Jacey awoke to the scent of fresh-brewed coffee with a hint of vanilla bean. “Mm,” she mumbled into the sheets, rolling to her back and stretching languorously.

“Morning, beautiful.” Luca raised his mug, gorgeous as usual in a black t-shirt and distressed jeans. He wore one of his intense, hard-to-read looks.

How could he be so deadpan when every organ inside her body was blushing at the memory of the night they’d spent together?

She stretched again. “What time is it?”

“Almost nine.”

That late?

She sat up with a cry of dismay. “You shouldn’t have let me sleep so long. I have to be at rehearsals at 10:00.”

“You were exhausted, cara.” He treated her to one of his maddening self-satisfied smiles. They both knew he was part of the reason she’d been so exhausted last night.

She threw off the covers and bounded to her bare feet, refusing to be baited. “I’m a horrible person for sleeping in. Poor Race. He hardly knows his mother. I should be spending every possible moment with him.”

His eyes glinted with approval. “And you will. Over breakfast, carina.”

She gritted her teeth, dashing for the bathroom. Easy for you to make light of the time. You get to see him every day. “I just need to zip through the shower and dress. Oh!” She clutched her head. “I forgot. My clothes are on the tour bus. I’m doomed!”

“Was,” Luca supplied smoothly. “I had them brought up a few minutes ago.”

“You are the best!” As maddening as he could be sometimes, she had to hand it to him. He thought of everything.

“I know.” He hooked an arm around her neck and kissed her hard.

Fifteen minutes later, she was sitting on the leather sofa in their private lounge area and had the chubby Race clutched against her shoulder.

“You’re an armful, sweet stuff!” she exclaimed. “Such a sturdy little thing.”

“Built like a linebacker,” Luca agreed. There was a satisfied sound to his voice that was nearly lost in her squeal.

“Look at these dimples. Oh my gosh! He even has dimples on the tops of his feet.”

“You can thank Colette for that. Britt caught her sneaking a few teaspoons of rice cereal into his bottle a couple of weeks ago, and ‘Voila!’ as she likes to say. He is more content than ever and sleeps through the night now.”

“Oh, my little angel.” She kissed Race’s belly. “Don’t grow up too fast. Save a little bit of it for me to see, will you?”

Bless his heart! Her son was the only reason she and Luca were together. She couldn’t afford to have the years fly by too quickly. Not before she had the chance to make her husband fall as hard for her as she had for him.

Her gut told her they’d made more than a little progress last night. At least she hoped so.

“You’re very quiet over there,” Luca observed, parking himself on an ottoman in front of her.

“Just thinking.” She pressed her lips to Race’s silky spray of hair. He smelled of lotion and baby powder and preciousness.

“About?” he probed, caressing her knee through her leather pants.

How much I love you. How much I wish you loved me in return.

The alarm on her watch sounded, giving her an excuse to avoid a direct answer. “I have to head to rehearsals. We’ll only get a short break before the concert tonight, so there’s no point in hanging around. I know you need to get back home for work.”

“Unfortunately.”

It was a single word, and she was probably reading way too much into it, but Jacey’s heart lightened at the knowledge he wasn’t in a hurry to depart.

She stood. “Thank you again for coming and bringing Race.”

“You’re welcome.” They stood at the same time. He kissed the top of Race’s head first then caught her mouth in a lingering kiss. “We will see you again in two weeks.”

Two weeks. It sounded like an eternity.

Jacey found herself counting not just the days but the hours until she could return home to Luca and Race. Everyone remarked on the change in her. Lady Rock, the band members, even Chance Biggers who called her the following evening.

“You sound happy, love,” he crowed. “And I have some news that’s going to make you even happier.”

She was only half listening as she scrolled through the latest pictures of Race on her electronic tablet. Luca had sent them only minutes earlier.

“Lady Rock is extending your segment of the tour. They’ve enjoyed above-average attendance in the Central U.S. and she credits it to your opening songs.”

Extending the tour! His words finally permeated her thoughts. Her fingers froze on the electronic tablet. “How much longer?”

“Three more weeks. Not nearly long enough. I was hoping she would include you in the northeastern segment of the tour, but she hasn’t responded to my inquiries.”

“How long would that be?” Her heart continued to sink.

“Another eight weeks after the afore-mentioned three.”

Absolutely not. “I can’t,” she declared quickly, firmly.

“Why not?”

“I need to get home.”

“Is that CEO husband of yours missing his lovely Maddox bride?”

She caught her breath sharply. He had all but called her a trophy wife. Was her ugly secret that obvious to a man who barely knew her? “I just had a baby,” she pointed out. “I miss my son.”

“Of course, you do, love, but he’s in excellent hands. That’s what nannies are for, right?”

It was how she had been raised, that’s for sure. Anger churned in her gut. “No. It’s what mothers are for. I will agree to the three weeks extension, but I will not be joining Lady Rock for the northeastern segment of her tour. Please do not book me for anything more than standalone concerts for the rest of the year.”

“You’re making a terrible mistake,” Chance exploded. “I know what I’m talking about.”

“I trust that you do, but I know my limits as well, and I ask that you respect them.”

“Your husband supports the tour, Jacey, if that’s what’s worrying you. It’s natural to become homesick on these long road trips, but there’s no need to worry about things on the home front. I assure you that Luca Calcagni is proud of his superstar wife. He bragged all about it on a local television station this morning.”

“Really?” She was aghast. Luca normally avoided the paparazzi like the plague. “Which one?”

“Channel three. I’ll send you the replay. He’s proud of the chance he took on hiring you. Proud of what you’ve made of yourself. Proud of you landing your first concert tour so soon after delivering a baby. He said he wouldn’t change one thing.”

Not one thing? Not even her long absence from home? Chance’s words sucked the wind out of her lungs.

“You pay me good money to advise you on this stuff, and I’m telling you this is your big break, J.C. Crew, overnight superstar extraordinaire. Opportunities like these don’t happen to everyone.”

She’d said the same herself to Luca a few months. At the time, she hadn’t realized the enormous consequences of getting what she wanted. Or the personal cost.

She was living her dreams, but she wasn’t near as happy as she imagined she would be. Lord help her! She wasn’t sure if she had what it took to survive three additional weeks away from the two people in the world she loved the most, much less the other eight weeks Chance was demanding she consider. But if her singing career made Luca as proud and happy as Chance claimed, she would make the best of her circumstances or go down trying.