“Weren’t you Team ‘Work Until You Make It’ before we fell in love?”
She laughed. “I was, but let’s face it. You’ve been in love with that boy since way before I met you. Besides, he doesn’t seem like a distraction. From what I’ve been hearing from you, things have been going better for you than ever since he’s been back in your life.”
“You’re right.” I let out a soft sigh. “I’m pretty sure he does, but what if he doesn’t feel the same way? What if he really just wanted a platonic travel companion and friend with benefits for this trip?”
“Well, if that’s the case, then you do what every other great songwriter does. You turn your pain into heartbreak anthems that will be shouted along to the world over.”
“If only it was that easy,” I said, but then I remembered that look in his eyes before my phone had interrupted us. “You know what, though? You’re right. I just need to go out there and tell him. I need to tell him that I agreed to this for the money, but also because I wanted to spend this time with him. I need to tell him that I’ve known for weeks that I’m in love with him again and that success will mean nothing if he’s not there to share it with me. I need to tell him that all of these experiences didn’t inspire me nearly as much as he did and that if I can only achieve one thing in my life, I’d choose him.”
“Jesus, being in love really is good for you. That sounded like the makings of another song right there.”
I laughed. “Welcome to the inside of my head for these last couple of months. I swear, every thought I have about him and about us turns into me waxing so lyrical about him that my thoughts turn into actual lyrics. It’s ridiculous, but it’s great.”
“You sound happy,” she said after pausing for a beat. “I’m glad for you, honey. Really, but when you’re done pouring your heart out to him, come home so we can get those songs recorded. Thankfully, you don’t have to choose between him and the money. I mean, I’d still have chosen the money, but I know you wouldn’t have, so it’s a good thing you can have it all.”
“We don’t know yet that I can have it all, but I’ve got my fingers and toes crossed.”
“So do I, then. Call me later and tell me how it went. I refuse to call you again since I really don’t want to interrupt another special moment between you two, but at least text me by tomorrow night to let me know what happened. You should’ve surfaced from your cocoon of lovemaking by then.”
“I can’t promise that, but I can promise to let you know just as soon as I can. If you get radio silence from me for the next couple of days, at least you’ll know why. We’re safe. The house we’re staying in is amazing and we’ll probably be taking advantage of the privacy it offers.”
She cheered. “You go, girl. Have fun. I’ll talk to you when I talk to you. Also, I’m glad neither of you got eaten by a shark. Bye.”
“Bye.” I smiled, holding the phone to my chest for a moment after we’d hung up. The call with Leah really had gotten me excited to get back home and start recording, but I’d also have stayed right here with Bart for another month at least if that’d been an option.
I knew he had to get home soon to start practicing for his tournament, though. Both of us had good reasons to be looking forward to going back to New York, but part of me also wished we could just stay in this bubble of nothing but us for longer. Hopefully, we’d go home, do what we needed to do, and be off again in no time.
Also, I needed to remember to tell Bart that I’d roped Leah into diving with us. Obviously, he would always be my first choice for a dive buddy, but Leah would love scuba diving, and since she’d likely be traveling with me as part of my band if everything went well with my debut, it would also mean that I had another buddy for the times when Bart couldn’t be with me.
Then again, I also just wanted her to experience it because it had truly been one of most amazing things I’d ever done and probably ever would do. Leah had been all about skydiving for ages, but once she got a taste of scuba, I was pretty sure she’d be converted. Not just her, either. I was so elated by it that I wanted everyone to try it right about now. I was a share-the-sunshine kind of person, and that was definitely a happiness that I wanted everyone else in my life to feel at least once as well.
Well, that and skydiving, which I’m definitely treating Bart to next time.I didn’t want him to feel like I was with him for the money. If I wanted to be an equal partner in our relationship, I couldn’t expect him to keep paying for everything we did.So as soon as I can afford it, I’m paying for us both myself.
When I walked back out onto the deck, I found him standing at the very edge of it, a half-drunk glass of scotch in his hand as he stared out at the ocean. Coming up behind him, I wrapped my arms around his waist.
“I’m sorry that took so song,” I murmured. “Leah kept me on the phone for ages. She wanted to know about everything and I got a bit caught up.”
“No problem,” he said tensely, reaching for my hands around his stomach and removing them as he took a step aside. “We should eat. It’s all cold anyway, so it doesn’t matter how long you took.”
I frowned, noticing the stiffness of his posture and the strain in his voice. He was definitely acting a lot colder toward me than he had been before I’d left. “Is everything okay?”
“Sure, it’s fine. Let’s just eat.” He moved toward the table like a robot, then sat down without looking at me and started eating without waiting for me to join him. When I eventually sat down with him, he scooted his chair away from mine, still without looking at me, and didn’t acknowledge me at all as we ate.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You’re being really weird.”
“I said I’m fine. Just tired.”
“We have had a long day,” I agreed. “Do you want to go swimming when we’re done eating? We can have a cocktail in the water while the sun sets and then turn in early.”
“You’re welcome to swim if you want to, but I don’t feel up to it,” he said. “There should be some kind of cocktail mix in the bar if you want to make one.”
“Right,” I said slowly, frowning again when I realized he hadn’t looked directly at me once since I’d come back outside. “If you’re not up to it, how about we just skip to the turning in early part? We could put that big bed in the master to good use.”
My suggestion skipped off him like a stone. Instead of taking me up on it, he shrugged and finished the food on his plate, then got up and picked the plate up, too. “Actually, I’m not really feeling well. I’m going to go sleep in one of the other bedrooms. Don’t forget to lock up when you’re done out here for the day. I’m sure it’s pretty safe around here, but we shouldn’t take any chances with someone else’s house.”
“Uh, okay. I’ve got some basic medicine to ease cold symptoms if you think you’re coming down with something. I can go get it for you.”
“Don’t bother,” he replied dismissively, walking himself and his plate into the house without looking back once.