Calvin didn’t say a word, his face blank. So I kept talking.
“And Monty’s like his own sun. He owns half the town, but he’s so generous, and everyone here loves him. He’s like a character from a children’s book or something. And I’m looking at all of that and wondering, how come they’re so happy? What’s their secret?”
Still, Calvin didn’t respond in any way. He just stared at me. Did I talk about Monty and Jordy too much?
I waved toward the baby. “You’re happy because you’re in love and procreating.”
Blinking, my friend cleared his throat. “I am happy. Barclay and Ray are a big reason, yes. But I’m looking forward to going back to work, too, and I love living in Beauville. The mountains, the town, the people.”
“See? You even love your job.”
“But you love your job, too,” he said hopefully.
“Do I? I don’t know anymore. Maybe I was just good at it and loved the accolades.”
“You adore making music, Laure. We both know that.”
“Why can’t I find the joy in it anymore?”
Calvin frowned. “Find the joy?”
“Sorry, I keep repeating what Monty told me, but that asshole had a few good points.”
“Monty? I find that hard to believe.”
I had to chuckle, but then I shook my head.
“You can make fun of his yapping all you want, but he’s smart as hell. When you listen to the stuff he says, and there’s a lot, I agree, he has a point here and there.”
“Are we talking about the same Monty? The one who annoyed you from the first moment you met him?”
I shrugged. “He didn’t annoy me that much.”
“Laure, do you…like Monty?”
I was about to say that Jordy was objectively hotter, but I caught myself just in time. “I like them both. I want to be them when I grow up.”
It was supposed to be a joke, but Calvin was staring at me like I had grown another head.
“Maybe they could be your friends,” he said, sounding uncertain.
If this “friends” deal included them rimming me through three orgasms, then yeah. I was game.
“Look, I’m only saying that people around here seem to have some secret formula for how to enjoy life even though it objectively sucks most of the time. I need to figure that out.”
“There’s no secret formula, Laure.”
“I must be missing something. Sometimes I have this feeling, like I have it right in front of my nose, but I can’t seem to grasp it.”
After squinting at me for another minute, Calvin hummed thoughtfully.
“When you figure out what went down when Jordy first came to Beauville and ended up in jail, you have to tell me.”
It felt like he was thinking something other than what he was saying.
14
LAUREL
