She squeezed her eyes shut, wincing.
“That’s it—that’s your name!” Ms. Berry called from over the car’s roof.
Brighton opened her eyes to see Adele’s mom beaming at her, heading around the front of the car with her arms held open.
“It…it is,” Brighton said on a laugh. “How are you, Ms. Berry?”
“Oh my goodness, call me Nina.”
Ms. Berry—Nina—drew Brighton into a hug so tight, Brighton was pretty sure she emitted a tiny squeak. And then it was like muscle memory took over, Brighton’s gaze finding the person she’d spent ten years finding over and over again in every crowd, every Grand Haven middle and high school classroom, every busy Boston sidewalk when they were in college at Berklee, even across the kitchen in their small Manhattan apartment.
Their eyes locked.
Brighton stopped breathing.
The world stopped spinning, she was sure of it.
Nina released her, and Brighton still couldn’t look away. Lola couldn’t either, it seemed, and suddenly, they were twenty-three again, the day of their wedding, the last time Brighton had seen Lola in person.
“You ready for this?” Lola had asked. They were lying in Lola’s bed, blankets soft and warm around them. The whole world ready for them, a million possibilities. Lola tangled their fingers together. “Ready for forever?”
And Brighton had said yes.
She’d said yes when she should’ve said…
Brighton’s shoulders tensed, her throat aching. She took another step forward, slow and steady, like she was approaching a feral animal. Lola’s eyes followed her, her face expressionless. Lola had always been good at that too—masking any and all emotion. Her chin lifted just slightly, her gaze going steely and vacant.
Brighton stopped in front of her. Took one more steadying breath, though she felt anything but solid right now. “Hi, Lo—”
“Hi,” Lola said curtly, sticking out her gloved hand. “I’m Charlotte.”
Brighton froze, her mouth still forming ano. Lola didn’t budge. Didn’t blink. Wasn’t even breathing, as far as Brighton could tell. After a second, Brighton slid her hand against Lola’s palm, and Lola gave her fingers a tight pump before releasing them like they were on fire.
Brighton managed to say her own name, though the two-syllable word sounded strange in her ears, which were roaring with blood and a rapid heartbeat.
“Nice to meet you,” Lola said, then looked away and clearedher throat loudly. This seemed to grab Sloane’s attention, who pulled Adele over for more introductions. Soon Brighton had met the entire Rosalind Quartet, faces she’d been staring at on Instagram for the better part of two years. She liked Manish and Elle immediately, though her head still swam with Lola’s strange behavior.
“Okay, everyone, let’s get inside!” Nina called. “It’s freezing, and we’re having chili and my homemade cornbread.”
“Hell yes,” Adele said. “God, I love coming home.”
“Yeah, because you automatically forget how to clean a dish when we’re here,” Sloane said.
“Okay, Little Miss ‘Mom, Make Me Some Hot Chocolate with a Thousand Marshmallows While I Sit on the Couch and WatchThe Holidayfor the Billionth Time.’ ”
“I can’t help it if I know how to relax,” Sloane said.
Nina just laughed and climbed up the porch steps, dragging Charlotte’s rolling suitcase behind her. “Come on, Snickerdoodle.”
The Berry sisters followed their dog up the stairs with their own bags. Manish and Elle went along as well, giant luggage and instrument cases in tow.
The noise faded, quiet closing around Brighton and Lola as they stood in the snowy drive. Lola wasn’t looking at Brighton, her gaze on the front door.
“Lola,” Brighton said quietly. Almost reverently.
Still no reaction. Lola simply bent down to pick up the same vintage leather violin case she’d had since she was twenty-one, turned on her heel, and walked up the porch steps without another word.
Chapter 5
