“Good.”
It was not warm.
It was not meant to be.
“I don’t want you to give up singing,” Ellie said.
“I won’t.”
“I’ve known you less than a week. Asking you to abandon an international career would be unhinged.”
“Some people find it romantic.”
“Some people should lose access to movies.”
I smiled.
Her expression remained serious.
“If we keep talking, your career cannot automatically become the most important thing in every room.”
“That may be difficult.”
Her face hardened.
I continued before she could answer.
“Not because it should be. Because some days two hundred people are waiting for me to walk onto a stage at a specific time.”
“I understand schedules.”
“What you don’t understand is whether there will always be another tour or interview that means the truth has to wait.”
“Yes.”
“That is exactly what I don’t understand.”
“There will always be another commitment,” I said. “There shouldn’t always be another excuse.”
Ellie watched me.
“Can you stop using them?”
“I want to.”
“That isn’t a guarantee.”
“No.”
Her jaw tightened.
“I can’t give you one tonight.”
The silence that followed was not friendly.
I wanted to fill it with promises.
That I would never choose work over her.
