I sat up on my elbows. The clock said noon. I’d slept five hours.

Jason stirred and opened his eyes. “Hey, you’re up. How are you feeling?”

“Groggy. What are you doing here?”

He brushed the hair off my forehead and kissed it. “I canceled my day.”

“You canceled your day?” Ugh. His publicist was going to be so pissed. “Jason…”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t cancel my concert. But we’re staying in today. We’re going to lie in bed and watch crime shows. Zane’s picking up food from the highest-rated restaurant in Memphis, and I have a doctor coming to see you in an hour.”

It was a punch to my heart. My chin started to quiver. “Jason…”

He put his forehead to mine. “Sloan, I haven’t been taking very good care of you and I’m sorry. I’m going to do better.”

I sniffed. “This isn’t your fault, Jason.”

“It’s all my fault.” His eyes held mine. “There’s nothing that I want more than for you to be happy. Do you understand? I would do anything to make you happy.”

“I am happy.”

But his eyes told me he didn’t believe it.

*

Two hours later the doctor had come and gone. I had bronchitis and a double ear infection. When the doctor announced it, Jason looked like someone had kicked his dog. I think he felt guilty that I hadn’t seen someone sooner, but it wasn’t his fault. I could have gone to urgent care while he did what he had to do, but I’d just thought I’d get over it on my own.

The doctor gave me antibiotics, a shot of vitamins, prescription cough medicine, and a breathing treatment. And after that, Jason and I stayed in bed. God, we needed it. It was amazing that even though we were almost never apart, it was like we hadn’t seen each other in months. Nothing we did out here was quality time.

We lay there talking about everything but Jaxon. I was so tired of Jaxon—and I think he was too.

It felt like another person was in our relationship. One who was demanding and required our constant attention. Our entire life was spent in the pursuit of Jaxon’s needs, and now for the first time in months we were finally taking time for us. It felt good.

Maybe this was the trick. The thing I had to chase. And maybe if we slept in the bus, our waking hours would be more like this and less like what it had been so far.

But even as draining as the touring had been, there was good in it too. I’d fallen so much more in love with Jason over the last three months. I’d always been in awe of him—even before I knew who he was. But now I loved him for a hundred more reasons.

I’d learned he was kind and polite to everyone, from the people who checked us into our hotels to the cashiers at the gas stations. I learned he’d stay until every single person who wanted to meet him got the chance, no matter how tired he was. He was generous. He tipped well and took care of the people around him. He always helped bring in his gear, even though his crew was supposed to do it. I knew he carried around spare guitar picks to give to little kids who wanted autographs. And most of all, I knew he cherished me. I felt like the center of his gravity. Like wherever I was, he was orbiting me. It was an honor to be loved by him and it made all of this worth it, even though it was hard.

We were lying there with our heads on the same pillow, looking at each other. He reached out and brushed my hair behind my ear as I studied him. I’d memorized every freckle in his eyes. Every line. “I could paint your face from memory, you know that?” I said quietly. “You are burned into me, Jason.”

He smiled gently. “Sloan, I did something for you.”

I bit my lip. “What?”

He let out a breath. “You can say no if you want to, but I put a lot of thought into it and really think you should do it.”

“I put a lot of thought into something too,” I said. “I think we should try sleeping on the bus again. You’re right, it’s more practical. I’m just going to have to get used to—”

“I want you to go to Ely and stay a few months with my family.”

I bolted up straight. “What?!”

He sat up and put out a hand. “Hear me out, okay? It’s not as crazy as it sounds. I want you to do that commission,” he said. “And I think my parents’ house would be the perfect place to do it. You could paint by the bay window overlooking the lake. You could take Tucker with you and he’d have all that space to run after being cooped up with us for so many months. My mom’s freezer is full of wild game and you could cook and maybe start updating your blog again. Mom loves you and she wants to get to know you better. Minnesota is central, so no matter where I am in the US, you could fly out to see me and be there within three hours and the time differences won’t be that bad. And I called Kristen. Her and Oliver are going to come and stay with you there for two weeks.”

I blinked at him. “You…you called Kristen?”

His blue eyes held mine. “Yes, I did. You could go to California for Thanksgiving and see your parents. And if you leave now, you’ll be done with the painting in time to join me in Paris for Christmas. The timing is perfect.”

I was speechless.

“Jason, I don’t want to leave you…”

He shook his head. “Look, we have to figure out how to make this work for both of us. It’s not going to end anytime soon. You need to have something that’s for you.” He looked me in the eye. “I want you to go. I want you to do this.”