She laughed. “Yeah, I guess so. It allows me to think while I keep moving, so it doesn’t feel like wasted time.”
Connor was a lot like her brother in that regard. They both had to be doing something to feel like theyweren’twasting time.
I matched her pace. “Makes sense to me. Is that why you ran from my bed? Needed to think?” I said it teasingly, but a part of me had to know. Did she regret it? Did she want it to happen again as badly as I did?
She turned her head to look at me. “You wanted me to stay?”
“I’m just saying. I would have preferred another kind of workout this morning.”
Her lips twitched with a smile. “Well, this is the only workout you’re going to get. Calum and Evan will be up soon, and I have a plane to catch.”
Disappointment settled in my belly, low and heavy, but I held my smile—suppressing and masking it. “Thought you were taking a later flight?”
Exhaling, Connor reached for her water bottle and took a sip, her eyes darting to me as she swallowed. “I wish I could, but I have classes first thing tomorrow morning, and I still have a lot of homework to do. I slacked this weekend. I have two compositions I need to finish before Tuesday.”
I frowned. “You’ll have to sit beside him.” Thinking of her boyfriend—or ex, thank fuck—made anger simmer just beneath my veins. It made me angry he’d wronged her like that, even if it had led her straight into my arms. Even if I’d selfishly reaped the rewards.
Connor leveled a look at me—one that carried just as much heat as each one I tossed her way. “Honestly? It won’t bother me in the slightest. Not now.”
My frown lifted, and I chuckled.
We ran for a bit, both of us quiet and locked in our own thoughts. “Did you mean what you said last night?” Connor asked, rousing me from mine.
“What?”
“About helping me?” she asked. “With my album. When I’m ready, I mean.”
“Ah. You’ve been giving my proposition some thought?” I asked, unable to help myself. Since the moment she had put the worm in my ear, it was all I could think about. I couldn’t wait to see what she’d been working on, but it was more than that.
I wanted to make every one of this girl’s dreams come true, and I knew I could give her this. She already had what it took.
“I have…but I’m not really sure how you plan on helping me when we barely see each other as it is.”
“You don’t want to start recording until after you graduate, which gives us a lot of time. You could start sending me what you’ve already got, I could write a few chords, we could see what we come up with. If it works, it works…if it doesn’t, well. I’ve got a lot of contacts now.”
I said this last bit jokingly, but I was also speaking the truth. If Connor wanted a different approach, I knew many people in the industry who would jump at a chance to work with her.
Killian Barker had been begging Calum since the first time he’d heard her sing to let her do a duet with him. Cal had no inkling Connor wanted to sing professionally, so he always brushed off Killian.
But I was hoping like hell she’d pick me to work with because it meant getting more of her time. More reasons to hear from her, to talk to her. Plus helping her reach for her dreams felt right, full circle almost.
“I think we’ll work fine together,” was all she said, smiling and turning up the speed on her treadmill. I picked up the pace, matching hers, and kept quiet, knowing we would.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Connor
Dare kept pace with me,running at the same speed, and barely breaking a sweat. As we worked out, I considered his proposition. Dare knew more than Jason, and I trusted him a hell of a lot more. He wouldn’t push me to do anything before I was ready, unlike Jason, whose badgering hadn’t let up once since I showed him a few of my songs.
I could trust Dare to critique my work, to let me know if the songs I’d chosen even belonged on an album. Jason didn’t have a fucking clue, even if he liked to pretend he did.
Forty-five minutes later, we called it quits and headed back up to the penthouse. He kept stealing glances at me while we waited for the doors to close, concealing us from the security guard in the lobby.
The moment the elevator doors closed, Dare turned and took a purposeful step toward me. His hands went to my hips, his fingers brushing against the exposed skin above my yoga pants. His fingers dug into my flesh a little, and he pressed his pelvis against me.
He looked into my eyes, searching, and must have liked what he found there. His lips laid claim to mine, and he kissed me until we heard the doors ding. Then he took a step away from me—leaving me panting against the wall.
At least it was easier to conceal my arousal—Dare had to hold his water bottle just so to hidehis. I couldn’t help but smirk.
