The Happy Ever After Playlist (The Friend Zone, #2)

by Abby Jimenez

“A puppuccino. A cup of whipped cream for dogs.” “That’s a thing?” “It is. There’s all kinds of things you can get for dogs at restaurants. You can get ice cream at most places as long as it doesn’t have vanilla beans in it. And there’s a cupcake shop called Nadia Cakes that I take him to that has doggy cupcakes they make from scratch.” I arched my eyebrows. “Wow, he really is on vacation.”

“Tucker.” Something flashed across her face. The groomer behind her jerked her head up to stare at me, and the two shared a look. “Are you Sloan?” the first woman asked. “Yeeeees,” I said, looking back and forth between them, unsure what was happening. “One moment.” She grinned, putting up a finger. “Just wait here.” Then she darted into a side door. When it opened again, a giant vase of sunflowers floated out. “Oh my God,” I whispered. “He didn’t.”

I sighed. “I checked yes.” “Good,” he said. “I like you too.”

Even before I’d seen what she looked like, I’d liked her more than anyone else I’d met in a very long time. I went to sleep and woke up thinking about her. I fucking dreamed about her. I hadn’t even looked at another woman sideways pretty much since the moment we started talking. And all that for a woman I hadn’t even laid eyes on yet.

“You’re Jaxon Waters,” I blurted. The amused smile that crept across his face confirmed my accusation. “Have you heard of me?” “You said you play bass.” I glared, and my eyelid twitched ominously. “I do.” He shrugged. “I also play guitar, I sing…” His grin got wider in proportion to my growing eyes. “But…but I went to your house!” I said breathlessly. “Where was your Grammy?” Another shrug. “In the pantry?” “Jason!”

“Jason, I listen to your music,” I said a moment later, biting my lip. “A lot. I love it. Your last album got me through a really rough time in my life.” He wiped at his eyes, still recovering. “And I’ve eaten the food from your blog. I’m probably a bigger fan of yours than you are of mine.”

“I doubt that. And at least I told you about my blog.” “Well, you had to or I’d have never let you on my zombie apocalypse survival team.” I scoffed.

“You realize that repeatedly bringing me my favorite coffee is comparable to feeding a stray cat, right? You might never get rid of me now.” “Good,” he said, pulling me close to kiss me with an enormous grin. “I was hoping for something like that.”

I was a ghost, wandering the rooms of a museum of the person I used to be, and Jason was like one of the living who could somehow see me and decided to wander the place with me.

This was just a season, and there’s beauty in all seasons. Even if you are looking forward to the next one.

A big scary world existed somewhere, where bad things happened and people you cared about died—or left you on fourteen-month tours around the world. But tonight there was only this. And I was happy, and grateful, to have it. Even if it wouldn’t last.

I was grateful that I’d been there for her through my music in her darkest hours. That I’d reached her and touched her and held her in my arms for years—even though neither of us had known it yet. I wanted to reach her and touch her and hold her in my arms forever. Because I was completely and totally in love with her.

He loved me. And I loved him back. This was why we could weather his fame. Why I could trust him, always, no matter what came up. He belonged to me and we were in it together. How could I ever question it? We were in love.

I bought a ring. A very, very big ring.

“Someone paid off my fucking housekeeper.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Huh?” “Someone gave her a thousand bucks to give up the gate code so Lola could get in here that night. Ten years she’d been with me, and I have to find a new housekeeper. I’m doing my own goddamn laundry. And I haven’t even told you the crazy shit yet.” He looked me in the eye. “The person who paid her wasn’t Lola or any of her people.” He paused. “It was your people.”

had to do a shit ton of digging. Had to give Lupe another thousand bucks to get her to talk and I had to ask the Swansons across the street for their surveillance video, but I got the plate for the guy who bribed her. He’s some low-level lackey for your label.”

“Here’s what I think. I think your label set you up for those photos with Lola. I think they did it so they could leak that shit. I think the whole TMZ thing was planned and they wanted the rumors circulating so when they stuck Lola on your tour, the two of you would be all over the tabloids together, nice and fucking neat.” I stood there speechless for a long moment. “Why?” “They’re manufacturing your hype. They want everybody talking about you. The Lola-Jaxon singles on the soundtrack are on fire. Everybody’s fucking grabbing for you. Pia can’t even keep up with all the press they want you to do. That’s why they pushed your tour out ten more months. They’re posturing to mass-produce you. The writing’s on the wall, my friend. You’ve got all the makings of a superstar.”

He shook his head. “It’s just how I feel. I’m yours. All of me. I think I always belonged to you. Even when you belonged to someone else.” His eyes moved back and forth between mine. “Tucker knew it. He took one look and he saw the other half of me inside of you and he brought you home.”

Two front-row, VIP tickets to a Jaxon Waters concert at 7:00 tonight.

I read the letter Zane had sent me a hundred times. Stared at those four words at the top of the page until they were seared behind my eyelids. Jason lied about Lola. Zane and Courtney were close.

Sometimes the hardest place to live is the one in-between. And sometimes in-between is all you’ll ever get.

I cleared my throat. “It’s just something I bought.” “Oh. Can I see it?” I nodded and she got up. When she peeled off the brown paper to look, she gasped. “Wow. That’s a really cool photo of you.” I looked up and had to clutch a hand over the punch to my heart. It was me. Sloan had painted me. I stood in the lake, in my waders. It was that day in Ely when I’d been putting in the dock. It was the moment right before I’d kissed her.

“You think you know what love looks like. You think the fairy tales and the romantic movies prepare you. And then you finally, really truly find it and you realize you never knew a thing about it until her.” He shook his head. “She was every love song I’ve never been good enough to write.”

Jason wiped at his eyes with his thumb and picked up his guitar. “I’ll never get her back. It’s too late for that. But this song is for Sloan anyway. It’s called ‘Proof.’”

And then he stopped cold. He put a hand up to block the lights and squinted out over the crowd. “Oh. My. God,” Kristen breathed next to me. He just stood there, staring. At me. It wasn’t possible.

“How did you see me?” I whispered. He came up to look at me. He had tears in his beautiful, blue eyes. “I told you, Sloan. I’d notice you in a crowd of a million.”