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I lean back against the countertop and sip my champagne.
“What I didn’t tell him, obviously,” Rex says, taking his own lean against the kitchen island (yep, fancy hotel room with a kitchen island). “Is how hard it is for me to focus sometimes when I’m talking to his mother because she’s a bombshell.”
I snort, feeling a flush cross my cheeks. “You’re bad.”
Rex smiles, tilting his head to the side, and rolling his eyes upward.
“And you know it. And that’s worse.”
He drinks some champagne, then runs his hand through his dark hair, freshly washed thankfully. No more smell of sweat. Although that’s sexy in its own way… “I mean, Leo has a point. We ought to talk about what happens after tonight.”
“Now you understand why I tried to cut things off before we got here,” I say, an attempt at a joke.
“Isabella…” he says, scratching his arm nervously.
“Bad joke, sorry.”
We are both quiet for a long moment. I point the toes of one of my bare feet and rub it against his ankle.
“You want to make it work, right?” Rex asks in a small voice.
I clutch the champagne glass tighter. “Of course.”
“Okay, good, good. I just wanted to make sure.”
Rex might be one of the biggest musicians in the world. Larger than life onstage. But in private – for me, he is just Rex. Just a man. The absolute best man I’ve ever met.
My man.
“You’re going to have to put in a lot of work for Leo while you’re gone,” I say.
“I know. I’m prepared to do that.”
I have so many rebuttals, so many questions. But I am going to hold them in and allow Rex to show me first. Give us all that chance at happiness.
“I’ll come back to Ocotillo during the break between legs. Obviously,” Rex says.
The time away is going to be so hard. But if I focus on the time we’ll have together, it feels a little better.
Not to mention the moment we reunite… that’s going to feel so good.
“I can stay at the motel.”
I scoff. “Don’t be silly. You’ll stay with us.”
Rex smiles like a kid who just earned an extra hour of TV time.
“It’s not like Leo doesn’t understand.”
“Yeah, not after that display…”
Our eyes meet. Neither of us looks away. We’re saying so much without speaking. In his green eyes, I feel the forest of the rest of my life rising up to meet me. I don’t know the trails yet, but I know that amidst his greenery, I will always be safe. Nourished. Loved.
I can’t believe I didn’t let myself believe it before.
“When – um – when does preschool get out?” Rex asks, then tucks his arms over his chest. They’re so long and he’s so thin that he could almost hug himself.
“Beginning of June,” I say. “Why?”
