Lane crossed her fingers over her heart. “I’ll be good. I promise.”

I watched her expression sadden for a moment. That look on her face was nearly worse then the seductive one she teased me with only moments ago. Both made me ache to touch her. To hold her in my arms and give her exactly what she needed.

Instead of touching her, I sighed noisily before I plopped back down in my chair.

She smiled. “Thank you. Now eat.”

We made it through the rest of our meal without another fight. We talked casually about past friends from high school and what they were up to now. Lane assured me I was definitely the most successful person from our graduating class, while I begged to differ. She was amazing and easily the smartest person I knew.

I cleared my throat. “You know there is one other thing I owe you an apology for.”

Lane propped her chin up with her right palm. “What’s that?”

“I’m sorry about your job. I know how much it meant to you, and I feel sort of responsible for fucking it up for you.”

She shrugged, but her face showed it was still a sore subject. “Diana Swagger is a bitch. Going on the bus with you and her tricking me into that stupid contract just showed me her true colors earlier on. That woman would’ve never taken me seriously. She told me that to my face. To her I was there for looks. Hell, in her mind I’m sure she would’ve tried to force me to be your sex slave if it meant getting Black Falcon’s marketing rights.”

“I detected a sleaze factor from her when I chatted with her on the phone about you, but I still made that deal with her anyway. I guess I was so desperate to get you back, I was willing to make any deal I needed to in order to get you there.” Guilt poured over me. Never in my life had I felt as slimy as the day I made that deal with Diana. It was wrong, and I knew it. After Lane walked in on me with the two topless groupies and then the horrible dinner we had, I knew she would never speak to me unless I forced her. My anger when we first reconnected overwhelmed me, and I lashed out at her every chance I could. I was still hurt by her leaving me at the time. I wanted to get back at her, showing her everything she missed out on, and to prove deep down she still wanted me just as much as I wanted her.

Lane stretched her arm across the table and began to reach for my hand. I grinned at how easy winning this bet was about to be, but she pulled her fingers into a tight fist at the last second. “Damn it. I almost forgot.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you go ahead and lose so we can get this over with. You know you want to come back on that bus with me just as much as I need you there.”

“Because I’m tired of fighting with you over a stupid job. Winning this bet means you aren’t allowed to complain at all, and I like that idea.”

It was never her job I didn’t like. It was the idea of her using it as an excuse not to give in and finally be with me that pissed me off. I’d admit that it would be hard to allow her to tie herself down to a job in Texas without bitching. If she took a job, she wouldn’t be able to just drop everything and join me on tour like I wanted. Being with her all the time was my main goal.

“What?” she asked, shaking me out of my thoughts.

I chewed on the skin on the corner of my thumb. “Nothing, I guess. It’s just I was hoping you didn’t have to take another job right away. I like the idea of you with me on tour.”

She sighed. “Noel, you know I want to be with you too, but I have to find another internship somewhere so I don’t throw everything away. I don’t really have a choice. I need experience in the marketing field.”

“I know, but I don’t want to let you go. I just got you back.”

Lane stood up and came around the table, stopping at my side. “Let’s call truce. You’re right. I don’t know if I can be away from you either.” She held out her hand to me. “At the same time, so we both win. I’ll come on the bus with you for a while, if you promise not to bitch whenever I do find another internship or job.”

I stared at her hand. This was really the best of both worlds here. One, I could finally touch her again, and two, she’d be on Big Bertha with me. I slid my fingers, which fit perfectly around her tiny hand. Finally having her soft skin against mine sent a tingle up my arm. “Deal.”

I slid my chair back and pulled her down into my lap. Her dark hair tickled my nose as I leaned into her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She tossed her arms around my neck and then laid her head on my shoulder. For moments like this with her, I was willing to be anything and everything that she needed, even if that included learning to live apart from her from time to time. Her happiness meant everything to me, and I would try my damndest to always keep a smile on her beautiful face.

Chapter 4

Lane’s fingers entwined with mine were what I imagined heaven felt like. Even just that small touch made me feel connected to her. It was nice finally being at peace inside my heart. Waging war on myself over Sophie for the last few months had taken more of a toll on me than I had realized. It made me do crazy, out of my mind things that I would’ve typically never done.

We continued to walk around my modest property. It wasn’t much, but it was the perfect piece of ground. It had vast woods as far as the eye could see set atop high rising hills. There wasn’t another soul around for a couple miles, and for some reason that was a totally freeing feeling compared to my typical lifestyle.

After the tour of the empty barn near the house, I lead Lane around the back of the house.