Strings Attached, page 33
He held her at arm’s length. “That was one hell of a performance. And I’m not talking about your speech, although what you said means a lot.” His smile was genuine, the sparkle in his eyes reminiscent of her own. “Even if you hadn’t won, I want you to know I’m proud of you. All of you.”
She tried to swallow, but her throat restricted with a threat of tears. “You are?” Her voice sounded squeaky.
He nodded and rested his hand on her shoulder. “I promise I’ll never hound you about switching to opera again.”
She hugged him tightly. “Now, that would be something.” She leaned back and couldn’t resist teasing him. “A politician keeping a promise.”
They grinned at each other, and he chuckled. “Can I count on your vote?”
She cocked her chin in his direction. “Put it in writing, and I’ll think about it.”
He grasped his jaw in mock contemplation. “You drive a hard bargain, but you got it.”
She hugged them both again and rejoined the others. She was now anxious for it all to be over, but they had to stick around for the other nomination.
She needed to get home to Drew, so she could tell her, face-to-face, that she was in love with her.
Chapter Forty-Seven
“There’s my Doodlebug.”
For once, Drew didn’t mind her dad calling her that in front of other people. She was so relieved that he was alive that she wouldn’t have cared what he called her. He had bounced back well over the weekend. Now they needed to get over the hurdle of the surgery, scheduled only two hours from now.
“Come here.” He motioned her closer with his hand. “I want to talk to you about something.”
“Okay…” She didn’t like the seriousness of his tone.
“I know about the job offer from Passion Play.”
She couldn’t look at him. She hadn’t wanted him to know. “Who told you?”
“Nobody. I overheard Melissa and Geena talking about it.”
Troublemakers. She might have to consider scheduling those two on opposite shifts.
“Honey, I don’t understand. Why did you turn it down?”
“You know why, Dad. You need me at the store—even more so now.”
“Drew.” He sighed and shook his head. “I love working with you at the store, and you’re very good at what you do, but I never expected you to devote your entire life to the place. That was never the deal. If you want the job, take it. You never know if or when you’ll have another opportunity like this. You can’t put your dreams on hold, Drew, and I never wanted you to.”
She got up and stared out the window, not seeing anything beyond it. It wasn’t her father who had trapped her in her job. She’d done it to herself, convincing herself he couldn’t do it without her. Nikki was right. She was afraid. Had she thrown away a chance of a lifetime? She hadn’t even met with Lance to find out any details. For all she knew, she might have been able to juggle both commitments. Now she’d never know.
“Look at me, Drew.”
She turned to face her father.
“Your life is your own. Make it what you want. Don’t base your decisions on me, okay? Or the store. If it’s truly in your heart to have a lifelong career at DJ’s, then by all means, you know you have a job as long as you want. But don’t make the mistake of thinking the store means more to me than your happiness.”
Her throat caught. She didn’t want to cry in front of him. He needed her to be strong right now. “I’m afraid you’ll feel like I’m abandoning you.” Like Mom did.
“Aw, sweetheart, I can take care of myself. Besides, I’ve been kicking around the idea of retiring and just staying on part-time. If you want to take over the business, it’s yours. If not, I’ll promote Geena.”
“Dad! Don’t talk like that. You’re going to get through this just fine and be back on your feet before you know it.”
He waved at her dismissively. “I know that. I’d already planned to talk to you about it before all this happened.” He continued before she could process the decisions she now needed to make. “I know you’ve been itchin’ to try out some new things. DJ’s will be in good hands with you gals.”
Drew stepped back and dropped into a chair. “I don’t know what to say.” Would this be a blessing or a curse? If she was able to implement some of her ideas and increase profits, would it be enough to make her happy, or would the burden of ownership interfere with the time she needed to teach? Or work on Passion Play’s album? Her dad’s blessing had suddenly put the offer in a new light. Was it too late to reconsider? According to Lance, they would have gone into the studio last month. And she still needed to consider whether or not she could handle being around Nikki again.
“Think about it, okay? Whatever you decide, you have my blessing. But life can turn on a dime, honey. Don’t waste what time we’re given.”
She nodded. He closed his eyes and drifted to sleep. He shouldn’t be thinking about this stuff now. She sighed heavily. She could use some sleep, too. She’d been at the hospital nearly round the clock for three days, going home only to shower and change. Melissa and Geena were taking turns caring for the cats. Geena had stepped up like a true professional by rearranging the schedule to make sure the store would be covered for a week. Geena would definitely be the right choice to take over the business if she didn’t want to.
She started to doze, and her father’s voice woke her. “Tell me, what happened with you and Nikki?”
Nikki. She’d thought she could handle watching the Grammys last night, but in the end, she decided not to torture herself. How could she enjoy watching Nikki living out a dream come true while she nursed an aching heart and worried herself sick over her dad’s upcoming surgery?
“You can tell me it’s none of my business,” he continued. “But I’m only going to tell you this once. If you’re going to let one silly little picture keep you away from the woman you love, then I’ve failed you as a father.”
She looked at him in disbelief. “You’re the best father anyone could ask for! And how do you know about the pictures?”
He smiled. “You think I don’t hear you girls talking?”
“But, Dad, look what happened to you and Mom. Her career destroyed our family.”
His eyes sharpened. “No, it didn’t. We were two very different people who wanted different things. It wasn’t her fame that came between us; it was who she was and how she handled it. People handle that kind of stuff differently. Simple as that.”
She couldn’t believe her ears. Simple? It was far from simple.
“You know what’s not simple? Love.” He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Whatever it is that’s keeping you apart, find a way to work it out,” he said earnestly.
“I wish it was that simple, Dad.”
“Do you love her?”
She couldn’t lie. Not to him. “Yes.”
“I know you do.”
“You do?”
He just smiled. “If she loves you, too, then stop being so gosh-darned stubborn and find a way.” He closed his eyes again, a little smirk on his lips. “Find a way, Doodlebug. You deserve to be happy, and it’s time you stop making excuses that keep you from doing what you need to do.”
She stretched over the bed and hugged him. “I love you, Dad.”
“I love you, too. Don’t worry.” He mussed her hair. “I’m going to be fine, and so are you.”
Hearing the words from her dad made them so much easier to believe.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Nikki pulled her Mustang into a space with a screech and ran into the hospital. She stopped at the front desk and dashed off again. She spotted Drew in the waiting room, hunched over, a pen scurrying over a piece of paper on the small table in front of her. Doodling. She approached quietly, trepidation quickly descending upon her as she braced herself for whatever reception Drew was about to give her.
When her shadow fell across the artwork, Drew looked up. Nikki saw shock in her eyes, then something that looked like gratitude.
Nikki didn’t hesitate. She pulled Drew into her arms. “It’s going to be okay, baby. He’s strong. He’s in good hands here, and he’s going to be okay.”
“I can’t believe you came.”
She swiped Drew’s tears away with her thumbs. Drew looked as if she hadn’t slept for a week, and she was still the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. God, she’d missed her. Before she was tempted to kiss away the next round of tears, she reluctantly stepped back and got her a tissue. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“But the Grammys—”
“Are over. I left right after we said thank you at the podium, and I took the first red-eye flight home I could find.”
“You…you won?”
Nikki returned Drew’s smile. “Yeah. We won. Both categories.”
“Nikki, that’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you guys. This’ll open up some great opportunities for the band.”
She shrugged. “It’ll be good for them.” They sat down in an awkward silence. “Any news on how the surgery is going?”
“Nothing yet. They took him in about an hour ago.”
“How are you holding up? Have you eaten? I can go get you something from the cafeteria.”
She started to stand, but Drew caught her by the arm.
She looked at Nikki with wide eyes. “You said ‘them.’”
“Yes.”
“Not ‘us.’”
“That’s right.”
“Nikki, what are you saying?”
Nikki looked around. There were two people sitting together on the other side of the room. “Can we go somewhere a little more private?”
Drew nodded. “Yeah. They said they’d text me if I wasn’t here or if they needed me.”
“Care for some fresh air?”
“That sounds good. I need to stretch.”
Drew stopped at the desk to let them know she was stepping out. She shrugged into her parka, and they walked in silence. Surrounded by nothing but a concrete parking lot and assaulted by frigid February temperatures, Nikki suggested they talk in her Mustang.
She started the car and cranked up the heat. “I’m taking a break from Passion Play. A temporary hiatus, if you will.” She watched Drew’s face carefully, gauging her reaction to this unexpected news.
“But…why?”
She swiveled in her seat and cupped Drew’s hands in her own. “Because I’m in love with you, Drew. I went from the happiest I’ve ever been in my life to the most miserable, and the difference was you. A thousand awards can’t give me what I had with you.” She wondered if her heartbeat drowned out the sound of her voice. “If I have to choose between touring with Passion Play and being with you, I choose you.”
Drew’s eyes shot wide open. “Nikki, you can’t…I can’t let you do this. Not for me, not for anyone. You’ll regret it, and you’ll resent me, and don’t say you won’t because we both know it’s the truth.” She turned to look out a window.
Nikki’s heart pounded. “Then tell me you don’t love me.” She gently turned Drew’s chin and met her eyes. “Tell me you don’t love me, and I will walk away right now.”
Drew took a deep, shuddering breath. “I can’t.”
Her heart leapt inside her chest. She dared not succumb to her excitement yet. She needed to hear Drew say the words. “Tell me.”
“I’ve done nothing but push you away since we met. I’ve been selfish. I don’t deserve the sacrifice you’re making.”
She lightly stroked Drew’s cheek. “Tell me.”
“I’ve let my fears make my decisions for me instead of my heart.” Drew lifted Nikki’s hand and kissed her palm. “I’m so sorry.”
Nikki leaned in until their faces were only inches apart. “Tell me,” she whispered.
“I can’t tell you I don’t love you.” Drew met her eyes. “Because I do love you. I didn’t want to. I tried not to. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop falling in love with you.”
She covered Drew’s lips with her own. Drew wrapped her arms around her as they melted together.
“God, Drew, I missed you so much. I love you, and I promise I will do whatever it takes to make you happy.”
Drew kissed her and ran her fingers through Nikki’s hair. She shivered with the comfort of Drew’s touch.
“Then you need to make two promises to me right now,” said Drew.
“Anything, my love. Anything.”
“You need to promise me you’ll call Lance today and tell him you’re not leaving the band.”
She tucked back her chin and raised an eyebrow. “But what about me having to be away on tour? And what about me being in the spotlight or getting screwed over with another scandal? I thought you couldn’t handle all that?”
“Hell, we’ve already dealt with that already, and I still love you. We’ll make it work, baby, one way or another. Besides, you wouldn’t be the woman I fell in love with if you weren’t who you are.”
She grinned. “Are you sure?”
Drew nodded and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “I hated being apart from you the last two months, too. The holidays sucked, and now I’m really pissed that I missed being with you at the Grammys. And it’s all because I was too stubborn and too afraid to let go.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t at least watch it on TV.”
“It would’ve been too painful. I wanted to be there more than anything.”
“Well, you’re in luck. I recorded it.”
Drew smiled that beautiful smile, her caramel eyes twinkling with mischief. “Why am I not surprised?”
“The most amazing thing that happened didn’t happen on camera, though.”
“What was that?”
“My parents were there.”
“Nikki, that’s great!”
“That’s not the best part. My father said he’d never been prouder of me and that he’d been wrong to try to steer me away from what made me happy.”
“Oh, baby, that’s wonderful.”
Hearing Drew call her baby was such a sweet sound. “I think he finally sees that we’re the real deal. Maybe my mom worked on him, too. I don’t know, but it was awesome.”
“I’m so happy for you.”
They kissed for several minutes before making their way back to the cafeteria for lunch. In the hours that followed, she brought Drew up to date with the news of Amy’s arrest, and she managed to convince her that Lance had made the job offer without her knowledge. Drew, in turn, told her about her talk with Jerry and that, depending on his health needs, she would consider her career options carefully—including an interest in meeting with Lance to discuss working on the album.
The surgeon showed up and interrupted their conversation. “Everything went very well. We’re moving him to recovery in a few minutes.” He smiled kindly. “We’ll keep him here under observation for three to five days, depending on how he’s doing, but it looks like he’s going to be just fine. I’ll have a nurse come get you when he’s settled.”
“So, I can see him soon?”
He nodded. “He’ll sleep for a while longer, but yes, we’ll bring you to his room in about fifteen minutes. That way you’ll be there when he wakes up.”
“Thank you so much.”
While Drew met with the nurse, Nikki excused herself to grab a coffee and to call Randi and Jaymi to give them the news. She smiled. She had lots of good news to report.
For the first time in her life, she felt whole. She had her band. She had success. She had her father’s blessing. She had love.
Everything had finally fallen into place.
She rejoined Drew in Jerry’s room, and they sat together quietly as he slept. Drew thought out loud, hashing out all the possibilities of the many decisions she had before her.
Exhaustion took over, and Drew dozed on Nikki’s shoulder.
Nikki remained silent so as not to awaken either of them. Silent. “That’s it!”
“That’s what?” Drew mumbled.
“What if DJ’s had a silent partner who could cover the cost of adding to your team so you’d be able to devote all of your time to teaching when you wanted to?”
Drew sat up. “You want to buy DJ’s?”
“No, not buy it. Invest in it. You and Jerry would still call all the shots. I’ll just put up the dough so you can do what you want with it.”
She could see Drew’s wheels spinning already.
“That’s a great idea.”
They both turned at the sound of Jerry’s voice.
“Dad! You’re awake!”
Nikki stood and headed for the door. “I’ll let them know at the nurses’ station.”
Drew joined Nikki in the hallway a few minutes later. “The nurse asked me to step out so the doctor could check in on him.” She smiled. “I don’t think he’s in any condition to make any legal decisions right now, but you should know he loves your idea.”
“And what about you?”
“If it means I’ll have time for all my teaching programs and work on your album, then I say we go for it.”
Nikki’s heart raced at the possibility of it coming together so perfectly. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” Drew hugged her. “I’m sure. But don’t think that means you can boss me around.”
She grinned. “I wouldn’t want to step on your cats’ toes. Hey, you never told me what the other promise was.”
“Huh?”
“You said I had to promise you two things. I promised I wouldn’t quit the band. What’s the other thing?”
Drew kissed her softly. “You have to show up for all your cello lessons. You’ve missed about eight in a row, and you’re way behind.”
“Oh, really? Is there some kind of punishment for that?”
“There most certainly is.”
Nikki grinned. “Excellent. What, may I ask, is my punishment?”
“You need to stay after class and cater to my every need.”
“I like the way you think, Professor.”
