Sidecar Crush

I tapped his number, hit call, and walked outside.

“Did you get the contract?” he asked. No hello, or I miss you, Leah. Just straight to business.

“I haven’t checked, but I’m not going to sign it,” I said. “I’m not doing the show. And we need to talk.”

“I don’t understand why you’re making this difficult.”

“Can we move on from the show?” I asked. “I have bigger things to talk to you about.”

“Like what?”

“Like us.” I paused, glancing at the ring on my finger. The ring that had been nothing but an afterthought. “Kelvin, I’ve been thinking a lot about the future—about what I want and what’s best for me. And I don’t think we should get married.”

“That’s what you’re so worried about?” he asked. “Babe, that’s fine.”

“What?”

“I figured you needed the whole marriage thing, but if you don’t, that’s great. Marriage is bullshit anyway. This is good. We’ll keep things simple.”

“No, I don’t mean we should stay together and just never get married,” I said. “I don’t think we should be together at all.”

He went silent for a few seconds. “Leah, you need to think very carefully about what you’re saying right now.”

Scarlett, Cassidy, and June approached, so I held up a finger to say I’d be right there and moved farther away from the door. They smiled at me, nodding that they understood, and went inside.

“I have thought about it,” I said.

“Why?” he asked, his voice clipped.

I hesitated, taking a deep breath, the fresh country air filling my lungs. “Because I don’t think we’re in love. Maybe you’re attracted to me, but that’s not the same thing. And neither is feeling like I belong to you because you’ve been managing my career for so long. That’s not love.”

“Why do you think I work so hard for you?” he asked.

“Is it because you love me? You have a lot of clients, and you work hard for them, too. That’s your business.”

“Leah, you’re just going through a tough spot. I know all the publicity you’re getting is hard on you. But this is a good experience. It’ll toughen you up. What’s going on right now is temporary. You can’t make irrevocable decisions during a time like this.”

“This isn’t about the publicity or the gossip,” I said. “This is about our relationship. I’m not coming back to L.A. to be with you, and I’m definitely not marrying you.”

“You’re just going to throw away your career?”

“Oh my god, are you listening?” I asked. “I’m not talking about my career, I’m talking about us.”

“Those aren’t separate things, Leah. I’m not about to continue representing a woman who leaves me. Especially if she leaves me to be a fucking backwoods hick.”

I knew he’d do this, but it still stung that he’d stoop to holding my career hostage. I decided to ignore the ‘backwoods hick’ remark. He wasn’t going to get me riled up over that. “Then I guess I’m leaving your agency.”

“Leah, this is a huge mistake,” he said. “If you think you won’t regret this, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

He was still talking about my damn career. Not once had he said anything about us. Every word out of his mouth made me more certain that I was doing the right thing.

“It’s not a mistake,” I said. “It’s over, Kelvin.”

“You’re going to regret this,” he said and hung up.

I lowered my phone and took in a deep breath. I wasn’t sure if his last comment had been a threat, or just an expression of his anger and frustration. But it didn’t matter. I wasn’t in love with him and there was no way on earth I could marry him. It had been over for a long time; I just hadn’t admitted it until now.

But now I was free. And it felt pretty damn good.

I kicked a little pebble into the parking lot, happy I’d worn my cute cowboy boots, and went back inside.

Scarlett, Cassidy, and June had a table near the bar. I smiled, a very silly feeling of euphoria pouring over me.