I sighed and rolled over, my body pressing against Robert’s. I felt his strong arm slink around my waist and it made me smile. The streams of light pouring through his sheer curtains caressed my skin, sending a warmth surging through my body. I turned over and looked at Robert, watching him as he slept. His stern features were relaxed and his brow was unfurrowed. His lips were turned into the smallest grin and his chest was rising and falling with a comforting steadiness.

Then, I caught sight of the clock behind his head.

“Shit,” I said with a whisper.

I slid from his grasp and began gathering my things. The tour meeting was in an hour and I was nowhere close to being ready for it. I kept my movements light as I pulled on my clothes, hopping around as I tried to gather everything.

I rushed out to the kitchen and found my cell phone and purse. I looked over to the kitchen island and saw the hazy outline of my body. Last night’s events came crashing back. The feeling of his tongue. The warmth of his body. The command of his hands.

I needed to get out of here and get to that meeting.

Robert was fast asleep as I quietly shut his front door. I rushed downstairs, piling my hair on top of my head. The elevator couldn’t take me fast enough and I was itching to get outside. With every floor it stopped on I gritted my teeth.

I needed people to get out of my way.

The elevator finally opened up to the lobby and I rushed out. I walked in between bodies and darted around people, my sights set on the cab outside. I was growing closer as my legs carried me as fast as I could.

But a gentleman stepped in front of me and stopped me in my tracks.

“Joanna Leone? Is that you?”

I watched as the cab pulled away from the curb and sighed.

“Yes. Hi. Hello. I’m sorry for the rush, I’m a bit late for a prior engagement,” I said.

“I don’t mean to keep you from it. I only wanted to introduce myself. I’m a massive fan.”

“Oh my gosh, thank you so much. What did you say your name was?”

“My friends call me ‘Slate’,” he said.

“Slate. That’s a creative name. Where did you get it?” I asked.

“People sometimes tell me they enjoy my presence because it gives them a blank slate to start with.”

“Interesting. Why’s that?”

“I don’t know, really. How are you able to sing the way you do?”

“I don’t know,” I said with a giggle. “It was wonderful to meet you, Slate.”

“Could I take a picture? My wife’s never going to believe I ran into you.”

“Of course,” I said. “And your wife’s a lucky woman. You have beautiful eyes.”

He brought out his phone and we snapped a few pictures. I waved at the man before I ran out onto the street, flagging down the first cab I could find. I hopped into it and spouted off the address to the hotel, then told him to step on it. I looked at my cell phone and saw I only had forty minutes until the meeting.

I wouldn’t have enough time to clean up before it.

I took a mirror out of my purse and tried to tidy myself up. I had a compact and some lip gloss and a small brush to run through my hair. I propped the mirror up on the back of the seat and moved with the bumps in the road, but I still didn’t look nearly as presentable as I wanted to be.

As I needed to be.

The cab pulled up to the hotel and I tossed some money into his lap. I ran into the hotel and burst into the conference room, my feet stumbling underneath me. I caught myself against the doorframe and saw Lacey turn around, but the room began to tilt and my stomach began to roll.

Oh, no.

Oh, shit.

I threw myself at the trash can next to me and started to vomit. I felt Lacey’s hands gather my hair as she blew on the nape of my neck. People were gathering around me and I was flushing with embarrassment. I felt Lacey pull the hair tie from around my wrist before she tied my hair back into a bun.

“It’s okay. Get it up, girl. You made it to the meeting on time,” she said.

Robert was right. There wouldn’t be any way for me to do this with the company. The nausea was too much and my pregnancy was only going to get worse from here. The stress alone of ten-hour rehearsal days would put my body under too much duress.

And I wanted to be a mother too badly to jeopardize it.

I pulled back from the trash can and the maestro offered me a bottle of water. I swished it around and spit a few times, then stood up on my feet. Everyone was staring at me as Lacey slid her arm around my waist. She walked me over to where she was sitting and sat me down beside her.

Then, the meeting began.

“As you all know, we have a sister company over in Europe. They’re doing a European tour next year, and they’re allowing me to take a few of you along for the ride,” the maestro said. “I hate that I can’t take all of you, because this was single-handedly one of the best productions of Turandot I’ve been a part of. But, there are five people I have chosen to take with me.”

I listened as the names were rattled off. People clapped and hugged their necks. Some people were already crying because they knew they had been passed up. I laced my fingers with Lacey’s as I laid on her shoulder, and I could feel her trembling.

She was nervous, but she didn’t have anything to worry about.

“And last, but most certainly not least, Joanna Leone.”

A thunderous applause echoed across the room as I closed my eyes. Hearing my name was wonderful, but the reality of the situation was it hurt. I lifted my head and looked at Lacey, who was smiling from ear-to-ear.

But I knew what I had to do. Robert or not, it didn’t matter. I couldn't take this job and be the mother I need to be.

The mother I wanted to be.

“While I’m honored,” I said, “I can’t take the position.”

A hush fell over the room as Lacey squeezed my hand.

“There are personal reasons for my decision, but I’ve thought them through. I’ve weighed the pros and cons, and while I’m honored, I cannot accept. But-- if it’s okay with you, Maestro-- I do want you to consider taking Lacey.”

I looked over at my best friend as her jaw unhinged in shock.

“She performed the night before last underneath insane conditions. A last-minute call to stage, less than an hour to switch costumes. No time to go over the arias or the recitatives for the part. And she earned herself a standing ovation. She took a crowd that was disappointed in my leave and turned them into her first wave of fans. And I think that deserves an encore, if you ask me.”

Lacey threw her arms around me as I smiled into her neck.

“The offer should be given to her,” I said. “And I know you won’t regret it.”

“Well. That is an interesting turn of events. Are you sure, Miss Leone?”

I looked up at the Maestro as a smile spread across my cheeks.

“I’m very sure,” I said.

“Then Miss Bardot, the offer is yours if you wish to take it.”

“Yes,” she said. “Yes, I would love to tour with you.”

I stood to my feet and wrapped my arms tightly around Lacey. I knew what this meant for us. It meant that after nine years of being together, we would go our separate ways. She would pack and be off to rehearsals and I would have to figure out where I went from here. Her rehearsals would be in New York, but I wasn't sure if I was going to be there.

For all I knew, I was headed home.

“Thank you so much,” Lacey said with a whisper. “How the hell am I ever going to repay you?”

“Send me tickets to your first performance,” I said. “Because I want to be there.”

I released her to the hounds and everyone was congratulating her. I was happy for my best friend, but at the same time I ached. That opportunity had been my guiding light throughout this entire tour. I was going to have a life for two more years before I had to figure out what to do with myself. And that was more than enough time for any premier soprano to establish a performance career.

But I couldn't be upset. As my hand settled on my stomach, a grin spread across my cheeks.

I was going to be a mother.

Something I thought I would never get to do.

“We should go celebrate,” Lacey said. “Get cake or ice cream or go see a movie.”

“Or you could go out with the four other people you’ll be stuck with for the next two years,” I said. “Plus, I can’t drink. And I know you want to drink when you celebrate.”

“Can we celebrate tonight then?” she asked.

“Will you know what your name is come tonight?”

“I’m not that bad of a drinker?”

“When you have a reason to celebrate, you are. We’ve got two more nights in this hotel. We can celebrate before we leave.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you, Joanna.”

“We’ll think about it when we have to,” I said.

I hugged Lacey tightly before I headed out the door. I felt like taking a walk. To clear my head and get my emotions under control. They were spirling and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like feeling this way. I didn’t like the way my mind was swirling. It was making my nausea worse.

I stepped out of the hotel and began walking down the sidewalk. The sun was shining bright and my purse was thrown over my shoulder. People were bustling around with coffees in their hands and puppies at their feet. I saw mothers holding their children’s hands and pushing them in strollers. Carrying them on their backs and cradling them in their arms.

That would be me soon.

I would be one of those mothers.

A smile spread across my cheeks as my stomach began to settle. I set my sights on the coffee shop in front of me, suddenly craving a cinnamon roll. I drew in a deep breath of the fresh Chicago air as my mouth began to water.

Then the coffee shop disappeared as my body was ripped into the alleyway.