He turned his phone over in his hands and smiled. He could start with his new approach tomorrow. Today he just needed to hear her voice. He hit number one on the speed dial and waited.

  “Hey, you.”

  The way she answered made him glad that he’d called. Normally she said this is Autumn even though she must know it was him.

  “Hey, baby girl. How you doing? I miss you.”

  She was silent for a few moments, and his heart started to race as he wondered what she was going to say.

  She sighed. “I’m not doing so great. If I’m honest, and I think it’s about time that I am, I miss you, too.”

  He couldn’t help the big grin that spread across his face. “You do?”

  “I do. I don’t like waking up and not seeing your face.”

  Wow. This was new. She hadn’t talked like this before, and he loved it. “I’m the same. As soon as I open my eyes, I look over at the other pillow, but you’re not there, and then I remember.”

  “It sucks, doesn’t it?”

  He nodded happily to himself, thrilled if a little shocked that she felt the same way and more so that she was admitting it. “It does. What do you think we should do about it?”

  “I was thinking I could meet you in Atlanta on Friday.”

  Matt’s heart leaped. “I’d love that. How long can you stay?”

  “I was thinking the whole weekend, maybe even Monday, too.”

  Wow! That was longer than he’d hoped for. “That’d be awesome. I’ll book us a hotel, somewhere nice.”

  “There’s no need. You’ve got shows Friday and Saturday nights. No one will notice if I stay on the bus with you.”

  Matt didn’t know what to say. “I’d love that, if you’re sure.”

  “Why not? The guys already know, and I’m getting closer to being okay with everyone knowing.”

  “You are?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Mind if I ask what changed?”

  She gave a low chuckle. “You have my little sister to thank. She gave me a severe talking to and basically told me that I’m just being a coward. That I need to follow my heart and deal with whatever fallout comes when it comes. There are no guarantees, right? And as much as I like to control things, this is something I have no control over.”

  “Damn, baby girl. You’re laying it all out there for me.”

  “I should have done right from the start.”

  “Nah, you needed time to know if this is what you really want. Mind if I ask you a question, though?”

  “Sure.”

  “If Summer said you need to follow your heart, am I allowed to hope that your heart is getting involved here?”

  She was quiet long enough that he began to regret asking, but his own heart raced when she finally answered.

  “You don’t need to hope. You can know without a doubt that my heart is involved. Not just involved, it’s way out if its depth in uncharted territory.”

  He smiled. “I’ll be happy to guide it if you like.”

  “I’m counting on it.”

  That almost took his breath away. She was counting on him? That was something she’d told him many times over the years that she could never do. “I won’t let you down.”

  “I know.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  By the time Friday rolled around, Autumn couldn’t wait to leave the office and fly out to Atlanta to meet Matt. She missed him so much it felt like a physical ache deep in her chest. She wished that she’d announced her plans earlier in the week, but it was too late now. Clay and Marianne were arriving this morning, and since they didn’t know she was headed to Atlanta, Marianne had invited her to lunch, and Clay wanted to meet with her afterward.

  She looked up at the clock on the wall. It was eleven fifteen; they should be here within the hour. Just as she turned back to her computer, there was a knock on the door, and it opened.

  Clay stood there smiling at her, and Marianne waved at his side.

  “Are you busy, little girl? We got in early.”

  She smiled and got to her feet. “I’m never too busy for you guys, you know that.” She greeted Clay with a peck on the cheek and then allowed herself to relax in Marianne’s embrace for a moment. There was something about the older woman that made Autumn feel at home. She was the kind of mother figure Autumn had never known. Her own parents weren’t big on showing physical affection—or any kind of affection. They weren’t even big on keeping in contact with their daughters.

  Marianne stepped back and looked her over with a smile. “You’re looking well. You know I worry about you working so hard, but I have to say that it seems to be doing you good.”

  “Thanks.”

  Clay raised an eyebrow at her. “I wasn’t sure how you were doing. I thought you might be stressed over this whole deal with Matt.”

  Her heart started to race. Did he know what was going on between the two of them? She’d been putting off telling him, but she hated the thought that he must have found out from someone else.

  He cocked his head to one side. “This whole secret lover thing. The press is having a field day with it.”

  She nodded, relieved that he didn’t know that she was the secret lover but feeling guilty as hell that she should tell him.

  “Yeah, it’s not ideal, but I think we’ve got it under control for now.”

  “What’s he thinking?” asked Clay. “I’ve tried calling him a few times, but he hasn’t returned my calls. I know it gets crazy out on tour, but I can’t help feeling like he’s avoiding me. Do you know what’s going on? Do you know who this mystery woman is?”

  Autumn stared at him. She should just come out and tell him, but with the two of them staring at her like that, it was just too much.

  Clay took her silence to mean that she didn’t know and wasn’t happy about it. He shook his head sadly. “That worries me. If he hasn’t told you and he hasn’t told me, that makes me think that whoever this woman is, she’s important to him. I just want to know why he’s keeping quiet. Does he think we won’t approve? Does he know he’s making a bad choice?”

  “I … I don’t think that’s it.” Autumn had to say something to defend Matt. If it were up to him, he would have told Clay from the get-go.

  Clay held her gaze for a long moment. “Do you know more than you’re telling me? I thought you’d be spitting fire and totally pissed at him.”

  She shrugged. “Yeah, I do know a little something, but I think the situation needs a little more time yet. Let me talk to him and then he—or I—will tell you more.”

  “Okay. I trust your judgment. And you’re going to Atlanta for the weekend, right? I take it you plan to bring him into line?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. You could say that.”

  “How do you feel about all this?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Clay shook his head. “I always thought the two of you were just dancing around the inevitable, that you’d get together one day. My gut tells me that whoever he’s hiding from us is someone very important to him. He wouldn’t be hiding her otherwise. Are you going to be okay if he’s getting into something serious?”

  “Of course, I am.” She had to hide a smile. The way she felt, she’d be more than happy if Matt was getting into something serious—with her. She just wanted to be sure of herself before she told Clay.

  Clay chuckled. “I can only guess that he’s got some kind of trouble brewed up, that you know what it is, and that you reckon you can resolve it before I need to hear about it. I’ve never seen you so tight-lipped about Matt. I’m more used to having to listen to you bitch about him and his antics.”

  She had to smile at that. “Okay, you got me. I’m sure we’ll be ready to tell you all about it soon.”

  “Fair enough. I have you run the place so that I don’t need to deal with all of this. So, I guess I can’t complain if you choose to keep me in the dark.” He turned to Marianne and kissed her cheek. “Do you want to call me when you ladies get done with lunch?”

  Marianne smiled up at him. “Okay, but is there anything urgent you need to meet with Autumn about?”

  Clay frowned. “Nothing urgent.” He looked at Autumn. “Is there?”

  She shook her head and looked at Marianne, wondering what she was thinking.

  The older woman smiled at them. “I just thought maybe you could take me on that walk you promised me this afternoon—especially if Autumn wants to get on her way to Atlanta?”

  Clay looked a little surprised, but nodded. “Sure. Whatever you want, darlin’.”

  He pecked her cheek and then smiled at Autumn. “I guess we can catch up after you solve your Matt problem.”

  “That might be better.” She was grateful to Marianne for saving her from having to meet with Clay later. This way, the next time she spoke with him, she’d be ready to come clean with him about her and Matt.

  Once he’d gone, she smiled at Marianne. “Where do you want to have lunch?”

  “I don’t mind. Wherever you want to go. All I want is to catch up with you. And if you want to unload anything, I’ll happily be your sounding board—or whatever else you need.”

  Autumn held her gaze for a long moment. “Do you know? How do you know?”

  She smiled. “I don’t know, but I’m guessing that you’re the one Matt is keeping a secret.”

  Autumn let out a deep breath and nodded.

  “I want to say that’s wonderful! I’ve thought the two of you would be great together ever since I met you. But, what’s the problem? Why the secrecy? And especially, why not tell Clay? I can’t imagine him being anything but thrilled for you. He sees you both as family.”

  “I know. I just … I’m being stupid, I guess. I don’t want to let him down.”

  “Let him down?” Marianne looked puzzled. “Come on, let’s go and get some lunch and you can tell me all about it.”

  Once they were seated in the restaurant, Marianne smiled encouragingly. “So, do you want to tell me about it, or should I just butt out?”

  “I don’t want you to butt out. I’m glad you know, though I’m not sure I could have made myself tell you.”

  “Why not? Is there some complication? Some reason that the two of you want to keep this a secret?”

  “No. At least, there’s nothing complicated about it outside of my head. Matt would love to tell everyone. He wanted to from the start. It’s me who’s been holding back.”

  “Why?” Marianne held her gaze for a moment. She was such a kind soul. She made Autumn feel safe in a way she wasn’t used to.

  “I don’t really know. A thousand reasons, and at the same time, no good reason at all. I wanted to be sure of my feelings at first. I mean, come on, it’s Matt. He’s been a pain in my ass for years.”

  “But now you’re sure that you feel something for him?”

  Autumn nodded. “I am. Now that I’ve dropped my whole defensive thing, I can admit that he’s a great guy. In fact, he’s an amazing guy.” She smiled and looked away for a moment.

  Marianne touched her arm. “So why wouldn’t you want Clay and your friends—or the whole world—to know that you’re happy with an amazing guy?”

  “Because … because. Damn. I don’t even know anymore. At first, I thought it was wrong to get involved with him—because of the label. But I know I was only using that as an excuse. I also had this idea that falling in love with a guy—especially one of the artists—would make me look weak, would cost me my credibility in the industry, but Summer made me see I was wrong about that—I was just lying to myself and using that as an excuse.”

  “An excuse for what?”

  “To be a coward and avoid laying myself open to getting hurt.”

  “Especially publicly?”

  Autumn thought about that. “No. I’m less worried about the media coverage and about the whole world knowing than I am about Clay and our friends knowing.”

  “Because …?”

  “Because I know this could all go wrong. I could get hurt. And if I do, I’ll seem weak.”

  Marianne shook her head. “It’s not weakness to lay yourself and your heart on the line. Even if things don’t work out. There’s nothing weak about opening your heart up to a man—even if in the end it gets broken.”

  “I can see that now. I’m wrapping my head around it; it’s just taken me a little while to accept that I can still be me without the hard-shell exterior.”

  Marianne smiled. “Those of us who care about you can see through the hard shell anyway. It doesn’t fool us.”

  Autumn looked at her in surprise. “It’s not an act.”

  “Oh, I know. I didn’t mean that. You’re a tough cookie, and I respect that about you. But it’s only one aspect of who you are. It’s the side of you that you let the world see, but there’s another side to you—a soft, sweet girl with a big heart, and it strikes me that that side of you is ready to come into her own. Do you mind me asking—do you even know why you’ve kept that part of you hidden away?”

  Autumn chewed on her bottom lip. “No. I don’t know. I just know that it hurts too much to let yourself love someone and get nothing back.”

  Marianne nodded. “A guy let you down in the past?”

  She shook her head rapidly. “Not a guy. I’ve never given a guy the chance to get close enough to hurt me. My parents. When we were little, I wanted so badly for them to love Summer and me. Summer’s always been so soft and sweet, and she was always so hurt when they brushed her off. I tried to shield her from the hurt, but I couldn’t—not completely. I suppose I tried to earn their love by being good at everything—but that didn’t work either, they just weren’t interested in us. I learned to not care so much. It was harder for Summer because she’s so soft; she couldn’t help but care.”

  “So you hid away the soft Autumn and tried to keep her safe, but she’s tired of hiding away. If I had to guess, I’d say Matt is the right guy to help her find her way in the world. I can’t think of any other man who could support that side of you while still being strong enough to stand up to your stronger side.”

  Autumn chuckled. “I think you’re right there. He can do both. He’s so sweet—but he doesn’t take my crap.”

  Marianne laughed with her. “And for years that’s driven you crazy, but now you’re ready to see him as a partner—and a partner’s no good to you if they won’t call you on your crap.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Matt paced up and down in the lobby of the general aviation building. Corbin had wanted him to stay at the bus and send someone to pick Autumn up. He knew what was going on between the two of them now and was happy for them, but he didn’t want to take any risks of getting Matt back in time to go on stage later. It hadn’t been up for discussion, though. Matt hadn’t seen her for over a week, and he couldn’t wait any longer.

  He pulled his phone out of his pocket when it beeped with an incoming text. He smiled. He knew she was as eager to see him as he was her, but her text was brief and to the point.

  We just touched down. Taxiing off the runway now.

  He tapped out a reply.

  Tell Luke to put his foot down. I’m here waiting.

  A few minutes later the doors slid open and Autumn came hurrying through. Matt rushed toward her but slowed when the pilots, Luke and Zack, came through behind her.

  Her smile faded a little, but she looked back over her shoulder and seemed to understand his hesitation. She might understand it, but she didn’t share it. She rushed straight to him and threw her arms around his neck. All his reticence disappeared as he crushed her to his chest and found her lips with his own.

  She kissed him back hungrily, clinging to him as she sank her fingers in his hair. When they finally came up for air, he spotted the guys standing off to one side. Shit.

  She buried her face in his chest. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you more, baby girl. But I think we just gave the game away.”

  “What?” Her head jerked up and she looked around. She smiled when she saw Luke and Zack. “That’s okay. They know. They’ve been rooting for you all along.”

  He smiled. “I maybe gave them too much of a hint when we were in Seattle.”

  She laughed. “Maybe, but I can’t say anything because I told them all about it on the way here.”

  “You did? Why? I mean, that’s great, but what’s changed?”

  She looked up into his eyes, and he knew the answer before she said it. “Everything.”

  He took hold of her hand and started to lead her toward the doors. “I like the sound of that. I want to hear all about it, but let’s get out of here, can we?”

  “Sure. I’m surprised Corbin let you come. We need to get you back and ready to go on.”

  “Corbin wasn’t exactly thrilled. But it wasn’t as though he could stop me, and you let me worry about getting back in time. Right now, all I want is to be with you; just a few minutes alone with my woman while she tells me what’s changed and how.”

  He led her to the rented Ford he was driving, and she raised an eyebrow at him. “You ditched Sean?”

  “I don’t need a driver, and I sure as hell didn’t need anyone else along with me for this reunion.” He opened the passenger door and gestured for her to get in before running around to the driver’s side. Once he was in, he leaned across and slid his fingers into her hair, pulling her closer so he could kiss her again. He couldn’t get enough of her soft lips, and exploring her with his tongue only made him want to explore the rest of her, too.

 

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