Lauren scooped up her best friend and carried him into her living room where they collapsed together on the couch and channel surfed until her adrenaline from the day receded. She did go ahead and pull that cup of Baileys, which tasted like a lovely chocolate shake in liqueur form. Before consuming it, she took a moment to straighten the blanket on her couch and make sure it was folded neatly. Everything in Lauren’s life came with order, her lifeline.

Once she’d accomplished her goal, she was able to breathe a little easier in her well-structured home. Magazines on the coffee table, but books on the shelves. Mug handles faced to the right, and dish towels were folded into squares. Everything had its place, and that made her happy.

The more Lauren relaxed, the more her mind began to turn over the events of the day. More specifically, one important event. She thought on the offer before her. The question was, did she have another three months left in her? Could she push pause on a vacation that she’d already booked and pined away for in order to go back into the rehearsal room all over again?

As she drifted off to sleep with Rocky snoring at her side, the answer was clear.

Hell no.

Chapter Two

“What do you think of me in plaid?” Carly asked and held a shirt up to her chest. “I feel like in Minneapolis maybe I should embrace my plaid side. Are there lumberjack types there? I feel like I remember that from school.”

Her best friend, Fallon, sat cross-legged on the floor of Carly’s enormous walk-in closet, one of her favorite rooms in all the world. “I think you look great in plaid, and isn’t Minnesota where Little House on the Prairie took place? Plaid worked for Walnut Grove, though I think they’ve industrialized quite a bit since then.” She said it with a semisarcastic grin and turned another page of the Cosmo she’d found on Carly’s bedside table. “Did you know that blueberries are a superfood? I feel like my day just made progress.”

“I did know. I have some in my fridge if you’re hungry.” She was struggling with what to pack for this unplanned jaunt across the country. “What about sweaters? I feel like sweaters are making a strong comeback.”

“I didn’t know they’d been banished.”

“The heavier ones certainly were. Chunky heels were also temporarily on the no-fly list. I never know who decides such things, but I wish they’d slow down a little bit with all the shifts.”

“I kinda feel like you and your fellow starlets do.” Fallon shook her head. “Leave it to me to be on the wrong side of fashion for the twenty-ninth year in a row. I’m five years behind at all times. It’s almost a badge now.”