I am exactly where I want to be.
The sharp blare of my alarm drags me out of sleep, the shrill, soul-crushing sound that makes me want to throw it across the room. I groan and blindly slap at my nightstand until the noise finally cuts off.
For a second, I just lie there, cocooned in the warmth of my sheets, a lazy smile tugging at my lips. My body still aches in the best way possible from last night—Ash—and I stretch out, reaching instinctively to the other side of the bed where he should be.
But my hand hits cold sheets.
My eyes blink open, still heavy with sleep, but the emptiness next to me is obvious. The pillow is cool beneath my fingertips, not a trace of lingering warmth.
A pang of disappointment flickers in my chest—until I notice the folded piece of paper sitting right where his head had been.
I sit up, pull the sheet tighter around me, and grab it. He jotted it quickly, scrawling his messy handwriting across it and pressing the ink deep.
“Had to grab my bike before we leave for Vegas. You were sleeping too beautifully to wake. See you at the tarmac in a little. — Ash.”
I stare at the note, my heart doing that annoying little flutter thing I keep pretending it doesn’t do around him.
“Idiot,” I whisper to myself, but there is no heat in it—just this soft, stupid grin stretching across my face.
I flop back against the pillows, and the sheet slips a little, his scent still lingering faintly on the fabric.
Vegas is calling. Our first official stop on the tour, which will take us all over the country in just a few months. But suddenly, it isn’t just the adrenaline of the next event that has me buzzing.
It’s him.
I clutch the note for another beat before finally dragging myself out of bed.
See you soon, Ash.
And yeah, I am definitely making him pay for sneaking out without saying goodbye.
The deep voicecuts through the low hum of the plane, and my stomach sinks.
“Amelia.”
I don’t even need to turn around—I know that voice.
Knox.
I close my eyes for a beat, letting out a slow breath through my nose before I twist in my seat. There he is, a few rows back, leaning lazily against the window but with that all-knowing smirk stretched across his face. The look that says he’s been waiting for this moment.
“Hey,” I say, trying to play it casual, but the way his eyebrow shoots up tells me I’m not fooling anyone.
He nods at the empty seat next to me, and before I can even answer, he is up, sliding into it. Typical Knox—doesn’t wait for permission, just bulldozes right through.
“You gonna make me dig for it, or are you just gonna come clean?” he asks, stretching his long legs out in front of him like he has all the time in the world.
I sigh, my fingers tracing invisible lines on my thigh. “About what?”
He gives me a look.
“Really?”
I bite my lip, but it doesn’t stop the grin threatening at the corners of my mouth.
“Thought so,” he mutters, shaking his head. “I knew something was up the second Ash showed up at the tarmac this morning all smug and relaxed—like the man hadn’t been up half the night.”
I wince. “That obvious?”
