After his meteoric rise to superstardom, Jim O'Brien is no longer a small-town boy who plays in bars and dreams of success. His handsome face is plastered on the covers of celebrity gossip magazines, and his voice alone is enough to make girls swoon...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The show was in a couple of days, and the list of things we needed to do had never looked so impressive. Perhaps that was why I relished the quiet moments this morning. Pressed to my side, Ava was sound asleep, with her arm thrown over my waist and her leg on top of mine.
I stared at the view behind my window, running my fingers through Ava's hair with enough gentleness not to wake her up. She had to work the morning shift at the bookstore, but we still had half an hour until she would run around the apartment, saying that I made her be late and I should be less distracting.
The unfortunately familiar weight on my chest made itself known. I pressed my lips to Ava's forehead, swallowing.
Everything was going according to plan for now. Right after the concert, I would pick her up at home and come clean during our date.
Soft lips placed a string of kisses on my shoulder. I smiled, and my eyes met Ava's.
"Did I wake you up?" I asked, rubbing the pad of my thumb across her cheek.
Ava snuggled into me, yawning. "No, but I know you. You would let me sleep longer and make me kiss you, and then I would be running late."
The corners of my mouth lifted. "Oops."
Ava tickled me, making me loosen my hold on her. "I need a shower. And a cup of coffee."
Stretching, I sat up. "On it."
Ava's footfalls echoed in the apartment as she hopped off the bed and padded to the closet and then to the en-suite.
By the time she was ready, I had her coffee sitting on the kitchen island.
"Thank you." She smiled, taking a sip with her eyes closed. "I will need lots of caffeine today."
I leaned against the fridge, clutching a mug of my own. "Why?"
"We have a book signing, and I have to get things ready. And when I'm done with work, I need to write some chapters of the second book. Call it my self-imposed deadline."
"You'll do amazing. I only have two chapters left to read, and something tells me I'd better get ready."
Ava strolled to the sink and left her mug there. Then, she wrapped her arms around me and kissed my cheek. "You'd better get ready. And you need to shave."
"I don't want to." I pouted. "What's the point if you're not gonna kiss me?"
Ava giggled, shrugging. "Maybe I will."
"Tease."
"And you love it."
"You do whatever you want with me."
"And you let me."
I crossed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around Ava, rubbing my stubble over her neck.
