“Hey, how’s it going?” he asked, his heart aching at the sound of her voice.
“Hectic. I just got Poppy into bed and Parker has a history essay due tomorrow that he hasn’t started yet, and instead of working on it, he’s been playing Super Mario.”
“Damn, I wish I was there so I could help.”
“No, you don’t.”
He chuckled. “Okay, fair. But if I was, I would definitely step in and get him going.”
Her voice was brisk. “What do you need, Zane?”
“Nothing, I just … missed you.” He stared at the blank wall next to the kitchen table, suddenly longing to be back at his real home with art on the walls and his wife and children nearby. Hell, he even missed the dog. “I spent the day at Kitty and Rusty’s.”
“Oh, how is Kitty? I haven’t heard from her in months.”
“She’s the same as ever. Do you want me to get her to call you?”
“God, no. But it would’ve been nice if she had bothered to phone after you told them you moved out,” Sienna answered. “Whatever. I suppose it shouldn’t come as a surprise. She’s always been about the band.”
“You think so?”
“As much as I hate to admit it, yes,” she said. “Anyway, that’s not why you called.”
“We spent most of the day going through old photos for the concert.”
“Sounds rough.”
“Yeah, it was.”
He waited a beat, and when she didn’t swoop in to soothe him, he went on. “It forced me to think about a lot of things, including what an asshole I was to bring you to Steven’s wedding. I’m wondering if that was the moment.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The moment, you know? When I crossed over. I wasn’t always like this.”
She yawned. “Like what?”
“Self-absorbed.” Restlessness overtook him, and he walked over to the small window above the kitchen sink. “Steven’s still pissed about it. In a weird way, I think he might blame me for his marriage breaking up.”
“That’s ridiculous. You weren’t part of their marriage.”
“But maybe I got it started off on the wrong foot, you know?”
“That’s not how marriage works.”
“I guess not. Anyway, I wanted to apologize for doing that. It must have sucked for you.”
“I could’ve said no.”
He heard a firetruck siren in the distance and decided to come out with the real reason he called. “Am I a bad person?”
Sienna paused long enough for him to know the truth. “No, but sometimes you do bad things.”
“What’s the difference?”
“You’re an artist. I think it means your feelings are bigger than regular people’s. You were so in love with me that you said you might die if I didn’t go to the wedding with you.”
“That sounds like a convenient excuse. What if I just didn’t give a shit about Steven? Or worse, what if I was testing to see what I could get away with?”
