“I can manage myself,” Calum said, exchanging a look with Harper. “Raina probably wouldn’t like that.”
“What, are you afraid I’m gonna hit on her the whole time?” Evan teased.
“Your funeral if you do,” Harper laughed lightly.
A grin lifted the corner of Calum’s cheeks. “Yeah, I don’t suggest doing that. Honestly though, I don’t think she wants the fuss. I told Raina I’d do a run tonight while I still have the truck, after she gets off work, and she said it’ll only take the one.”
“Yeah?” Harper sounded doubtful, but Cal gave her a reassuring grin.
“Yeah, babe, I’ve got this. I’m sure with Asher and Nik’s help, it’ll take us no time at all. Besides, Raina wouldn’t like all the extra people around anyway, she’s not much of a people person.”
I nodded. I’d gotten that vibe from her myself during the brief encounters we had with one another. The abrasive, unfriendly waitress seemed to have impenetrable walls up around her.
* * *
The weekendin Halifax was exactly what Connor and I needed. We spent most of it holed up in the hotel room, with me working on a couple of songs while Connor finished up some assignments for school.
I tried to coax Connor out for dinner Saturday night, but she was nervous about paparazzi spotting us.Celebrity Hearsayhad printed a few blurry photos of us at the beach, and she was worried the next shot would be a clear one. She didn’t want to risk being outed before we could tell Calum ourselves.
Instead of going out, we ordered takeout and enjoyed each other’s company without the worry of anyone else intruding on our time together.
Another week went by with Connor in Halifax and us back home dealing with band meetings and working on our new album. Tai’s flight landed at 8:00 p.m. Sunday, and Monday morning bright and early she insisted we meet her at the Lighthouse Inn, where she was staying.
We were all more than a little surprised to walk into the dining room and see Paul sitting beside her. Our manager was even less thrilled about our decision to relocate than Tai had been, but there wasn’t much either of them could say about it. Instead, we dove straight into talking show business.
Tai had already set up our week with back-to-back interviews with a few of the local radio stations. Paul had been busy preparing for our next tour and wanted to know how the songwriting was going for our new album. He seemed happy enough with our responses and reminded us to have a recorded single to him by the end of the month.
Paul couldn’t stay in Nova Scotia and told us that meeting would be our last one in person for a while. Until we were ready to nail down details about the tour, Paul could manage us from afar, especially with Tai around keeping us in line.
He left shortly after to catch a flight back to Toronto, leaving us in Tai’s capable hands.
On Tuesday, Tai dragged us to the recording studio to check things out and met with Don. She was surprisingly impressed with Don’s set-up, and warmed to him quickly, loving that we’d recorded here once before.
“We’ll have to capitalize off that fact, emphasis you guys going back to your roots,” she’d said, jotting something down on the iPad she carried everywhere.
Although Tai had kept us busy this week, the days passed entirely too slow for my liking. I was grateful for the distractions but missing my girl something fierce. Aside from the constant stream of text messages, we didn’t get much of an opportunity to talk.
I missed hearing her voice. Only getting to talk to her over text had driven me half mad, but I took solace in the knowledge that she’d be in my companya lotover the next few weeks, doing her full-time placement at Harmony Waves. I’d get to see her there twice a week.
Plus, she was planning on officially moving into Frank’s house—I guessherhouse now—which meant we wouldn’t have to sneak around anymore. If I wanted to see her, I just had to drive to Mahone Bay. I didn’t have to worry about her gatekeeper of a father, or trying to sneak her into my mom’s basement undetected like high schoolers.
All day long, I’d kept checking my phone, wondering when I’d hear from her. I tried my best not to watch the clock, but I couldn’t help it. I was like a fiend, itching for my next fix.
In a few short hours, she’d be in my arms again and I selfishly intended on keeping her thereallweekend.
Connor had told her mother she’d be spending another weekend at Dalhousie. She felt a little guilty for the lie, but I knew she needed to reset. To have one more weekend not consumed by her recent loss or the family drama. I know she’d been under a lot of stress the last few weeks, carrying the grief and trying to run interference with Cal and her dad, plus trying to stay on top of her work for school.
This weekend, there’d be zero interruptions, just me and her. We had no agenda, but Connor mentioned she wanted to work on a few songs for her album, so I’d loaded up the back of my rental SUV with my bass guitar and an acoustic. I figured if the mood to create struck us, we’d have everything we needed.
Now, I just needed to wait for her to text me.
I tried to soothe myself with that thought, but after spending the entire day in Calum’s company, I was vibrating with a nervous kind of energy. I was like a pop bottle that had been shaken up; the pressure was mounting. The cap was the only thing keeping all the contents inside, but the moment it loosened…there was bound to be a mess.
I suppose in this instance, the cap was my tongue. The momentitloosened, we’d have to face everyone’s opinions and thoughts about us. I was ready for it, but was Connor?
“What’s got you all riled up?” Calum asked as we stood in the construction zone that was the future recording studio. We’d spent the day working on the album in Cal’s living room, dodging nips from the little puppy he’d brought home the week before. He’d used the little fluffball to propose to Harper. He even tied the ring on a string around her collar. Harper said yes, and they named the puppy Diamond.
So, now Calum was engaged and a dog owner, and living with his fiancée and the son he didn’t even know about last month. I was happy for him, even if I thought he might be moving a little quickly. Cal didn’t think so; he said he’d waited long enough to go for what he wanted.
