“I just don’t want you to get into trouble,” she says worriedly.
“Like I said, I run logistics. Everything is fine.” I tug her against me. “By the way, good morning.”
She smiles up at me, and for the first time I notice a light smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. God, she’s pretty.
“Good morning,” she whispers, as I press my lips against hers.
“I’ll go back to my room and get my stuff,” I tell her. “Then I’ll come knock on your door and we can walk down together.”
She gives me a wry smile. “They’re gonna blame me.”
I wave a hand. “Nah, not the first time I’ve overslept.”
Actually, it is.
But I won’t tell her that.
I figure we’re going to take some ribbing today regardless, so I don’t want her to feel bad.
I’m a little surprised about how well I slept. Even on the nights I don’t have nightmares, I tend to be restless. I toss and turn until I can’t stand it anymore and then drag myself to the nearest gym if there’s one available. How long has it been since I slept soundly? I honestly can’t remember.
Stuffing my feet into my Chucks, I pause and glance back at Wynter, who’s brushing her teeth. I’m not completely sure what changed over the course of yesterday. Maybe it was that moment on stage last night where I felt like I finally had a chance to say goodbye. I’m not naïve enough to believe that meeting someone I really like is going to cure the trauma I’ve lived with for nineteen years, but it sure as hell doesn’t hurt.
I take a few minutes to freshen up and then throw my toiletries into my suitcase. I don’t ever fully unpack, so I’m almost always ready to go. Today that’s a good thing. I quickly look around the room to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything and push my suitcase into the hall just as Wynter is coming out of her room.
“I don’t suppose we have time to grab a cup of coffee,” she asks sheepishly.
“Absolutely, we do,” I reply firmly. “You think I can function without coffee?”
She grins. “A man after my own heart.”
“Tell you what,” I tell her, digging a twenty out of my wallet. “You go down and get us some coffee—I take mine black—and I’ll get our bags onto the bus.”
She plucks the twenty from my fingers and grins. “Deal.”
We part ways when we get down to the lobby, and I wheel our suitcases out to the waiting bus.
“About time.” Tommy taps his watch impatiently, though I see a spark of amusement in his eyes.
“Where’s Wynter?” Harley asks from behind him.
“Getting us coffee,” I reply. “You know I can’t function without it.”
“She can’t, either,” Harley stage whispers to Tommy. “They’re like two peas in a pod.”
The bus driver takes our bags and I look back toward the lobby, trying to decide whether I should go looking for Wynter or just wait for her to join us. Oh, what the hell. In for a penny, in for a pound. People are going to see us together regardless, so I jog back into the hotel and spot her coming toward me. She looks gorgeous today, in a pair of low-slung jeans and a tee shirt with her hair up in a ponytail.
“Miss me?” she asks, arching a brow.
“As a matter of fact, I did.” I reach for the cup of coffee she proffers. “You got a problem with that?”
She laughs. “Not even a little.”
I grab her hand, and we walk back toward the bus.
Chapter Thirteen
Wynter
