She poured Timber a bowl of water and cut up some hot dogs for him, too, vowing to go to the store later that afternoon to get him all the supplies Oscar had outlined.
For now, she needed a moment with her guitar. A lot had happened that day, and she hoped to channel it into a song. Her dream had always been to write a truly great song. Not just a tune with a catchy hook, but words that meant something, too. And she knew the best time to let her heart bleed onto the page was when it pumped fast and hard. Whether from sorrow, happiness, or any emotion in between, the key was the intensity of the feeling rather than the feeling itself.
And right now, she felt intensely excited.
Lolly grabbed her favorite pick from inside her sunglasses case and began to strum mindlessly on the chords. It was vital that she feel the music, not think it. So, she played with different sounds until she found a beat she liked. Now came the hard part. She needed words.
“I’ve come so far,” she crooned. “Searching for myself, but then I found you-ooo-ooo-oooh. Oh, you-ooo-ooo-ooh.”
Timber seemed to like it, joining in on the second long you with a keening song of his own.
Lolly sighed and laid her guitar on the bed next to her, reaching out to stroke the husky’s soft fur. She’d never written such a ridiculous lyric in all her life. Even the dog knew it was bad.
So much for words that meant something.
And so much for not letting this crush interfere with her music.
Chapter 6
Oscar hated that he had to wait an entire day to see Lolly again. At least now he knew her name, her number, and that she shared his intentions. He still didn’t get much sleep that night, though it wasn’t because of how his heart raced at the thought of seeing Lolly again.
“Oscar!” his mother shouted into the phone the moment he picked it up. “Sting just did the cutest thing! You have to come see!”
Sting? Oh, right, the kittens. He was beginning to regret bringing that cat to his mother. “Mom, it’s past midnight. Can’t you get some sleep? Or at least wait to call me until tomorrow?”
“Oscar, this is the cat family’s first night of life. I don’t want to miss anything important.” Her voice was way too energetic given the hour.
“I’m glad you’re taking such good care of them, Mom, but what about me, your human son? I am missing something important—sleep.” He pulled the covers over his head and groaned.
“Fine, fine. Can you come by tomorrow after work, though?” Cats mewed in the background as she spoke. “I want to show you how well they’re all doing. It’s really amazing!”
“I can’t,” he said without thinking. “I’m going to a concert.”
“A concert? Sign me up! Is it at Koot’s?”
Unfortunately, he was not equipped to deal with his mother’s intrusiveness on so little sleep, and his hesitation gave him away.
“Oh, it is at Koot’s! Should we make a date of it?” she asked, that last part spoken in a goochie goo voice. He could just picture her holding one of the kittens up to her face and giving it Eskimo kisses as she talked.
“Mom, no, not with you. I’m…” Well, seeing as the cat was already out of the bag on this one, he just went ahead and told her, “I’m meeting someone.”
“Is it Sadie?” She laughed. “You know, human Sadie? I just knew she was special!”
He groaned. Talk about a night terror. If he never saw human Sadie again, it would still be too soon. “Oh, she’s special, all right, but not in the way you think. Mom, please I’ve gotta go. Do not come to Koot’s tomorrow night. I mean it.”
He ended the call before his mother could argue any further, then rolled over and grabbed a few more hours’ sleep.
Still, it hadn’t been nearly enough by the time his alarm chimed the following morning.
On the way to work, he downed an extra double shot espresso to make sure he’d have enough energy to make it through the night. He’d already planned the perfect second date for him and Lolly, and it started with being at her show.
Unfortunately, that day gave him one delay after another, culminating in the need to stay late to tend to an emergency visit from a frantic woman who had clipped a porcupine with her car. The porcupine would be fine once it got to the nature rehabilitation specialists, and he would be fine just as soon as he saw his dream girl again.
At last, he pushed his way into the packed club, and though there were people all around him, it felt as if everyone faded away the moment he set eyes on Lolly Winston. There she stood on the raised stage, leaning back against a stool with her guitar held low as she sang into the mic. He thought he recognized a song from Taylor Swift, though he preferred Lolly’s version much more.
Heck, Lolly could sing the screeching 80’s hair metal songs his father still loved and it would sound like a choir of angels. He practically expected a beam of light to shine down from heaven and illuminate her on stage, as if God Himself were saying, “Look, Oscar. Here she is. Your perfect girl. Your soulmate.”
A wet nose pushed, and sure enough, it was Timber, decked out with a tiny cowboy hat and special jacket that had Lolly’s name and website painted on both sides.
“Why, hello, you,” he greeted the husky, both wondering and marveling at how Lolly had managed to get him out here again despite the dog’s terrible car sickness.
On stage, Lolly broke into a guitar solo. Her eyes landed on Oscar and Timber standing together as they both watched in admiration. She smiled with a brief tilt of her head that seemed to say, “Hey! I’m so glad you’re here.”
And Oscar was glad, too—glad about everything, about Timber finding a home and about him and Lolly finding each other, about saving that porcupine tonight though it had made him late for her show, and even about the role his mother had played in bringing them together and how happy she was fussing over her new litter of kittens.
Lolly smiled. He smiled. Timber smiled. It was perfect.
Unfortunately, that was the last perfect moment of the night.
Lolly tried not to grimace when she missed a chord. She’d just been so surprised and excited to see Oscar standing in the audience with Timber. The club manager, Gary, was supposed to be watching the dog while she was on stage, but it didn’t seem to matter that the dog had wandered off, seeing as he’d found his way to a friend. What really mattered was that Oscar had come, and he looked every bit as delighted to see her as she was to see him.
She could write the perfect song later, she supposed. Right now, she needed to follow her heart, and her heart wanted to see where things could go with this handsome man who had stumbled across her path by complete coincidence.
She smiled even bigger as she finished her set. The audience cheered and clapped as everyone who’d been seated rose to show their appreciation. She couldn’t find Oscar among them, but luckily, he found her the moment she came into the large storage and utility area that also doubled as a backstage.
“You were amazing,” he said, wrapping her in a hug. It was an intimate gesture, but one that felt right, especially with the post-concert adrenaline rush that made her feel light and invincible.
“Thanks.” The edges of her face twinged from smiling too much, but she didn’t care. She’d always loved the high that followed a performance and having Oscar here to share it with her made it that much better.
“Seriously,” he said, continuing to hold his arms around her, “how are you not already multi-platinum? I didn’t know how much I liked country music until I heard you play it. The emotion, the sound, everything. It was perfect. You’re perfect.”
She knew she might regret it when the rush wore off, but right now, Lolly couldn’t see anything beyond Oscar. He filled her vision and her heart—and he was right, too. This night was perfect, the two of them here together with Timber sitting happily nearby.
The only thing that could make it better would be…
Love, like music, was meant to be felt—not thought about. And in that moment, she felt l
ike she wanted to kiss the gorgeous man standing before her. But it was too soon. Wasn’t it?
“They loved you out there. Are you going to do an encore? When is your next show? You have to—”
Oh, what the heck? She laced her fingers behind his neck and pulled his face down to meet hers. The kiss was everything it needed to be—soft, hungry, tender, enticing. She just couldn’t get enough.
He pulled back slightly to whisper against her cheek, “Well, that was a nice surprise.”
“Shut up and kiss me again,” she said on a slow exhale.
And, God bless him, he didn’t hesitate.
Unfortunately, the show wasn’t over just yet—and this was not the encore she’d intended.
Chapter 7
The door slammed open, striking the wall. A pair of fast steps followed. Oscar didn’t even need to look away from Lolly to know who it was that had just joined them.
“There you are!” his mother cried, coming to stand right beside him at the worst possible time.
“Mom,” he growled. “I told you not to come. Please go away.”
Before she could respond, another middle-aged woman rushed back and came straight up to Lolly, giving her a quick hug and causing Oscar to choke on the cloying fog of her perfume.
“There you are! I thought I’d never get through that crowd. Darling, you’re a star. At least you will be when I get done with you.”
“Who are you?” Oscar’s mother shot daggers at the other woman.
“I’m Kelley Lux, Lolly’s agent,” the woman hissed. “Who are you?”
“I’m—”
Timber let out a low whine and slinked to the other side of the room with his tail between his legs. They all watched as he went.
His mother tried her introduction again. “I’m Kelly Rockwell, Lolly’s boyfriend’s mom.”
Did he have an actual headache, or was it just that his brain was already fried from trying to come up with a way to recover here? Oscar groaned. “Mom, could you not?”
“K-k-kelley,” Lolly sputtered. “What are you doing here? You stood me up. You wouldn’t return my calls,” she reminded the agent.
Kelley Lux gave a dismissive wave, stirring up the chemical cloud of her signature fragrance once more. “Something came up. I’m sorry, but I’m here now and I’m ready to sign right on that dotted line. C’mon, dear, let’s talk business.”
Lolly shrugged, threw a smile back toward Oscar, and let her new agent usher her away.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” his mother asked, hurt reflecting in her eyes.
“Mom, nothing’s official.”
Timber returned to Oscar’s side and looked up at him with equally sad eyes. Oscar petted the dog while his mother continued to lecture him.
“I saw you two going at it. Looked pretty official to me.”
Ugh, I just cannot win with her! “Then why did you interrupt?” he demanded. She wasn’t getting off the hook, not this time. He liked Lolly way too much to let his mother scare her off. “I thought you wanted me to date.”
“Calm down, I’m happy for you. If you’d have told me you were meeting a girl, I’d have stayed put at home.”
Oscar thought he had mentioned the date, but he was also half-asleep when he spoke to his mother the night before, so who really knew? “Mom, I’m meeting a girl. Please go home,” he said in a last-ditch effort to get rid of her or at least to call her out on her meddling.
“Fine, fine. I’m going. I just wanted to say hi anyway. When I came back here, I didn’t know you’d be necking with your lady friend. Besides, that other dreadful woman was already on her way back.”
He sighed and patted Timber’s head. “Well, I didn’t know I’d be necking, either. It just kind of happened. Now thanks to you, I’m not sure it will happen again.”
His mother studied him. “Wow. You really like this one, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. She’s perfect.”
“Then you better make your move fast. Seems like that agent of hers is ready to whisk her away without a second glance back.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about, too.” They had a connection, but would it be enough to keep Lolly here if her agent had other plans? She’d been the one to kiss him first, but then again, who was Oscar to compete with her lifelong dreams? Would it even be fair if he asked her to put them aside and stay here in Anchorage with him and Timber?
As he thought this over, Lolly reappeared to grab up her guitar case and her dog’s leash. “Raincheck?” she asked with a hopeful smile.
“He’d love to,” his mother answered with a genuine smile.
Lolly glanced back at Oscar as Kelley Lux led her away. Talk about a wakeup call! Kissing Oscar was like a dream, but it needed to be a passing one. The music had to come first. If she didn’t make it her priority now, she’d never get another chance. This was it.
There will be other guys, other earth-shattering first kisses, she told herself, but even as she thought the words, she knew they were wrong. Others like him? Doubtful. Who else had the perfect combination of heart and hunkiness? Who could compare to Oscar Rockwell?
“They’re going to love you in Nashville,” her agent said as they settled into a quiet restaurant down the street from Chilkoot Charlie’s. “Let’s go ahead and lay some groundwork here and then head in to meet with my contacts out in Tennessee in, say… three weeks? Yes, that should be enough time.”
Lolly nodded, wondering if she needed to say anything at all or if Kelley could continue the conversation all on her own.
“First, we need to do something about your look. You’re a pretty girl, but you haven’t got enough oomph.” The other woman frowned as she appraised Lolly’s jeans, tank top, and long wavy hair. “We’ll start with the hair, obviously. And are you sure you want to go by Lolly Winston?”
“That’s my name,” she explained, feeling under attack from a woman who was meant to be her ally. But this is how I grow? This is how it happens. Right?
Kelley tapped her pen against the table as she thought about their options. “Okay!” she shouted after a moment, startling poor Lolly. She felt like she was on a rollercoaster ride but with no guarantee that the ride had been tested for safety. Would Kelley send her hurtling off track and over the edge? Or could they really, truly reach the top together?
“We’ll go with Lolly,” she continued. “We’ll add a bit more bass, some backup dancers, and we’ll build a brand around you. Lolly Pop!” She laughed to herself. “Yes, it’s perfect!”
Lolly Pop? Was this woman setting her up for a serious career as a musician or a Disney Channel original movie?
Her new agent reached forward and clasped Lolly’s hand. “It’s a lot to take in when you’re getting started, but you’ve gotta take the right steps if you want to end up at the finish line, right? Trust me, dear. Kelley knows best.”
Lolly smiled and nodded. The last thing she wanted was to appear ungrateful. So, Kelley had stood her up that first night. So, what? She was here now and had all kinds of ideas to help Lolly. “That makes sense,” she said quickly. “You’ve got to pay your dues before you can join the club.”
“Exactly! See, you get it! That’s why you’re going to go places, and I’ll be the one to get you there. Here. Take a look at this contract, and then initial here, here, here, and…” She licked her finger and turned the page, while Lolly’s head swirled from all the tiny font dancing before her.
“And initial here, then sign on the dotted line,” Kelley finished with a flourish.
“Shouldn’t I have a lawyer look this over first?” Lolly squeaked.
“A lawyer? Who has time for lawyers?” Kelley looked genuinely shocked and offended. Had Lolly just caused her to change her mind? And why was she being so wishy-washy about this? Finally, she was getting somewhere. Did she really want to look a gift horse in the mouth? It’s not like she had agents lining up at her door. Kelley Lux was it.
Kelley sighed and shot her client
a sympathetic look. “Honey, this business moves fast. Do you want to make it to Nashville or do you want to spend the rest of your life playing tiny Podunk clubs in Anchorage?”
Her dream would never come true without the right people on her side. Kelley seemed to want this to work every bit as much as Lolly did. She said all the right things, knew all the right people.
And Lolly just couldn’t afford to pass this up.
She grabbed the pen and did as she was told.
Chapter 8
Oscar tried calling Lolly later that night but couldn’t get through. Ahh, who was he kidding? She was already too good for him. Maybe with the attention of the agent, she finally realized it, too. He debated whether to keep calling or just to let her go. She’d call him back if she really wanted to. Wouldn’t she? In the end, he knew he would always regret not having given her his all. If she wanted to reject him, fine, but at least he would know he’d tried.
“Hello?” Lolly answered this time, immediately punctuating the word with a deep yawn.
“I caught you at last!” he practically shouted from excitement. “Sorry, if I woke you up.”
“Oscar, oh!” Bedsheets rustled in the background, and he imagined her rushing to sit up.
“Hi,” she said after a few quick beats. “Sorry I had to leave suddenly like that.”
“It happens. So, about that raincheck, I have the day off and was hoping I could take you out.” He hoped that by phrasing it as a statement instead of a question, she’d be more likely to agree. The longer it took her to respond, the smaller that hope shrank.
“I don’t know if that’s the best idea,” she said at last. “My agent wants me to go to the salon and start an Instagram account, and—”
The Alaska Sunrise Romances: A 9-Book Sweet Romance Collection Page 4
