Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Laney

The next couple of weeks pass by in a blur of dating bliss and moments when I want to pinch myself because…is this really my life?

And only part of that has anything to do with Midnight Rush.

Adam is thoughtful and generous and a good cook and he loves to talk about what I love to talk about and we get along so well. We click in a way that I have never clicked with anyone before, and that's all I need to feel like I'm living in some sort of fantasy.

When I think about the fact that Adam is also in the process of preparing for a reunion concert with Midnight Rush, it feels like my head might explode.

When we're having dinner at his house and he gets a text requesting his measurements for a wardrobe fitting.

When we're on our way to a movie and Freddie FaceTimes to ask Adam's opinion about the set list .

And right now, when we're spending a Saturday afternoon at the rescue playing with puppies, and Freddie's assistant texts over a rehearsal location and schedule.

All pinch me moments.

"Have you ever heard of Stonebrook Farm?" Adam asks, scrolling through his phone.

I sit up from where I've been lounging on a blanket in Adam's backyard and try to untangle my hair from the jaws of one of Aretha's puppies. Paul, I think? Or it might be George. "The one over in Silver Creek?" The puppy tugs a little harder, and I let out a grunt. This is not a game of tug-of-war I'd like to lose.

Adam picks up the puppy and successfully frees me. "Yeah, you know it?"

"A little. It's not far from where I grew up. We went to their Harvest Festival every fall when I was a kid."

"Apparently, that's where we're meeting to start rehearsals."

"Not at a studio somewhere?" I ask.

"I guess they want to keep the concert a surprise for a little longer, so we're going somewhere remote, where no one will notice we're together."

"I guess that's convenient for you. It's, what, three hours away?"

He leans back, stretching out on his side and propping himself up on his elbow. "Convenient if it means I get to drive home to see you."

I lean down and press a quick kiss to his lips. "When do you have to be there?"

"Monday."

"That's less than a week."

He nods. "Yeah. It's starting to feel real. "

I'm not quite in the this feels real stage yet. I haven't even told anyone besides Percy that Adam and Deke are the same person. My family knows I'm dating Adam, but at some point, I'm going to have to mention the fact that he's a former member of my favorite boyband.

I should probably get used to talking about it. Because once the concert happens, people in Lawson Cove are going to figure out who he is.

The thought leaves a low-key discomfort simmering in the back of my mind. I am not an attention seeker. I am so far the opposite that back in high school, when I bought tickets to see Midnight Rush in concert, I didn't enter the fan lottery to win backstage passes because I couldn't think of anything more mortifying than actually meeting the band. I was happy to admire them from the front row where I wouldn't be required to converse. I'm not a public speaker. A performer of any kind.

It's not like dating Adam means I would have to perform. But it does mean a little of his spotlight might sometimes catch glimpses of me. And I have no idea how to feel about that.

Adam and I spend as much time together as possible over the next week. He's busy getting everything at the rescue ready for his absence, but we still manage to see each other almost every day. Which means when he heads to Silver Creek on Monday morning, there is a giant Adam-sized hole in my day-to-day life. We text a lot. And he calls me every night, telling me all about the work they're doing to elevate the Midnight Rush setlist. Apparently, not everything that works for a group of teenage boys translates when those boys are now full-grown men. They also aren't doing as much dancing—Adam is so happy about that—and for the first time, they're playing their own instruments, at least for some songs.

The more I hear him talk about everything, the more excited I become about seeing the concert and not just because I'm a fan. Adam seems happy. Like the creative work he's doing has woken him up somehow. It's fun to see—or at least hear— whenever he calls.

On Thursday morning, I'm on my way into the office when Adam calls. It's unexpected, mostly because we were up until almost midnight talking, so I'm not expecting to hear from him again until tonight.

"Did I catch you before you got to work?" Adam asks as soon as I answer.

"Just barely. Is everything okay?"

"Yes?" he says, like he's debating how much to tell me. "Maybe?"

"What's going on?"

He breathes out a sigh. "I don't know. We just got briefed on everything that's happening the next few days as they prepare to drop the concert news. Photoshoots. Media coaching. Stylists and wardrobe stuff. We've just been focusing on the music and the creative parts of the actual show, and that's been amazing. But now we're getting into all the marketing stuff."

"And that's not your favorite."

"Not at all," he says. "I'm fine. It's part of it. I get it. I just don't like it." There's a slight edge to his voice that makes my gut tighten. The last time Adam did anything like this, he was weeks away from going through a pretty traumatic loss. This can't be easy for him, and the realization makes me want to get in my car and drive down to Silver Creek right now .

"Yeah, I'm sure," I say. "And they're probably trying to cram a lot of planning into a very small amount of time. It has to be overwhelming."

The concert is only three months out, which was totally surprising to me when I first found out. I have no idea how long it usually takes to plan and execute something of this scope, but I'm guessing this isn't the norm.

With enough money to grease the wheels, probably anything is possible. And if Freddie needs a PR boost now, I'm sure everyone is highly motivated to make things happen. But it has to feel like a lot. Especially to Adam, who has been out of the industry for so long.

"It has been, which has me thinking about what might make it easier."

My ears perk up.

" Who might make it easier," he says. "Like, maybe there's this person who really makes me happy and would probably distract me from stressing about stuff I have to do that I don't want to do."

I lean against the wall outside the office and watch a tiny green lizard crawl up the siding, my heart rate climbing. Is Adam suggesting what I think he's suggesting?

"Adam," I say slowly. "What are you trying to say?"

He waits for a beat, then says, "Are you busy this weekend? And also all of next week?"

I laugh. "An entire week?"

"I know it's a lot to ask. But…I miss you. And so much is happening. They're going to make me shave my beard, Laney. I'm fine—I'll probably be fine—I just find myself wishing you were here. You ground me, I think. And I could use some grounding."

I close my eyes. What is happening right now? Adam and I have only been officially dating a few weeks. We've kissed and texted and talked and watched movies and eaten dinners together, but it still feels pretty new. To go spend a week with him at a Midnight Rush rehearsal?

I fight to stifle the giggle rising up my chest. We're having a conversation about Midnight Rush rehearsals. What even is my life?

Because I knew Adam before I knew he was Deke, when we are hanging out at the rescue or at my house, it's easy to forget his boyband history. He's just Adam. Even knowing the New Year's concert is looming, so far, it's only been a thing we talk about.

But if I drive down to Silver Creek to crash his rehearsal, it'll be a lot more than talk. We'll be living a very different reality than the one I live in Lawson Cove.

Also, and probably most importantly, I have a job.

Though, the truth is, most days, we don't really need two vets at the office. Dad has been semi-retired since he hired me on, talking about slowly phasing himself out as he turns the practice over to me. But he's a lot better at that in theory than he is in practice. Sometimes he comes to the office just to be there, even when he doesn't have any patients scheduled. And he's been begging me for months to take a vacation—something I haven't done since he hired me over a year ago—if only to give him the chance to see patients again full time.

He'd be just fine without me.

My heart starts pounding. This is wild. Completely wild. But… I'm going to say yes.

If only Percy could see me now.

"Let me talk to Dad," I say. "See if I can make it happen. "

"For real?" Adam says, his voice so full of hope it makes my heart squeeze.

I laugh. "This is crazy, Adam. But yes. For real."

"In that case, there's something else I need to tell you," he says. "Everyone here except Freddie still thinks you're my fiancée."