weeks and weeks turn into months, and I was able to just sink into my new normal. I spend those weeks drowning in The Way We Were as we prepare it for a late spring release, and then I spend my nights with Luke. It's usually late at night when he's at the studio all by himself, but those late night talks are all I need to know we're doing the right thing.

I'd rather have this small piece of him than nothing at all.

And when he's too busy to talk, I escape into books I don't know the endings of. I embrace the elegance of the words as they coat me in the warm of their happy endings. And for a while, it's all I need. It's enough.

Until today.

Until my distraction came to an end.

"Em!" Maggie smiles when I step into the hotel ballroom hosting the annual spring gala put on by Playhouse Publishing to raise money for under privilege schools, and with it, an announcement of our spring and summer line-up. "You look incredible!"

My lips curl up into a bright smile as she grasps my hands, holding our hands out to either side as she takes in the dusty pink slip dress hugging my body. The thin straps tight over my shoulders as it crisscrosses over my back into a tied bow with a low hanging back. "I could say the same thing about you," I tell her. "You look beautiful, Mags."

She grins in my direction as I take in the same midi length dress as mine. Where mine is tight over my hips, the mocha color of hers flairs out in panels of fabric around her waist. The thick straps tied in bows on her shoulders with a thin gold chain rested around her neck. She's a vision, and I can't help the skip of excitement knowing this is only the start for her big and bright writing career.

"Thank you," she says as she turns to the ballroom full of people. "Can you believe this night?" she asks. "I mean, I know I've been here before, but–"

"It's different when you're an author," I say, finishing her sentence. "This is only the beginning, Mags."

Her eyes slide to me as she grins. "You think?"

"I know," I tell her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "Where's Zane?"

"He's on his way," she says, moving a loose piece of her dark hair out of her eyes. "He was working a half shift this morning and got held up."

I nod as my eyes drift across the room, spotting Clark with his husband, Eric and a few of Playhouse's investors. When he spots the two of us, he waves for us to join them. "Looks like Clark wants you to join him," I say, not yet ready to dive in.

Maggie's eyes move to the same spot in the room to find him waving us over and takes a step forward to head that way. When I don't take a step forward with her, she stops and turns to face me. "You coming?"

"Yeah, I'll be over in a minute," I tell her with a weak smile.

"Emery..."

"Go," I say and wave her off. "I'm fine."

The concerned look doesn't leave her face, but she doesn't argue with me as she let's go of my hand to cross the room toward them. I take a slow breath as I move my hand towards the small wave of curls framing my face and toward the ponytail at the base of my neck.

My thoughts drifting away to Luke and knowing that all the time I've spent distracting myself from the lack of his presence is about to hit me again at full force. And maybe I'll get another book, another project that can pull me in as much as The Way We Were did, but it won't be enough. Not anymore. I'm tired of distracting myself.

"Hey Em," Zane says as rests his hand on my back. "You look amazing."

I turn my head and smile, taking in the dark suit that makes his hazel eyes brighter than ever. "You look pretty dapper yourself," I tell him. "How was work?"

"It was good," he says. "Where's Maggie?"

"She's talking to Clark," I say, pointing him in the right direction.

He nods when he finds her. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah," I say and lift my eyes to him again. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He shrugs. "You've just been different these last few weeks," he says. "Not... the bubbly and bright Emery I've always known."

"You are the only person in the world that would call me bubbly."

"I don't think so," he says with the shake of his head, and with a small smile he nudges my side. "Maybe you don't need another distraction."

I press my lips together. "Who said I had a distraction?"

"Because I know you," he says. "I know the way your mind works, and the way you overthink things. You used the book as a distraction to forget how much you missed him, and now that distraction is gone."

"You should go see Maggie," I say. "I just need another second."

"Okay, but I expect to see you soon."

"You will," I tell him and move my hand over my torso, brushing my fingertips along the silk fabric. He gives me a side hug before heading towards Maggie. I bite my bottom lip as I take in the room and my coworkers as they move around it. My shoulders start to fall as I take a step back from the edge of the room, ready to turn and leave when a champagne glass is extended towards me.

"Where are you running off to, Wheeler?"

I reach for the stem of the glass, moving my fingers to the bottom of the glass as Clark stops in front of me and blocks my way to the exit. "I was just going to get some air."

"I'm sure," he says with a smile. "Well, I'm afraid you can't leave just yet. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"I'm fine, Clark."

"I know," he says. "That's not what I want to talk to you about."

"Okay," I say. "Should I be scared?"

"No," he says, shaking his head. "It's nothing bad. I know I mentioned a few weeks ago that if you were ever looking for work in California, I could make a few calls."

I chew my bottom lip as I nod.

"I have an old college friend, he has a publishing house in Los Angeles and he's looking for a new director. He asked if I had anyone that I thought might fit the position, and I would like to suggest you."

"You what?" I ask.

"It's more than you're doing now, but you understand this industry better than people that have been working in it for twenty years. It's not a sure thing, but I think you'd be perfect for the role and you could do this, Emery. You could be great at this."

My lips part to say something, but nothing comes out. My heart just stops beating as I stare at him in complete shock, because what am I supposed to say to that? My brain just completely shuts off until he moves his hand to my arm, shaking me awake.

"Thank you," I say as I lift my head. "I... thank you."

He smiles. "I'll let him know you're interested."

I nod my head as he steps away to rejoin his husband, and my chest starts to ache again as I rest my clutch against my arm and dig through it with my free hand for my phone. When I have it in my hand, I tuck my bag under my arm and move into the hall outside the ballroom as I dial Luke's number, bringing it up to my ear as I lean into the wall.

I wait a beat for him to answer, but it only rings until eventually I get his voicemail. "Hi," I say after his message finishes. "It's me. I'm currently at the annual spring gala my publishing house puts on every year. The one you were going to come to, but then you know, the studio happened and you got busy, and that's okay.

"I just... I'm standing here in this pretty dress and I think you'd really like it. It... it's a good dress and..." I trail off, biting my lip because I want to tell him about the job. I called to tell him about the job, but it feels wrong to do it over the phone. "And I miss you, so... I'll talk to you soon."

I bring my phone to my chest as I lean my head back against the wall. The world is at the tip of my fingers, and I don't know what to do. I feel more lost than ever.

"Em?"

I lift my head at the sound of Maggie's voice and find her with a coy smile on her lips as she approaches my side. "Hey."

"What are you doing out here?"

I hold my phone up. "I was just calling Luke," I say. "It went to voicemail."

"You should come inside."

I nod because I should. "I'm... I think, I think I might go home," I say, "if that's okay with you. I know tonight is about you, and I..."

"It's okay," she says, reaching for my hand. "We can celebrate tomorrow."

"Yeah," I say. "Tomorrow. I'll take you to dinner."

She grins. "It's a date."

I turn and wrap my arms around her, tightening my arms around her. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she says, rubbing circles over my back. "Text me that you get home?"

"I will."

"Okay," she says as her hands move down my biceps, moving until her hands are in mine. She gives them a gentle squeeze as she takes a step back before letting them go, and I take one last look into the ballroom before heading for the coat check.

I pull the trench coat around my body as I step onto the pavement, letting the chill spring air hit my skin as I head for the subway. My heels click against the cement as I walk, the wind blowing against my skin. I try to shake the unravelling feeling in my stomach as I step onto my train, holding onto the pole trying to listen to the conductor as they call out the stops.

When I finally get to my apartment, my feet are tender from my heels and by the time I get inside the elevator I'm fighting the straps to get them off. My toes curl into the carpet as I lean into the back wall with a sigh, slowly unbutton my coat until it's hanging open. The doors slide open a few seconds later and with the straps hanging from my fingertips, I step into the hall as I struggle to dig through my purse for my keys.

"Fancy seeing you here, 4A."

I lift my head to the sound of my voice and a calm washes over me. "Luke?"

"Hi," he says as he pushes away from my door. "You're right," he tells me, taking in my dress from head to toe. "I like the dress."

My lips curl up as I run the rest of the way to meet him, dropping my purse and shoes as my arms wrap around his shoulders. His arms curl around me, pulling me flush to his chest as I move my fingers into his hair and find his lips. I sink into him as I memorize every bit of this feeling, promising myself that I'll never let it go ever again.

When I pull away, I find the safety of his eyes as I rest back on my heels and I don't need to second guess this feeling. Not anymore. "I'll move to Los Angeles."

"What?" he asks.

I nod as my thumb brushes his jaw. "I'll move to Los Angeles," I repeat as I meet his eyes. "New York isn't my home anymore, Luke. You are. And because I love you," I tell him. "I love you with every fiber of my being, and because I'm tired of missing you. You're my everyday person. I want to spend every day with you, and if that means moving to Los Angeles, then I'll do it, because I just want to be wherever you are."

His lips curl up as he leans forward, finding my lips again. "You don't have to go anywhere," he whispers against my lips as his thumb brushes my cheek. "I'm here."

My heart aches as I curl my fingers into his shirt. "What about Los Angeles?"

"It's great," he says. "It was just missing a few things."

"Luke..."

"Los Angeles isn't what I wanted," he says. "I want you, Emery. I don't know when it happened, but you became my dream. Not the music, not the fame. You."

My lips curl up. "You can have both."

"Yeah, but not like this," he says. "I never wanted to do this alone. I got so caught up in the fact that Hollywood was right there in front of me that I forget that I never wanted to do this by myself. I wanted to do this with my band."

"You... you can't just leave."

He grins. "I can. I already did," he says, kissing me again. "I'm not going anywhere."

"What about your music?"

"If they really want me as badly as they say they do, they'll agree to my conditions and that means staying in my band and being wherever you are."

"What if they don't?"

"Then I'll find someone who will," he says. "I was stupid to ever leave."

I shake my head. "We could go to Los Angeles. There's... Clark has connections for a possible director position for me. I can–"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," he tells me.

"But–"

He presses his finger tip to my bottom lip, stopping me from saying another word. "Shush," he hushes me. "I'm not finished yet."

I fight the smile on my lips as I nod my head, leaning back into the door as I wait for him to finish. A playful look fills his eyes as he looks at me, moving his finger away from my lip to my waist as he steps into my space, filling in the spaces.

"My world completely shuts down without you in it," he tells me, curling his fingers into my sides. "Maybe we are destined for ruins, but I don't care. I want you. All of you. The good, the bad, and the ugly. It's easy to free fall when I'm with you."

I narrow my eyes at his words as the familiarity of them washes over me. "Those are my books quotes," I say. "How did you­–" I stop when I see the look on his face and shake my head. "Zane."

"He makes a good wingman."

"Does he now?" I ask. "What even was that?"

"My best song yet," he says with a grin. "Well, a work in progress."

My lips curl up. "I love you."

"I love you, too, 4A," he says, sealing it with a kiss as I lean into my door. The pieces of my world falling into place as my arms move around his shoulder, finding the steady beat of my heart in him. "You are everything, you know that?"

I grin. "You're just buttering me up because you don't have a place to stay."

"You've caught me," he says, kissing my temple. "You are everything, 4A."

"Who are you calling 4A?" I ask as I take my key, turning toward the deadbolt to unlock my door. "That's you now, 4A."

"Ha," he says. "Not a chance."

"4B?" I ask.

"Absolutely not," he says as he steps into the apartment after me, pulling his suitcase and guitar case in after him. "I liked rock star."

"Rock star," I say, what I have no doubt he'll one day become, before giggling as he kicks the door shut and wraps his arms around my waist. "Luke!"

"Home sweet home," he whispers in my ear, kissing my cheek. "And to think, it all started with a dark room and some bubble wrap."