Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
“I’m just trying to make you fall for me, Suzie Q.”
“Even if I did, you’d be too far away to do anything about it.” Her words weren’t coy, they were honest. She felt for me what I felt for her, even if I couldn’t voice it yet.
“I’ll keep in touch regularly, so much that you get sick of me, but I need you to promise to do the same. I don’t want to miss one moment of this pregnancy, as much as I can help it. I want to know everything: your weird food cravings, how much your nipples hurt, weird hormone dreams you’re having, all of it.”
She laughed. “Have you been secretly reading pregnancy books?”
I nodded. “I may have downloaded a few to my e-reader.”
“That’s sweet, Gavin.” She sighed as her thumb caressed my jawline. “I’m really going to miss you.”
“No,” I told her. “You’re not, because we’re going to talk all the time. About doctor’s appointments, your day at work, the weird things celebrities ask for on the road. We’re going to talk and text and video chat so much that you won’t have time to miss me. Right?”
Suzie took her time responding and after a while I was sure she was trying to find a nice way to refuse my request. To reject me. To tell me that once I was gone, I should forget all about her. I prepared myself for the sting of rejection. Then, her shoulders fell in resignation and hope returned.
“Yes. Okay, Gavin. I can do that. For you, I can do that.”
All the tension left my body and I pulled her in for a hug. “Thank you, Suzie Q.”
She hugged me back and whispered in my ear, “Don’t make me regret it.”
“Never,” I whispered back, and then I put my lips to hers and gave her a long kiss that felt like a goodbye but wasn’t. “See you soon, Suzie Q.”
“Not if I see you first,” she added with a shy smile. “Good luck.”
“You, too,” I told her and put my hand to her belly. “Don’t forget about me while I’m gone.”
She rolled her eyes. “As if I could. You’re only my favorite artist ever.”
“I’m auditioning for a different role this time, babe.” I winked and walked out of the room before she changed her mind.
Suzie
Gavin had been gone for two weeks, and the truth was I didn’t have time to miss him. Not because I was incredibly busy, which I was, but because he’d kept true to his word and made it impossible to miss him.
He called regularly, sent photos with different celebrities in green rooms around the country. He snapped pictures of himself or a grouchy Alex along with other reluctant band members in front of iconic landmarks in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and Chicago. He made it as if I was on tour with him and I appreciated the effort.
I loved him even more for keeping his word and for making such an effort to be present during my pregnancy.
And in return, I kept my promise. I told him about the middle-of-the-day craving I had for cheese puffs with mayo and mustard sandwiches. I hesitated to let him know about the glory of melted chocolate candy bars mixed with peanut butter and brie, but a promise was a promise, so I shared the craving and the photos with him. I told him all about the weird dreams that plagued my nights, even the ones about him. Even the sexy ones.
The worst or maybe the best part? Gavin ate it up. He appreciated and reveled in every message; every weird quirk of pregnancy, he indulged as if he were here in Jackson’s Ridge with me. That made it difficult to keep the distance I knew I needed to keep. Made it impossible not to fall deeper in love with Mr. Unattainable. Mr. On-The-Road. Mr. Too-Far-Out-Of-My-Reach.
It was a situation made even more complicated by pregnancy hormones that I couldn’t blame for my feelings, but I could blame for their intensity. Women were biologically wired to be attracted to men who were good providers, and Gavin, despite his rock star status, was the best. Not just at providing things, but at providing emotional support. A dose of humor. All the things that made a difficult pregnancy a little less difficult.
It was, in the truest sense, a case of conflicting emotions. Gavin was larger than life when it came to his music and the interviews, and when it came to me and the baby he was amazing, but in a real-life, salt-of-the-earth kind of way. He was no different than Cal or Casey or Antonio were with their significant others. Except he was gorgeous, and famous.
The doorbell rang, pulling me from my deep thoughts about Gavin Ross, his intentions and what it meant for my poor confused heart. I was as grateful as I was wary of the interruption, but with nothing better to do, I heaved myself off the sofa and made my way to the front door. It wasn’t Gavin, and I hadn’t expected it to be, because he and Alex had shared with me his schedule for the next two weeks. Instead, I pulled the door open to a man in a dark blue uniform with a baby face.