Worthy of the Harmony (Mountains & Men Book 2) (32 page)

“Yes, daddy.”

I smirk at my nephew as his shoulders sag in defeat. I’m going to miss the little dude, and his brother, too. I cannot believe how fast this month has flown by and how, in just ten days, we’ll be hitting the road. I’m leaving a lot behind, but I won’t deny that I can’t fucking wait. If the last three weeks are just a taste of what it’s going to be like to finally get Mountains & Men off the ground, I’m starving for more.

We finished our EP just this week. The guys and I are really proud of the way it turned out. Stefany is pretty hyped about it, too. She’s been shopping for labels with our single
Just Tonight,
on top of tour prep and finalizing the details of our merchandise. I don’t know who she knows or how she does it, but she’s managed to find a couple sponsors to help back us financially for all the costs we’ve incurred that aren’t covered from our cut from the tour. She wasn’t lying when she said she’d work her ass off for us. So far, she’s blown our minds.

We were able to cut a few costs by hiring our own graphic designer. Pepper came up with our logo ages ago. Graphic design is what she studied in school. She doesn’t use it much these days, but that doesn’t mean she can’t. She most certainly can and
did.
Our new website is already up and running and it looks sick as shit. We’re ready for the nation to know who we are.

I’m ready for them to sing with us.

“Rose told me you
finally
talked to mom and dad,” says Pepper, lifting an accusatory eyebrow at me.

Admittedly, I’d been procrastinating on filling them in about the tour. We leave the thirtieth of October and we won’t be back until the tenth of December, which means I’ll be missing a major holiday. Dad’s
favorite
holiday. Needless to say, considering their overwhelming amount of support for my career with Mountains & Men, coupled with me picking up and leaving everything for six whole weeks, I thought they’d be less than enthusiastic.

I was right.

“Look, it’s done. I told them, they know, and that’s all I’m going to say.”

“Heard there was a pretty big argument,” she murmurs, clearly ignoring the bit about me not wanting to talk about it anymore.

“There always is, Pep. That’s why I waited so long to say something. They’ll get over it.”

“What about you and Millie? Are you good? I mean—six weeks on the road…” Her voice trails off, leaving me to fill in the blanks.

I shake my head at her, annoyed that she even thinks it’s necessary to ask. “Not worried, sis.”

“Give him a break, sweetheart,” Harry interjects. “You know how much this means to him. We all do. It’s exactly why we’ll send him off with our support and why we’ll all be here when he gets back.”

“I know.” She sighs, absentmindedly reaching over to adjust Carter’s bib. He pays her no mind as he continues to happily consume his serving of macaroni and cheese. Pepper takes a deep breath before looking at me once more. “I’m just going to miss you.”

“I’ll be back before you know it,” I reply with a chuckle.

“But this could be it. This could be the start of…
everything
. I mean, you never know. Then you’ll be traveling all the time and I’ll hardly ever see you.”

“Pepper,” I laugh. “Let’s just get through this first tour, all right?” She nods and I offer her a smile. “I’ll miss you, too, by the way.”

“You better.”

“What about me? Will you miss me, Uncle Sage?” asks Henley.

“You bet I will!”

“And me, too, Unka Sage?” Carter pipes in, not to be forgotten.

“You too, buddy.”

“And daddy?” he asks, pointing his cheesy finger down the table.

Harry and I both chuckle before I assure my nephew, “Yeah. Your dad, too.” I blow out a sigh, more than ready to change the subject. “D-a-m-n—this is not a farewell dinner. This is just dinner. Could we lighten up already?”

“You’re right. You’re right,” Pepper concedes, holding her hands up as if waving the proverbial white flag. “Oh, speaking of farewell dinner,” she begins, a twinkle in her eyes. “You know Rose and I won’t let you leave without one. We’ll do it the night before.”

I shrug and nod, nonchalantly expressing my agreement to her plan. Really, there is no point in arguing. I’d lose.

“Maybe you could bring Millie? I mean—you guys have been together,
officially
together, for almost a month. I’ve met her
once,
and I hardly got to talk to her at all.”

“I know. We’ve just been busy. She’s had mid-terms and I’ve had band stuff and—”

“I don’t want to hear it, baby brother. Just bring her. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Now, who wants dessert?”

“KNOCK, KNOCK.”
Lindsey announces herself at my office door without a single
actual
knock. I smile at her, slightly amused, and continue packing up for the weekend. “You’re heading out early this afternoon.”

“Yeah. Tonight’s the big show. I have to get home and changed before we leave for Denver.”

“Oh, my gosh,
right!
” she gasps, plopping down into one of the chairs in front of my desk. “You get to meet Lawful Sinners tonight.”

“I do,” I reply with a shrug. Truth be told, I know very little about Lawful Sinners. The only music of theirs that I’ve heard has been what Sage has insisted I listen to. I know that tonight means a lot to all of them. I understand why, even if I can’t relate.

Nevertheless, if the privilege of meeting Lawful Sinners is a bit lost on me, having a backstage pass is not. I’ve never seen Mountains & Men perform from any vantage point that isn’t in the middle of a crowd. Tonight, Violet and I will be just off stage. I imagine that the energy will be completely different—that it’ll be more palpable—that Sage will be even more irresistible.
That
is something to look forward to.

“This is their last show before they hit the road, right?”

“It is,” I reply with a nod. My enthusiasm for gathering my things suddenly wanes and I prop my hip against my desk, giving Lindsey my undivided attention. “They leave in nine days.”

“Wow. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that we survived mid-terms. Where does the time go?”

“Excellent question.”

She smiles at me then crosses her legs and props her elbows atop her knee. “Millie Valentine, that boy wonder has done a number on you—I swear.”

I rake my fingers through my hair as I look down at my feet. I’m not sure how to respond to her comment. I certainly can’t deny it. It would be a lie unworthy of the effort. Sage has been my undoing, just as I predicted. I fall for him a little bit more every moment that we’re together; and every day, one by one, the walls that I constructed long ago to shield me from the pain that I know comes with love, he’s managed to tear them down.

I don’t want to love him. Right now, what we have is good. I’m afraid of what love would do to us—what it would do to
me
. I don’t know how to trust love. It’s betrayed me more times than I’d like to remember. Trusting Sage, though—it’s paramount. I won’t get through our separation if I don’t trust him.

Six weeks seems like nothing, in the grand scheme of things. Then again, one might say the same about nine weeks—yet, nine weeks with him in my life has changed everything. From the moment we met, I just knew that I couldn’t keep him—that I didn’t
want
to. The arrogant little shit. Even when I could fully admit that my body craved the man like I’ve never craved anything, I still knew that resistance was necessary. Now, I have no fight. Now, he’s all I want.

“Six weeks will come and go before you know it,” says Lindsey, pulling me from my thoughts.

I nod, a part of me hoping that she’s right. However, there’s another part of me that hopes that she’s wrong. I know what this tour means to him. What it means to all of them. I hope they soak it up for all that it’s worth and that it doesn’t go by so fast that they miss it.

“Have you guys talked about you meeting up with him while he’s gone? I mean, we have fall break around Thanksgiving. You totally could.”

“You’re right,” I mutter, appalled that the thought never crossed my mind before. “I think they’ll be on the West Coast by then. I’d have to double check.”

“See? That would be perfect! You weren’t planning on going back to New Jersey for the holiday, were you?”

“No. Definitely not.” Hearing her speak of New Jersey makes me think of my mother. Suddenly in need of a distraction, I resume gathering my belongings.

I haven’t heard from my mother for three weeks. Every Saturday, I wonder if she’ll call. I wonder if I should. Every Saturday, she doesn’t and I don’t. I really thought that she would recant her threat of being done with me. After all she’s said and done to get it through my head that she is my only constant—that every man in the world is unworthy of affection because he will end up breaking my heart—it’s hard to believe that
she
would discard me.

Most days, I don’t consider it a loss.

“Well, now that I’ve planted that little idea into your head, I suppose I should let you go. You have a night out to prepare for. I’ll be expecting details on Monday. And if you
happen
to come back with anything signed by the lead guitarist from Lawful Sinners, I would be willing to accept it as an early Christmas present,” she says with a wink.

“Noted,” I chuckle.

“Have fun, Millie.” She parts with a wave and I watch her leave before gathering the rest of my things and heading for home.

I arrive just after four with enough time for a quick clothing change and a moment to retouch my face. Thankfully, I picked my outfit earlier this morning before leaving for work. With November right around the corner, the air is starting to smell like chimney fire. I expect we’ll get our first little snow any day now. That being said, I’ve had to come up with more subtle ways to show off the legs that Sage admires so much. Tonight, I’ll be wearing a pair of black sequin leggings, along with a clingy, long-sleeved, black midriff sweater. The small bit of skin that’s left on display between the two items is just enough to tease my dreamer. I finish the ensemble with my yellow envelope purse and a pair of electric blue heels.

I choose the heels as a sort of
good luck
for Sage. He doesn’t know it, but I do and that’s enough. He doesn’t need luck. Not with his talent. But the blue of the shoe reminds me of the first time I ever heard him sing. He burns so hot up on that stage…

I shake the thought away, knowing I don’t have time to be distracted by my daydreams. Instead, I rush to the bathroom and apply a fresh coat of mascara before running a brush through my hair. I gather it to one shoulder, allowing it to drape down my chest, and decide that for tonight—it’ll have to do. I take one step into the hallway just as a knock sounds at my door. Knowing who it is, I don’t waste a moment closing the distance between me and him.

The second I open the door, my mouth begins to water.

He’s sexier than any man I’ve ever seen on the front of any magazine.

He’s in his favorite pair of Converse—the red ones. He’s got on dark wash jeans, and a white graphic t-shirt under a black leather jacket. The black beanie that slouches off the back of his head hides most of his hair, but leaves just enough out that I want to run my fingers through it.

And of course, he’s wearing those glasses.

Fuck
, those stupid things turn me on.

“Hey, doll face. You look hot,” he says, stepping toward me.

“You, too,” I manage before his lips are pressed firmly against mine. I reach up and grab a fistful of his t-shirt, needing air but too desperate for this kiss to take a breath.

He slides his hand over my backside, drawing me close as he pulls his mouth from mine. “You ready to jet? We have to go.”

“I’m ready.”

“Good.” He kisses me once more. “Lock up.”

We step into the hallway and I turn to close and lock the door. As I do so, his hand doesn’t leave my body. He slips a finger under the hem of my sweater, tracing his way from my side to my back. I take a breath, reminding myself that I don’t want to love him, and then I turn and offer him a smile.

“Let’s go.”