“Great.” Noah nodded, but his enthusiasm fell flat. Normally he’d be all over that. A performance on one of the most popular late-night talk shows was guaranteed excellent publicity. But all he could think about was Natalie.
And how he needed to talk to her. Soon.
Reaching for his phone, he pulled it out of his jeans’ pocket as he exited the room without another word to Rick. They were at the studio, hammering out the rest of their songs for their upcoming album, which was going to release in two months. He’d pushed for the Natalie song to be recorded and released as an early single because he knew it would be a hit, and also…
He wanted Natalie to hear it as soon as possible.
What did she think? Did she believe the words? He hoped so, because they came straight from his heart. He wanted her in his life. She took a piece of him with her when she left. They lived close to each other, yet he felt like she was so fucking far away, and it killed him.
Damn it, he needed to get over his fear and worry over making their conversation perfect and just call her. He brought her number up on his phone and stared at it, his thumb hovering over the call button. He hit it before he chickened out and did nothing.
The phone rang again and again, and right before he thought it would go to voicemail, she answered with a tentative hello.
The sound of her voice was so fucking good, and he closed his eyes in sweet relief. Christ, he missed her. “Nat,” he practically growled, sounding all choked up because holy shit, he felt choked up. What the hell was wrong with him?
She paused, not saying a word, and for a moment there he thought she hung up. “Noah? Is that you?”
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat, feeling like an idiot. “How are you?”
“That’s what you ask me? No call, no text, no nothing for six weeks and then you call out of the blue with a ‘how are you’?”
“Nat, did you hear my song?” he asked, hoping like hell she wouldn’t end this call without listening to his explanation. An explanation he really didn’t have. How could he tell her that he was scared? That he didn’t believe in love or relationships, so he figured what they had was just good sex and tried to move on?
Instead, he’d felt hollow. Alone. So fucking lonely he couldn’t stop thinking about her. She’d consumed his thoughts and finally when he couldn’t take it anymore, he put it all down on paper. And that’s how the song for Natalie was born.
“Of course I heard your song!” She was yelling. Ah shit, she was furious and yelling at him and this wasn’t going as planned at all. “It’s a freaking wonderful song! Damn it, Noah. Why did you write it? Why?”
“I missed you,” he admitted in a harsh whisper. He swallowed past the lump in his throat, ready to lay it all on the line for the woman he cared about.
“Really?” She sounded wary, not that he could blame her.
“Really,” he said firmly. “I missed you so damn much, Nat. I couldn’t believe it at first. Wouldn’t believe it, if I’m being truthful.”
“What changed your mind?” she asked.
“I realized I needed you in my life. Desperately. I didn’t know how to tell you to your face, didn’t know how to put it in words, so the best way I could come up with something was…by writing a song.”
She was silent for a moment, and he swore he heard a sniff. “You’re not crying, are you, Nat?”
“N-no,” she stuttered, then broke into sobs. “I miss you too, Noah. So much.”
His entire body ached to hold her in his arms. “Damn it, Nat. Where are you? I need to see you.”
“I’m at work. I just started my shift.” She sniffed again. “I don’t get off for twelve hours.”
Fuck. That sounded like an eternity. “Give me directions and I’ll be there to pick you up when you’re done. We can go back to my place. I know you’ll be tired and I understand, but I need to see you, Nat. I need to hold you,” he confessed. “Will you let me?”
She was quiet for so long he thought he would slowly die inside. The woman knew how to keep him on the hook, and he nearly passed out when he finally heard her answer.
“Yes.”
Epilogue
“We’re not going to win,” Noah muttered, sinking lower in his seat. He tugged at the neckline of his monkey suit, still wondering how Natalie had convinced him to wear it when they were at the fucking Grammys, for Christ’s sake. It was all about the edgy rock and roll when they went to the Grammys. He’d never worn a suit while in attendance, not once.
Of course, he’d never come with the w
oman he loved before either. Natalie looked amazing in a striking red dress by Valentino, her lips slicked in the same color, her long hair falling in cascading waves down her bare back. God, she was sexy.