“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
* * *
I burstthroughthe front door and find Sophie waiting for me on a bench under a tree. Her eyes light up when she sees me and she meets me halfway, immediately wrapping me in a hug.
“Mel,” she murmurs, squeezing me tight. “Are you all right?” she asks, pulling back to get a look at me.
“Not really,” I confess, my voice cracking. “But I will be.”
“Have you talked to him?” Sophie starts walking toward Coffee Tyme and I fall in step beside her.
I shake my head. “He’s only sent over the finished song for Cara and told me to learn it. That’s it.”
“Wow.” Sophie looks perplexed. “It’s just, Liam said he was really upset. I can’t believe he wouldn’t want to talk it through with you.”
“Me neither. Everything fell into place with us. I mean, it was like magic. Things just clicked. It sounds totally cliché but it’s true. I’ve never felt anything like it. I can’t believe he’d just walk away from it.” We reach the coffee shop and peer at the line for a moment before falling into the back of it. This place has a line outside the door, no matter the time.
“Maybe he’s not. Maybe he’s just…sad?” Sophie suggests gently.
“Then talk to me about it, you know? I’m sad too.”
“He told Liam he was planning a life with you. I don’t think he’ll just walk away from that.”
My heart pulls tight.Planning a life with me? News to me.“That’s interesting. We hadn’t talked about anything beyond the concert.”
“Really?” Sophie frowns. “Maybe he wanted to and then he found the letter.”
“Maybe.”
The line picks up a bit and before we know it, we’re at the door to the shop. It’s sweltering and I’m sweating through my jeans and black polo shirt.
“Days like this, I wish I had a giant pool to jump into,” I moan.
Sophie giggles. “You do. It’s called the Atlantic Ocean.”
That sparks an idea.
“Andrew told me to go home. The new manager is coming in and he doesn’t need me. Want to go to the beach for a little bit?” I’m going out on a limb. Sophie has two little girls she probably has to get home to, but I ask her anyway. I haven’t been to the beach for a swim in ages.
“You know what? Liam’s got the girls. Why not?”
36
JOSH
After talking with Ellie, I feel lighter—but not steady. I still don’t know what I’m going to say to Melanie, but time is ticking. The concert will be here, and Mark has made it clear he wants to see more from meandMelanie.
The thing is, I don’t know if I can move past this. Or if I even should.
But God I want to.
And underneath the anger I keep directing at Melanie, there’s a voice I can’t quiet—the one reminding me I left her first. That I’ve made my share of mistakes. Maybe I’m furious at her for keeping secrets, but mostly I’m furious at myself for not being there when it counted.
I have nothing to eat in Ellie’s guest house, so I hit the grocery store late Monday afternoon. The kitchen is barely big enough to boil water, but I can’t keep eating takeout and pretending I’m fine. I’m just pulling in when I hear something through my cracked window that stops me cold.
Laughter.
Hers.
