Page 23 of California Love Songs
He needed to get back to the easy friendship they’d enjoyed in high school, when he’d come home and find her and Erin doing homework at the kitchen table, his mom cooking dinner and supervising. They’d both been so smart. So studious.
“I was just thinking about how serious you were in high school,” Damien said after a while, his voice slicing through the quiet. “You wanted to be a doctor. Erin was always going to be a writer, but you were headed for medicine.”
Crystal chuckled, a lighthearted sound that didn’t match the sad expression in her eyes. “Yeah, Dr. Lopez, saving lives one patient at a time. That was the dream.”
Her smile was breezy, but behind it lay a shadow that Damien had learned to recognize—a dream deferred, tucked away but never forgotten.
“Is it still something you think about?” he prodded gently, watching her face for any sign of the passion she held for that unfulfilled ambition.
“Sometimes,” she admitted with a shrug, walking around a wildflower along the path. “But life has a way of reshaping dreams, doesn’t it? Look at us now—I’m orchestrating I do’s, and you’re composing romantic anthems.”
Damien gave her a wry smile. He hadn’t yet agreed to write a song for Mila, but that was Crystal all over—optimistic and stubborn. More gently, he said, “Maybe some dreams are worth chasing, no matter how life tries to rewrite them.”
She was silent. He hoped she felt his subtle nudge for her to reconsider what might have been.
Crystal shifted her weight as she navigated a tricky elevation and then adjusted her baseball cap to block the sun’s strong afternoon rays. He sensed that she was about to say something difficult.
“You know, after my dad left, everything changed for Mom and me. The dream of medical school became a luxury we couldn’t afford, even with the scholarship. I had to help out with the house payments and my little brother and sister. I had to get a job.”
Damien exhaled. He’d never realized that she’d become a party planner out of necessity rather than as a life choice.
She moved forward again, her gaze fixed on the path ahead. “I started waitressing for an event planning company and when things went wrong—and something unexpected pretty much always happens—I had a knack for finding a solution, smoothing things so that the client never even knew there was a problem. After a while, the company owner promoted me to junior planner. Instead of just helping out with bills at home, I became the main breadwinner. It was supposed to be temporary, but I had a knack for it. Before I knew it, I was building a career.”
“Sounds like you made the best of a tough situation.” Damien hoped his tone was even and reassuring, though his heart had plummeted at the thought that Crystal’s life hadn’t panned out the way she’d wanted it to.
“Maybe,” Crystal mused, her voice tinged with a hint of defiance. “But I’m proud of what I’ve built. When the owner retired, I took over the business and expanded. My business—it’s about giving people happiness on their most important days. Making a wedding extra special, or a birthday memorable. That counts for something, right?”
“Of course it does,” Damien agreed, his eyes locking with hers, earnest and intense. “But that doesn’t mean you have to give up your dreams. Look at me—I’m thinking about starting over as a jazz musician. Everyone’s going to think I’m crazy.”
“Not me,” Crystal said quickly. “Look at Sting, nominated for a Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental. And Paul McCartney wrote an opera.”
Damien raised an eyebrow. He’d never heard that opera and figured there was probably a reason why. But he wasn’t going to let Crystal deflect that easily. “Well, I can definitely see you as Dr. Lopez.”
“Easy for you to say,” Crystal countered, half-serious, half-playful. “You’ll be transitioning from one kind of music to another. I’d be changing professions completely and looking at years of training.”
He laughed, because that’s exactly the thought he’d just had about her. “But what if medicine is still your passion?” Damien challenged. “You’re one of the most determined people I know. If there’s even a part of you still wanting to pursue it, then why not explore it? You owe it to yourself.”
“Damien, it’s been years since I dreamed of being a doctor. I’ve got responsibilities, clients…” She trailed off, but in that pause he could see she was caught between the pragmatic and the possible.
“Responsibilities can be managed. Clients will understand. And if they don’t, they’re not worth your time. Crystal, I’ve seen you work miracles for those clients. Imagine what you could do for patients, for the world.” More gently he added, “If that’s what you want to do.”
His words hung between them. A challenge wrapped in encouragement. For a fleeting moment, he enjoyed watching as she allowed herself the luxury of a what-if. But then her expression changed and reality, like the roots that crisscrossed the hiking trail, brought her back to earth.
She shook her head, the ponytail swishing across her back. “Let’s focus on getting down this mountain without breaking our necks, okay?”
Damien was surprised at how quickly she turned all business again. But that was Crystal: capable and outrageously organized—even when it came to controlling her own hopes and dreams. He understood her reluctance to consider the possibility of change. Of course he did—he’d just gone through the whole agonizing process himself. And he’d decided that yes, change was good. It was needed. And he had to follow his dream of writing jazz music and taking a step back from the merry-go-round tour life he’d been living all this time. Even if it felt weird and filled him with self-doubt, he was committed to trying something new. He wanted the same thing for Crystal.
More than anyone he knew in the world, she deserved to live her dream.
He surveyed the beautiful vista before them and realized that the only thing more gorgeous was Crystal herself. The thought went through him like a lightning bolt as his brain found the words. There is no one more beautiful than Crystal Lopez.
Had he really been blind all these years? He used the landscape as an excuse to regain his composure, shielding his eyes against the sun and taking deep breaths of the pine-scented air. Exhaling, he knew that he would have to play things carefully. He couldn’t risk jeopardizing their friendship just because he’d suddenly noticed she was hot. Nor could he push Crystal to make changes in her life until she was ready.
“All right. But this isn’t over, Dr. Lopez. Not by a long shot.”
Chapter Ten
When Damien called her Dr. Lopez, Crystal felt all her old enthusiasm return with a rush. Maybe she’d watched too much Grey’s Anatomy lately, but she’d be right at home in the hustle and bustle of a city hospital. Or maybe her calling was family medicine. She had no idea, but deep down the old dream was beginning to stir.
