Love at The Bluebird

“I’ll give you her phone number before I leave. Promise me you won’t be upset if she tells you no?” I ask her softly.

“I promise.” Her voice is barely a whisper, and I know she’s on the verge of sleep.

“Sweet dreams, baby.” I kiss her lightly on the lips and listen to her breathing, a sound I realize I want to listen to every night for the rest of my life.

Chapter Ten

ALY

THIS WEEKEND WAS perfect for Gavin to be out of town, because I had to work both Friday and Saturday evenings. Fortunately, my Sunday was free, and thank the Lord it is, because I feel like I got hit by a train, and alcohol wasn’t even involved. My body is rebelling against me for the late nights of work and phone conversations with Gavin. Today has been the first day in a very long time that I slept past ten in the morning, and even then, I’m still exhausted. Normally, my Sundays are reserved for spending time with my family, but both my parents and Valerie are out of town, leaving all day to do whatever I want.

I roll over in my bed, grab the pillow Gavin slept on, and hug it to my body. I haven’t had the heart to change my sheets since he was here, because his intoxicating scent still lingers on them. I press my nose into the pillow and smile, hoping he was serious when he said sleepovers will be a regular occurrence. It’s crazy he’s only slept over once and the bed feels empty without him.

How can I miss him so much when I just met him?

Despite my busy work schedule this weekend, I thought about him constantly. I didn’t have to worry about whether or not he was missing me, because he’s called and texted numerous times proving without words he’s in as deep as me. Even when he’s not around, he still knows how to melt my heart with grandiose gestures. Flowers from him were delivered to my office Friday morning, but the biggest surprise came from what he said during his interview on The Ellen Clarkson Show.

I warned Gavin when he left my house that morning that I would have to record both of his televised performances, since they were airing during times I was working and I wouldn’t be able to watch them until right before I went to bed. So when my phone started ringing off the hook Friday afternoon, I didn’t think much of it. The first call was from Willow, but I ignored it, because I was at a music video shoot for one of my clients. But when my boss called, I stepped outside to pick up, hoping there weren’t any emergencies.

“Holy balls, it’s world official!” Shane screamed in excitement into the phone, his voice going a mile a minute. “Are you on cloud nine? Are you happy? Scared? Knowing you, you’re probably freaking out. I’m freaking out for you! Ahhh!”

“Whoa, slow down, Shane! Or you’ll be banned from any kind of caffeine for the rest of the day,” I told him, feeling like a mom banning candy from her toddler. “I can’t even understand you, you’re talking so fast. What in the world is going on?”

“Are you serious right now? Do you really not know?” he questioned at first and then started to laugh hysterically. “Oh, this is classic. Where are you right now?”

“You should know. You’re my boss!” I told him sarcastically, not understanding what in the hell was going on with him.

“Aly, do you honestly think I can keep up with all my minions? I can’t remember what I even did yesterday, let alone know everyone’s work schedule.”

I didn’t have a response to that, since he did have a point. “I’m at Skylar Ryan’s music video shoot.”

“Why didn’t you take a break to go watch Gavin’s interview on The Ellen Clarkson show?”

“Because I’m going to watch it later tonight.”

“Does he know that?”

I roll my eyes. “Yes, I told him I’d record it and watch it when I get home this evening.”

“Go home right now and watch it,” he demanded, shocking me with this request. “And you’re not allowed to take phone calls from anyone else until you’ve seen it. Even if Gavin is calling you, do not pick up.”

“Is he okay? Did something happen?” My heart started to pound at the thought of something bad happening to Gavin.

“Oh, he’s more than okay. Leave now, Aly. Everyone will be fine without you for an hour.”

“Shane, it’s unprofessional for me to leave in the middle of a shoot. I can just watch it later—”

“Aly,” he cut me off. “As your boss, I’m telling you to go home. That’s an order!” he said fiercely into the phone. “I don’t care if you skip his whole performance as long as you watch the interview.” Shane giggled like a lunatic, and I was seriously wondering if he was on something other than caffeine.