Page 26 of Harrison's Wedding

I quickly text back.

Thanks for letting me know. Love you too, angel.

In the evening, I’m looking through paperwork from our lawyer about some of Cruise Control’s brand deals when my phone rings and Heather’s name is on the screen.

“Hey, angel. You obviously got to New York safely.”

“Yes, I did. Sorry I didn’t call sooner. Ally met me at the airport, and we went to lunch in Manhattan. Paparazzi were bothering us everywhere we went.”

I frown and sigh. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, but we had a good time, anyway. Enough about me, how did it go at Reid Music?”

I smile at the memories and gush, “It was amazing. My guitar is everything I could ever have imagined. I wish you could’ve been there. The factory was like nothing I’ve ever seen. So many musical instruments being made, and luthiers crafting guitars, and machines putting things together. I could’ve spent hours walking through there and been happy.”

“I’m glad to hear it was so good. What happens now?”

“They’ll make a prototype for me to test out, then when I sign off, it’ll go into production.”

Heather’s voice softens, and she sounds so sweet and lovely when she says, “I’m so proud of you, honey.”

A wave of longing for her washes over me. I miss her already, and I won’t get to see her for three more days.

“Thanks. I miss you.”

“I miss you too. I’m tired, so I’m going to go to bed, but it’s never the same without you in the bed with me,” she tells me, punctuating her words with a yawn.

“It’s the same for me. You sound tired, though, so I’ll let you go. I love you.”

“Okay, I’ll just go to sleep in this big, lonely bed on my own. I love you, and I miss you. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Good night, angel. Sleep well.”

I hang up the call and look at my phone for a few seconds, missing the connection with Heather. Being apart always feels wrong, and I don’t know how we’re going to cope in October when I’m out at Galena with the guys.

I fall asleep later that night, dreaming of Heather.

* * *

The next day,I get a call from Gabriel mid-morning. “Heather’s in New York, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, why?” I ask apprehensively.

“Want to come to dinner with Ariana and me?”

“Sure, sounds good. Anyone else coming?”

“Hayden’s got a date tonight,”—he hesitates for a second before continuing—“I didn’t know if I should ask Seb or not.”

I purse my lips as I think about it. It’s not likely that he’ll want to come, but if we don’t invite him and he finds out, he’ll probably still be pissed. I hate that we’ve been reduced to these kinds of schoolyard shenanigans.

“I’ll call him to ask and let you know.”

“Okay.”

Gabriel sounds relieved that he doesn’t have to call, and again, I’m frustrated that everything has devolved to this. I hang up from Gabriel and dial Seb’s number. It goes to voicemail, so I ask him to call me back and hang up.

I’m sitting at my computer, looking through my emails, when Sebastian calls me back. I feel a rush of trepidation as I answer.

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