“I need to take this,” I say, sliding my thumb across the screen. “Hello?”
“Hey, Seb. How’re you doing?”
“I’m good, man. What’s up?”
“I hate to bother you so early.”
“No worries. Did you have a question about the Georgianna footage I sent to you yesterday? I have plenty more.”
“No, that all looks great. It’s Gary, your fill-in.” Johnathan pauses. “He resigned this morning for personal reasons, and the execs need you back in the studio tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” My heart drops to my feet. “That’s three days early.”
“I know. The good news is they want to set up a conversation to discuss linking your docuseries to the nightly news. They proposed the idea of a weekly episode with a question and answer session afterward.”
“What happens if I don’t come back?”
“Are there not any flights? I could probably get them to give the okay for the day after tomorrow and—”
“I meant at all.”
There’s another long pause, and Johnathan clears his throat.“You’d be in breach of your contract and forfeit all your earnings for the year.”
Well, fuck me.
I have other income, but that isa lot of fucking moneyI’d lose.
“Yeah, of course. Makes sense,” I say weakly. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
He throws out a couple buzzwords he thinks I want to hear:Everyone is amped up for your return. Social media has a countdown clock going, and viewers are ready.People are asking what song you’re going to do first when you’re back on the air.
I know he’s trying to make me feel important, but my answers are noncommittal. A hum and a grunt, and when I hang up with him, my shoulders are heavy.
“Tomorrow?” Quincy asks, and I nod.
“If I don’t, I’ll be in breach of my contract. I won’t collect any more earnings for the year, and I’m sure I’ll be blacklisted from every media outlet across the country.” My laugh is jilted. “It would be nice to know why I’m so unhappy in a job thousands of people want.”
“Because you have a big heart, and you’re meant for something so much more. And you’ll find it. It might take some time, but it’s out there, Sebastian, and it’s going to be worth the wait when it happens.”
“Yeah.” I nod, wishing I hadn’t put so much stock in the NWS job. I should’ve looked at other positions. Done some research on what else is out there, because now I’m stuck down a one-way road, and I don’t like the direction I’m heading. “Probably.”
“Hey.” She nudges me with her elbow. “Are you going to tell me why you wanted to come over this morning?”
“Oh.” I rub the back of my neck. Blurting out that I love her when both of our lives are about to change feels selfish, so I shrug. I plaster on a smile and gesture at her computer screen. “Wanted to see if I could hop on the show with you today.”
“You know you have an open invitation. My viewers like you more than they like me.”
“That’s not true.”
“It’s so true, and I’m okay with it.” Quincy laughs. “Gosh. I’m going to miss you when you leave.”
I love her so much. I love her laugh and the way her nose scrunches. I love how she shrieks when I toss her over my shoulder and head for her bedroom. I love her so much that the idea of not getting to see her every day of my life fuckinghurts. But could she love me back from fifteen hundred miles away?
“I’m going to miss you too. We’re going to figure it out,” I say, but I wonder if it’s more to convince myself than it is to convince her.
I wake up with my heart in my throat and Sebastian’s face buried in my hair. Strong arms wrap around me. A warm kiss is pressed to my bare shoulder.
“Hey,” he slurs, still on the edge of unconsciousness. His grip on me tightens. I spin in his arms so I can look at him. “How’d you sleep?”
