Page 65 of Resisting the Fall

“I wouldn’t do that. It’s going to—” Before I could get out my warning, he typed an incorrect password the third time and his phone locked. “…lock you out.”

He shifted toward me. “How about sharing that password with me now?”

“I haven’t decided what I want in exchange for it.”

“I thought we agreed on a ride to your mom’s?”

“I said I’d think about it. And it’s a good start, but how about we add in…” I tapped my finger on my chin. “Oh, I know. I also get your bed again tonight.”

“There’s no way. That couch is way too small for me. And poor Finn had to sleep on the ground. He kept huffing all night.”

“Finn can sleep with me. On your bed.”

“If anyone’s sharing that bed with you, it’s not going to be Finn.”

“I’m pretty sure you threatened the same thing last night.” Once the words slipped out, I realized it sounded like a challenge.

“Is that an invitation, Mrs. Walker?”

Or apparently, an invitation. I narrowed my eyes, ineffectively fighting a blush. “Take it as one and find out.”

He chuckled, then glanced down at his phone before handing it to me. “You can have the bed.”

With a victorious smile, I typed in the code.

1022

His gaze lifted to mine. “October twenty-second? The day we got married?”

“It’s the first thing that came to my mind,” I said dismissively. I probably should have used my birthday or something.

He placed the phone on the dash and put the truck in drive when my phone started buzzing. I glanced at the screen.

Jean-Paul.

I hadn’t heard from him since I’d told him I wouldn’t be able to make it to Prague. I’d worried he’d dropped me and just hadn’t gotten around to telling me yet. Which, I guess, could be why he was calling. Either way, there was no point in putting it off.

“Hey, Jean-Paul,” I said before the call went to voicemail.

“Maven. How are you?”

“I’m… okay. How have you been?”

“Busy.”

Well, that made exactly one of us.

My gaze flicked to Ben, whose focus was fixed out the front windshield as he drove. “Can I just say again how sorry I am⁠—”

“It’s water under the bridge,” he said, his French accent making it hard to discern if he had actually forgiven me. “I’m calling today for two reasons. First, I was hoping to get an updated schedule from you. I know you’ve had a personal situation to attend to, so I wanted to give you ample time to make sure everything was in order, but once you’re ready, I’d like to send things your way again.”

Relief flooded over me. He was still going to represent me! Without a fixer, it was proving nearly impossible to find jobs. “That would be wonderful! Currently, I have nothing booked until November. And those are just substitutions for friends and one six-day stint at the theater.”

“We’ll get your calendar filled up in no time.” His extended pause had me holding my breath. “The other reason I’m calling is the New York Philharmonic is holding auditions for a violinist.”

“Are you serious?!” I asked, not even attempting to dim my excitement.

Jean-Paul chuckled. “I’m glad you seem thrilled because I already sent in your audition video—the one you submitted for Prague—and they contacted me this morning to let me know you’ve progressed to round two.”