With a laugh, she poked him in the side, and he flinched away, laughing under his breath before pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“You feel any better, or did you just spend the whole time mindlessly reciting lyrics while your mind spun about the call with Cole?”
He blew out a heavy sigh. “Sometimes it really sucks how well you know me.”
“I hate to tell you this, but it’s only gonna get worse as time goes on.”
“That mean you plan to be by my side for a while?”
That had never been in question. Now, though, she had to contend with what, exactly, that looked like. Regardless, one way or another, she’d be by this man’s side for the rest of her life.
“Thinkin’ about it.”
He smiled against her forehead. “I called Carla tonight and told her I’m ready to go all in on songwriting.”
She gasped, bracing herself up on her elbow as she rested her hand on his bare chest. “Are you serious? You sure you’re ready to give up your dream of bein’ a big star?”
“C’mon, you know as well as I do that wasn’t ever my dream. I just felt like a fool for rejecting the chance since it fell in my lap. But this past week—writin’ that song and playin’ it at Will’s wedding… It reminded me I’m not in this business for the fans. I’m in it for the music, and I can create that anywhere as long as I have a notepad and a guitar.”
“Have you called Cole to let him know you’re signing a contract to prove income?”
“I will in the mornin’.”
“So, I guess that means you really are stayin’ here in Havenbrook.”
“If I get the kids…”
“When.”
“When,” he agreed. “What about you? What comes after your shoot in Ireland?”
God, she hated that he was talking as if she were already gone when they were lying in the same bed, nearly naked, after he’d just been inside her. As if her leaving was a foregone conclusion.
It was, though, wasn’t it? That’d been what they’d agreed on. What she’d wanted. She’d never wanted to be tied to this town.
But she was starting to think she wouldn’t mind being tied to this man.
She cleared away the hurt in her voice, hoping he didn’t hear it. “I’m not sure. Maybe work on that coffee table book I wanna do. Summer or fall would be the perfect time for it.”
That, and she wouldn’t be so far away. The first few months would probably be really hard on Asher, June, and Owen. Even if she wasn’t in their lives daily, she could come back and visit him…them…at a moment’s notice.
“You won’t get itchy bein’ so close to Havenbrook for so long?”
It wasn’t her proximity to Havenbrook that she was worried about. It was her distance from him.
“I just thought it might be nice to be closer.”
He tightened his hold on her, squeezing her into his side and pressing a kiss on her forehead. “That’d be nice for your family. And us, if we’re all still here.”
“You will be. Those kids are gonna be givin’ you gray hairs in no time.”
He huffed out a laugh and brushed his lips against her skin. “Do you remember how nervous I was for my first show with Luke Bryan? You were in Scotland, and I called you from backstage, freaking out, even though it was, like, three a.m. where you were. I woke you from a dead sleep, but you still talked me off the ledge.”
She’d missed his first big performance thanks to a scheduled shoot, but she’d been there for his third. By that time, he was a pro, but when he hadn’t been…when he’d been nervous and unsure, it was her he’d called.
“Yeah, I remember. I sat in my hotel room for hours after, wishing I’d been able to get there.”
“If I had to choose one or the other, I’m glad you’re here now ’cause I’m a hell of a lot more nervous about the outcome of this hearing than I ever was about gettin’ up on a stage in front of thousands of people.”
