“Yeah.” Jacques chuckled. “The contract is for distribution of the album we cut, plus a second album to be released later this summer, and a ten-city tour. Can you believeit?”
Rainey blinked. He was going to L.A. ahead of a ten-city tour. “Yes,” she said emphatically. “Yes, I can believeit.”
She heard him laugh, the sound happy andloose.
“Well, that makes one ofus.”
Rainey willed herself to overcome her shock, but she couldn’t help the sobering of her voice. “Jacques, I’m so, so happy foryou.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Aw, Rainey…” It was almost amoan.
“What? What’swrong?”
He sighed. “I really want to see you tonight, but I’ve got a million things to do, and our flight leaves at 5:20 tomorrowmorning.”
Rainey steeled herself against disappointment. “Is there anything I cando?”
Jacques hesitated. “You’ve got your own stuff going on. I’m not going to ask you to drop everything and comeover.”
Rainey was about to tell him that, indeed, she could — if he didn’t mind her riding her bike, which she knew he would — when hespoke.
“Wouldyou…?”
Her heart leaped. “Would Iwhat?”
His voice was soft, low. Almost liquid. “Would you leave your door unlocked so I can slip in tonight and at least lie with you for a few hours before I have toleave?”
Taking a cue from his voice, her bones softened too. “Yes,” she answered, the word breathy and low. “Yes, ofcourse.”
“Mmm…” His deep voice rumbled into her ear and tickled all the way down. “…good. Good. I don’t know when I’ll get there, but I’ll getthere.”
Not that she expected him to, but he didn’t get there by dinnertime. And he didn’t get there hours later, when her fingers were too tired to crochet, and the words of her latest Kristen Ashley novel started to swimtogether.
She sat bolt upright to a pitch-black room what felt like hours later. She searched the bed with her hands and found only Archie and empty sheets. The clock read 1:12 a.m., and she flopped back on her bed, heavy with disappointment. The house was completely silent. No hushed latching of the front door or welcome masculine footfalls on the stairs. She stared up at the ceiling, wide awake. His flight would leave in just four hours. He’d have to be at the airport inthree.
He wasn’tcoming.
Rainey reached for the phone at her bedside. Jacques would have texted if he’d realized he couldn’tcome.
Her home screen stared back at her completely free of messages. She toyed with the idea of texting him to see if he was okay, but then she forced herself to set aside her phone. Rainey knew she’d never survive the next two weeks — much less a ten-city tour and whatever came after that — if she let herself start chasing him down for contact now. She closed her eyes and willed sleep tocome…
And then the mattress sunk beneath her, and Jacques’s arms wrapped aroundher.
“Mmm… you feel sogood.”
Rainey woke up smiling, gripping Jacques’s shoulders. “What time is it?” shewhispered.
He nuzzled her neck, pulling her closer as he stretched out beside her. “It’s a little after two. I have to go in a couple of hours, but I needed to see you.” His voice was gravelly, and he soundedexhausted.
She rubbed a hand down his back. “Have youslept?”
“Not yet. It’s been crazy. That meeting took hours. I’ve never signed my name so many times.” Jacques gave a sleepy chuckle. “Then Kate wanted to squeeze in a rehearsal since we hadn’t played together in a few days, and she didn’t want us to be rusty when we got toL.A.”
Jacques let out a half groan, half yawn and ran his hand up and down her side. “Then we packed up our gear. I went home and brought Pal up to speed… made sure he’d be set for a couple of weeks… talked to my dad… showered… packed… then I camehere.”
Rainey kept rubbing his back. “You need torest.”
He kissed her neck and then kissed her lips. “I’ll sleep on theplane.”