The next two days flew by with six a.m. breakfast becoming our tradition. He wanted to know about a few of my past boyfriends and his encouragement to talk about them helped. I asked about his girlfriends. Two, he remained friends with but most were band-bunny groupies. Sex went hand-in-hand with his job. I understood but my heart ached at the thought of him leaving to tour.

Like Mistress, he observed me closely, noticing each nuance even when I tried to hide it.

"I've ...