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“You okay?” Hudson squeezes my hand as we make our way into the Nashville office of Rock Saw Records.

“Yeah.” I force a smile, so nervous I feel like I might puke at any second.

When Hudson suggested I come to Nashville with him for a long weekend to take care of some business, I had no idea I’d be visiting his label or meeting the woman he will be touring with for eight months. As happy as I am to be with him, having enjoyed our weekend together immensely, right now I’m wishing I was back in Florida laughing with Emma or shopping for counter tops.

“You look beautiful by the way.” Hudson’s eyes travel down my body in a way that makes me feel like I’m standing next to him naked.

“If I had known we were coming here I would have done better than jeans and a tee.” I tug at the bottom of my baseball style t-shirt with my free hand.

“You look perfect.” He smiles, adjusting the backward baseball cap on his head.

Considering he’s wearing a faded tee and ripped jeans, I shouldn’t feel so out of place. But then again he makes the clothing look like a million bucks whereas I feel frumpy.

Pulling me down a long corridor, we take the elevator up to the second floor and step out into a wide open space with a large reception desk directly in front of us. The woman behind the counter smiles.

“Good morning, Mr. James. Jerry, Annabelle, and Jane are in the main conference room.”

“Thanks, Bea.” He gives the older lady his dimpled grin and even though she’s way too old for him, it’s immediately clear that it doesn’t lessen the affect he has on her.

“Jane is here too?” I ask, suddenly even more nervous.

I’ve only met his PR rep once and she didn’t seem all that happy to see me. I can only imagine how she’s going to feel knowing Hudson dragged me to a meeting that I have no business being a part of.

“Relax, Len. It’s only an informal meeting to go over scheduling and PR for the tour. Nothing you can’t sit in on.”

“Easy for you to say,” I grumble under my breath as Hudson drags me behind him through the open conference room door.

My eyes hit Jane first. She looks almost exactly as she did the day I met her at the Travis Travers concert, except even more annoyed. Next to her is a man I can only assume is Jerry. He’s middle aged with dark hair that has gray peppered around his temples.

“There he is,” Jerry booms, pushing away from the table as we enter. “How are you, Hudson?” He steps in front of us, shaking Hudson’s hand before his eyes land on my face. “And who is this beautiful creature?” He reaches for my hand, lifting it to his lips to lay a light kiss on the back. His reaction to me helps my nervousness to dissipate, but not completely.

“Jerry, this is Lennon. Lennon, my manager Jerry.”

“So nice to meet you, Lennon,” Jerry says, releasing my hand as he steps back and gives me a once over.

“It’s nice to meet you as well.”

“You remember J.” Hudson gestures to Jane who gives me a tense nod but makes no attempt to stand.

“Nice to see you again, Jane,” I offer.

“You too.” She gives me a forced smile before looking down at the folder in front of her.

I know Hudson claims that once you get to know her she’s not so bad, but I have a hard time envisioning her as anything other than the high strung wench she comes across as.

“And this.” He gestures toward the end of the table where I take in the other person in the room. Only it’s not just any other person... “This is Annabelle. Anna, this is Lennon.”

“Hello, Lennon,” she purrs in a southern accent that instantly makes my stomach bottom out.

Awesome, so not only is she drop dead gorgeous but she also has quite possibly the cutest voice I’ve ever heard. Fucking great.

“Hi,” I squeak, offering an awkward wave and instantly feeling stupid for doing so.

“If you guys wanna have a seat we can get this done and you all can be on your way,” Jerry offers, gesturing to the two chairs across the table from where he and Jane are sitting and caddy corner from Annabelle at the head of the table.

I try to keep up with the conversation but a lot of it I don’t really know what they’re referring to. I get the gist of it but I don’t know the specifics of what everything entails like everyone else clearly does.

I listen to Jane explain a radio contest that the label is going to host at nearly every stop of the tour. Apparently some very lucky fans will be treated to an intimate twenty person show with Hudson, then be able to take pictures with him and get his autograph after.

I try my best to keep my eyes on Jane as she speaks but every now and then I find my gaze jumping to Annabelle who seems to smile and nod at all the appropriate places but doesn’t really offer much else.

There’s something about her I don’t like. I can’t explain it. I mean, I wish I could say it has nothing to do with how pretty she is or famous for that matter, but I’m not sure that would be true. Honestly I think any woman in my position would feel threatened by someone like Annabelle.

She’s a couple years younger than me. Talented. Driven. And much to my dismay, extremely beautiful. Tan skin, dark wavy hair, bright red lips, green eyes that rival Emma’s. Not one part of her isn’t complete perfection and the longer I sit in this room with her the more inadequate I feel.

I’ve always been pretty confident and comfortable in my own skin but Annabelle, or Anna as Hudson called her, makes me question everything I’ve ever thought about myself. I know it has more to do with Hudson than it does me but I can’t stop myself from feeling the way I’m feeling. I hate it. I hate every single second of it.

So much so that when Jane announces they’re finished, I practically run out of the room with no more than a quick wave behind me.

“Lennon.” Hudson laughs behind me as I make a bee line for the elevator. “Where’s the fire?” He steps next to me as we wait for the doors to open, dropping his arm around my shoulder.

“I just need some air. I’m feeling a little nauseous,” I say, not bothering to tell him that the way I feel has everything to do with the woman he will be touring with and nothing to do with actually feeling ill.

“Everything okay?” He cocks his head as he looks down at me.

“Yeah. I’m fine. My stomach just feels off.”

“Okay, well we can head back to the hotel and rest for a while if you want,” he offers, leading me into the elevator when the car finally arrives.

“No, that’s okay. We leave tomorrow and I don’t want to ruin our last day here. I’ll be fine as soon as I get some fresh air.” I force a smile, willing myself to hold my shit together and not let perfect Annabelle get inside my head.

“Maybe we can go around the block and get a drink at Pipers. They have the best coffee in Nashville but they also have tea and smoothies too.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” I take his hand and allow him to lead me through the first floor and out into the beautiful September afternoon.

The warm air feels amazing on my face but does very little to soothe the knot in my stomach that meeting Annabelle caused.

The sad thing is, the poor woman didn’t do anything wrong. Just her sitting there looking all perfect got me so psyched out I was ready to run for the hills.

“You sure you’re okay?” Hudson asks, tucking me into his side as we head down the sidewalk away from Red Saw Records and the goddess inside.

“Yeah.” I snuggle into him, refusing to let one woman completely derail the perfect train I’ve been riding on recently.

Hudson waits until we’re tucked away at a small round table in the corner of Pipers – a trendy coffee shop not far from the main strip – before he says anything else on the matter, clearly sensing the shift in my mood.

“Now are you going to tell me what’s really bothering you or are you just going to keep insisting that everything is fine?” he asks, taking a drink of his coffee.

“Everything is fine.”

“Please don’t lie to me, Lennon. I can clearly see something is off. Tell me what it is.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?” he questions, studying me curiously.

“Because you’ll think I’m just being a typical woman. Making something out of nothing.”

“Ah, I see.” He nods like suddenly it all makes sense.

“You see what?” I can’t help the slight irritation that tinges my voice.

“You’re worried about Annabelle.” He hits the nail right on the head.

“Is it that obvious?” I snip.

“Lennon, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who has to watch her boyfriend ride off with possibly the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen in person.”

“I hate to break it to you, love, but you are the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen.” He grins at me and for whatever reason it only further fuels my irritation.

“Don’t patronize me.” I huff, leaning back in my chair before crossing my arms in front of myself.

“I’m not.” His eyebrows draw together. “I’m not attracted to Anna. She’s pretty, yes, but you are the one with my heart. I mean it when I tell you; you have nothing to worry about.”

“Wouldn’t you worry? If the roles were reversed and I was touring with someone like Travis Travers, wouldn’t you be worried that maybe I’d be attracted to him or develop feelings for him after months on the road together?”

“I’d like to say no, that I’m above those types of feelings. But if I’m being honest here, yeah, I think I would worry a little bit. But, I’d like to think you know me better than that.”

“No offense, Hudson, but I found out two weeks ago that you had a wife you failed to tell me about.” Regret washes over me the moment the words leave my lips.

“So we’re back to that?” He lets out a slow breath and flips his hat forward facing, pulling it low over his eyes.

“No, we’re not. You’ve explained yourself and I’ve forgiven you for not telling me. But it doesn’t change the fact that there could be more you’re keeping from me or things you may choose to keep from me in the future. How would I know otherwise?”

“I guess you’re just going to have to choose to trust me.”

“I am choosing to trust you. It doesn’t mean I don’t have doubts.”

“What else do I have to do to show you I want this, Lennon? That I’m all in? I don’t fucking want Anna. I want you.”

“You say that now but we both know a lot can change in eight months.”

“You’re right. It can. And I can’t tell the future. What I can tell you is I love you and I would never hurt you that way. I need you to believe that.”

“I’m trying to,” I admit weakly. “It’s just hard. This whole thing is really, really hard.”

“We knew it was going to be tough but we made the decision that what we have is worth the bumpy ride. Tell me you’re still in this with me, Lennon.”

“I am. Of course I am. I’m just... God, I’m just being a stupid girl.” I blow out a hard breath.

“You’re not a stupid girl. You’re someone who has real concerns and that’s okay. What’s not okay is you trying to keep those concerns from me. I need to know you’re willing to share anything that’s bothering you and not let it fester. I’m not a mind reader, Lennon. I need you to speak what you’re feeling when you’re feeling it. If we want to make this work, we have to be completely transparent with one another, yeah?”

“Yeah. You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I let one meeting with a pretty woman rattle me so much. There are hundreds of pretty women out there. I guess I just got in my head – knowing you’re going to be spending eight months on the road with her.”

“Do not apologize for how you feel. You have every right to be scared. Hell, I’m scared. You think I don’t worry about someone else coming along while I’m out on the road? That you’ll find someone who can be there for you and provide you with a stable life? Someone who will come home to you every night? Someone who can give you more than I can?”

I never even considered that he might be feeling the same sort of insecurities that I am.

“No one can give me more than you can.” I lean forward, reaching for his hand across the small table. “You’re all I’m ever going to want.”

“Then why is it so hard for you to believe that you’re all I’m ever going to want?”

“Fair enough.” I squeeze his hand.

“I know I’m the one leaving but I promise you, it doesn’t make it any easier for me. If anything it makes it harder. Knowing I’m the one doing this to us.”

“You aren’t doing anything to us. This is our life. These are our circumstances. Now we just have to learn to make the best of it.”

“I love you,” he says, smiling across the table at me.

“I love you too,” I say, feeling like my heart just did a complete summersault in my chest.

“What do you say we get out of here and I take you some place special?”

“I’d like that.” I smile, leaving my coffee untouched as Hudson takes my hand and helps me up from the table.