The moment Hope drives away, I slip around the rear of The Corner Bar and enter through the back door, then pull out my phone and text Grüsh.
I know you’re busy. Call me when you have a chance. I miss you.
My heart gives a gleeful thump when his name lights the screen. With the three-hour time difference and all the meetings on his agenda that he has to catch up on after spending more time in Harmony Glen than planned, I didn’t expect my phone to ring immediately. “That was fast.”
“Three words no man ever wants to hear from his mate.”
Laughing with him has always been so easy. Natural. “You never have to worry about that complaint from your mate. She’s very satisfied.”
A deep, throaty grumble slides into my ear. “Wish I could satisfy you right now.”
“That’s why I’m calling.” The wood stairs leading to the second floor creak under my feet.
“Much as I’d like to make that happen over this call, a bunch of intense execs are staring at me through a boardroom window, waiting for me to get my ass back in there. Video call later, when I’m at the condo?”
His LA condo. I’ve seen pictures, and it’s a stunning, high-end designer space, the complete opposite of my cozy old apartment above the bar. Not my style, and not what I would’ve imagined a green troll with an innate connection and appreciation of nature wanting either. But he’ll be there, and that’s all that matters.
“Yes please to the video call. And speaking of the condo,” I say, steering the conversation where I want it to go. “Would I be in the way if I hopped on a plane in a couple days and joined you out there? I know you have things to do for the upcoming summer tour, but even if we can finish and start the day in bed together, that’s better than being apart. And once the tour is underway, I don’t know if it’s doable, but I’d like to figure out how I can be with you. I could fly out to your show destinations. Or we could rent a vehicle that’s comfortable for you and travel together instead of you being on the tour bus. Make it our summer road trip.”
Silence ticks by. He’s still on the line, though. Even if I couldn’t hear him breathing, I feel him there.
“I don’t know the protocol for being a world-famous rock star’s girlfriend, so if I’m overstepping, just tell me. Don’t worry about hurting my feelings.”
“Your feelings are all that matter to me, Cate. And you aren’t my girlfriend, you’re my mate. My heart.”
“And you’re mine.” I squeeze the phone as if it’s hand. It’s silly to imagine he could feel it, but who knows what kind of long-distance power the mate bond has. Now that I’ve accepted it, embraced it, it certainly has power over me. “Those years without you, I proved I can be strong and independent and not need anyone for anything. But now…I need you. And I realize that doesn’t make me weak or dependent. It makes me whole in a way I wasn’t before, because I’ve chosen to unlock what used to be an empty place inside me, and I’m complete when you fill it. Iwantto need you.”
“Cate,” he says, then, “fuck” as a male voice speaks to him from somewhere in the background. The call becomes a muffled combination of their voices before his long, frustrated exhalation slides into my ear. “I have to get back to the meeting.I’m sorry. Cutting this conversation short is the last thing I want.”
“I understand. Call me tonight?”
“The minute you text me that you’re done work,” he says.
“I will, as soon as the door is closed behind me. But right now, when this call ends, don’t say goodbye, okay? Maybe I’m going soft, but I don’t ever want us to say goodbye again.”
“You’re totally going soft,” he says, rumbling with amusement.
“Mean.”
“Only if you think being soft is an insult. And it isn’t. You’ve always been soft. You’re just getting more comfortable with it.”
A hum of acknowledgment is all I give him. Even if he is right.
Another rumbled chuckle tells me he knows it. Then he clears his throat, and I’m sure he’s going to sign off in whatever non-goodbye way his songwriter’s wordsmith brain has come up with.
“Are you sure about coming out here? Driving around the country with me all summer? Disrupting your life for months?”
“More than sure. Besides, it’s our life now, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“Then being apart when there are ways for us to be together is the biggest disruption, I think.”
“I agree,” he says.
“So, I’ll book a flight to LAX.”
“Let me take care of everything. I’ll have my team arrange a first-class flight, a car service will pick you up, and I’ll be waiting for you.”
