“Anyway, his manager and publicist thought they’d be able to launch him better if he appeared to be single.”
“He broke up with you because his record label told him to?”
She shook her head. “Not exactly. We agreed that he would pretend to be single and I would support him from the sidelines. Except neither of us really liked the idea and we had a hard time with it. Because of school I couldn’t go to all his shows, but he always made sure I had tickets to the ones I could make. One night, he was opening for some band that was supposed to be the next big thing. I had to work that night and wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make it, but I hadn’t seen him in weeks and missed him so I left work early and got there after he started.” She scraped at her cuticles, delaying the hard part.
“I had an all-access pass so I went backstage like I always did. He was just coming off set and this girl grabbed him and hugged him, which I didn’t think anything of—he’d never given me a reason to be jealous or doubt him. Until he kissed her. Not a quick peck on the cheek like you’d give a friend or family member—full-on tonsil hockey. It was then I realized he’d taken pretending to be single to a whole other level. I was so hurt…I still remember that feeling like someone had sucker punched me in the chest. I left. He called the next day and acted like nothing had happened.”
She huffed out a laugh. “He even said he missed me at the show. I told him I didn’t want to pretend—we were either together or we weren’t. He decided we weren’t.”
“And that’s when you moved to Colorado?” he asked quietly.
She nodded. “I had been looking at UC Denver for dental school anyway so I just transferred for my senior year of undergrad.”
“Do you think it could have been a misunderstanding?” he asked. “You were both still pretty young.”
“I don’t see how him making out with some girl backstage could be a misunderstanding,” she said.
Michael was silent for a moment. “But now he wants another chance.”
“I don’t know if I can give him a second chance. I don’t know that I could take being hurt like that again.”
“What about you? Don’t you deserve a second chance?” He leaned forward. “Rowan, I think you should go to Nashville. And I’m not just telling you that to make myself feel better.
“You should giveyourselfa second chance. Either it will work out or it won’t, but if you don’t go, you’ll never know and one day, maybe years from now, you’ll wake up wonderingwhat ifand it will be too late.”
* * *
What if?
What if she went to Nashville? What if she gave Luke another chance? What if…?
She stared at her phone. All she had to do was hit the green button.
