“Good man,” Hunter said.
“You two better go or you’ll be late.” Tyler opened the door with a flourish. “Have fun. Don’t stay out too late.”
“We might,” Hunter said, smiling at me.
Tyler gave me a quick, hard hug. “You look really pretty, Mom. Have the best time.”
“Lock the door after we leave,” I said.
“I’m on it,” Tyler said.
Hunter’s hand found the small of my back as we walked out the door, causing me to shiver. And not from the cool April breeze that ruffled my skirts.
Tidewater Grill occupiedthe top floor of a building at the end of Harbor Street, with a view of the ocean. Hunter had gotten us a corner table right at the window.
“In all the years I’ve been coming here, I’ve never had this table. It’s the best one.” I smiled at him as I picked up the menu.
“That’s how it is when we’re together. Everything just falls into place.”
I laughed. “Is that right?”
At this hour in the evening, the sun painted our part of the world in tangerine. The light reflected in his hazel eyes, showing me specks of gold and green. I’d once thought his eyes were moody and stormy. Now that I knew him better, I understood they were not tumultuous but sensitive, searching and expressive.
We both ordered the salmon, with side salads and glasses of wine.
“This is a terrible way to start our first date, but I want to talk about my ex,” he said. “Before we do anything else.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“The messiness of all this has probably made you uneasy. I half expected you to cancel tonight.”
“I didn’t, though. I’m here. Ready to listen.”
“Thank you for that.” He paused as the server brought our wine, waiting until she was gone before speaking. “Have you seen the interview?”
“Just what was online.”
He looked out at the view for a moment before turning back to me. “I’m not sure where to start.”
“Was Ivy one of the reasons your marriage failed?”
He blinked, then shook his head. “In a way, yes. She and I came up together. Other than Wes, there was no one I trusted more. Still do. We’d made a pact a long time ago to partner however we could. My songs. Her incredible voice. I’d told her, back when we were both broke, sharing a terrible apartment and living on ramen, that I’d give her the first shot at anything I’d written. This was long before either of us had any success at all. When I met Dana, she was actually a bigger star than Ivy. In fact, Ivy hadn’t gotten a record deal until a month before Dana and I married. But we’d only been married a few months when Ivy had a big hit with one of my songs. Half the songs on her debut album were mine. She ended up winning best new country artist that year. All of a sudden, her voice was all over the radio. She was opening for huge stars. Pretty soon, she was selling out stadiums. Meanwhile, Dana’s career had stalled. She wanted me to write songs for her. The more she hassled me about it, the less inclined I was to try. Although, I did. She’s lying that I refused. It was the record label that didn’t want them. For Dana, that is.”
“What do you mean?”
“Dana and Ivy were on the same record label. Ivy’s success with my songs made her the darling. Which means they wanted Ivy to have my songs. We’d been so successful together that they didn’t want to risk changing anything up. And the truth was—Dana hadn’t performed as well for them.”
“Did Dana know all this?”
“Oh yeah. We all understood what was happening. Obviously, it put Ivy and me in a really awkward position. Dana felt betrayed by us and the record label. The more her anger and resentment grew, the harder I tried to hold on to her. But like my song says—Dana decided to trade me in for someone else. She had an affair with a producer at another record label. Right under my nose, and I didn’t see it at all. Ivy was the one who told me that Dana was cheating on me. Ironically, Dana blamed me for everything. Said I suffocated her while at the same time neglecting her needs. But the truth is, her jealousy about Ivy’s career and my part in it ate her up until there was nothing left between us but anger.”
“No wonder she’s lashing out,” I said. “Trying to justify her lack of success. Blaming you and Ivy.”
“Dana’s ambitious. Always has been. Her career stalling crushed her.”
“I can understand that,” I said. “Not that it’s right. But I’ve had my share of jealousy, seeing other writer’s successes—movie deals and dominating the bestseller charts—and wondered—why can’t that happen to me?”
“But it did.”
