Page 62 of No More Love Songs

“I wasn’t tired,” she says, but she sounds so out of it, I’m not sure it’s true. “And then Gray called.”

“Oh?”

“I have go home,” she rattles the words off so fast, I’m almost not sure I heard them right.

“When?”

“Now.” Her eyes dart around the kitchen, landing everywhere but me. “I already called for a car, but I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye. And you’ll probably be out on a climb when I head out, so...” her voice trails off right along with her words.

“What’s really going on here, Sky?” I take a step toward her, forcing her to look at me. “Why are you suddenly hellbent on bolting?”

“I’m not,” she pauses, blinking like she’s struggling for clarity, “bolting.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“I’m just going home. Back to my real life. My work.” She crosses her arms over her chest. I recognize the gesture. It has little to do with stubbornness and everything to do with shielding her heart. “I don’t know why you’re acting like that’s such a crazy idea. We always knew this was temporary, right? Just a handful of moments.”

I laugh, but I’m hardly amused. “Yeah, sure.” I shake my head. “But if this is some stupid test you cooked up in a panic after feeling too exposed, too connected, know this Sky, I’m not going to chase after you.” I spent half my marriage chasing after a woman who never wanted to be caught. And when I finally found a way to let her go, I swore to myself I’d never chase anyone ever again.

“I know that.” Her face slowly starts to drain of color, and I can see her clench her jaw repeatedly. “But I appreciate the reminder.” She starts to turn on her heel. She’s about to walk away from me. I stretch out my hand, catching hers just before she moves out of my reach.

“Sky.” I have a million things I want her to know, but her name is all I manage say out loud.

She turns back to look at me over her shoulder. “You have to let me go, Kit.” She sounds calm. Calculated. And I suddenly remember there’s a whole other side of her I’ve never met. She’s not just the artist who writes and sings. She’s a brand. A businesswoman. One of the most successful in the industry. “You have to let me go, because my ex-husband just bought his way into my record label. Because I need to go home and record the album I set out to record before I met you so that the label will fire me. Because I can’t make music knowing that my ex-husband can touch it, can demand I change it, can decide it’s not good enough. Because he can’t have a piece of it. Because having a piece of my music would mean having a piece of me.” She stops to take a long, slow breath in and out. When she speaks again, her voice is soft and tender, and every bit the Sky I know her to be, “I can’t write an album they’ll reject if I stay here with you, Kit. And I can’t risk losing everything on a dream I may or may not wake up from in tears.”

My brain was still trying to catch up to everything she was saying about her label and her ex, when the last of her words hit me. Now, none of the rest matters.

“What the hell are you talking about? What exactly do you think we have here?” I ask her, my voice dropping low with the emotions rising. “It’s not some goddamn dream you’re going to wake up from, Sky. How can you not see what’s real when it’s standing right in front of you?”

Her lip quivers and I realize she’s afraid to answer me. Because I haven’t actually spelled it out yet.

So, I do.

“Yes, Sky,” I tell her, tugging at her hand until she turns all the way around and I can draw her to me. “I’m in love with you. And all the things you’ve been feeling since you’ve been out here, with me, all the words you keep scribbling on your notepad, and the hours we’ve spent laughing and sharing and crying, they all amount to the same thing. Because you’re in love with me, too. We’re in love. This is love.” I lean down until my nose touches her. “Did I leave any room at all for your brain to misinterpret things?”

“This is love,” she whispers tentatively. It sounds even better when she says it.

“This is love.” I confirm one more time. For all the fears and doubts still buried within her to hear. “Can I kiss you now?”

“Yes, please.”

Then her lips are on mine and all time for talking stops. She snakes her arms around my neck, holding me close, holding herself close to me, and it’s all I need to know, her heart was never going anywhere.

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