Country Love (A Billionaire BWWM Romance) (15 page)

Chapter
Thirty-One

Tanner

I'm a goddamned
fraud. Here I've been singing about love this whole time. Like I actually knew
what I was talking about.

Now I finally
understood. Understood what drove the poets and songwriters to write the words
down in the first place. Because now that I had told Monique how I felt about
her, I wanted to tell everyone. I wanted to shout it from the damn rooftops.
Everyone, pay attention, I'm in love!

I was still singing
that tune in my head, the one that had been following me for days now. The one that
started up every time I saw Monique's ass.

We were at a rest
area, one of those gray, colorless places where faces pass by you in a blur.
But I could tell by the landscape, if nothing else, that we were somewhere in
Texas, and a piece of my heart yearned to be at the ranch again.

Instead I was
sitting in the bus, hiding from the public while Monique and the boys grabbed
caffeine and sugary snacks. Privacy was a luxury I wasn't used to anymore, and
Blake's laugh startled me out of my reverie. "You sound like you're in a
good mood," he laughed as I cleared my throat.

"Was I
humming?" I asked sheepishly.

"Like my dad
when he works on his car," Blake smiled, plopping himself next to me.
"Totally out of tune and not even caring."

"I wasn't
out of tune," I protested. "That would never happen."

"Right,"
Blake looked like he wanted to give me shit, but then thought better of it.
"You seem....good, Brock. Gotta say, I kind of like this version of
you."

"What
version is that?"

Blake smiled an
evil grin. "The relaxed version of you. The non-workaholic version. Boys'll
probably kill me for mentioning it, but you haven't even given us any set notes
in like three whole days. Fitch and Carter think you're on some kind of new
meds, but I think I know what's really going on."

"You do,
huh?" It wasn't like Blake to beat around the bush like this. "Are
you going to keep talking in riddles or do you want to tell me what you
want."

Blake sighed a
heavy sigh. "So, we're kind of near home here, right? And we're gonna be
in the area for three shows,..."

"Spit it
out, Blake."

He nodded and
spewed it out in an impassioned rush. "I miss LeeAnne and my baby, Tanner.
Knowin' they're this close is fucking killing me."

I narrowed my
eyes at him. "You've had one foot out the door this whole time, haven't
you?"

Blake didn't
answer, but his abashed look was all the answer I needed.

I leaned forward
and clapped my hand on his shoulder. "And I get it," I told him.
"I pretended to get it before, but I really get it now. Yeah Blake, bring
her on. I'll check with Keith, see if we can push back a show so you can have a
day with them."

Blake's eyes
glittered for a moment before he blinked rapidly. "Thanks man," he
choked out.
 
He looked around and
seemed like he wanted to say more, but then decided against it and hastily ran
out the door. I could hear his muffled voice outside of the bus, jubilantly
shouting into his cell phone. I looked down at his head, watching him as he
ducked and kicked the ground, overjoyed at the prospect of being reunited with
his girl.

"Hey,"
Monique slid into the seat next to me. "I grabbed you the coffee that
tasted the least like ditchwater."

I turned and
looked at her. "You're fucking beautiful," I said. I had to say it. It
was true.

"Because I
bring you coffee?"

"In addition
to that," I smiled, blowing through the open lid. Blake whooped outside
and we both turned to see him.

"He seems
happy," Monique said, snuggling down into my arms.

I pressed my lips
to her head. "He is. I am too."

Chapter
Thirty-Two

Monique

I've never been
in love before. I didn't realize it was such a physical thing.

Waking up next to
Tanner, I had to squeeze my eyes shut tightly against the swirling in my head.
I was never going to get tired of seeing him there next to me in bed, the
sheets all crumpled in a heap from last night's love...and tented around his
massive morning wood.

"Is this for
me?" I smiled, sliding my hand down into the crisp, wiry hairs at his
base.

He groaned and
snuffled awake, and a sexy, sleepy grin spread across his lips. "It can be
if you want it," he murmured into my neck. Then he rolled on top of me,
crushing me under his half-awake deadweight.

"Hold that
thought, cowboy, I need to pee."

He flopped back
off of me and let out a loud snore. I hid my giggle behind my hand and stood
up.

The room slid
sideways a moment and I had to grip the sheets tightly to keep from falling on
the floor. "Fuck," I whispered.

"You
okay?" Tanner was instantly awake and at my side.

I grabbed his
hand and blinked several times. "Yeah," I exhaled, confused.
"Guess I didn't eat enough yesterday. Got lightheaded there for a
second."

"Well we
have today off." Tanner could barely keep the glee out of his voice.
"A whole day, just to lie around and be naked."

"Aren't
Blake's wife and baby coming today?" I asked, sliding carefully from the
bed. The dizziness seemed to have dissipated. I needed to make sure to eat
better today. Road food was playing havoc with my stomach.

"So?"
Tanner called from the bed.

I laughed.
"So I don't think they'll appreciate us being naked when we meet
them."

Tanner grumbled
something darkly. "So hurry up and get back here," he called.

"Be there in
a sec." My bladder was aching badly. I went to sit on the toilet, but
midway through the act of sitting, the dizziness came back with a vengeance. I
let out a small yelp as my ass hit the toilet, hard, then bounced to the side.
I caught myself on the sink just as Tanner appeared in the doorway. He was at my
side in a moment.

"I'm going
to get your something to eat," he growled.

"Wait."
I grabbed his hand and squeezed it as the edges of my sight swirled around.
Tanner's confused face disappeared into a swirl of red confusion. "Stay
for a sec," I said, hoping that he couldn't hear the panic in my voice.

I took several
slow, deep breaths. "Thanks," I finally managed to croak out as his
face swam back into view. "I don't know what's going on."

"Life on the
road," Tanner said darkly. "You're not the first person I've seen
break down from the pace."

I looked up at
him and felt my eyebrows knit together. "I'm not breaking down," I
declared. "I just need to eat a real meal. I only had road food
yesterday."

Tanner held up
his hands placating. "Okay fine, you're not breaking down. I'm gonna go
get you some food. "Something with protein. Hey, you know what has
protein?"

I socked him in
the shoulder and he smiled widely. "Feeling better already, I see."

By the time I had
collected myself enough to emerge from the bathroom, room service had delivered
a steaming tray of food to the door. Tanner hovered over me like a worried
mother hen, watching me closely as I devoured everything...right up until the
last bite.

Suddenly my
stomach turned. I swallowed hard against the bile and pushed the plate away.
"Not going to finish that?" Tanner asked quizzically.

Even though I had
been shoveling them into my mouth only a second ago, the shiny yellow glob of
scrambled egg suddenly looked like the most repulsive thing I had ever seen.
"Urgh, no," I protested weakly. "I'm done."

"Okay
darlin', you're not workin' today. You need to lie your sweet ass down and take
a damn nap." He raked his eyes over me. "I've been working you too
hard," he snarled, trying to mask his concern with a joke.

I wanted to
protest. I still needed some more shots of the guys. When I checked through my
rolls, every picture I took was Tanner, Tanner, Tanner. That was good for me,
but not for my job.

But I was
suddenly so fucking tired.

"Wake me up
when Blake's wife gets here," I murmured as I hit the pillow. "I'll
need some shots of...."

I don't think I
finished the sentence before I fell asleep. But just as I fell into oblivion, a
fleeting thought raced across my brain.

Have I been taking my pills?

Chapter Thirty-Three

Tanner

As I closed the
door on Monique I pushed the concern from my mind. Monique was tough as nails,
but even the toughest of us needed down days. I resolved to let her sleep as
long as she could. Feeling slightly lost, I leaned back into the sofa and
hummed the tune that had been driving me nuts for weeks now.

"She's
here," Blake yelled from his room, then came bounding out into the living
area. We were staying in a hotel only three hours from the ranch and it was
killing me to be so close. I could pop down, sleep in my own bed the night and
be back here in time for load in tomorrow.

But I couldn't be
sure I actually would come back.

The elevator
dinged and Blake let out another whoop. An exhausted looking LeeAnne emerged
from the elevator, but her eyes lit up when she saw her husband bounding
towards her.

I felt like I was
intruding on a private moment, so I turned away as the two of them held each
other close, their daughter clutched in between them emitting an indignant
squawk of protest over being squashed in their embrace. I studiously looked
down at my hands as I heard Blake exclaim, "holy shit she got big!"

"Watch your
mouth, honey," LeeAnne chided gently. "And I know, she'd better be
gettin' big, all that eatin' she's been doin'!"

I turned around
just in time to see Blake fold his fat little daughter into his arms. She waved
her chubby fist in the air, then bopped him on the nose. LeeAnne and Blake both
laughed and I couldn't help but follow suit. Standing up, I extended my hand.
"It's good to see you again, LeeAnne," I smiled.

LeeAnne batted my
hand away with a huffing noise. "Stop bein' so formal with me, Tanner
Brock. You might be a bigshot now, but I still remember how you were back in
high school."

"Hope you
don't share that with too many people," I grinned, accepting her
bone-crushing hug with a slight cough. I guess holding a baby all day really
works the biceps, because she damn near cracked one of my ribs.

"She doesn't
know
all
the stories," Blake
smiled down at his wife fondly.

"That's only
because y'all went to that fancy prep school in the next county," LeeAnne
shot back. She caught me smiling and smiled herself. "You want to hold
her, Tanner?"

"Oh, no,
um..." I held out my hands to ward her off, but LeeAnne grabbed the little
baby from Blake and plopped her right into my outstretched hands.

She was heavier
than I was expecting, a good, solid weight. And as I held her little body in my
arms, an instinct I didn't know I had suddenly kicked in. "Hey there,
little princess," I said softly, cradling her close to my chest. "Hey
there."

Maddie looked up
at me, her big blue eyes so clear and innocent that my heart skipped a beat.
"She's gorgeous," I exhaled, and for once I wasn't saying that to
blow smoke up the asses of proud new parents. I meant it. She was gorgeous in
the way a sunset over the ocean is gorgeous. Gorgeous in the way the spring
buds emerging from winter's bare earth is gorgeous. She was a revelation,
something completely new and spell-binding.

"That's a
good look on you, Tanner." I could hear the grin in Blake's voice even if
I wasn't looking at him to see it. I was too wrapped up in looking at every
little expression that crossed Maddie's face.

There was a sound
at the bedroom and we all turned to look.

Monique stood in
the doorway, a funny look screwed up on her face. She looked like she wanted to
cry and run away, but more than that; she looked like she had something very
important to say.

I went to her,
drawn like I always was to stand right by her side. "Hey, are you feeling
any better?" I asked, hefting Maddie to my shoulder and touching her
cheek.

Monique blinked
at me slowly, looking dazed. Her eyes kept darting from me to the baby, from
the baby back to me. "I'm..." she began...

Just then,
LeeAnne swore loudly. "Holy shit, is that you, Monique?"