“Looking for your friend?”
River turned and found Bella at his elbow. “Yeah. Have you seen him?”
She nodded at the corner booth closest to the back of the shop. “He was right there until five minutes ago or so.”
River’s heart sank. He should’ve found his balls sooner. Apparently Jem hadn’t been willing to wait all that long after all.
“Oh, but here.” Bella fished in her apron pocket. “He and the redhead he came in with ran out of here like their pants were on fire, but on his way out, he handed me a fifty-dollar tip and asked me to give you this.”
The plain white envelope readRiveron the outside, in slightly smudged ballpoint pen. The paper had a battered look, as though someone had been carrying it around for a while—the edges were soft, the corners crumpled.
River ran his thumb over the name. “Thanks.”
He made his way back to the break room in a half daze.
When the door opened, Lara practically jumped on him. “What are you doing? Get back out there!”
River held up the note and shook his head. “He… he left.”
“What? Ugh!” She huffed explosively. “All that fuss and he couldn’t even—”
“Bella, um. She made it sound like it might be an emergency. So.” He collapsed at the table.
Lara sat next to him. “Okay, well, I think you’ve been in suspense long enough. Open it.”
Carefully, River ran his thumb along the seal of the envelope. Until he opened it, it could say anything. It could sayI love youorthis was all a mistakeorhave a nice lifeoryou’re a sucker.
As long as it remained unread, River could hope.
But the hope of love wasn’t enough anymore. Not if he could have the real thing.
The paper peeled back, and River pulled out two thin sheets.
River,
I’m sorry I lied about the wedding. It was stupid. But I didn’t tell anyone anything about your music or the Flat Tires. I know I can’t make everything better, but please let me explain.
J.
Behind the note was a bank draft for a huge sum of money—everything, River realized, that he’d ever paid Jem. Not a check, abank draft, same as cash.
Lara leaned over his shoulder. “Wow. He isreally sorry.” She bumped their shoulders together, then glanced up at him. “What’re you going to do?”
River’s heart thudded in his throat. “Probably something really dramatic.”
Lara laughed. “Well, all right, then. Get to it, rock star.”
The problemwith being the kind of person who did dramatic things was that the universe did not always follow the script.
Case in point: River had Norm drive him to Jem’s apartment, only to discover Jem wasn’t home—again.
River took out his phone, realized he still had Jem’s number blocked, unblocked it, and hit Call; that went straight to voicemail. Whatever emergency Jem was attending to, he wasn’t talking toanyone, apparently.
River paced dramatically in the tiny lobby for a moment—Mrs. Henderson, on her way to the elevator, smiled and waved and he felt like anidiot—and then got back in the car.
Tomorrow was the Flat Tires’ last-ever concert. He’d be with the band all day, and probably all night after that. And if he had to wait that long to sort things out with Jem, he would lose whatever was left of his mind.
“You okay, boss?”
