying their conversation before he figured out what had gone wrong. He looked at the photos. They weren’t enough to make her leave him, but with the story of Lydia in his bed, he could see how he was screwed.

“I’d fire you right now, too, if I didn’t need you to get me a flight.”

“You have three interviews tomorrow and you just fired your assistant,” Mitch pointed out.

“Does it look like I give a damn about an interview right now? My world is crashing down here, man.”

“Right, okay. Give me a few minutes and I’ll get everything straightened out.”

“As soon as humanly possible, Mitch. I need to make this right.”

“The car will take you to the airport. I’ll have a plan by the time you get there.”

Tucker slid into the back of the town car.

“Airport?” the driver confirmed.

“Yeah. Hurry please.”

 

Nichole had called Cooper to tell him what had happened, and to find out if he had known. He said he hadn’t, and from the level of anger he vented through the phone, it seemed he was telling the truth.

She didn’t doubt Cooper’s loyalty to her over his own brother. Especially when Tucker was capable of this.

Cooper gave up the phone to Roslyn when he was no longer coherent.

“I’m so sorry,” she offered.

“It’s my own fault. I should have known better. I knew what he was like before, and I let myself be sucked in because of his stupid smile and ability to play a musical instrument.” There were many other reasons she had fallen for Tucker, but she decided Roslyn probably didn’t want to hear the details of her brother-in-law’s bedroom skills. “I just need to get away for the weekend. I need to be alone. I’m afraid he’s going to show up here and I’ll be too weak.”

“Let me see if the cabin is free.”

As much as she didn’t want to spend the weekend in the place she’d first made love with Tucker, she needed to get out of the home they had shared together. The home she thought he would come back to.

Her phone beeped again with another call.

Tucker again, followed by Mitch. They had been calling all day. Figures; he couldn’t ever find the time to call before, but now it was nonstop.

“That would be great, Roz. I’m already packed.” She had been planning to go see Tucker on the road. She could only be glad she hadn’t left. How awful it would have been to walk onto his bus and seen it for herself.

She was throwing a few last things into her carry-on bag and rolling it out to the car when Roslyn called back.

“It’s all yours. The code to open the lock to get the key is four-four-eight-six.”

“Got it. Tell Lexi she’s a lifesaver.”

“She’s happy to help. She’s been there. Hell, we all have at one point.”

“Thanks.”

Roslyn’s words would have given her hope, considering both Roz and Lexi had gone through hell but were both happy now. Except she knew no happily ever after waited for her with Tucker. She couldn’t trust him.

She pulled out on the interstate as the tears finally started to flow.

“You picked a fine time to show up now,” she said angrily as she wiped her eyes and tried to focus on driving.

An hour later, she arrived at the cabin. She let herself in, taking in the big room and the sofa where she had first been with Tucker.

She quickly went to the kitchen to open a bottle of wine so she could start drowning her sorrows.

 

Tucker arrived at Nichole’s house a little after nine the next night.

Mitch had had nothing but problems getting him a flight to Roanoke from Los Angeles. Then Tucker had missed a connection and had to catch a later flight out of Chicago into BWI. Finally, he made it to Roanoke. He was exhausted from not sleeping at all, but he was there and he would see Nichole and make things right.

He would explain and she would laugh at the misunderstanding, and everything would be fine. Well, fine once he blew off the rest of the tour so he could stay with her.