Not that I’m complaining. It means I have another chance to watch Izzy as she starts to fall apart.
It’s a particularly un-fake-boyfriend thing to think, but I don’t care.
Before I can overthink it, I tap her name to call her.
“Jaxon?” Her voice comes through soft and warm, and fuck, I like it. Something is playing in the background, and I suddenly get a vision of her tucked into bed watching TV.
“Hey,” I say, leaning back on the couch.
“Is everything okay? Or are you just suddenly pro-phone call these days?”
“Only with you. And Andre.”
“And Andre is your…lover?” she asks, teasing.
“Yes. The best kind because he makes sure my life runs smoothly. I also have to pay him a lot of money…”
Izzy lets out a huff of amusement that curls up and settles in my chest.
“I’m serious, though, Iz. You can’t just go to Nashville and not tell me. What kind of fake relationship are we running here?”
“The kind where you pick up coffee for me and my roommate, and then I bail early.”
“You should stay at my house while you’re there.”
A pause later, she sighs. “Jaxon…”
Anyone else would be jumping at the chance to stay at my place in Nashville. It’s been featured in just about every home, garden, and architecture magazine, for fuck’s sake. But not Izzy.
“I’m serious. It’s twenty minutes from downtown, there’s plenty of room, and I have a private chef for any meals you don’t want to eat out.”
“I wouldn’t feel right using your place like a rental,” she says.
Of course she wouldn’t. I’m sure she thinks it would be an inconvenience.
“Oh, I need to go too,” I lie, keeping my tone light. “My team needs me back so I can record my new song.”
“That’s amazing,” Izzy says, sounding excited for me. “What’s it called?”
“Nothing is finalized yet, but I’ve been calling it ‘Carry You With Me.’”
Izzy lets out a soft snort of a laugh. “All I can imagine is a man carrying a woman over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.”
“Well, you can listen to me record the song and help me pick a better title while we’re there.”
When there’s silence on the line, I cut in before she can overthink it and refuse.
“It’ll be great. I’ll have my team set it up so my plane picks us up Saturday morning from the airport here in town, and then we can spend the weekend exploring in Nashville. Flying you somewhere in my plane will definitely sell the dating ruse in town. You know how much people get worked up around here when private planes land.”
“They’ve gotten used to it now that there are two professional golfers flying in and out all the time,” Izzy replies.
“They’ll still talk about it. Plus, I have an amazing steam shower in my bathroom that I have big plans for.”
She laughs, and I feel like I’ve won something. “Big plans, huh?”
“Very big,” I say. “The heat is supposed to increase blood flow, which in turn makes nerve endings more sensitive…” I trail off, letting the implication hang in the empty space.
“That does sound…promising.”
