Page 29 of We Wish You a Happily Ever After

Chapter Nine

Bella had barely caughther breath when Kyle barked out the orders.

“Take it from the top!”

The top?

“Like that last song, or—”

“The top of the set,” Kyle interrupted before she could finish the question.

It was a stupid one, anyway. She’d worked with Kyle and the rest of the band for long enough to know how they worked. Hard.

It was how they’d managed to be as successful as they had been so far. And it’s exactly why they’d gotten the Christmas gig. They were all perfectionists. It was one of the things that Bella liked most about them all.

But they’d been at it for hours. It was past midnight already. True to her word, Bella had left Glacier Falls right away. She’d taken enough time to talk to Papa, apologizing profusely for leaving him when they had such plans for Christmas in the house. Just the way she knew he’d be, Papa was gracious and supportive. He insisted that she leave right away and follow her dream.

“Dreams don’t work if you don’t, Bella. When an opportunity comes up, you need to take it or you’ll spend the rest of your life regretting it.”

She’d swallowed back the lump in her throat, taken the bag of food he packed for her while she was throwing her clothes in a bag, and with one last long hug and the promise to come back as soon as she could, she’d left.

“One more,” Bella told the guys as she chugged back a bottle of water. “I need to rest my voice if I’m going to be at the top of my game tomorrow.”

“And we have a sound check at five,” Kyle added. “Which means I want one final run through at nine sharp.”

She shook her head a little as she capped the bottle and set it down. But as soon as Bella had straightened and stood up, there was a smile on her face. Her dreams were coming true. This was everything she wanted. And she was going to get it.

As they started the set list again, Bella lost herself in the music. She closed her eyes and poured everything she had into song after song, because she knew if she gave herself the space to start thinking, she’d be lost.

It was the same reason she’d turned her phone to silent and ignored all the text messages and calls from Jeremy. She couldn’t allow herself the opportunity to dwell on Glacier Falls, not even for a moment. She needed to focus.

It was the only way.

* * *

“She’s gone.”

Gone.

Bella was gone.

Jeremy replayed the conversation he’d had with Roy earlier that night at least a dozen times in his head. Maybe more. It still didn’t make any sense.

“But she didn’t call.”

The old man had simply shrugged, but the look on his face was clear. He felt sorry for Jeremy. Or maybe it was for himself.

Bella had left him, too.

But at least he’d gotten to say good-bye.

“I don’t understand…”

Jeremy knew he’d sounded like a fool. A weak, twisted up by a woman, fool but he couldn’t help it.

Earlier that day, he’d been on top of the world, ready to tell her that he was falling for her. Hard.

And she’d just left?

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