Page 109 of Pink and Country

“I think she does. No. I know she does.”

The first time we had sex, she put all her trust in me.

That night in the elevator in New York. And also, against the window later.

The fundraiser she agreed to attend as my date.

The day we strolled in Nashville dressed like colorblind hillbillies.

The meals I cooked for her, different from everything she used to eat.

The pillow talks we shared. Like the time she confessed she only became an author because her best friend sent her manuscript to a publisher friend, and things got out of hand from there.

“You guys might be right.” I inhaled. “I think I’m in love. Fuck. What do I do now? She’s not even replying to my texts. I have no experience in relationships. You saw how the last one unfolded.” I scratched my temple, my heart a messed-up jumble. “Damn it. What should I do now? This wasn’t supposed to happen.” I shook my head, rubbing my hands up and down my face. “You’re right, I’m screwed. She’s been gone for two days, and I’m struggling.”

Stud burst into a fit of laughter. My friend knew me too well.

He clamped my shoulder. “You, my friend, are in big trouble.” I elbowed him.

“Yeah, no kidding.”

“Man, you have the next week to figure out what you want with this April girl. Then, you man up and do what you need to do.”

“She’s all I can think about. I’m obsessed, man. Except for Dah, I’ve never obsessed over a woman before—”

Belinda touched my hand. “What do you want, Carter?”

The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could think them over. “I want her. All of her. I want her by my side days and nights. I want what you guys have. She’s not here right now, and I’m a mess. Is this normal?”

I disappeared to my room after ten. With my eyes glued to my phone screen, I considered calling April, but then realized it was over one in the morning her time. I paced the room, tugging at the roots of my hair. Why wasn’t she texting me back?

Unable to stay put, I shot her a text.

Hey, Fairy. Is everything OK? Call me whenever you wake up, forget the time difference.

Another episode was coming my way, and only April held the power to calm me down.

I tossed and turned for hours, my mind racing ten thousand miles per hour. The show in two days would be a clusterfuck if I didn’t get any sleep and shut my mind off.

Around three in the morning, I got up. With the heels of my hands, I erased the sleep—or rather, the lack of—from my face. Dressed in workout gear, I plugged my earbuds in, cranked up the volume of the music on my phone, and went for a run around Stud and Belinda’s property. The crisp morning air burned the lining of my lungs as I breathed. I coughed a little before finding my pace, matching the rhythm of my pounding heart.

The fog clouding my mind cleared up, and I realized I’d been running for hours when the sun rose behind the tree line.

Drenched in sweat, my body aching and my stomach grumbling, I made my way back to the house, filling my lungs with the Pacific morning air.

Tristan and Kimmie greeted me in their one-piece matching pajamas.

“Good morning, guys.” I kissed both their heads and rushed upstairs. “Wait for me. I’ll shower and be right back.”

Twenty minutes later, I entered the kitchen and sat at the table. Belinda placed a cup of tea in front of me.

“You didn’t sleep?” she asked with a cocked eyebrow, a worried expression wrinkling her face. She was dressed in black pants and a long-sleeved, nugget-yellow sweater, her black hair braided loosely down her back.

My hand rubbed my freshly shaved chin.

“No. Not really.”

“That woman is on your mind?”