The door to the hotel room opens, and Kelsey steps in, her energy instantly filling the space. She gives me a quick smile as she sets down her bag, but when she sees the look on my face, her expression falters.
“What happened?” she asks, walking over to me. “Bad news from the doctor?”
I hesitate, debating whether I should tell her. It’s so hard to talk about, and I’ve never wanted to spend the time I have with Kelsey focusing on anything but the light and joy she brings to my life. But I need someone—I need Kelsey—for support.
“She’s not getting better,” I say quietly, my voice barely above a whisper. “The Alzheimer’s…it’s getting worse. The doctor said we need to start looking at care for her. Soon.”
Kelsey’s face softens with understanding, and she steps closer, her hand gently squeezing my arm. “Carter…” Her voice trails off as she searches for the right words. “I’m so sorry.”
I look at her, the weight of everything finally crashing down. “I can’t… I don’t know how to help. I don’t know what to do. Why is this happening? She’ssoyoung. It’s not…it’s not fair.”
She steps forward and wraps her arms around me, pulling me into a hug. I rest my head on the top of hers, the warmth of her embrace grounding me. She doesn’t say anything, just holds me as I let out a shaky breath.
“It’s not fair,” she agrees. “It’s not fair for your mom, and it’s not fair for you—”
“I don’t care about me,” I interrupt.
“I know you don’t,” she says, stroking her fingers down my back. “But I do. And I care about you enough for the both of us.”
I close my eyes, feeling the tension in my shoulders ease slightly. I still don’t know how I’m going to make it through everything—the tour, my mom, the contract—but I don’t feel so alone. It’s as if, for the first time since this all started, I have someone who can help me carry the weight of it.
Chapter thirty-three
Kelsey
“Whattimeisit?”Carter asks groggily as I unzip my suitcase, searching for my black running shorts. So much for being quiet and letting him sleep in before our flight out of Rio later this morning.
Carter’s conversation with his mom two days ago really threw him off his game, and part of me wonders if he shouldn’t just go home now instead of to New York with the rest of us. I know it would only get him home three days sooner, but I can tell how much he needs to see his mom and reassure himself that she’s okay—that even if things are getting worse, she’s still his mom.
The other part of me is terrified of what it means for this tour to be over. Carter’s mom needs him, and I’m not sure how I fit into that. I’m not the caretaker type, so I’m sure I’ll just be in the way if I try to help.
The fact that we head home in four days didn’t hit me until this morning. The last week has been a mad rush to not only work with myteam to figure out what happened in Sydney but to also ensure everything is ready for the concerts each night. We’re so close to figuring out who it was that sabotaged the system. Unfortunately, they clearly know what they’re doing, because they’ve been leading my team on a virtual wild goose chase around the globe.
“Five forty-five,” I respond, stepping into my running shorts.
“Why are you up so early?” he asks, rubbing one of his strong hands over his eyes.
“I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t mean to wake you up. You should go back to sleep.”
“Youshould come back to bed. We got back from the concert four hours ago.”
I haven’t been sleeping well, getting pulled from my dreams each morning with something niggling in the back of my mind—something I can’t seem to grasp. I’m not even sure if it’s about the breach, Jaxon’s security, or something else entirely.
I’m going to be pissed if I finally put together what it is and it’s something stupid like I forgot one of my socks at the last hotel.
Carter climbs out of bed, and I slowly take in the hard planes of his chest, the grooves of his abs, before sliding lower to the prominent bulge in his black boxer briefs.
My perusal finally ends back at his face, where his lips are pulled in a sleepy smirk.
“Good morning,” he says, his voice still raspy.
“Good morning,” I reply, unable to keep the smile off my face. There’s something about waking up with Carter and seeing thiscuddly version of him that melts my insides in a way I’ve never experienced before.
Carter steps toward me, the heat of his body seeping through my lightweight running clothes. Cradling my head in his hands, he lowers his lips very slowly toward mine. His hands are tender as he holds my face. His lips brush mine, slowly sweeping back and forth, barely touching. He’s everywhere, driving me mad with longing, yet never quite settling his mouth on mine.
Catching his face, I still it, rising up on my toes to capture his lips, taking control. My tongue sweeps between his lips, and I close my eyes, savoring his taste. He shifts, a subtle move that brings me more completely against him, as he deepens the kiss. His hands move to wrap around me, enfolding me in his arms.
“Tell me what you want,” Carter commands.
