“Can you take care of my label threatening to drop me because of an unauthorized leak?” she asked, her voice beginning to shake. “Can you take care of me having to possibly pay back my advance for a second album that might not ever release?”
He flinched but continued to hold her, and she hated how his hands on her felt reassuring rather than revolting, how her heart hadn’t yet caught up with her mind.
“Willow…” he began, his tone careful and measured. “Please tell me what happened.”
All she had left in her was a tired, half-hearted scoff. “I saw the Instagram post, Ash. It’s over, okay? Transaction complete.”
This made him stumble back like he’d been socked in the gut. He pulled his phone from his pocket and unlocked the screen. A few seconds later, Willow heard it again, Ash’s hopeful, earnest voice as he said “Ready?” and then launched into their song.
Willow squeezed her eyes shut as she listened to the recording. God, they sounded good. She knew it then, and she knew it last night when they performed together.
“I learned quickly that everything I do is some sort of transaction,” she finally said, opening her eyes after the audio clip finished. “Isn’t that what you told mefouryears ago?” She laughed, and her throat tightened. “I can blame what happened thenon my naïvete. But what about now? What excuse do I have for putting myself in the exact samehumiliatingposition when I should be smart enough to know better?”
Ash stared at the phone and then tossed it on the dresser like it had suddenly caught fire. “Willow, I didn’t… You can’t think I had anything to do with this.”
She pressed one hand to her stomach, the other to her chest as if she might come apart at the seams if she didn’t hold herself together. “If it was just the photo, Ash…” She shook her head. “The only place that recording existed was on your phone.Yourphone.”
“I know,” he replied, holding his hands up. “Which wasyoursuggestion, remember?”
Willow nodded slowly. “Did you send it to Sloane?”
All the color drained from his face. “I can’t believe you’d even ask me that.”
She shrugged. “Well… I’m asking.”
“What happened to trusting me? That lasted, what, barely more than twelve hours?”
She couldn’t believe he had the audacity to sound angry. Ather! “You’re not answering the question, Murphy,” she told him.
Ash pinched the bridge of his nose and blew out an exasperated breath. “I shouldn’thaveto. Not if you meant what you said.”
She finally threw her arms in the air. “Just say it, okay? Say you gave Sloane the recording, and we can be done with this. I’m too tired, Ash. I don’t want to do this anymore.”
He grabbed his phone and shoved it back in his pocket. “Right. I forgot.Hatingme is exhausting.”
He moved in front of her again and pressed his hand to the wall beside her head, leaning in so he was close enough to kiss her…so she almost wanted tolethim because her stupid, aching heart didn’t know any better. But instead she pressed herself against the wall, clenching her teeth and daring him to say what they both knew was the truth.
“I sent Sloanenothing,” he told her, a rough tremble in his voice. “I sent her nothing, and Iknewnothing about the post. But you were never going to actually trust me, were you?” he asked.
“Isn’t this where you tell me you’re retiring from the industry because you broke my heart again?” She blinked and felt the first tear fall, and Ash’s steely gaze melted.
He cupped her cheeks in his hands and stared at her with pleading, stormy-blue eyes.
“Wills…” His thumbs brushed at the tears that fell freely now. “I’m so—”
“Don’t!” She interrupted. “Please don’t say it.” She sucked in a shaky breath. “Remember when I told you I never actually hated you?” He nodded slowly, and she hated the glimmer of hope she sawin his eyes. “Trying to love you is what’s exhausting,” she admitted. “I have lost too much in my life tokeeplosing.” She shook her head. “Did you see what they’re saying about me? Calling me a homewrecker just like they did last time? I thought I could handle being a part of your life and your career, but I just keep getting knocked down again and again.”
He tilted his forehead against hers. “Don’t do this, Wills. I’m begging you not to do this.” His lips brushed against hers, and she couldn’t help but kiss him back. Not because she believed they could fix this but because when she kissed him this morning, she didn’t know it was their last kiss.Nowshe knew.
She tasted salt on his lips, and when she pulled away she saw that she wasn’t the only one failing at holding back tears. The sight of a broken Ash wrecked her, but she couldn’t do this anymore, always waiting for the other shoe to drop because it just…kept…dropping.
“I have to go,” she whispered, gently pushing him away so she could free herself from the wall.
“No you don’t,” he replied. “You don’t have to. You’rechoosingto.”
“No,” she told him, sure of at least one small thing. “I’m choosingme.” She cleared her throat. “Colt’s going to be here soon to pick me up,” she added. “I should probably go wait out front so a bad situation doesn’t get worse…”
Willow slipped past a speechless Ash and grabbed her suitcase from the bed along with her own phone from the bedside table. Then she rolled the suitcase out of the room and toward the front door. She glanced back, taking in the empty room that had just begun to start feeling like home. Then she counted to ten, exhaled, and turned back to the door, opening it and stepping through.
