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...
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After the night of snuggling and kissing in the hospital bed, I faced the new reality of knowing who I was dating. Now that there were no secrets, Jim O'Brien was everywhere.
He was in magazines and commercials, on the radio and TV. Also, in my heart and my thoughts pretty much all the time.
Over the last week, we'd fallen into a comfortable routine where I would open the door to his condo with my key in the morning and let myself in. We'd have late breakfast together and settle on the couch, lying in each other's arms and talking.
We'd kiss a lot and explore each other's bodies through layers of clothes, and then, after lunch, I would go to work, leaving Jim in his apartment.
My official excuse was that I wanted him to rest and recover. Dad was clear about physical exercise, and, knowing Jim, there would be no middle ground with him. He was the all-in kind of guy. The moment we took kissing further, he wouldn't be happy with keeping still and making no physical effort. He'd be all over me, and although I craved him like a drug, I needed to ease into our new relationship little by little for my sanity's sake.
Jim was my calm and my solace, but he was also a force to be reckoned with, a hurricane that would easily sweep me off my feet if I'd let him.
He was charming and insistent and very hard to say no to. Leaving him in his apartment wasn't easy. We did speak on the phone every night, and although a conversation was a poor substitute for physical closeness, I was looking forward to hearing his voice.
Today was the day Jim officially returned to his usual lifestyle and activities, and he'd reminded me of it at least three times via texts this morning, distracting me from my duties at the bookstore. I asked William to let me work the morning shift for once because of the date with Jim later.
I was perusing the new romance releases when my phone buzzed again. I expected another text from Jim, but it was Harper.
Harper:Guess what? I spent an hour listening to some colleagues gushing about Jim O'Brien. He signed their stuff when he was here. If only they knew my friend is dating the guy. P.S. Can he sign something for me?
My lips split into a grin. When I confessed the truth to Harper, the squeal she let out could've easily pierced my eardrums. She also supported my decision to take it slow at first and wait before making our relationship public.
I didn't say much to the girls, just the crucial details.
Tasha got banned from my social media and my life. It hurt me to think about the betrayal of one of my childhood friends, but maybe what they said was true — people did change, and very often, we lost some of them along the way.
I'd rather have few friends I could trust than be surrounded by people like Tasha. Ivy and Isla promised to keep what I told them secret. I didn't doubt they would. Isla was loyal to the bone, and so was Ivy.
