cntrylvr:awww…glad you’re getting some downtime before the next big show!
morgansminions:it’s her brother, right? Haveu seen him? Soooo sad he’s married.
wmstanfan:but what if it ISN’T her bro? announcement? Easter egg?
morphy4eva:never over her and @ashmurphofficial not being a real thing. at least not for the long haul. can someone tell her he’s back on the market and make this thing happen on AND off stage?
morgansminions:no way. she’s too smart to forgive him. you’ve seen the speculation surrounding the marriage announcement, right? if not, google it. #teammorgan is NOT reposting that garbage. WM deserves better.
Ash flinched.
He knew there was plenty of bullshit written about him online, some true and some not so true. It was all part of the gig. But this one stung, not because of how true it may or may not have been but because if this was how one of Willow’s fans felt about her forgiving him, then how the hell could Willow herself do it?
Yet that previous comment—not the disparaging reply—had over two thousand likes already since she’d posted it late last night. Wait…no. He looked at the time stamp from the post, which said the post went live only six hours ago.Afterhe’d left Willow’s room.
Logically he knew Willow was just doing whatshe promised Sloane she’d do, but if it wasn’t an Easter egg, was it at the very least a bread crumb?
What if I don’t get a chance?
What if you do?
Willow finished the song, and the entire crowd at the farmers market erupted into applause. She stood and bowed, then blew a kiss to no one in particular before cupping her hands over her mouth and calling, “I’m Willow Morgan. This is my sister, Jenna, and she has thebesteggs in Plumas County, so you better grab them before the market closes!”
And then she disappeared behind the tent as customers lined up for last-minute purchases.
Ash ducked his head as he weaved through the crowd, laughing to himself as he heard nothing more than, “Hey there, Ash,” or “Welcome home, Murphy.” Everywhere else he went, someone wanted a photo, autograph, or recorded message to a girlfriend. Here, no one wanted anything more than a “Hey there” or “Hi” in return.
“Hey there,” he said as he rounded the corner of the tent to where Willow was packing up her guitar.
Willow straightened and met his gaze.
“Hey there yourself,” she replied, her expression unreadable. She wasn’t smiling but wasn’tnot.
“Did I mess this whole thing up, Wills…?” He cleared his throat. “Willow. Sorry. Old habits.”
Willow shook her head. “I asked you to stay lastnight, Murphy.” She sighed. “AndIinitiated the kiss.”
He nodded once. “But you also put a stop to it once you came to your senses, and then when I woke up this morning, you were gone. I can pack up my shit and crash on Boone or Eli’s couch.” He shrugged. “A couch is a couch at this point, right? And if you want to call off the duet, that’s okay too. You can have whatever we’ve written so far and—”
“Stop it, Ash!” she cried, fisting her hands at her sides. “Stop trying to bend over backward for me like…like…”
“Like it’s going to make a difference when I know it won’t?” he asked.
She blew out a breath and shook her head. “Colt wasn’t wrong about what he told you, even if he had no right telling you what I’d told him in confidence.”
Ash cleared his throat. “About…forgiving me?”
Willow pressed her lips together and nodded back at him. “But last night broughtsomuch back, and then what you said…about blocking your number?” She let out a bitter laugh. “I did more than block your number, Ash. I got a new phone, a new number. I didn’t trust myself not to go back over every other word you’d ever texted me trying to figure out what was real and what—”
“All of it,” he interrupted. “All of it was real, Willow. I swear. Ilovedyou.”
She sucked in a breath through her nose, and theway the sun reflected in her eyes made them look like dark, glassy pools about to overflow.
“I borrowed my brother’s truck this morning to head out to the nearest store I could find for my cell phone provider to see if they could retrieve blocked texts from my old number.”
Ash’s eyes widened. “Did they find them? Did you read them? Do you believe me now that I never wanted…that the marriage was…”
His voice trailed off as she took the few steps toward him to close the distance.
