Face the Music (61 page)

BOOK: Face the Music

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“I should,” I said. “And Lauren, Jake, and Paul, too. But there’s something else I’d rather do first.”

“What?”

I threw my arms around his neck and looked into his eyes before leaning forward and kissing him. His lips were so warm and sweet, so inviting that I never wanted to let go. He pressed into me, probing my mouth with his tongue and sucking on my bottom lip.

He pulled back when I came up for air. “Wanna get out of here?” A mischievous smile played at his lips.

“
God, y
es.”

We raced outside and hopped into a cab. Chris gave the driver instructions as I pulled out my phone. I didn’t want to have long conversations with everyone, but I knew I needed to at least let them know
about my change in plans
.

I smashed my cheek against Chris’s and held up the phone. “Smile,” I said as I took our picture.

“What was that for?”

I typed a message under the picture:
Change of plans
.

“This way I can let everyone know without having t
o spend all the time explaining,
”
I said as I pressed ‘send’.

He gave an appreciative nod. “Smart. But now your phone will be ringing off the hook. People are going to want details.”

“No, it won’t.” I turned it off, tossed it into my purse, and cuddled against him as we drove.

A moment later, Chris’s phone rang.

“Maybe you should turn yours off, too.”

He glanced at it. “It’s my mom, I should answer. I kind of took off
this morning
without telling anyone.”

I listened to his side of the conversation. “Hi, Mom,” he said. “No, I’m fine. I’m in Chicago.” He paused and listened. “Yep, she’s with me,” he said, patting my thigh. “I know, I should have. I
’m sorry.
I was in a hurry.” He paused again. “Okay. See you later.”

The cab pulled up to a
hotel. “The Ritz Carlton, sir,” the driver said, turning off the car.

I gawked out the window and stared up at the luxurious hotel. “The Ritz? Isn’t that a little-?”

“We deserve it, don’t you think?” Chris said, taking my hand. “Unless you’d rather go back to your place?”

“And sleep on the floor? No way. This will be just fine.”

Chris ran ahead and checked us in as I took my time taking in the view. Once I got into the lobby, he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the elevator.

“Allison.” He backed me into a corner as the doors pulled closed. His breath was heavy and hot against my cheek as his lips traveled across my skin, pausing to nibble at my earlobe. I grabbed a fistful of his shirt, pulled him even closer, and he buried his face in my hair. We kissed all the way up to the top floor and could hardly keep our hands off each other as we made our way down the hall.

“This is it,” he said once we’d found our door.

***

“So I have to know,” I asked. We were naked under the sheets, my upper body lying across his chest. “What did Lauren say that made you decide to come back?”

He ran his fingers through my hair. “She told me you were quitting school. She said you’d just given up.” He looked at me seriously a
nd frowned. “You can’t do that
. It’s a part of who you are, something I admire most about you. You can’t
just
throw all that away.”

“I wasn’t quitting,” I whispered. “Just taking a break for awhile to figure things out.”

“Have you? Figured things out, I mean?”

I twisted around and looked into his face. “There are a lot of things I don’t know. But the one thing I’m sure of is that I don’t ever want to be apart from you again.”

He squeezed me in
to
a bear hug. “Good. I didn’t make that investment so you could just quit.”

I felt my eyes grow wide as I looked at him. “It was y
ou!” I said. “I guess in a way
I always knew. But why? Af
ter everything I had done
, why would you do that for me?
”

He pulled me to his chest and ran his fingers up and down the
skin on my back. “I told you
, I love you. I’ve never stopped. After you left that night
,
I was determined to give you the space you needed. I thought that if you didn’t have to worry about the money things would be easier for you.
”

I nuzzled against him, my heart swelling in my chest. “Thank you, so much. I love you, Chris.”

“I love you, too, Allie.” He yawned. It was a long, deep one that brought water to his eyes. “Sorry. I haven’t been sleeping well.”

The act was contagious, and we both laughed as I wiped at my eyes. “Me either.”

It wasn’t long before he fell into a deep sleep. His breathing became soft and his muscles started twitching beneath me. So much for not sleeping, I thought with a smile.

I gave up the fight shortly after that. It was the best sleep I’d had in months.

We woke up a few hours later. Afte
r soaking in the jetted tub
,
we
went out for dinner. A reporter called to us just as we were climbing into a cab. “Chris Knots! Allison Banks! A word, please!” He lifted his camera and flashed a couple of pictures. “For the record, are the two of you together again?”

Chris grinned and looked at me. “You want to take this one, or shall I?”

“I can handle it.” I pressed my hands against his chest, tilted my face towards his, and puckered my lips. He laughed before leaning forward to kiss me. I smiled when I heard the camera click.

The man asked another question, but I grabbed Chris’s hand and pulled him into the cab.

“I can already read the headline,” he said with a chuckle. “
Chicago’s Contestable Couple: Together Again?
What do you think?”

I turned and watched out the rear window as the reporter’s shape disappeared behind the car.
“You
know, I can honestly say
it doesn’t matter. I don’t care what they call it. We’re together. That’s all that’s important.”

“Now
,
that,” he said, pulling me close, “is music to my ears.”

###

Acknowledgements
:

Face the Music
never would have come to fruition without the help of several important people. I would like to extend an extra-special thank
you to
my two sweet girls, Chloe and Baylee, for being as patient as young girls can be when their mama always
has her
nose stuck in a computer. Sarah, thank you for loving my ideas, even the bad ones. Mom and Ashley, thanks for encouraging me from the start and
cheering
me on
until the
very end. Katina, thank you for helping me with the early drafts all those years ago
. Lori,
y
ou are, without a doubt, my most favorite
shark
.

And Travis, my dear husband, thank you for not following through with your threat of tossing my laptop over the
side of a bridge.

A Note From the Author:

I hope you enjoyed reading
Face the Music
as much as I enjoyed creating it. If you find it worth sharing, I would very much appreciate it if you would take the time to go to your favorite eBook retailer and leave an honest, genuine review. Thank you, so much, for your support.

About the A
uthor
:

Born and raised in eastern Missouri, Andrea
K. Robbins
is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia and Ida
ho State University
and hold degrees in Human Nutrition, Biological Sciences, and Secondary Education. She currently resides in southern Idaho
with her husband and two young daughters
and enjoys teaching Jr. and High School science and health
classes at a local school district. Robbins
is also
working toward a Masters degree
in Science Education through Montana State University.
When not working,
she
can be found
spending time with her
family or getting lost in a sappy love story.