Page 52 of Love Rescheduled

“That’s because we were looking at it all wrong.”

I lifted my head off his chest. “How?”

“I was talking to Alec—”

“I can’t believe you stole my Alec.”

Josh guffawed. “Come on, honey, we can share him.”

“Perhaps,” I teased. I was curious about what Alec had to say.

“As I was saying, Alec thinks all this time we’ve been taking a zero-sum approach. We thought for either of us to get what we wanted, one of us was going to have to miss out. Instead, we should have been more willing to compromise.”

“Compromise how?”

“Like …” He swallowed hard. “What if I buy Laugh on Tap and only tour one month of the year and … we both move back to Nashville?”

I blinked an inordinate number of times. “Is that an option? Is Mikey selling the place?”

“He’s been thinking about it, but he wants it to go to the right person. He’s hoping that person is me.”

“But what about your big-screen dreams?”

“Nat, for the last three years I’ve been chasing that dream, and it’s felt nothing but meaningless. Every time I came home to Zac, I questioned what I was doing with my life.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You looked so happy on social media.”

“I had to keep up appearances for my brand, but I haven’t been happy for a long time. About three years, to be exact, until I saw you at the club.”

“Where you humiliated me.”

“You’re not going to let that one go, are you?”

“People are still talking about me,” I complained.

He cringed abashedly. “I really am sorry. I swear on my life, I will never use you in a routine again. And I won’t ask security to detain you if you try to run away from me. Next time, I’ll jump off the stage and tackle you myself,” he joked.

“Funny,” I fake grumbled.

“Honestly, though, what do you think of moving and running a business with me? One where I can be home every night to tuck you in and say dirty things to you.” He nuzzled my neck, tickling me with his scruff.

I twisted my hands in his T-shirt, giggling but thinking most seriously about what he was offering. And admittedly, about the dirty things he loved to say. “That’s huge. I don’t know what to think. It’s kind of hard to think of leaving Greer.” It had been my cocoon. A hideaway, even.

Josh met my eyes. “That’s valid. What is it you like about living here?”

It impressed me he didn’t argue with me; instead, he validated me. He must have gotten that advice from Alec. “It’s small, but not too small. And there’s Nana’s cottage and Stu and Hal. And … well … it’s easy to hide here.”

Josh gazed at me while mulling it over. “What if we moved outside of Nashville, near my parents? Franklin’s pretty cozy. We could keep the cottage and rent it out. And you could visit Stu and Hal. We could even fly them to Tennessee.”

“Uh … that’s a lot to think about.” I started hyperventilating a bit. There was a possibility I would need a bag. Not that I wasn’t amenable to thinking about Josh’s proposition, but my well-ordered, schedule-loving self could only take so much in one day. “And are you really sure you want to run a business? What about your videos and big tours?” I managed to breathe out.

“Shhh. Calm down.” Josh stroked my hair and kissed my forehead. “I know I threw a lot at you. We don’t have to decide tonight; I just wanted you to know I’m willing to compromise. Hell, I’ll even promise to put my dirty underwear in the hamper every day and put the fork and knife handles up in the dishwasher.” He smirked.

“Uh-huh. We both know that will last for all of a week.”

He tapped my nose. “You’re probably right. But I am serious about being home every night. Nat, the last three years have made me realize that all the fame in the world means nothing when I have no one to share it with. As long as I can make people laugh, I don’t care where I do it. If I run the comedy club, people can come to me.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. I needed to process it all. But he gave me some hope. Alec was right: I had to stop thinking about this as a zero-sum game. We just had to figure out the right compromise that didn’t stifle his dreams or crush me in the process. That was possible, right?

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