Page 14 of Sinner's Vow

Everything in me lifted when she smiled and a breathy little laugh rose over her lips. “Honestly, I don’t even know. I…I just sold the house two weeks ago and have been trying to figure out what next. I didn’t have much control over my own life for so long. And now…”

“Now, anything is possible,”I said with a smile.

As I reached for her hand, aiming into one of the casinos, I looked back at her. “Ever been to Australia?”

She’d smiled in confusion and shook her head.

I breathe harder as I sit up in the bed. My brain is on the other side of the world as some of the fog of that night clears away. I don’t even see the plush carpet at my feet.

Because as I comb through that night, it suddenly rises to the surface.

Kennedy and I went into that bar. We had a few drinks.

And then I told her my darkest secret. The one I’ve never told anyone.

“Kennedy!” I call out as my eyes go wide and I rise to my feet.

But only silence answers me back. I check my phone and panic sets in.

I had set my alarm for twenty minutes before I’m supposed to be at the sound check.

But I have to talk to my wife before the show.

I don’t findKennedy before the sound check starts. There isn’t time to look. I try calling, but her phone goes straight to voicemail like it’s dead. I’m distracted, nervous, antsy as we go through the soundcheck.

And then she’s there.

I watch as Kennedy walks out onto the stage, and it’s almost amazing to me. She doesn’t look any different. She doesn’t look like the world just shifted and everything that’s been eating her alive is out in the open now.

But I know now.

I know what I’ve told her.

“Hey,” she says, giving me the same smile she’s given me since we headed out on this tour. One that’s a little hurt, one that’s a little forced.

I just blink at her twice, at a complete loss for words.

But I don’t have to say anything. Because our cue comes up and we move on to the sound check.

“I need to talk to you,” I say as soon as she and I are finished. “Can you wait for me?”

She looks at me and hesitates for just a moment. Of course she wonders what for. But she nods. “See you in a little bit.”

I nod too as she walks away.

“What the fuck is wrong with you today?” Tyler asks as he walks across the stage, his guitar strap over his shoulder. “We can’t have another show like New York. What the hell is going on?”

“I’m fine,” I say, looking away from him.

“No, you’re not,” he says as he plucks out a test chord on this guitar. “I don’t know why you can’t talk to me.”

Growing up, Tyler and I were always close. Who wants to start a band with their kid brother? I did, and we’ve always had each other’s backs, even if we bust each other’s balls.

But not this. I can’t with this.

So I ignore him, and we finish out the sound check.

My heart is racingas I wander down the hall to look for Kennedy. It’s all been coming to a head with this. All the blanks, all the wondering, and now I think I finally know.

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