“I swear I can hear you thinking in here,” Gary says, making me jump slightly. I walk the short distance to his office, hovering in his doorway. “You that worried about seeing him again?”
I nod. “I’m worried everything is going to be different.”
“Well, I sure as hell hope it is,” he says honestly. “Things were shit before and you know it. You two did nothing but tiptoe around Tanner or the idea of him. I’d hope that in your time apart you’ve both found who you are outside of all that bullshit. Hell, I know that just in the last two months you’ve been working here I’ve seen one hell of a difference in you. You’ve grown, kid. And I know my son is still going to love the person you grew into.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “You know, for someone who hasn’t been a father that long, you’re awesome at it.”
Gary gives me a crooked smile that reminds me so much of Tucker’s and leans back in his chair, folding his hands across his stomach. “Honey, I basically raised musicians on the road for twenty-something years. I’ve got this shit in the bag.”
Just then, the back door opens and my eyes go wide because I know it’s the band coming in.
“Go on,” Gary says, jerking his head toward the main building. “Go lean on your friends. But remember what I said.”
Thank you, I mouth and dart down the hall back to the safety of my friends. I’m staring at the ground and not paying attention to where I’m going, and, of course, run into a rock-hard body. Big hands reach out to grab me before I start falling backwards. I immediately recognize the scent belonging to whomever I collided with.
I look up at the man who has coffee-brown eyes, lazily styled dark chocolate hair, and two sweet dimples tucked into the huge grin he’s sporting.
“There’s my girl,” my new roommate Dallas says.
Dallas, or Dall as I sometimes call him, came into my life about a week after I moved into my new apartment. I was working one night at Clyde’s and talking with another waitress about possibly wanting a roommate while Dallas was sitting at the bar. He overheard us and approached me before he left. After he reassured me that he wasn’t a total creeper or a crazy stalker and wouldn’t try to feel me up in my sleep since I didn’t have a penis, we set up a date for him to come check the place out. It didn’t take us long to discover that we had a very easy chemistry. He moved in that very same day.
Over the past few months, Dall has been there for me. He’s held me when I’ve cried at night and threatened to kick my ass when I was acting like a total bitch for no reason. The friendship we’ve formed has been fast and easy and real. We work well together, and I’m so glad he decided to listen in on my conversation.
“He’s here,” I whisper.
Dall’s eyes immediately dart behind me, and his eyes fall into slits as Gary walks out of his office toward the now open door. Saying that Dallas doesn’t like Tucker would be an understatement. I’ve told him several times that our split was mutual, but he doesn’t seem to want to believe that. He blames Tucker for all my tears, and he’d be mostly right. No matter how Dallas feels about Tucker, I know once he and Tucker meet, they’ll be fast friends.
He tucks me into his large frame and protectively ushers me to our table. “Come on, baby girl. We’ll let him come to us.”
22
Tucker
Maura is sitting with a guy.
Maura is laughing with a guy.
Maura is touching a guy.
This guy isn’t me.
I never once considered the fact that Maura may find someone else while we were apart. It’s not that I was cocky; it’s that I was that sure of my feelings for her. I always assumed it was the same for her.
But with the way she’s acting with the dark-haired bastard sitting with her and my group of friends, I see that I may have been wrong.
I feel a heavy hand on my shoulder.
“Almost show time, Tuck. You ready?” James says gloomily. He knows how much this trip home means to me and knows how crushed I’ll be if it doesn’t go well.
The scene in front of me? So not right.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I tell him quietly.
“Maybe it’s innocent?”
I glance over at him. “That’s what we told everyone too.”
James winces. “You never know, man. You never know.” He places his hands on his hips, getting back into his manager mode. “Anyway, you’ve got a visitor out back. I’d send her in, but I don’t really think this is the place.”
What?
I eye him suspiciously. “All right. I’ll head out there. Thanks.”
“You’ve got five minutes!” he calls to my retreating back.
Pushing open the back door, I’m met with a sight I wasn’t expecting.
“Uncle Tuck!” Joey squeals, latching her tiny frame around my legs.
I scoop her up into a giant hug. “Oh, bug. I missed you, kiddo.”
My eyes land on Hudson standing behind her. Thank you, I mouth to him.
“You’re gonna squeeze me to death!”
Laughing, I set her down and squat to her level. “So what’s up, dude? You’ve grown like ten feet since I saw you last.”
She giggles and shakes her head. “I have not. But I did grow two inches! Dad says I’m gonna be taller than Rae one day, and that’s just crazy because Rae is a giant!”
Maybe to Joey’s four-foot-something frame she is, but Rae is far from being a giant.
Before I can say anything, Joey starts talking again. “Did you bring me anything?”
“Joey!” Hudson scolds.
My little buddy drops her head and kicks at the rocks. “Sorry. That was rude.” She peeks up at me through her bangs and whispers, “But did you?”
Smiling, I say, “Of course I did. I didn’t know you were coming now, so I don’t have your presents here with me. Can I bring them to you later?” Her head bobs up and down. “Good. I’ve got to get back inside, but you promise me I’ll get to see you soon? Maybe I can talk your dad into letting me take you to get ice cream.”
“He’ll say yes,” Joey tells me with certainty.
I open my arms up to her, and she huddles in close to me. I kiss the side of her head and say, “I love you, bug. Hope you drove Uncle G nuts while I was gone.”
“I did,” she says, pulling out of my embrace. Hudson clears his throat behind her. “Oh, yeah. Daddy says for you to tell Rae to ‘say yes’ while you’re singing. He thinks it will help.”
I raise brow at Hudson, wondering what the hell that’s about. “I will, Joey.”
“Good. Love you, Uncle Tuck! Bye!” she hollers over her shoulder as she runs toward the waiting car at the side of the building.
I wave to Hudson’s mom, Elle, and immediately turn back to my best friend.
“You didn’t.”
Hudson’s smile is fucking huge. “I did.”
“And?”
“Well, you heard the kid.” He points to the door behind me and says, “So you better get your ass in there and tell my girl for me.”
I turn toward the door, pulling it open slightly, and pause. Pivoting back to Hudson and gulping loudly once, I ask, “Is it…?”
“No,” he answers immediately, knowing I’m asking if it’s too late for me and Maura. “It’s not. Stop worrying and go get up on that stage. Sing your heart out. And for the love of God, tell Rae to say yes.”
We walk back inside just in time to hear Gary step up to the mic. Hudson and I part ways as I head back to the band’s area, and he heads over to our friends.
“Welcome, welcome!” The crowd cheers. Gary tries to talk twice but keeps getting drowned out. In typical Gary fashion, I hear, “All right, shut it already!” I chuckle because damn, did I miss the old man. “We’ve got a treat for you tonight. One of our own—my own—decided to run off and make himself into a trending new artist. He’s chosen tonight to grace us with his presence for the first time in over three months. So without further ado, please welcome
my son, Tucker Bentley!”
The place goes nuts and for the first time in three months, I get pre-show jitters. Not certain if it’s because I’m playing in front of my hometown crowd or because Maura’s out in the crowd.
Either way, I don’t have time to freak out. When I walk up onto the stage, Gary pulls me into a firm hug.
“Missed you, son,” he says in my ear.
“Missed you too, Dad.”
He gives me a pat on the back and hustles off the stage, and if I’m not mistaken, wipes his eyes.
Sitting down on my stool, I clear my throat in my usual way, and the house goes quiet. I search beyond the lights for the person I came back for.
My eyes find hers almost immediately, whisking away the air in my lungs. She seems happy and sad and unsure all at once.
But she’s still fucking beautiful.
Maura looks different yet still the same as she did when I left. Her eyes are still a vibrant shade of blue, but they’re somehow happier now. Her pale blonde hair that was once tipped with dark pink is now dipped in dark blue. Her clear complexion is as radiant as ever, maybe even more so now than before. She’s still everything I want.
Then that guy I saw her with earlier comes into my line of sight. He’s gigantic, packed full of muscles, and a little intimidating. I have to give the dude credit because he’s hovering over my girl with a fierce sense of protection—exactly what I’d be doing if some jackass was leering at her the way I am.
But I’m no average jackass. And that girl is still mine.
My chest is thumping, and I’m fighting the urge to jump the stage, punch Fuck Face, and kiss Maura.
But I don’t.
Instead, I peel my eyes from hers, lean down toward the microphone, and give that same smirk I always do. “Did you guys miss me or what?” Cheers erupt again. “Good. The road has been fun, but Wakefield is home. Since I missed you all so much, I’m going to play you all a new song called Yesterday that hasn’t been recorded yet. It’s for a special someone, who I hope is listening closely tonight. But first I just have one thing to say.” Holding my hand up to my eyes to shield my gaze from the lights, I find Rae and stare her down. “Rae, say yes.”
“HUDSON TAMELL!”
Over these last few months, I’ve learned to let go on stage. I forget where I am, forget the crowd, and forget the band. All I focus on is the music and what it’s making me feel.
That’s what I did at Mic’s tonight. I let it all slip away.
Including Maura.
When I snap back to reality at the end of my set, I notice her chair is empty and the douchebag she’s with tonight is burning holes in my direction.
I look to Hudson for help, and he shrugs. Thanks, bud.
Wanting to collect myself after the girl I came home for disappeared on me, I pass by James without a word and head toward the staircase leading to the roof. A little fresh air sounds fantastic.
I burst through the door and stop dead in my tracks.
“Dallas, I told you I was—” She spins around and stops mid-sentence.
Neither one of us moves. It’s like time has frozen, and we can’t seem to get it to thaw. The only thing not frozen is the heat surrounding us. I feel the familiar tug I’ve always felt with her, and I want so desperately to move toward her, but I’m afraid she’ll run off again.
“Fine,” she finishes. “Tucker.”
I close my eyes when she says my name. It’s as if she’s wrapping it up in love and desire. It’s intimate, familiar, breathtaking.
“Maura,” I say, projecting everything she just did back at her.
We’re ten feet apart, and I can still see the way her chest starts to heave at her name rolling off my lips. Good.
“What are you…what are you doing here?”
Oddly enough, I relax at her question. Because it’s not what she says, it’s the way she says it. Breathless, needy, curious, hopeful. She still wants me.
A piece of me wants to say that nothing has changed between us, but I can’t. Everything has changed. But it’s a good change. I can feel how much we’ve grown. In an unusual way, we’ve grown together rather than apart. We haven’t talked, but we’ve both stayed connected.
We’re still us. Just different, better versions of us.
Now I just need to know if she’s as ready as I am.
Putting my hands in my back pockets, I shrug. “You know. Had a gig.”
Her eyes fall to the ground as she says, “I know. I heard it.”
I cross the distance between us and stop when I’m just a mere foot from her. “Did you, Maura? Did you hear it? Did you really listen to the words?”
Every song I sang tonight was about her. Sure, a song or two came before Maura, but all along they were about her. She’s always been what I was searching for. And now that I’ve found her, I’m not letting her go. Not again.
Stepping into her more, I angle her head toward mine. “I’m about to kiss you, Maura,” I tell her, searching her gaze for any hint that she doesn’t want this. I find none. “Before I do, I need to know who Dallas is.”
“Dallas is nothing and everything to me, Tucker. But you, you’re just everything.”
That’s all I need.
I seize her mouth, her body, her heart, and her soul all in one kiss.
23
Maura
“So, you live with a guy.” The way Tucker says it isn’t as a question, but I know he wants an explanation.
It’s probably been an hour now since Tucker’s set ended, and we’re still up on the roof. We’ve been kissing, talking, and kissing some more.
Fine. All we’ve done is kiss, but can you blame us?
“I do,” I answer. “He showed up at Clyde’s one night back when I worked there, and—”
“Wait. Past tense. You said worked,” he interrupts. “Since when do you not work there? And where do you work now?”
“Since about three weeks or so after you left. And here. I work here now.”
“What? Why?”
I shrug. “I’m thinking of getting into the business side of music. I enjoyed pretending to be your manager, and I think it’s something I might be able to make a career out of.”
“Huh,” he says. “So. Dallas?”
“Yes. Dallas. Dall. Anyway, he came around, heard I was thinking of looking for a roommate.” I shrug. “We clicked, and he moved in almost immediately.”
“That’s it? No other info? What if he was a crazy sex pervert?”
“Well, I don’t have a penis, so I don’t think that’s a problem.”
“Really?” he says in shock. “Didn’t see that one coming.”
“Yeah, me neither. I thought he was just hitting on me at first and made Hudson come over while Dallas checked the place out just to intimidate him and make sure that wasn’t the case.”
“Our friends are assholes. Those fuckers never said a word about you working here. And Gary is now on my shit-list for not telling me.”
“If it makes you feel any better, they barely ever mentioned your name. It kind of made things easier. Besides, would it have made a difference? Would you have come back earlier?”
I peek over at Tucker, who’s looking over at the other side of the roof, staring off into the night. “No, probably not,” he says. “Honestly, I’m glad we didn’t talk during these last few months. It’s made this reunion even sweeter.”
“Is that was this is? A reunion?”
I’m terrified to know his answer, but I need to know. I have to get ready to put on my mask if it isn’t, because I honestly don’t think my heart can take it.
“I’m here to stay, if that’s what you’re asking.”
I release a sharp breath of air. Thank God.
He continues, “I’ve already talked with the tour manager, James, about it. My contract was short. Now it’s up to me to negotiate my new contract with the label if I decide to.”
“Are you going to?”
Tucker looks back
over at me. “I think so. This has been amazing so far. The only thing I didn’t like was being apart from you. But again, I think it’s helped.”
“I agree,” I tell him. “And it gave us time and space to figure out what we want.”
You, Tucker. You’re what I want.
“Maura, it was never about me needing to figure it out. I’ve always wanted you, and I’ve always known that. This was us trying to find ourselves outside of Tanner and what happened with us. This was us finally doing something for ourselves,” he says, kicking my heart into overdrive. “There wasn’t a day I didn’t think about you or miss you or desperately want to be with you. But three months ago, we weren’t the versions of ourselves that we are now. We’re better. We’re stronger. We’re more…us.”
I stare down at my lap, thinking about what he just said.
“Are we, Tucker? Are we an us?”
He reaches his hand out, entwining our fingers together.
“We’ll always be an us, Maura. You can’t erase our yesterdays.”
“But you can’t predict our tomorrows, either,” I push.
“No, we can’t. But I sure as shit can stick by you through them. We’ll brave it all. Together. As an us.”
I look up at the sincerity in his voice. There’s something in his words that strikes against my heart, igniting it, bringing a spark of hope and forever with Tucker.
“I love you,” I blurt out. Tucker laughs as I bury my face in my hands. “Stop it!”
He pulls my hands down and forces my gaze to his. “I love you too, Maura. I have loved you for a long damn time. I swear the second I saw you sitting alone at Perk last year I fell in love with you. I just wish I hadn’t been such a baby and had said something then.”
“Me too,” I say, not even thinking about it.
“Gee, thanks.”
“Oh, hush. You know what I meant.”
He laughs that deep laugh of his again.
“So. You in? You want to do this? For real this time?” he asks with a gleam in his eye that promises happiness and undying love for a lifetime if I say yes.
Here's To Box Set (Complete Series) Page 49
