AllFreeNovel
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“All of it. Books, movies, graphic novels. Anything and everything I could get my hands on. My aunt kept me stocked up with books even when I was on the road. She still sends me books. She found these paintings for me.”
“I love your aunt. She sounds amazing.”
“She is. I’m lucky to have her in my life.” I rub Honey’s hip where I pinched her. Who looked out for her and made sure she had the things she loved? “Do you have any aunts?”
She doesn’t answer. Her body is still, her breathing deep. She’s fast asleep.
I can’t get back to sleep. I don’t want to miss a moment with this woman and, no matter how I turn things over in my mind, I can’t find a way to move forward that won’t mean our time together is limited. I have a life and a career that requires me to be in LA and on the road touring. Honey has a family and a farm she loves here. She can’t make her ceramics and pottery on a tour bus or in hotel rooms.
Even with all my money and connections, I have nothing to offer her. It’s not the first time I’ve wished to be a regular person, but it’s the most painful.
I’d trade all my money and fame for the opportunity to spend every day of the rest of my life with this woman. She snuggles against me and lets out a little sigh in her sleep.
I wrap my arms more tightly around her and press a kiss behind her ear. Maybe there’s a way to make it work. I’ve been grinding hard for twenty years, and I’ve achieved everything I’ve ever wanted with my career.
Maybe it’s time for something different.
When Honey’s breath has deepened and she’s definitely asleep, I unwrap myself from her and carefully get out of bed. If I’m going to make this work, if I’m going to have any shot of a future with her, I need a plan. And I need to figure out that plan now.
I need her to know immediately how important she is to me. I need to be able to tell her we have a future together if she wants it.
I have contracts and schedules that need to be adjusted, and all of that takes time.
I don’t bother putting my boxers back on. I took them off so quickly to get inside Honey that I have no idea where I threw them.
Instead, I pull on my most comfortable worn sweatpants and head downstairs. The house is dim, the day outside overcast and dark. As I mix up a tofu scramble and cut fresh fruit, I dial my agent.
She answers on the second ring, already in the office and starting her day at seven in the morning. “Jaxon, where the hell have you been? I’ve been calling you.”
Which is why I turned off my cell phone. Rafaella doesn’t have the number for my landline and she never will. I didn’t want to listen to her lecture about allowing myself to get caught on video fighting in a run-down diner. “I want to talk to you about my schedule for the—”
“Have you been online? Everyone is crazy to know who the woman is.”
“Woman? I don’t really care about another cheating claim, Rafaella.” I stir the tofu scramble and pop bread in the toaster.
“It’s not another cheating scandal, Jax. I’m talking about the woman in the diner. The one you got into a fight over.”
“I didn’t get into a fight over her. She’s—” But as much as I like Rafaella, I don’t trust her not to use my personal life to propel my career. “It doesn’t matter. She’s part of the reason I’m calling. I—”
“It does matter, Jaxon. She is perfect. She’s adorable, and she has an edge. Your perfect match. The world is desperate for you to have a love story after your cheating ways, and your fans love the idea of you falling for a non-celebrity. You have to bring her to LA when you come back.”
My blood goes ice cold. I am not sharing Honey with the world.
I’m not subjecting her to the scrutiny and the ugly words, because no matter how Rafaella is trying to gloss over it, I’m sure there are haters out there on social media too.
“Shut this down,” I say as calmly as I can. “Find another story or announce the release of a new song or find another cheater. I don’t care how you do it, but you need to make people forget about her.”
She sighs. “You have an ad with Spartan active wear next month and we need to get you in the studio to work on the next album. The songs are written, and you’ve been in hiding long enough. Come back and bring this woman with you. Who wouldn’t want a free trip to LA?”
“Absolutely not,” I say, louder than I intended. “She stays out of this or I walk away from it all. I will not have her involved in the shit show that is my life.” As I say the words, I realize how completely I was fooling myself when I thought there might be a way forward for us.
I’ve seen all the nasty things said about me and Roxy and Vivian. Hell, Roxy was stopped in a club a couple of weeks ago and some woman threw her drink in Roxy’s face.
Roxy’s entourage got it on video and she was thrilled with the sympathy and attention it got her, but that’s not Honey. She’d be miserable having her life scrutinized and there’s no way the story about her father and her own con artist past wouldn’t come out.
“Jaxon, have you even talked to her? Maybe if you suggest—”
“I will walk away. I will take my money and go somewhere so off the grid no one will ever find me again. Shut down the story now. I don’t care how you do it.”
