Page 66 of Perfect Pitch

The outside has my name scrawled on it.

I try to slide a finger beneath the seal but can’t. Frowning, I reach for a knife before I see a small tab. I give it a pull to reveal a red seal beneath. I tug the edges open and find a manilla folder inside with a note clipped to the exterior.

Sliding it out, I begin to read.

Beats—

Tit for tat.

Inside this file are the answers about me that correspond to everything I learned about you.

There could be a million of these and I suspect I still wouldn’t know everything I want to.

—Mitch

Forgetting about my coffee, I clutch the file to my chest. “How did he know it would make it okay?”

Because he’s showing me he knows he was wrong, I admit silently. By giving me this, he’s telling me he understood my hurt and anger.

Even though I would have loved to have learned all this from him, all the normal rituals of dating have been broken. Maybe that’s because of what Mitch does or inherently who he is. “He’s not ignoring my feelings.”

With that knowledge, I flip open the folder.

Subject: Mitchell Danner Clifton

Birthplace: Elwood, New York

Parents: Laurel (nee Barrow) (mother), Bruce Clifton (father)

Education (highest level): Saint Anthony’s High School

Annual Income...

I absorb the bare-bones facts about Mitch’s life. As I do, I realize he didn’t learn anything about me, not really. When I’m done with the brief, I conclude softly, “He could have easily run this check on anyone Trevor was living with.”

I close the file and bring it into Trevor’s office. Turning on the shredder, I destroy it without a qualm. All except the note.

Slowly, as the file disintegrates into little pieces of confetti, I use the tip of my finger to trace over his signature.

Wishing he’d decided to stay.

Then I could look him in the face when I apologize for my ricocheting emotions.

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

The first time I felt impassioned by Lorena McKinnit was during the teaser for Ever After with Drew Barrymore and Dougray Scott.

It definitely had something to do with a man in tights.

—Sexy&Social, All the Scandal You Can Handle

Steadily working, I’ve uploaded a few new tracks to my Spotify channel. I’ve barely left my room for water, let alone any other necessary functions. Music is where I escape to when I need to remind myself of who I am. It feeds my heart, rejuvenates my soul. And lately, it’s been neglected.

All because I’m daydreaming about light green eyes and a tattoo that’s inked deep in my thoughts.

If only I could feel it as it brushed up against my nipples. They pucker in delicious pain.

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