Page 105 of Solo

“No.”

“Did she know you were going to buy it for her?” she presses.

“No, but—”

“But what? Did she ask you to pay her rent?”

“No…”

“So it wasn’t money,” Maureen says, dismissing that theory. “What else, Drew? What else do you think she used you for?”

This isn’t a question, it’s an accusation and I don’t like it one bit.

“My connections,” I say confidently.

“What connections are those?”

“My connections at the New York Conservatory. She wants to go into their conducting program and she found out Danny Gillies and I are friends.”

“Oh!” Maureen says, looking suddenly disappointed. “So it was her idea for him to come here and see her conduct.”

“I—uh—well, no, not exactly…”

“What do you mean?” she asks suspiciously.

“I didn’t tell her he would be there. It was a surprise,” I admit, feeling foolish suddenly.

And just like that, she’s on the warpath again.

“So how did she use you for your connections then?”

“She knew I went there. She asked me all kinds of questions about the program and the faculty. She wanted to know what Danny was like,” I inform her.

“You mean, like any student who was interested in attending your alma mater?”

I shake my head. “It wasn’t like that, Maureen. I showed her pictures of me and Casey at Danny’s wedding…”

Shit! This isn’t sounding as convincing as it did when I was working it all out over vodka.

“What are you going to tell me, next, Drew? That you have some magical penis and she used you for sex?”

Before I can react to that—not that I have any clue how to react to that—she continues.

“Drew Markham, you’re a goddamned fool if you think that woman was anything but in love with you. I know her better than you think, and she doesn’t have it in her to be ruthless. But, apparently you do. And that, I did not know,” she says, shaking her head at me in clear disgust.

It hits me then, like a piano falling from the sky. I have screwed this up beyond comprehension. Before I can think about it, I put my head in my hands, nearly jumping out of my skin when I feel a warm touch on my shoulder.

“It looks to me like you might just love her,” she says quietly.

I nod without raising my head.

“Then go to her. She’s sick, she’s alone, she’s scared, and I’m going to guess she’s heartbroken, based on what you’ve told me. Go, Drew. Go show her she doesn’t need to be any of those things anymore.”

Chapter Forty-Eight

Kate

He’s there, holding my tiny hand in his big one. Stroking my thumb with his. He tells me he loves me, and that I’m his. That I’ll always be his and that he’s so sorry he let me down. My heart swells with love for him. Just like it did when I was a small child.