“Drinking tea at a place called the Billy Goat Cafe? She’s been posting pics of tea and scones a couple times a week for months, and when I checked the accounts she was following, I spotted a cafe that offers a ten percent discount to their Insta followers. The decor in her pics matches the decor in their promo pics,etvoilà.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, nearly dizzy with relief that she was safe… and not in Florida. When Oak had started getting all squirrelly, I’d imagined a nightmare scenario where Aimee and Rafe reconciled and were more in love than ever… though I didn’t know why that seemed worse than her living a secret life in Wyoming.
Yes, you do, that voice in the back of my brain taunted again.You know exactly why.
That voice sounded a lot like Rafe’s dry, sexy, teasing voice, and my stomach clenched nervously.
I cleared my throat. “This is incredibly helpful, Oak. I really owe you one. Send me the address so I can go find her, okay?”
Oak hesitated. “I could fly out there and we could go together.”
“Nah. What for?”
Another hesitation. “Because you don’t have to do hard things alone?”
“I won’t be alone.”
“No?” Oak sounded surprised but pleased, and I understood why. I didn’t have a lot of friends these days—or, okay,anyfriends aside from Oak.
I mean, I had collaborators and mentors and people I hung out with from time to time, obvs. Guys I’d hooked up with. Cari and Cheryl and Max, the musicians who toured with me. Ari Friedrich, who’d worked with me on a couple of his songs. Debbieand her staff. There was always someone around if I wanted there to be. But most of those people were with me because I paid them, either directly or indirectly.
And the few times I tried to convince myself that it was still possible for me to relate to people on a different level—like, for example, the night when I’d heard that my album had gone gold and I’d decided to venture out of my apartment and get lost in a crowd, soak up some good energy, and people watch—it ended poorly, like with a photographer throwing an innocent bystander to the floor so it looked like I was getting head in the middle of a crowded club.
I rolled my eyes at Oak, though he couldn’t see me. “Yeah, don’t get so excited. I’m not over here making new friends. I don’t need them.”
“Shoulda figured. You know—”
“Not everyone is an asshole who’s out for himself? Yeah, yeah. So you keep saying, but the world keeps proving you wrong. Anyway, you remember a couple weeks ago I told you I was gonna play a concert in Florida on this little island called—”
“Whispering Key! The land of teenage dreams—and I mean that very much in the Katy Perry sense.” He hummed a few bars. “The place where you first fell in love with—”
“Yes!” I interrupted snippily. “Yes, thank you. I recall.” I huffed out a breath. “And I do not remember ever telling you about… that.”
“Oh, but you did,” he said cheerfully. “In glorious detail. Maybe the second or third night of that first tour, someplace in Connecticut. Tequila makes you loquacious. And apparently forgetful.”
Loquacious. Great. Just what every man wanted to hear.
“Wait, how forgetful?” I asked, slightly panicked. “You and I never…”
“You and me? Shit, no. I like ’em a whole lot twinkier than you and way less sassy. Also, just to say, if we’d ever messed around, you’d’ve remembered. I’m basically unforgettable.”
“And somodest,” I marveled. “Anyway. I decided I’ll drive down to Florida instead of flying, to stay off the media’s radar as much as possible—”
“Good call. You’re lucky you even made it to Colorado without attracting attention.”
“—and the mayor sent his son out to ride with me.”
Oak was silent for a moment. “Okay, please tell me when you say the mayor’s son you don’t mean your former brother-in-law. Because—”
“No,” I cut him off before he could remind me of all the reasons why being around Rafe would be a disaster. “No, I mean Gage, the youngest brother. He’s a good kid. I won’t tell him I’m going to see Aimee, ’cause it’s none of his business, but—”
“My dude,” Oak interrupted disapprovingly, “you’re keeping so many secrets from so many people, you’ve gotta be clenched tighter than a virgin’s ass on Fleet Week. Someday you’re gonna realize how much easier your life will be if you just start living openly.”
No fucking way. When you gave people an inch, they took twenty-six miles.
“Thank you, Aunt Hagatha. I’ll remind you of this someday. Will you send me the address for the cafe?”
Oak sighed. “I’ll text you. But after you find your sister and see that she’s okay… then what?”
