The question catches me off guard. I try to picture Kelsey’s middle sister, but the image of Izzy is just a blur in my mind—tall, brunette. But Kelsey, she’s something else entirely. Kelsey’s smile is…magnetic. Unique. I can’t imagine anyone else having that effect on me.
“Well, they are sisters,” I mumble, unsure of what to say.
Jaxon doesn’t answer right away, lost in thought. I can feel the weight of it, the unspoken history between him and Izzy, but I don’tpush. Jaxon’s always been a master of keeping his cards close to his chest.
The silence lingers, and I’m about to retreat back into my movie when Jaxon suddenly speaks again, his voice more casual now. “So, how are things going with you and Kelsey?” Jaxon asks.
“She’s been remarkably easy to work with,” I say, trying to keep the conversation from going too far down that road.
“Yeah? That’s good.” He sighs, pressing two fingers into the space between his remarkably well-groomed eyebrows. He starts to say something but stops himself with a shake of his head.
“What?” I ask.
He raises an eyebrow. “Feel free not to answer this, but was it hard? Being around her again?”
He takes in my confused face. “You can’t have forgotten that night after we lost the state semifinals baseball game, my sophomore year, when you told me all about how you were in love with Kelsey Harper. It was like a week after the whole restaurant incident where she stood up for your mom, and Kelsey Harper was all you could talk about.” He glances toward the front of the plane to where Kelsey is sitting. “You said her full name like that too, ‘Kelsey Harper.’”
I grimace. “I try to block out all confessions of love, actually.”
Jaxon snorts a laugh. “Well, I’ve been curious to see if this trip would rekindle any flames,” he says, amusement and something else flickering in his eyes.
“It wouldn’t be very professional if it did,” I say, hedging my words.
“Why?” His tone is genuine, his face showing nothing but casual interest.
“We’ve got a job to do. She’s a colleague.”
He nods his head like that makes sense. “But youcould—hypothetically speaking, of course—be together and do your job, right? There isn’t a fraternization clause in either of your contracts.” He says it casually, but I can hear the undertone of something deliberate.
No. Even for a boy who loved to set people up,thatis too ridiculous. A world-famous musician most certainly has more important things on his mind than playing matchmaker for two people he hasn’t seen in almost two decades. And this would’ve taken a lot of time, planning, and honestly, paying attention to both Kelsey’s and my lives, which I can’t imagine he has done.
I look at the top of Kelsey’s head, sorting through what I should say.
Before I can figure it out, Jaxon starts speaking again, “Anyway, it’s none of my business, but if you feel anything like you did for her in high school, I think you should go for it.”
“Why?” I ask.
He lifts one shoulder in a half-shrug, his gaze steady on a small tattoo on the inside of his forearm. “Second chances are rare—love’s timing can be fleeting. If I were on the verge of missing my moment…well, I’d want someone to help me make sure I didn’t.”
“Is that a line from one of your songs?” I ask.
Jaxon’s mouth lifts in a half-smile. “The first part is. And it was just as true when I wrote it as it is now.”
“Damn, man. You should take that songwriting thing on the road,” I joke.
Jaxon chuckles. “Ah, international tours are overrated.”
“But what if they’re called the Forever Starts HereTour?” I ask, fighting to keep a serious face.
“Then you know the musician has a phenomenal marketing team…who also happens to give zero fucks what he thinks about the tour names.”
We both laugh, causing most of the heads in our general vicinity to turn in our direction.
Once he stops laughing, Jaxon undoes his seat belt, clearly ready to get back to his awaiting assistants. “Anyway, Carter,” he says as he stands. “I just wanted to make sure you and Kelsey knew that if something were to happen between the two of you, there wouldn’t be anything wrong with it from my and my team’s point of view.” He takes a step into the aisle before turning back. “You’ll let Kelsey know, right?”
I nod, trying my best to hide the smile that’s threatening to overrun my face. Instead, I focus my attention back on my phone, tapping the Play button as I put my headphones back in.
Seconds later, Kelsey slides into the seat next to me. Holding out her hand, palm up, she asks, “What are we watching?”
