Liam gave me the ‘no kidding’ look. “She packed up one day while I was at work, and when I’d gotten home, she was gone. No note. Nothing. I did everything possible to find her, but she had just vanished. Belle Knight was nowhere. I was slowly giving up until a few weeks ago.”
“A few weeks ago?”
“Around the time of the fashion show, actually.”
“What happened?”
“My private investigator found her. She was trying to buy a house with him.”
“Geez.”
“So last week, I started the divorce paperwork. I’d been sitting on it since before the fashion show. I just couldn’t bring myself to file.”
“What made you finally do it?”
“What made you finally break up with Elijah?”
I pulled my lower lip between my teeth before answering. “I want to be happy.”
“And I do too. It’s just not always easy to remember that when your heart is involved.”
I wrinkled my face, remembering, “Self-respect is another reason I ended it. Elijah treated me terribly.”
Liam barked out a laugh. “That fits me too. I deserve better than to pine after someone who doesn’t give a shit about me.”
“Exactly.” I grabbed my martini and raised my glass. “How about a toast?”
Liam grabbed his glass and held it to mine.“To us and finding out what we deserve and who makes us happy.”
“Cheers to that.”
A few moments later, my phone vibrated from a text from Damien.
Damien
Show starts in 20. But I can’t wait to see you after. Should we have an after-party all by ourselves?
I grinned as I let my fingers fly across my screen.
Haven’t you had enough of me yet?
His reply was instant.
Never
“Ugh.” Liam groaned. “It’s like I’m back in Fayetteville, sitting with Jamie while he texts Blake.”
I rolled my eyes, the grin still spread ear to ear. “Whatever. Eat up. We’ve got fifteenminutes.”
Liam had graciously thrown down cash to pay for our tab, and I thanked him as he played it off—being a world-famous fashion designer and all. For a moment, I had to wonder what his net worth was. It had to be in the millions by now, which made me incredibly proud of him. Someone I grew up with had made their dreams come true, literally from the ground up.
If he did it, so can I.
We pushed as close to the stage as we could, waiting for Rebel Rebellion to come on. They stood on the edge of the platform, doing whatever it was musicians did right before they played. I once dreamed I’d be up there, putting in the earpieces, drinking water to stay hydrated while I ran around on stage and bared my soul to my fans through the lyrics of my songs. But not all dreams can come true, and I needed to be reasonable with the dream I pursued now.
It was going to be the one I made come true, after all.
With the first hit of the drums, I forgot everything. All the stress and worries I’d experienced about my big move melted away.
