Encore

by Rachel Lacey

  “Um.” She’d planned to take her meal to go, eager to see her rental and get settled in for the night, but… “Yeah, I’d like that.”

  And so, ten minutes later, they were sitting together at a little table near the back with their burgers, fries, and shakes. “Feels like old times, doesn’t it?” he said, popping a fry in his mouth.

  She smiled. Chris had been the last thing on her mind when she’d stopped here tonight, but yeah, they’d shared a love of In-N-Out Burger, and with this one being right down the street from her old office, they’d eaten here together too many times to count. “How have you been? Still selling office furniture?”

  He shook his head as he chewed and swallowed a bite of his burger. “I’m the sales manager now.”

  “Oh. That’s really great, Chris. Way to go.” She remembered how much he’d wanted that position, but he’d never seemed to have the drive to get himself there.

  “Thanks.”

  They ate in silence for a few minutes. Jenn was too hungry for polite conversation as she made short work of her burger. Chris seemed pensive, almost introspective.

  “I think losing you was a wake-up call for me,” he said finally. “I’d gotten comfortable with the way things were, just kind of drifting along. I wasn’t trying my hardest at work…or at home.”

  She blinked, caught off guard by his statement. “Well, I think we both were guilty of that.”

  “You look great…happy. Are you still working for Katherine Hayes?” he asked.

  She took a sip of her strawberry shake, nodding. “I moved to New York about a year ago when she relocated there.”

  “No wonder I haven’t seen you around.”

  “Yeah. It’s been a good move. I like the East Coast. I do miss some things, though.” Like In-N-Out Burger, but that seemed like a shallow thing to say.

  “Do you miss me?” he asked.

  Heat flooded her cheeks. “I—Chris—”

  He waved a hand in front of his face. “I shouldn’t have asked that. It’s just…seeing you again tonight made me realize how much I miss you…miss us. I know you said you’re living in New York now, but if you ever want to get together, give things another try…”

  Her heart dropped straight through the pit of her stomach. She toyed with the gold band on her left ring finger, the one she’d somehow neglected to mention. Dammit. “I’m, um, I’m actually married now.”

  Chris reared back in his seat, his gaze dropping to the telltale ring as he sucked in an audible breath. “Oh. I had no idea.”

  She shook her head. “No reason for you to have. It’s a very recent thing. He’s a musician in New York.”

  “Well, that’s great. I’m happy for you.”

  “Thanks.” She rested a hand on his. “It seems like we’ve both made some changes for the better since we last saw each other.”

  “I guess we have.” There was a distance in his expression now that hadn’t been there before, and she wasn’t entirely sure she liked it. The truth was, this new version of Chris checked all the boxes she had for her future husband. Well, all but one…chemistry, the only box Cole did check. But maybe chemistry was something that could grow with time. Maybe after she and Cole were divorced, if she moved back to LA, she’d look Chris up again.

  By the time she finally got checked into her rental, she was beyond exhausted. She could hear the surf crashing outside and suspected she’d have a really kick-ass view come sunrise, but right now, the bed was calling her name. She wheeled her suitcase through the kitchenette and into the bedroom, finding an inviting-looking bed with a cream-colored bedspread and lots of plush pillows. She dropped onto it and tugged off her boots. Her phone chimed with a text message, and her stomach dropped. Did Chris still have her number?

  Strumming my guitar in bed and thinking of you.

  It was from Cole. His words sent a zap through her belly so sharp, she felt it all the way from her scalp to her toes. Now that was chemistry. Her whole body hummed as she reread his text, imagining him in his bed, his husky voice as he sang along with his guitar, the ripple of muscle over his lean body as he moved. If only she could combine the sparks she felt with Cole with the kind of life a man like Chris could offer—a future, a family, stability.

  Seeing her ex tonight drilled home the sacrifice she’d made in agreeing to a fake marriage. She’d taken herself off the market for half a year, and she wasn’t exactly getting any younger. She needed to quit wasting time and get on with her life…even if it meant leaving Cole behind.

  She wouldn’t settle until she found the man who could give her both sparks and a future. For tonight, though, sparks would do. Her heart pounded as she tapped out her response.

  I like the sound of that. When I get back to NY, maybe it’s time for us to create some music together.

  13

  Cole spent the majority of the next week in a studio uptown recording sound bites for his upcoming license with the Rock Star video game. He’d been hesitant about the idea at first—cringing at the thought of people butchering his songs on their video game consoles—but his manager had convinced him it was a great opportunity to grow his fan base, not to mention the sweet paycheck. Now that he’d seen the beta version, as a longtime video game fan, he had to admit that this was pretty damn cool. One in a million other “I’ve made it” moments.

  Jenn would be home tonight. The house had felt oddly empty without her the past week and a half. Even though they didn’t see each other all that much between their work schedules, he’d gotten used to having her around in the evenings, someone to eat with, watch the game with. She was fun to talk to, fun to be around, and she drove him ten kinds of crazy every time they were in a room together.

  Okay, she drove him even crazier when they weren’t in the room together. Knowing that she was right down the hall had fueled his fantasies for the past month. There was something oddly dirty about jacking off while his wife slept in the spare bedroom.

  And so, while she was in LA, he would text her mundane moments from his day, just to see her name on his screen, to feel that gut punch every time a new text from her popped up. It was a fucking rush, and it turned him on, big-time.

  Want to go out tonight? he texted, hoping to catch her before she boarded her flight.

  Sure. Time change will have me up all night anyway.

  He could think of a few other ways to keep her up all night…

  If only. He replied to Jenn and then messaged Jorja, asking her to make them reservations tonight, somewhere private. His assistant had much better taste for the best places in the city than he did. All he knew were the bars and clubs he’d played over the years, and while he’d love to take Jenn to one of those places, he wanted tonight to be relaxing and fun, and she wasn’t comfortable in concert crowds these days. He wanted to help her with that too, if he could, but tonight wasn’t the time for that.

  Just thinking about the night ahead sent him through the rest of the day with a spring in his step. He worked out, took a video call with his manager, and approved several social media posts Jorja had drafted up for him. He’d just walked into the kitchen for a drink when he heard Jenn coming in the back door.

  Her hair was up, the way she wore it when she was working. She wore formfitting black pants and a purple-patterned blouse, and it was all he could do not to pull her into his arms and kiss her.

  “Hey,” he said instead. Just the sight of her brought his body humming to life, and it wasn’t purely sexual. He enjoyed being in a room with her no matter what they were—or weren’t—doing.

  “Hi.” She gave him a small smile.

  “How was your trip?”

  “Good, but tiring. For the record, I don’t ever want to shoot two music videos in one week again.”

  “Kate’s no slouch, is she?”

  Jenn’s smile was more genuine this time. “She’s a hard worker, always has been.”

  “You are too,” he commented.

  She nodded. “I am. Let me
put my stuff away, and then we can figure out plans for tonight.”

  He went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water while she took her suitcase down the hall. “We have dinner reservations at eight,” he told her when she came back into the kitchen.

  “Great,” she said. “Where?”

  He tapped his phone to life and checked the message from Jorja. “Bóheme.”

  Jenn giggled under her breath as she sat on the barstool across from him.

  “What? Jorja said it was good. You want to go somewhere else?”

  She shook her head. “No, it’s great. It’s just…that’s where Josh and Kate went on their first date. It was kind of disastrous, so it’s a running joke between them now.”

  “Shit.” He started tapping a new message to Jorja.

  “Cole.” Jenn placed her hand over his. “It’s a great place. Their story is theirs. It has nothing to do with us.”

  “You sure?” he asked. “Because there are a million other places we could go tonight.”

  “I’m sure, and for bonus points, Kate will get a laugh out of it when I tell her.”

  And so, an hour later, they walked into Bóheme, a trendy place in Midtown he’d heard about but never been to. Brightly colored tapestries hung from the walls, and jazzy music played through the sound system. It had a hip vibe that he dug. They were seated at a private table upstairs, in a corner by the window with a view of the city gleaming outside. Jenn had changed into a knee-length gray dress, her hair loose over her shoulders, and she was absolutely the most gorgeous woman in the room.

  “So,” she said once they’d been seated, turning her gaze from the view to him. “What were you up to while I was out of town?”

  “Spent most of it working on my contribution for the Rock Star game. Pretty pleased with how it turned out. I got together and jammed with a few of the guys. We even booked a couple of club dates over the summer, you know, to try out some new tunes in front of an audience.”

  “That sounds wonderful.”

  “You still want to work on some music together tonight?” he asked, electricity sparking in his gut at the thought.

  She smiled, the kind of smile that made her eyes crinkle and lit up her whole face. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

  “I was thinking we should set up your keyboard in the studio. You play keyboard, and I’ll play guitar.”

  “Kind of an odd combo,” she said, still smiling.

  “It is, but I think it might be awesome too.”

  “We’ll soon find out.”

  They ordered a bottle of wine—something he didn’t drink very often, but he could be classy when the situation called for it—and a calamari appetizer. He went with steak while Jenn opted for a dish with seafood and pasta. Between the two of them, they demolished all of it.

  “Dessert?” he asked as the waitress cleared away their dishes.

  She shook her head. “I’m stuffed.”

  He leaned forward. “I have triple chocolate crunch ice cream in the freezer if you change your mind later.”

  She grinned. “I just might.”

  He slung an arm around her shoulders as they made their way outside to the car, feeling pleasantly warm and loose, thanks to the wine—and also, the woman beside him. She leaned in to place a gentle kiss on his lips as they slid into the backseat together, and he went from warm to hot in an instant.

  “We’re going to have fun tonight,” he murmured against her lips, threading his fingers through her hair.

  She kissed him again, deeper this time. “Lots of fun.”

  She straightened in her seat with a wink, adjusting her dress, and he bit back a groan. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted a woman, and not just because it had been over a year since he’d had sex. Jenn was different, special. Sex with her wouldn’t be anything like sex with the women in his past. They’d meant nothing to him. He didn’t even remember their names. But he would remember every damn moment with Jenn, even if he never got her naked.

  The car pulled in behind his town house, and he thanked Steven as he slid his hand in Jenn’s, tugging her after him onto the walkway to his back door. Neither of them said anything as they walked inside.

  “More wine,” she whispered, walking to the bar to the left of the kitchen.

  “Sounds good to me.” He watched as she selected a bottle of red, deftly opened it with a corkscrew, and poured two glasses.

  “Better bring the bottle with us.” She handed him a glass and headed for the stairs, carrying her glass and the half-empty bottle.

  Intrigued—and aroused—he followed her downstairs and into the studio.

  “Oh. You already brought the keyboard down,” she said, stopping in the middle of the room.

  “I did.” He shut the door behind them, freeing them to make as much noise as they wanted to without any repercussions from the neighbors.

  She turned toward him, her bottom lip pinched between her teeth. “I’ve never done this with someone else before.”

  “A collaborative virgin?” He couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips as he stepped forward and brushed his lips against hers. “It won’t hurt a bit. I promise.”

  She scrunched up her face, punching playfully at his shoulder. “You’re a perv.”

  “Guilty as charged.” He lifted his Gibson and settled it comfortably over his chest. “How do you want to do this? Any thoughts?”

  She shook her head, her brows pinched. “How do you usually do it?”

  “Doggy style, missionary, I’m not picky.” He laughed again at the look on her face. “Relax, babe, I’m just trying to cut the tension. We can do this any way you like. If you were writing alone tonight, how would you start?”

  “I’d sit at the keyboard with my notebook and brainstorm, jot things down, try out tunes, maybe hum along.” She still looked uncertain, almost uncomfortable at the idea of making music with him.

  “Okay. How about you sit at your keyboard, I’ll kick back over there with my guitar, and we’ll just see what happens.” He headed for the oversized beanbag chair in the corner and sank into it, strumming a few random chords.

  Jenn stared at her keyboard, then back at him. “This feels…awkward.”

  “Nah. It’s only because you’re not used to it.” He patted the guitar, tapping out a beat. “I’ll start us off if you like. I’ve had this idea in my head the last few days for a song about a long-distance relationship.”

  Her eyebrows rose.

  “Yeah, I’m sure you being in California had something to do with it,” he confirmed. “You know how it is. We look to our own lives for inspiration first, right?”

  Her head bobbed in affirmation.

  “So, it was something like ‘the farther apart we are, the closer I feel to you.’” He strummed along to the melody in his head as he sang.

  “I like that,” Jenn said softly, sounding out a few keys to harmonize with him. “‘And whenever we’re together, I know you feel it too.’”

  “Yeah.” He tried out the two lines together, singing as she played. “Yeah, that’s it.”

  And so they felt their way into a rhythm together, with Jenn offering suggestions as she sounded things out on her keyboard while he sang and played his guitar. He had no idea how long they’d been at it, but they’d recorded two rough demos and the bottle of wine was empty. Jenn’s cheeks were pink, her hair a fiery tumble over her shoulders as she played.

  “Right away,” he sang, sliding in next to her, “I need you, baby, right away.”

  “Do you?” she asked, turning her head to his, her eyes bright with lust.

  “Fuck, yes.”

  “That’s not how the song goes,” she chided, a smile playing around the corners of her mouth.

  “And if you’re not beside me,” he sang, returning to the lyrics, “I’ll hold on to every moment until you’re back in my arms, right away.”

  She scooted over, her hip bumping into his, her hand on his thigh. Music buzzed through his ve
ins, warm and fuzzy like the wine in his belly, hot and urgent as the lust burning in his gut.

  “Cole,” she whispered. Her eyes held his for a long, loaded moment, and then she was scrambling into his lap, her lips devouring his. Caught off guard—and off-balance—he toppled off the edge of the seat, and they rolled onto the floor, arms and legs entwined, kissing desperately.

  He lay flat on his back with Jenn sprawled across him, his hands clutching her hips while his tongue lashed against hers. She still wore the gray dress she’d worn to dinner, preventing her legs from sliding down to straddle his hips the way he wanted them to. “God, I needed this,” he groaned, pressing her more firmly against his aching cock. Fooling around with Jenn had fast become his favorite pastime.

  She let out a breathless sound, wiggling her hips against him. “I want to have sex with you tonight, Cole.”

  His dick surged inside his jeans. “Are you sure?”

  She looked down at him, her green eyes blazing. “Yes.”

  “But what if…” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the thought, because right now, he wanted to have sex with Jenn more than he wanted pretty much anything else in life. Screw the tabloids, his reputation, whatever the fallout might be. He needed this woman more than he needed his next breath.

  “If we implode before our six months is up, it’ll make our public breakup look more believable, right?” she said, her gaze still locked on his.

  “Yes.” He slid his hand up the back of her thigh and under her dress, drunk with the freedom to touch her as he’d been dying to for so long. “But right now, I think I could easily fuck you for the next five months and never get tired of it.”

  “I’m ready for my first peek at this infamous dick of yours,” she said in a wicked tone as she gripped him through his jeans.

  He hissed out a breath. “About that…”

  Her brows wrinkled. “Yeah?”

  “It’s just…it’s been a long damn time, Jenn, and I’m so fucking gone for you, it’s not even funny. I may not last long the first time.”

  She smiled, tracing her fingers up and down his erection. “As long as you make it worth my while, I don’t care if you go off in ten seconds.”