Lucky 7 Bad Boys Contemporary Romance Boxed Set (161 page)

* * *

Can’t be happening
, Rachael thought.
This can’t be real.

“Better get up there.” The thirty-something blonde sitting beside Rachael bumped her in the shoulder. “Or someone else will.”

Rachael grinned, nerves rattling in her stomach. “Okay,” she said more to herself than the blonde. “I’m going.”

Applause and screams rang out from all around her. Brushing her fingers against her neck, Rachael squeezed the guitar pick pendant in her palm, took a deep breath and then strode down the red carpet toward the stage. Rita caught her arm once she reached the side and helped her up the steps onto the stage.

Outside of the spotlight, Cole took her hand in his. “You ready for this?”

“For what?” She shook her head and looked up into his gorgeous face. “What are you doing? I thought you didn’t want anyone to know about us?”

He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Took me awhile to realize that meeting you was probably the best thing that’s happened to me. I’d be a moron to hide that.”

Did she hear him right? Please, please, please say she did!

“Lake Tahoe!” Cole hollered into the microphone, quickly donning the rock star persona. “I’d like you to give a warm welcome to Rachael McCoy!”

Cheeks hot, Rachael smiled tightly and waved to the crowd.

This wasn’t like him. The Cole Turner she knew didn’t want anyone to know about his past or the women in his present. He didn’t want pictures taken on dates and certainly didn’t want to be heckled with questions about his love life. He was the guy who’d sleep in her bed through the night and bolt before dawn.

Asking her to come on stage and expose their relationship wasn’t like him. Well, she corrected, they didn’t have a relationship, not really….what
did
they have? What was bringing her onstage going to accomplish? He’d be cemented into her memory as the greatest man she’d never have again. Could her heart take it?

“Would you mind taking a seat?” He motioned to the lone barstool on stage.

Did he expect her to sit front and center? Before she could protest, one of his crewmembers brought out a second barstool and slid it behind her.

“Sit, baby,” he said with that damn sexy smirk. “You’ll like this. Trust me.”

As she perched on the edge, she folded her hands in her lap and tried to calm the racing of her heart. She was probably sweating through her clothes. Was her face glossy? Did she—

All thoughts evaporated as Cole put his hands on either side of her hips and spun her around so that she faced center stage rather than the crowd. Even through her jeans, his touch sparked desire across her skin like lightning in the mountain sky. He adjusted his own barstool across from her and rested on the edge. They were close, three feet away maybe, yet she could smell the musk of his cologne and his naturally spicy scent. She ached to breathe him in, to lean against his chest and nuzzle into his neck.

God, she’d only been away from him a day and she already missed him so much.

He cocked his foot on the bottom rung. Tweaked the strap on his shoulder. Smiled from the corner of his kissable mouth and started playing.

The crowd quieted as the song began, a teasingly slow rhythm that lulled her into a trance. A few plucks of the strings and the rest of the noise in the showroom blacked out.

He thrummed through the first part of the song, and Rachael got the feeling she was about to witness something epic. Something just for her…in front of everyone.

Did he really want to do this?

“This one’s called
Crazy in Love
,” he said, and began to sing.

“From the first moment I saw you,

when you caught me in my towel,

all blush and blonde hair,

sincere in your apology,

I knew you were mine.

I knew…you were mine.”

Rachael swallowed down tears burning a hole in the back of her throat. She wanted Cole with every fiber of her being. She wanted him the first moment she saw him, yesterday and today. Every moment grew stronger.

God, she loved this man. Her chest ached with desire as she listened…

“I’ll give you all I am,

every piece of me,

Yesterday, today, tomorrow,

for all eternity.”

Rachael stared into his eyes as his fingers worked the guitar in his lap. He swayed, a slow dance back and forth, but his gaze never left hers. It was as if the audience didn’t exist.

Tears pooled heavy on her lashes and when she blinked, they fell to her jeans. The tempo increased as the chorus began.

“I’m a risk, a chance,
” he sang, his voice a sexy rasp.

“But if you’ll stay with me,

Say you’ll stay with me…

we’ll be together, madly, crazy in love.”

Heart bursting, Rachael bit back the need to leap off the chair and charge him. But this was his moment. His time to shine.

No…
wait
.

This was her song. And he was her man.

As if the audience sensed the break in the song and the chemistry sparking between them, their applause increased like a tidal wave, sweeping over the stage. On a deep sigh, Rachael jumped off the barstool and ran at him. He met her, slinging the guitar over his shoulder so he could catch her in his arms. Their mouths collided in a scorching kiss that lit fire to something inside her. When they finally separated, Cole rested his forehead on hers and stroked his hands down the back of her hair.

“What’d you think?” he asked, breathless.

“The song was beautiful.”

“Thanks, but what do you think about the proposition
in
the song?” He kissed her again. Lighter. Softer. “Will you be with me?”

“Yes,” she whispered, raking her fingers through his hair. “I’m so in love with you.”

He exhaled heavily. “Thank God.”

Grinning, he kissed her open-mouthed, filling her with more light and joy than she’d ever known.

“We’ll figure this out,” he said, nudging his chin at the screaming crowd. “I’ll stay in Blue Lake working on a new album for awhile…as long as you have room at the inn for me.”

A tingly flush bloomed over her skin and she quickly recognized the feeling as pure bliss. “There’s plenty of room.” She sighed against his lips. “There’ll always be room for you.”

For as long as she loved Cole Turner—the warmth in her chest proved it’d be a long while—she’d welcome him into her home, her life, and her heart. And be blissfully happy,
crazy,
in love.

Epilogue

Three Months Later

Cole swept into the living room, a large glass of StoneMill Chardonnay in hand. He looked gorgeous, as always, wearing a pair of dark washed jeans and a classic white T-shirt. As the light from the fire flickered over the hard lines of his face, softening them with an amber glow, Rachael lost her breath.

She loved him more today than when he descended upon her small mountain town...

“You’ve been glued to the computer for the last hour.” He handed her a glass of wine and slouched into the couch beside her. “What’s got you hooked?”

She clicked the refresh button for the hundredth time and watched
Crazy in Love’s
iTunes downloads jump once more. He’d uploaded the live versions of
Run to Him
and
Crazy in Love—
complete with their onstage declarations of love—to iTunes the day after the concert. They’d gone viral, earning more money than all of the songs on Cole’s first record combined. She was beyond proud.

“Crazy in Love is going to hit the charts again this week,” she said, amazed. “It’s hard to believe, but your fans love the songs as much as I do.”

“I’m thrilled…I’ve be even more thrilled if I could talk you out of this robe.” He leaned over, tugged down her collar and kissed her bare shoulder. “I’ve been thinking…if the songs keep doing this well, I may be able to stay in Blue Lake longer than I thought.”

He hadn’t left town since they returned from the concert in Lake Tahoe. Although she’d told him he could go back to Hollywood and they could have a long distance relationship, he’d shot her down immediately. After the first month, he’d told her he’d stay another. And then another. But they’d never discussed exactly when he’d return to Southern California.

She’d assumed he’d leave when it was time to record another album.

“Is that so?” she asked, sipping the wine to hide her grin. “How much longer do you think you’ll stay?”

Cole leaned against her, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip. “When I first came back to Blue Lake, I thought I’d get bored within a few days. But after staying these last few months with you, I can’t imagine leaving.”

She’d taken time to show him the sights that Blue Lake had to offer. They’d picnicked at the lake, rafted down the river, frequented Lucy’s winery, and had even panned for gold in one of the retired sites. Cole had found a sliver of a nugget—worth less than a few dollars—and had hollered so loud, Rachael thought he’d won the lottery. The last three months had been heavenly. Perfect. And it meant so much that Cole felt the same way about their time together.

“What about your music?” she asked, clicking refresh again. Another hundred copies had sold worldwide since he joined her on the couch.
Amazing.
“And your next record? Won’t you need to go back?”

“I’ve made enough money on the iTunes sales alone to keep my home in Hollywood and invest in somewhere around here. I could live in Blue Lake, and when duty called I’d travel south and stay a week or so. It’d be like a vacation. You’d love Hollywood.”

“I’m coming with you?”

He draped his arm over her shoulder and squeezed her against him. “Of course you are. Baby, I don’t want to be apart from you any longer than I have to be.”

Hesitantly, she asked, “Who’d take care of the inn while I’m gone?”

“Skylie.”

“Skylie?” She frowned, trying to follow his train of thought. “Lucy’s assistant at the winery?”

He nodded. “When Lucy stopped by for dinner last night, she asked if I was going to stay in Blue Lake for the long haul.”

Rachael turned to him. “She did?”

“Yes, and I asked her if she knew of anyone looking for work, so if the time came that we had to take off for a few days, every one of your guests would be taken care of.”

Since the addition had opened, the rooms had been full. Surprisingly, Cole didn’t seem to mind the guests coming in and out. He was amiable. Friendly and comical, cheering them up with songs by the fire and stories of “behind-the-scenes” Hollywood.

Rachael’s heart warmed when she thought of the way her professional life had molded with her personal one. “That was sweet of you to think of them…and me.”

“She said her assistant Skylie is phenomenal and is looking to supplement her income at StoneMill with another job during the day. It might be perfect.”

Yeah, it just might be.

“Besides,” he said, “after seeing the response from these songs, Rita wants me to stay here and continue writing.”

“Oh, yeah, now she’s changed her tune. Now that you’re making so much money that you don’t really need her anymore.”

“She’s a pain in the neck, but she’s got killer business sense.” He kicked his feet up on the coffee table as their new German Shepherd puppy, Jagger, trotted into the room and curled on the rug beneath his legs. “She says I was inspired here. Whatever I did before, I should do again and again.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Not that I needed permission from Rita, but I like the way she thinks. There are more than a few things that I’d like to repeat with you.”

Her cheeks warmed as he nuzzled into her neck and planted a soft, wet kiss under her jaw.

“Will you play me something?” she asked, as the fire crackled beside them.

“Of course.”

It was her favorite time of night. After the guests had retired to their rooms and she and Cole were left alone in front of the fire. Rain battered on the front windows and Jagger let out an angry-sounding yap. Rachael tugged a fuzzy flannel-colored blanket over her lap and drew her legs beneath her.

“Shh,” Cole said, stroking the dog’s coat. “It’s all right. It’s just the storm.”

Picking up his guitar from beside the couch, Cole rested it in his lap and teased a few strings. His fingers moved over the strings effortlessly, and Rachael couldn’t help but be in awe of him. He played her a quiet love song—the one he’d been working on the last week—and entranced her by the sultry rhythm of the music and the sexy husk of his voice.

“That one’s going to be your next hit,” she said when he’d finished. “What’s it called?”

“That one is just for you. I call it
Rachael’s Serenade
.”

Swooning, she kissed him and stroked her hands over his chest. As her gaze trailed to the windowsill, she caught sight of a tiny white butterfly fluttering its wings against the wet glass. Odd…she’d never seen a butterfly in the rain before. She recalled seeing a tiny white butterfly, resembling the one on the window now, before she and Cole made love on the floor in the inn addition. It was a bizarre thing, but the sight comforted her. Reassured her that the love they shared wouldn’t disappear.

“What do you want to hear next?” he asked.

“Something soft.”

He leaned over and whispered into her ear, “I love you.”

She went weak, her stomach tingling with delight. “I love you, too,” she said, and had never meant the words more.

Moving the guitar so that it rested on the opposite side of him, Cole placed a gentle hand on the back of Rachael’s head and guided her so she lay on her chest. The quiet thump-thump of his heartbeat and the warmth radiating from his body spoke to every part of her. She’d never felt more complete.

“I know it’s sudden…” He brushed his hands over her hair, a loving caress that caused her eyelids to flutter closed. “…but I’m going to marry you. Sooner rather than later, if I have my way.”

“Sweetheart,” she said, her heart beaming with love and promise, “that’s music to my ears.”