Chapter 2
Six Weeks Ago
Ascream echoed through the building and Rowan jumped. Thankfully, she didn’t have the scaler against Mrs. Sherman’s gums. She glanced out the door of the exam room in time to see one of the dental technicians, Sierra, jumping excitedly down the down.
Rowan set her tools on the metal tray next to her and pulled the paper mask away from her face. “Would you excuse me, Mrs. Sherman?”
“Of course.” Leaning to the side, she craned her neck as if she could see down the hall. “Maybe her boyfriend finally proposed.”
Rowan smiled, swung the dental tray out of the way, and pulled off her gloves. “I think her scream would’ve been a lot shriller if that had happened.”
“Well, hurry back and tell me why she’s so excited.”
“Will do.” Leaving the exam room, she turned left and followed the sounds of excited chatter to the small break room.
Sierra was still bouncing up and down, clutching her phone, except now Lisa, the office’s dental assistant, was jumping with her.
“Y’all! What is goin’ on?” She had to raise her voice to be heard over their excitement and her southern accent slipped out a little. She worked hard not to shorten her words or drawl anymore—a habit she picked up in dental hygienist school when she got tired of people assuming that because she spoke slow meant she was slow.
“Justice got floor seats to the Luke Stone concert!” Sierra raised her arms and squealed. “Tenth row center!”
“Wow.” Rowan worked hard to put some excitement into her voice. “I thought it was a sold-out show.”
“It is, but the radio station is running a contest all month. Justice has been calling in every day trying to win tickets. And he got through today! The best part is we get backstage passes!” She high-stepped in place like a receiver who’d just scored a fifty-yard touchdown and squealed again. “I’m going to get to meet Luke freaking Stone!”
She didn’t notice Rowan’s half-hearted smile.
Luke freaking Stone indeed.
* * *
“Who names their kid Justice?”
Rowan propped the cordless phone between her cheek and shoulder, shoved the cork back in the wine bottle, and replaced it in the fridge.
“Colorado hippies. You’ve lived here long enough you should know that by now.”
“Did you get tickets?” Claudia asked.
“VIP, just like always,” she said. Rowan’s best friend from college understood more than anyone why the tickets were an issue. They’d ended up as roommates when Rowan had transferred to the University of Colorado from Tennessee State.
“Are you going to go?”
“Do I ever?” She carried her wineglass into the living room and curled up in her favorite overstuffed chair.
“There’s a first time for everything,” Claudia said.
“Not this. I can’t. I just—I can’t be happy for him and I can’t pretend to be.”
They had this conversation in some form or fashion whenever his name came up. Ever since the night she’d gotten drunk and tearfully confessed that Luke had chosen being a single, eligible country singer over being the man she’d planned on spending the rest of her life with.
“Besides, what’s the point? I’m going to show up with Michael and introduce him to my ex-boyfriend? I can just imagine how that little party would go.”
“I know, but they’re Luke Stone tickets. I know I’m supposed to hate him, but he is a really good singer and his concerts are supposed to be awesome. Maybe you could go and not go backstage.”
She could hear the hope in Claudia’s voice. “Claudia, I don’t want you to hate him. I don’t even hate him and I have plenty of reason to. If you want the tickets, I’ll give you the tickets.”
“Seriously? You’d do that?”
