“Stop pouting. You’ll to give yourself wrinkles.”

I pulled the pillow from behind my head and launched it at Lyla, who was lying on the end of my bed on her stomach, painting her nails a bright, cheery pink. I hated the color and its stupid cheerfulness. I’d been back in San Francisco for a little less than a week, and I missed Declan so much it was as if a piece of me was missing.

“Didn’t you say you came here to cheer me up? You’re doing a pretty shitty job at it.”

She screwed the top on the polish bottle and dropped it to the floor before looking up at me. The way we were hanging out in my bedroom, watching movies and binging on potato chips and snack cakes, was eerily reminiscent of high school. That just made me even sadder, because five days ago I’d had a badass job where I got to hang with my best friends and watch Civil Corruption in concert from the backstage, and today I was unemployed and currently crashing with my parents. I might’ve still had a dreamy boyfriend who I was ridiculously in love with, but unfortunately, we currently had more than one continent between us.

It didn’t help matters that I was stuck in the house all day, every day until the reporters finally got tired of waiting for a glimpse of me.

“Yeah, I gave up on that an hour ago when it became obvious that you wouldn’t be pulled out of your current mope no matter how hard I tried.”

I threw myself back dramatically, fully embracing my pathetic trip back to my teenage years. “I miss him,” I admitted quietly, staring up at my ceiling like it held all the answers I needed to fix this shitty situation.

“I know, honey.” Lyla moved along the mattress and laid down beside me. “But it’s not forever. You’ve talked to him, right?”

“Yeah, briefly. There was so much to do before they flew out, and the time difference makes things difficult, but we text a lot.”

“Okay, well that’s good. And just think, by the time this tour’s over, you two will be, like, experts at sexting. A very important skill to add to your résumé.” I let out a loud laugh that lasted for a while before eventually tapering off. “You know, you shouldn’t have quit,” Lyla said after an extended silence. I get your reasons for not doing the tour, but you shouldn’t have quit. You loved that job. And you were good at it. You let that bastard take it away from you, and he’s already taken too much.”

The wind blew fiercely outside with a coming thunderstorm, whipping the curtains around my open window. I sat up and climbed from the bed, going over to close and lock it.

“I know,” I said, taking a seat in the swivel chair at my old bedroom desk. “Camden’s already ripped me a new one for the same thing. It’s not like I wanted to quit. I loved that job. It was like… like I’d finally found my calling, and I was good at it. Maybe….” Staring out the window, I watched the dark gray clouds roll in. “I don’t know, maybe when this is all over we’ll figure it out.”

“And Declan?”

My forehead wrinkled. “What about him?”

“Are you guys still…?”

“I’m in love with him,” I admitted. “And I told him that. Before he left for the tour, I told him.”

She smiled happily. “I’m glad, honey.”

“I just really miss him. I want this to work, but I’m scared. I worry that….”

“That his fame will come between you guys,” she finished. We were such good friends that Lyla was able to read my mood without me having to say a word.

“I know his job will always come first. I think I’ve always known that. Even back when we were eighteen and they were just starting out in dive bars. It’s like he’s not just mine, you know? He belongs to the world. I have to find a way to get used to that.”

“Give him a little credit,” she told me. “You two aren’t the same young kids you used to be. I think Declan knows better now what’s really important to him, and I’m pretty sure he’ll surprise you.”

With a shrug and a sad grin, I said, “I hope you’re right. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t say ‘I told you so’ when that time comes.”

“How gracious of you,” I said with a giggle.

After that, we spent a few more hours in front of the television, watching some girly romance movies until Lyla finally went home.

I went and took a shower, standing under the hot spray, hoping it would work on loosening my stiff, strained muscles. The water went cold long before I was ready, forcing me from the solitary confines of the guest bathroom. I got out and changed into a pair of silky sleep shorts and a tank top, then twisted my hair into a wet knot on top of my head.

When I got back to my room and checked my phone, I had a text waiting from Declan.

Declan: Hope you sleep good, baby. Missing you so damn bad it hurts. Love you, Crimson.

Reading that actually made me smile a sincere smile for what felt like the first time all day, and I quickly replied.

Me: I love you too. Is it crazy how much I love saying or typing that? I love you. I love you. I LOVE YOU with all my heart, Declan Forrester. And I miss you. So much. Hope your show kicked ass, but then again, I already know it did, because you guys are amazing. Only a few more months. Good night, honey.

I set the phone on my bedside table and turned the lamp off, bathing the room in darkness. Then I climbed under the covers and let the thunderstorm outside lull me to sleep. And when I finally dozed off, I dreamed of Declan’s silvery, stormy gaze.

* * *

I woke to the smell of fresh air that only came after a heavy rain washed everything away, leaving it clean and pure. The crisp scent of rain and grass mingled with a woodsy, spicy fragrance that penetrated the thick haze of sleep that enveloped me.

The familiar creak of my bedroom window tugged at my consciousness and I rolled over, my vision bleary as I cracked my heavy eyelids. “Hmm.” I smiled in my sleep at the sight of Dream Declan standing by my bed, having just climbed through my bedroom window. “It’s you.”

“It’s me, baby.” He came closer, and his cologne grew stronger. God, I missed him. I’d have given anything for this not to be a dream.

“This is the best dream,” I continued mumbling sleepily.

His rough, deep chuckle pushed the slumber further back. Confusion started to set in, because it was starting to feel like more than just a dream.

“Not a dream, sweetheart. I promise you, I’m very real.” The mattress depressed beneath his weight, and as he leaned down to place a heart-stopping kiss on my lips, I sighed happily. But then something wet and cold hit my cheek, the unexpected sensation jolting me all the way awake. I blinked, shocked when Dream Declan was still there.

“Deck?”

“Told you, baby. I’m real.”

“Oh my God!” I shot up to sitting, my forehead nearly colliding with his chin. I scrambled for the lamp, flicking it on so I could see him in all his gorgeous glory. “You’re not a dream!” I cried, launching myself at him. He was soaked from the rain still falling outside my window, but I didn’t give a damn. He was there, in my arms. Not continents away.

But… wait….

“What the hell are you doing here?” I shouted, pulling from his embrace just enough to smack his shoulder. “You’re supposed to be in Tokyo! You promised me, Deck—”

“Quiet, woman,” he ordered, putting his hand over my mouth to silence my rant as the other wrapped around my waist, holding me against him. “I promised I wouldn’t cancel the tour, and I haven’t. We delayed it until the end of this week.”

Pulling his hand from my mouth, I looked into those quicksilver eyes. “Why would you do that?”

Determination filled his expression and voice as he declared, “Because I’m not doing this tour without you.”

“Declan,” I sighed, dropping my forehead to his chest.

“Just hear me out, Tate. Please?” Sitting up straight, I gave him my gaze and nodded for him to continue. “I couldn’t let that shit with Chris wait. Not after what he did to you. So, Ian got with his guys who run a private investigations firm, and they did some digging. What they found was… damning, to say the least.”

My brow creased in bewilderment. “How damning?”

“Ten to fifteen years behind bars, minimum, damning.”

“No!” I gasped, my jaw dropping wide open.

“Yep,” he replied with a shit-eating grin. “He’s already been arrested. I got a front row seat to that shit in LA late last night before heading out here. And Brenda’s already leaked the entire thing. The media is going fucking crazy. He’s never going to be a problem again, baby. It’s all been taken care of.”

All I could do was stare up at him, so in shock and in love with this man. “I can’t believe this. It’s….”

“Over. It’s over. You can come back.” He shifted on the bed, bringing one leg up so he could turn and face me fully. Taking both my hands in his, he gave them a squeeze as he continued. “Tate, ten years ago I put my career first. We weren’t in a good place, but I left on that fucking tour anyway when what I should’ve done was stayed and made things right with you. I’m not going to make the same mistake twice. You’re the most important thing in my world, baby, and I’ll do whatever I have to do to prove that to you.”

My throat tightened as a wave of intense emotion crashed over me and threated to make me burst into tears.

“I realized something after you left a week ago. I always made you promise to never leave me, but baby, I never made you the same promise. I’m correcting that right now. Tate, I promise that I’m never, ever going to leave you. I’m yours in every single way. You’re my entire world, and I’ll never leave you. Even if it’s only for a few months.”

I lost control of my tears at his declaration and threw myself into his arms, holding on as tight as I possibly could. “I love you, Declan. So damn much.”

“I love you too, baby. Please, I’m begging you, please come back to me. Be our manager, do this tour. Who the fuck knows how much trouble we’ll get in without you there. It’ll be a disaster! But most importantly, come back because I don’t want to do any of this without you by my side. If you aren’t there, none of it matters.”

Twisting my fingers in his hair, I tugged until his lips were close enough for me to reach. Then I devoured his mouth in a hungry kiss, desperate to make up for all the days we’d been apart. By the time I pulled back, we were both panting heavily.

“I love you, and I want to come home. When do we leave?”

“Thank fucking Christ,” he grunted, his eyes clenched closed in relief. When he looked back at me, the blue and gray were swirling together in the most beautiful way. “We’ll leave tomorrow. After we have breakfast with Lyla and your folks.”

“Wait.” I jerked back. “Why did you just say that like they were expecting you? And….” I looked back and forth between him and my opened bedroom window. “How did you even get in here? I locked that!”

“I figured you would.” He smirked. “So I had John make sure it was unlocked so I could climb in. And they’re expecting me because I called four days ago to fill them in on everything that was happening.”

“So my best friend and my parents knew you’d never left the country? And no one told me?” I ended on a shout.

“Baby,” he said gruffly. “You think you can finish being mad later? I haven’t seen you in a fucking week. If I don’t feel you wrapped around my cock in the next five seconds, I’m liable to explode.”

I managed a glare, even though I was feeling nothing but pure unadulterated joy and lust. “God, you’re such a pain in the ass. You’re lucky I love you.”

“Believe me,” he whispered, leaning in so his lips brushed against mine as he spoke, “I know exactly how lucky I am. And I’ll spend the rest of my life counting my blessings.”