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, I had to contend with what, exactly, that looked like. Regardless, one way or another, I’d be by this man’s side for the rest of my life.
“Thinkin’ about it.”
He smiled against my forehead. “I called Carla tonight and told her I’m ready to go all in on songwriting.”
I gasped, bracing myself up on my elbow as I rested my 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, I hated that he was talking as if I were already gone when we were lying in the same bed, nearly naked, after he’d just been inside me. As if me leaving was a foregone conclusion.
It was, though, wasn’t it? That’d been what we’d agreed on. What I’d wanted. I’d never wanted to be tied to this town.
But I was starting to think I wouldn’t mind being tied to this man.
I cleared away the hurt in my 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 I wouldn’t be so far away. The first few months would probably be really hard on Asher, June, and Owen. Even if I wasn’t in their lives daily, I 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 my proximity to Havenbrook that I was worried about. It was my distance from him.
“I just thought it might be nice to be closer.”
He tightened his hold on me, squeezing me into his side and pressing a kiss on my 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 my skin. “Do you remember how nervous I was for my first show with Wade Grant? 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.”
I’d missed his first big performance thanks to a scheduled shoot, but I’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 me 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.”
I shifted, bracing myself up on my elbow as I rested my hand on his bare chest. “Fortunately, I’m confident enough for the both of us.”
“Yeah?” he said, skimming his fingers up my spine. “That doesn’t surprise me. I think you probably strutted your way right out of your momma, not an ounce of self-consciousness or doubt in you.”
