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Jo smiled at Ryan, and kissed him softly.

“You wanna come in for awhile?” she asked. She wanted someone to keep her mind off what had happened to Lina a couple of nights ago. They had security in the hallway 24/7, but she was still a bit scared of being alone.

“Sure.”

She opened the door and walked into her hotel room, and he followed her, closing the door behind him.

“God, I love Dublin. I’ve always been fascinated by Ireland, always wanted to go here. And here I am!”

“Yeah, here you are. It’s a beautiful country.” He helped her off with her coat.

“Thanks. Yes, it is. So, you wanna watch a movie or something?”

“A movie sounds great.”

When the movie was finished and the credits started to roll he looked at her. “Can I stay the night?”

“Yeah. You can. But just sleep, ok?”

“Yeah, just sleep. I just wanna hold you.”

“That would be nice. Come on, then.”

They snuggled up next to each other in bed, and fell asleep almost instantly. The next morning when Jo woke up she felt like she’d slept for a year.

“Good morning.” Ryan’s voice made her jump.

“Geez, I thought you were asleep. You scared me. Good morning to you too...” she kissed him. When she tried to get up he held her back.

“Nooo... don’t go.”

“I have to. Have to take care of Bay.”

“Just my luck.” He pouted. “My girl chooses a two and a half year old over me.”

“Aww... Poor thing. Stay in bed. I have to go though.” She kissed him again, then jumped out of bed and into the shower. When she got out he had fallen back asleep. She got dressed and was out the door less than five minutes later.


“Morning!” She greeted the Littrells, who were having breakfast, with a big smile on her face.

“Morning, Jo! You seem happy today.” Leighanne smiled at her.

“Yeah, guess I am.”

“You want some breakfast?”

“Yes, please.” She sat down in an empty chair and helped herself to some yoghurt and cereal. “So, what are your plans for the day?”

“Well, we have an interview first, some morning TV-show, then a lunch meeting, then we’ll be back.” Leighanne said.

“And tonight we’re leaving for Manchester, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Bus night tonight then?”

“Nope, it’s a four hour drive, so we’ll be in Manchester by midnight. No need to sleep on the bus when you can sleep in a bed in the hotel. We better go, honey.” Brian said getting off his chair and giving his son a kiss. Leighanne followed his example, and they left together.

Jo smiled at Baylee. “You’ve got breakfast all over your face. How about we go wash it off, so that we can play?”

“Yes!”


She washed Baylee’s face, cleaned up after breakfast, did some general cleaning, then sat down on the floor with Baylee, who was colouring.

“Oh, that’s pretty, Bay. You’re doing well!” A knock on the door made her jump. “I wonder who that is. Should we answer it?”

Baylee nodded and went for the door, so Jo ran after him, scooping him up into her arms, then opened the door.

“Alex. Hi.”

“I knocked at your door first. What the fuck?”

“Baylee? Won’t you go colour in your room for awhile? I’ll put on Disney Channel on your TV.”

“Ok!” He nodded, smiling widely, and ran to get his crayons and paper. Jo turned the TV on and found the Disney Channel. She turned up the volume, kissed Baylee on the head, then gently closed the door behind her as she exited his room.

“Not in front of Bay, Alex.”

“He’s not here now, is he?”

“Yes, he is still here. He’s just a little boy, and he gets scared when you scream in front of him. Even if he’s on the other side of a closed door.”

“Ryan opened your door.”

“Yeah, he spent the night.” Jo sat down on the couch, watching Alex pacing in front of her.

“Why?”

“Because he wanted to, and I wanted him to.”

“Did you fuck him? Did you?”

“That’s none of your business Alex. But I didn’t.”

He seemed to relax, sat down in one of the armchairs. “I can’t take this, Jo. That’s what I came to tell you. I want to be with you. I miss you. I’ve tried to replace you, but it can’t be done.”

“Does she know that?”

“Ashley. No, she doesn’t.” He shook his head and buried his face in his hands.

“I’d never ever take you back if you had a girlfriend, Alex. You know that as well as I do.”

“But you miss me?”

“Of course I do. I’ve missed you every day since we ended things.”

“What about Ryan?”

“I like Ryan. He’s nice. He’s no you, in fact he’s as far from you as you can get. But I like him.”

“What am I supposed to do? What do you want me to do?” He looked up at her, almost challenging her.

“You have to figure that one out yourself.. Just know that I can’t make any promises. At the moment I’m not sure if we can work this out.”

“Do you still love me?” He looked almost scared as he waited for her to answer.

She closed her eyes and nodded. “I love you, Alex. I do. Just give me some time, ok?”

“Ok, I will. I love you too.”


Jo got back to taking care of Baylee, and Alex marched back to his room. There was hope. She loved him. ‘If she loves me half as much as I love her, then we will make this work. I’m not gonna let her go,’ he thought to himself as he closed the door to his room behind him. He sat down for awhile, just enjoying the feeling of hearing that she loved him. This was excellent. ‘She will be mine by this time tomorrow,’ he promised himself, getting to his feet and getting a hold of the phone. He took out the note with Ashley’s number on it, dialled it and waited for her to answer. He could hear her smile when she answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Ashley, it’s me.”

“I saw that. How are you, babe?”

“I’m great, actually. You?”

“I’ve had the best day ever, got back to work, and found out that...”

“Listen,” he interrupted her.

“Yeah?”

“I... We can’t see each other any more. I’m getting back together with Jo. We’re gonna give it another try.”

“W-what? Alex..? I don’t get it.”

“It’s over, Ashley. Whatever we had, it’s finished.”

“That’s why you’re calling me?”

“Yeah. I talked to Jo just a couple of minutes ago, and she still loves me. We’re gonna try again.”

“But... You said you were over her...”

“Thought I was. Then that night at the club, I realised I’m not. I’ll never be.”

“Thanks a lot Alex.”

“What?”

“You’ve just ruined the best day of my life. Thanks. Now go shit yourself.”

“Look, I’m sorry...”

“Don’t be. Just go die or something. ‘We had a great time, I’m having so much fun with you, I can’t wait to see you again,’” she mimicked his voice. “Well, the next time I see you I hope you’ve got gonhorrea or whatever. Buh-Bye.” She hung up on him, but he remained sitting in his chair, staring at the phone, wishing he’d gone about things a bit softer. ‘But she’s gone, out of my life. Now it’s all about me and Jo,’ he thought to himself.