but in the moment, I’m not sure I would have cared if the press was on the other side of the door.”
I groaned and gripped the edges of the counter. “That’s the problem. You weren’t thinking. I was barely thinking, so I did the responsible thing and gave us both time to clear our heads.”
“Which took a week?” She folded her arms across her chest. She wasn’t wearing a bra.
Great, now I was going to start drooling. “I might have a slight communication problem.”
“You think?” she snapped. “And it’s not using me if I’m clearly on board with it.”
That brought me up short. “You’re…on board with it? So many inappropriate plane comments are rolling through my mind right now.”
“Nixon!” She pushed away from the counter, then sighed. “Okay, you’re right. Looking back, I probably would have been a little mortified. About the audience. And the location. After the fact. Not during. You have a way of switching off my common sense.”
“Exactly. I have f—” I grimaced. “Been with a lot of women. I’ve never really cared if they regretted it afterward because they were all clearly in the consent column before and during.”
“I get it. You’re a rock star. Everyone wants it.” She put up her hands and rolled her eyes.
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it. I care if you regret this, Zoe. I care about what you think. I care about being in the right state of mind when it comes to touching you, because I care more about your feelings than I do about getting my hands on you, which, trust me, is a first.” I pointed at her. “And don’t you dare pull that shit about not wanting you, when you know it’s not true. I want you so badly that I’m hard the second I smell a damned coconut!”
“Well, I bet you’re fun in the produce aisle.” A ghost of a smile curved her lips.
“I’ve been banned by your local grocery store.”
She laughed.
“I’m a mess. You’re on the management staff. I heard what you said up there, loud and clear. I know how important your job is to you. It’s…complicated, and I was trying to put some distance between us for your own good.”
She studied me carefully. “Are you done now?”
“I don’t know,” I answered as truthfully as possible.
“Well, I do.” She swallowed. “I want whatever this is.”
My eyes widened and my heart stumbled. “You want… What about your job? I mean, I’d never let Ben fire you, but I know you’re worried about perceptions.”
She took a deep breath. “I’ve decided if you’re willing to be real with me…then I’m willing risk whatever the consequences might be.”
I stared at her in openmouthed shock. She thought I was worth the risk. Me. The guy who’d proven himself as anything but reliable. Perfect, gorgeous, rule-abiding Zoe wasn’t just coloring outside her lines, she was obliterating them. For me.
“Say something,” she begged, her voice slipping to a whisper.
You’d better earn it.
“All right,” I said with a nod.
“All right?”
“We have two shows in the next six days. Let me get through them without…” Alcohol. Drugs. Sex. “And then we’ll see. I need to know I’m not using you.”
Every inch between us went tight in the quiet.
“Okay,” she finally agreed, breaking the silence but not the tension. “But…” She winced, looking away before steadying herself and meeting my gaze. “But if you end up using someone and it’s not me, I don’t know—”
“Won’t happen.” There was zero chance in hell.
“I’m sure you mean that, but I’m not exactly new to backstage, Nix.”
I came around the island and took her face in my hands. “You’re new to this, just like me. And I’m telling you that I don’t want anyone else.”
For now. The flash of sadness in her eyes said it for her.
“I promise. No one else.” I’d never offered that to another woman in my life. Then again, I’d never met one I wanted to keep for myself either.
“Okay.” She stood, brushed her lips over mine, and walked away, scooping up her planner and phone. “Now get packed.”
“Just like that?” I asked.
“Just like that,” she agreed. “You made me a promise. I trust you to keep it. It’s that simple. One week.”
“Six days!” I countered as she walked out, tossing me a grin over her shoulder.
These were about to be the longest six days of my life.
12
ZOE
This had been the longest six days of my life.
I had to give it to Nixon. If he’d been trying to heighten