Page 157 of The Encore’s Crown

“I have to leave.”

I kiss her anyway. Her fingers slide into my hair, holding me there like she has no intention of going anywhere either. Eventually, she pulls back just far enough to breathe.

“Kasia’s going to be here any minute to drag me to that lawyer before our flight leaves. I can’t be late. You need to get dressed.”

“I'd rather spend my time watching you. I’ll hide in the bedroom until you’re both gone, then I can worry about clothes. Just give me the all clear once you’re in the Uber.”

She smiles, but it fades quickly.

“And then what?”

“I go back to my room.”

“I mean after that.”

She wrestles herself free under my protest then grabs her leggings from her suitcase and steps into them.

“I’ll be here another month,” I say. “Album development. Interviews. Meetings. The fun kind where Stefan, Elise, and Dawn explain the band’s 'next move'.”

“Next move?”

“Code for: I'm a huge fuckup and how to stop being one.”

Normally, that would get a laugh. Today, it earns me a worried look as she pulls the leggings over her hips, her movements suddenly quick and precise.

“Then you come back to Seattle?”

“That’s the plan.”

She throws a hoodie over her head, but it gets folded in on itself. Her face disappears somewhere inside it as she tries to find the opening, misses, and tries again. I stand and cross the room. Her shoulders are already tight beneath my hands when I untangle the hoodie and hold the neck open so she can push her head through.

“What’s happening in that gorgeous head? You can’t even dress yourself this morning.”

I pull the drawstrings down on either side of her neck, making sure they’re even.

“Last time, you decided it was all a mistake.” She looks down. “I need you to tell me I’m being ridiculous. That there's no way you'd do that again.”

I cup her face. She tries to look away, but I hold her there gently until her eyes return to mine.

“I’m not doing that again. I’m not changing my mind,” I say. “I’m not deciding this was a mistake. I’m not calling you from some hotel and telling you there’s no future because I got scared of wanting one.”

I kiss the doubt from her lips before it can turn into another question. A promise made with something physical because I’ve already proven words are too easy for me to weaponize. When I pull back, her eyes are bright.

“I want specificity.”

I brush my thumb beneath one of them.

“I’ll call you tonight.”

“And tomorrow?”

I nod.

“And the day after that?”

“As many days as it takes for you to get sick of me.”

“That could take a while.”