Page 111 of Rumor Has It

Cassidy cradles my cheeks in her palm. “You told me you were caring for Aria until you found her father.”

“No.” My face crumbles. “I don’t want that anymore. I love her.”

I was Kylie’s safe spot and look where that got me. Hurt and used. Making excuses for my emotionally unavailable mother and reliant upon a slim support system. Before my wife died, I’d been ready, waiting to settle down.

I want a family.

“I know you do. I know you do,” she whispers, licking a tear that’s fallen onto her lip.

“You’re her mother.” My stomach clenches.

“No.” A wretched sob racks her chest. “I’m not.”

“We’re her parents.” I grab her hip.

She lifts her skirt so she can straddle my lap. “We’re the people who loved her when her parents couldn’t.”

“How can we let her go?” I thumb her tears. I made her cry.

Cassidy’s ass rests on my knees. She leans forward, tucking her head under my chin and covering me like a warm blanket. “Because we love her, Isaiah. Aria won’t remember Kylie. She’ll be an adult before she comprehends everything your wife put you through, and she’ll have a long road to travel to make peace with who Kylie was and not believe any of this was her fault. But Aria will never forget you loved her enough to do the right thing.”

“How?”

“Because, even if we’re Aria’s second choice while she’s growing up, even if it means we have to scrounge for the morsels Dillon allows us, we’ll be there for her. And if her world ever crumbles, she needs to know we’re still the safe spot she can land.”

Chapter Forty-four

Just hours after his performance on stage at the CMN Awards, country music’s Isaiah Roomer canceled tour dates for the following weeks. Representatives for Roomer stated he is attend to a personal family matter and that he apologizes for disappointing his fans.

CASSIDY

“Thank you.” Vespa places her coffee cup down and digs into the eggs Benedict I prepared for a late breakfast.

She arranged for us to remain at the same hotel in Austin, but—after I texted Rhiannon and Bellamy a quicktravel home safely—we moved to a different suite on a higher floor that can only be reached by a private elevator. This one has four bedrooms and a larger living area with a kitchen. Considering the rest of the suite’s amenities, the space was probably meant for a personal chef.

Vespa sequestered us here three days ago. I started getting grocery orders almost as soon as I unpacked my bags, and when I opened the kitchen cabinets, my fuckoffee mug was on a shelf.

Isaiah’s CMN award is on the counter. I wipe a dry dishcloth over the dust it’s collecting. It lacks the shine it had when he and Piper gave their acceptance speeches.

The morning following the awards show, Isaiah told the tour company to scrub any concert dates for the next two weeks. He was supposed to have time off for vocal rest going into the weekend, but legalities take up most of Isaiah’s attention. That he couldn’t care less about performing comes in second. His heart isn’t able to give his fans his all.

I don’t blame him.

My heart is hollow, too.

When I’m not cooking, there isn’t much else to do. I didn’t bring Benita’s recipe box with me, and I lack the ambition to ask if I can get it. Most of the time, I’d like to curl under the covers, block out the world, and wait for the sun to shine again. But the sad fact is, when Isaiah and I finally collapse into bed each night, unable to bear grieving over a dream we were holding too tightly to, the sun has been out. It hasn’t rained a single day.

“When Isaiah finishes strategizing with Will and the PR team, we need to talk about which of the rescheduled tour dates for this fall you might have a conflict with.”

I want to ask Vespa why, but I go with “Okay” and keep wiping invisible stains off the stove.

If we weren’t grappling with a million other issues, the change in the way she’s treating me would still make me uneasy.

The knock at the door makes me toss the towel against the backsplash. I scurry to the door as Monty enters. Aria sits in the crook of his elbow, baby babbling.

“Look who it is,” Monty says to get Aria to stop squeezing his cheek.

“MummMumm,”Aria hums when she sees me.

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