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“I think I like the way you think.”
—-
“How long before youhave to leave again?” I ask the question I’ve been avoiding since this morning when Hudson showed up unannounced.
True to his word, after I called Emma, he threw me over his shoulder, locked me in my bedroom, and we have not come out since then.
Well except for a few minutes ago when I decided if I didn’t eat I might die. Even then I made us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and brought them back to my bedroom where we’re now sitting across from each other eating. I’ve been nibbling on the same sandwich for five minutes whereas Hudson is on his third.
“Seven weeks.” He drops his half eaten sandwich on the plate in front of him before his gaze slowly slides to mine.
“Seven weeks?” I question when he makes no attempt to explain.
“I’ll have to return to Nashville for a few days here and there but yes, you have me for seven weeks.”
“And what happens after seven weeks?” I ask, feeling like I can’t be happy about the time I’m going to get with him until I know what comes after.
“I go back on tour. This time it’s a co-headlining tour.”
“Wow. Your own tour.” I smile despite the growing dread in my belly, knowing how huge this is for him.
Hudson’s career has continued to skyrocket over the last few weeks. His fourth single debuted at number one on iTunes and his album has been sitting in the top ten for weeks. As thrilled as I am for him, it’s pretty intimidating for someone who is standing on the sidelines looking in.
“You said your co-headlining. With who?” I ask when he doesn’t offer the information up.
I have a gut feeling I already know the answer before he says it, as if the universe is somehow mocking me.
“Annabelle.” He studies me for a long moment, gauging my reaction.
“I see.” I nod, hating that this news bothers me as much as it does.
It’s one thing to deal with the fans and the thousands of women that would gladly step in and fill my shoes. It’s quite another to compete with someone like Annabelle.
Not only is she a tall, lengthy blonde with a set of pipes to rival the best singers out there, she’s also close to Hudson’s age and likely shares a lot of the same common interests as him.
They’ll be on the road together, spending countless hours together a day. They’ll be able to connect through their music and their shared struggles of being on the road. And while deep down I know I’m being irrational, I can’t help that this whole thing upsets me.
“And you leave in seven weeks? That seems like short notice for a tour. Don’t they need time to sell tickets? Book venues? They can’t just throw that all together in seven weeks.”
“They didn’t.” He picks up the plate between us and slides it onto the nightstand.
“I don’t understand. I mean, I know you said you would likely go back out on tour after Travis’s tour wrapped but you haven’t mentioned anything else until now. How long have you known about this?” I question.
“I didn’t know about the full tour. Only that we’d been booked for ten shows this fall.”
“So that’s the reason for the song you two recorded together.”
“Good publicity.” Hudson nods.
“So you said you knew about ten shows. How long is the full tour?”
“Eight months.” The second it leaves his mouth my chest starts to cave in on itself.
“Eight months?” I question, my voice breathy.
“It’s a ninety-two show tour.”
“Eight months?” My voice rises and emotion clogs my throat.
