"What were your issues?"
Now she was treading into dangerous territory. "I really don't want to talk about that right now."
"Did you write your own songs?" she asked, only slightly changing the topic.
"Some of them."
"Did you do it together? Was it an equal collaboration?"
"I was better with lyrics. Wren had a way of putting the right word to the right note that made it sparkle. It was mostly a joint effort." Clearing his throat, he changed the subject. "Have you heard anything from your brother? I saw you checking your texts at the café."
She shook her head. "Nothing from Ben yet, but he might not have gotten there that early."
"Hopefully, everything is okay."
"Hopefully," she echoed as she took the next exit and headed into downtown Oceanside.
As they weaved their way through the crowded streets, he grew tense, but he hoped the crush of people would make him less conspicuous. It would be easier to blend in with a crowd. Kaia was able to squeeze into what she called a secret parking lot around the corner from the gallery. When they got out of the car, she grabbed his hand and said, "It's going to be okay."
"I don't know where you get your confidence, but I'm going with it."
Her smile once again lit up her face, making him wonder how he would ever be able to walk away and never see her again. But that was too big a question to ponder now.
She let go of his hand when they reached the gallery. Again, he had to wonder if that was because they were about to see her friends, or if it was just because she wanted to open the door. But that was another question he didn't really need to be thinking about.
The Art Nest had tall front windows, with light spilling across the polished hardwood floors, and as they stepped inside, they joined a crowd of people. Lexie's exhibit was at the back of the gallery, and every few steps, someone stopped to greet Kaia with a smile or a hug. She didn't introduce him, and he was fine with that. He didn't recognize any of them until they got to the exhibit where Lexie was standing with Grayson, Madison, Gabe, and her Aunt Josie.
As soon as she saw them, she immediately came over. "Thank you so much for coming," she said, giving Kaia a hug before offering him a warm smile. "It's nice to see you here, Jax."
"This looks amazing," he said, waving his hand toward her wall of photography.
"I hope it is," Lexie said, a nervous edge to her voice. "It's always terrifying to put yourself out there in a very public way. I'm more comfortable behind the camera."
"You should relax and enjoy every bit of this attention," Kaia said. "Your work speaks for itself. By the way, did you put up those photos from Morocco?"
"I did. I'll show you."
As they moved away, Josie joined him, while Madison, Gabe, and Grayson went to speak to Ava and Liam, who had also just arrived. Kaia was right. It wasn't just Kaia who showed up for her friends. Everyone at Ocean Shores seemed to do the same thing.
Josie gave him a proud, beaming smile. "Look what my girl has done." She waved her hand toward the wall of photos.
"I haven't had a chance to really look at them, but from what I can see, they're impressive."
"They are definitely that. Lexie is so good at seeing what other people cannot and calling our attention to what we've missed."
"That's what Kaia said. That's quite a talent. Did she get that from you?"
"Oh, no! This is all her, and only her. No one else in the family has a creative bone in their body. Lexie is the unicorn." She paused. "I'm glad you came."
"I'm not sure this trip won't come back to bite me."
Josie gave a quick glance around them to make sure no one was within earshot, then said, "I saw the photographs online of you and Kaia. Her face is turned away from the camera, so she's not identifiable, but you are."
He stiffened. "Where did you see those?"
"One of those gossip sites. You didn't know they were up?"
"Once I saw the photographer, I figured they'd go up, but I didn't want to look."
