She sighed deeply enough that her shoulders bounced in his lap. “There’s this book I’ve been trying to write since college.”
“What’s it about?”
Brinton squeezed her eyes shut, as if it were a still-tender bruise. “It’s about an anxious Valedictorian who accidentally gets locked inside her high school with her free-spirited nemesis the night before graduation. The experience makes her question her perfectly curated future. Ultimately, she discovers there’s more to life than straight-As and Ivy Leagues. Corny, I know.”
“No, that sounds awesome. Is this about you?”
“It’s inspired by my relationship with my sister. Shay never had to try hard at anything. All I did was try. But it’s a vicious cycle: I work on it for a few months, and then trash it. I’d love to publish it one day and use my lit degree for once. Journalism was easier. Well, at least until it wasn’t. And I became a joke.”
“You’re not a joke. You talk to people and tell their stories. Make them trust you—me included. That’s brave as hell.”
He rubbed his palms down her shoulders, and she sighed blissfully. He loved that his touch could melt away her pain.
“And why can’t you quitLandmarkand finish that book? You don’t gotta be afraid to start over.”
“Well, no offense, but I’m not a Grammy-winning music sensation, so I have to work. Those student loans won’t repay themselves,” she said, opening her eyes.
He nodded but didn’t speak. Even if he wanted to pay off her debt—which he absolutely would—she wouldn’t want that. She was the kind of woman who wanted to solve her own problems. He wanted that for himself too.
“But, Jamie, I believe in you. You could still start a label or put something out independently, without your dad. Everything you want is right there, waiting for you.”
“I feel trapped too. No one takes me seriously—not unless he says so. I’ve felt it my whole life.” Yet, he had no one else to blame. This was the cost of his Faustian bargain with his father.
She winced and rubbed her left temple.
“Well, you have so much more life ahead of you,” she said. “I can’t wait to see what you do next.”
“That’s incredibly sweet of you to say,” he said, kissing the spot where her fingers lingered. “But now, I need you to relax and let me ice your head.”
She exhaled, dropping her shoulders.
He grinned down at her. “Hey, we didn’t talk about it earlier, but when I called you my girlfriend, I meant it. Even if there’s still a lot to figure out, like handling how to go public.”
“You mean, youdon’twant to soft launch on Iris After Dark?”
His heart sank like a feather tied to a boulder. “You saw that?” He expected her to be hurt, or worse, angry. Instead, her lush lips curved into a playful smirk.
“I did. I was doing some research for the article, and it came up in my feed. I don’t know, it was kind of funny. I’ve been called many things, but a Yankee interloper was…refreshing.”
“Well, I took care of it. Sammi had that post pulled down. It won’t be like after the Grammys. I won’t let that happen to you.”
“You know you can’t, like, control what people say, right?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t want what’s happening in the outside world to control whoweare. I’ve lived through that enough in my life. I got a lot of regrets, but wanting you, and protecting what we have together, ain’t one of them.”
She reached up and caressed his jaw, smiling as he kissed her palm. “So…do you wanna read the article, now that it’s done? I’ll email it.”
“Absolutely. I’d love that.”
He slipped her phone into her palm. She quickly tapped the screen, rubbing her weary eyes with her free hand.
Jamie smiled down at her. “Now that’s settled, how about I take you on a proper date tomorrow, after you’ve gotten some rest?”
She pulled him in for another languorous kiss, igniting a torch that chased away the fears in the dark recesses of his mind.
“So, I’ll take that as a yes,” he whispered.
“That’s a hell yes,” she breathed.
