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Jason:Sext me.

I laughed.

God, we were so adorable, even I could barely stand us.

I got to work. In the next seven days I had to contact the company I painted for and tell them I was quitting, and I had to put my Etsy store on vacation. Three paintings needed to be completed. I had to rent a storage container, put my house on the market, and start packing. Things needed to be pulled together for a quick yard sale.

And I still had the hardest thing of all to check off my list: telling Kristen I was leaving.

We’d never been apart for more than a few days before. Never, going as far back as the sixth grade. There was no telling how she would react. I half expected her to tell me not to go. She’d been a huge Jason fan so far, but agreeing to go on tour with him after only two weeks as his girlfriend sounded crazy, even to me. And then to explain I’d be selling my house and moving in with him too? On paper it was nuts, no matter how right it felt to me.

I’d made plans to meet her and the baby at the park, and I drove over with Tucker at noon. Kristen had Oliver in his jogging stroller and was already making a circuit around the running track when I got there. I walked the wrong way until I met up with her. When I fell in beside her, she didn’t waste any time calling me on my agenda.

“So what do you need to tell me?” She looked determinedly ahead, speed walking.

God, how does she do that every time? Knowing exactly what I’m up to within five seconds of seeing my face?

I didn’t bother drawing it out. “Jason’s asked me to go on tour with him.”

Kristen didn’t take her eyes off the running track. “And you said yes?”

“And I said yes. But there’s something else. I’m selling the house. And when we get back, we’re moving in together.”

Kristen stopped walking so fast I outpaced her by three steps before I noticed.

She panted and stared at me for a moment. “Let’s go sit,” she said carefully, giving me a look I couldn’t decipher.

Ugh. This wasn’t good. I so wanted her to support me in this. I was going to do it whether she wanted me to or not. But I really had hoped she was going to back me because the news hadn’t gone over well with my parents. At all.

My dad thought my running away on tour with my “rock star” boyfriend of two weeks was some kind of crisis I was working through. He’d given me a long speech about the perils of dating musicians and ended it by telling me he disagreed wholeheartedly with my decision. He’d even thrown around the word “disappointed.”

He’d loved Brandon. They were both ex-military and they’d played in the same poker league. Dad didn’t even want to meet Jason. He said he’d put money on it being over by Labor Day and if it wasn’t, maybe he’d meet him at Thanksgiving.

Maybe.

Mom tended to be more of a romantic, but after Jason’s minor tabloid scandal, she thought I was crazy to even consider staying with him, let alone going on his tour and selling my house to move in with him. She’d agreed to meet him, but was so unenthusiastic I opted out.

Jason’s family had embraced me so much I think it killed him to know how mine felt.

Not having anyone be as happy about this as I was sucked.

We found a bench in the shade, walking in a heavy silence until we got there. Kristen parked the stroller and handed Oliver his sippy cup before sitting to face me.

I dove in. “Before you even start, I know it’s only been a few weeks, and I know—”

“I’m glad you’re going.”

It took me a few moments to process what she’d said.

“You…you are?”

“Yes. And I’m glad you’re selling the house. You should have done that a long time ago.”

I blinked at her. “You’re not upset that I’ll be gone so long? You don’t think I’m crazy?”

“Sloan, there are some things I need to say to you.”

She pushed her hair behind her ear and licked her lips. It took her a while to begin. She seemed at a loss for words. Kristen was never at a loss for words.