“Then why…?”

“Because it’s not the right time.”

He stared at her. “What does that mean?”

“I’m going on a world tour. Europe. Asia. South America. I’ll be gone for half a year, maybe longer.”

Willow’s insides went down a flight of stairs. “Six months? But you’ll be home in that time?”

“For a week maybe, but not to stay.”

“And that’s a guarantee?”

Eden tugged at the towel, wrapping it tighter around herself. “I haven’t been able to tour internationally for two years, but with everything opening, this is my chance to get out there and really break through.”

Willow shook his head, trying to get his thoughts together. “So… what about long-distance?”

Eden flinched.

Fuck.

He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “You don’t want to try long-distance?”

“I told you I’m a bad person.”

“No, you’re fucking not.” He exhaled roughly. “I think we could make it work, don’t you?”

Her green eyes filled with tears, and he wanted to take the question back, but knew he needed to let her answer.

“I want to say yes,” she said. “But six months is a long time, especially when things are so new. It’s my job to party and I don’t want the pressure of a new relationship on tour. I don’t want to be in another country with no way to get home, worrying about you and all the things you’re up to either. I couldn’t handle it.”

Willow tried to remember he had asked for this. That he had pushed.

“You must feel the same way?” she pressed. “Your whole life is going out and having fun and—”

He pushed his plate away. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. I get what you’re saying, but I can’t think about it or I’ll… I dunno. Cry or something.”

Eden’s face crumpled and he opened his arms. “Come here?”

She tumbled into him, and he held her close, inhaling her warm, wet scent.

Her lips brushed his throat. “Willow? How are we going to get people to know I didn’t cheat on you with Francis?”

“Oh, we don’t need to worry about that. I can fix that in about two seconds.”

“How?”

“Instagram live.”

Eden pulled away, smiling. “How does that work?”

“Want me to show you? We could do one right now?”

She touched her cheek. “How do I look?”

“Fucking perfect.”

And she did, fresh-faced and gorgeous without a scrap of make up on.

“Let’s just do it,” he said. “It’ll only take a second.”

He opened Instagram and hit the live button, holding up his phone and reversing the camera so that the two of them were in frame. Within seconds a dozen people were watching. He gave the screen a wave. “Hey, just letting y’all know it’s okay for your girlfriend to have male friends.”