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Maren’s brows pull together in a tiny crease. “Did he say that?”
“No, but come on, Huck would never. He’s too nice. And that was my point! He lets people take advantage of him and his good nature time and again, and I wasn’t about to be one of those people.”
“So, let me see if I understand this. You think having sex with Craig was taking advantage of him?”
“No!” I practically shout, scaring a couple of birds before lowering my voice to a more reasonable level. “Okay. The sex was a separate thing. I haven’t gotten to that part yet. I told him we shouldn’t be seen in public or at his studio together because he would be tainted by association. I’m protecting the asshole. But he got all pissy about it, saying he wasn’t Drake and I should know he wouldn’t care aboutthat, which againproves my point.But anyway, then he said that he couldn’t keep sleeping with me because he can’t do casual anymore.”
“So then you aren’t working together anymore?”
I sigh and brush my fingers together, clearing them of dirt. “No. Obviously we’re still working together. He insisted on that part, actually. He was like, ‘You better be in the studio in the morning,’ so I was. Well, eventually. First I got glutened. But anyway, after that, you know what happened from there…”
“The duet goes number one.”
I nod, still feeling the flip in my belly at the thought.
“So, objectively speaking, being associated with you professionally did not ruin his business at all.”
I press my lips together and nod again.
“All right. And just to recap, you said he should stop being seen with you professionally and he refused (again, thankfully), but then he said you should stop sleeping together, instead.”
“Yeah.”
“So he reinstated the original boundaries.”
“Apparently.”
“But the sex was good.”
“It was out of this world.”
“Lorelai.” Maren’s face is pinched, though she still manages to look pretty. “He’s in love with you, you idiot.”
“He’s not. He’s Craig!”
“That’s his name, not his feelings. And furthermore, you’re in love with him.”
“God, Maren, I’m a mess. Admittedly this week was amazing and the duet is doing well, but personally I’m still a shit show in this town.”
“That’s yourstatus,but again, not your feelings.” Maren’s soft grin is maidenly triumphant. “Face it, Jones, you’ve been in love with Craig for a long while now. You just confused it with lust.”
“Oh, I definitely lust…”
Maren rolls her eyes and crumples her wrapper between her fingers, tucking it in her bag to toss later. Ever the park ranger.
“Look, as far as I can tell, as a very much nonexpert in relationships, people in love turn into idiots for each other. So because you love Craig, you are concerned about his career on his behalf.”
I frown to myself. That makes some sense. I mean. Of course I love Huck. Of course I care about him. But am I in love with him?
My heart lurches in my chest at the very thought, as if to say: YES, BITCH, OBVIOUSLY.
Maren is plowing along. “And because he loves you, he refuses to abandon you just because of some deejay assholes, which by the way, Shelby, Cameron, and I fully support him in that. And he can’t stand the thought of casual sex instead of a relationship.”
“You’re saying he loves me and wants a real relationship.”
“I’m saying you love each other and you deserve a real relationship.”
“Well.”
