Page 1 of The Last Love Song
Chapter One
Staring into her suitcase, Heather Finley wondered what a twenty-eight-year-old should pack to run away from home.
A lifetime “good girl,” Heather hadn’t tried running away as a ten-year-old, like most kids. As an adult, she knew she needed more than clean underwear and chocolate chip cookies. Although, come to think of it, she definitely wanted both of those. Peeling off her floral headpiece, she tossed aside her last commitment to Heartache, Tennessee.
At least, for a little while.
“Isn’t it supposed to be the bride who packs a bag during the wedding reception?”
Heather turned to see her older sister, Erin, in the doorway of the bedroom they’d shared as kids. Swathed in white and incredibly gorgeous, Erin had her caramel-colored hair pulled back in a loose knot with a vintage rhinestone pin secured to the twist.
Outside, the backyard wedding reception was in full swing. Dinner had been served and guests danced, even though it wasn’t fully dark yet. Twilight had just fallen and the purple Chinese lanterns around the white canvas tents had turned ona few minutes ago. Heather could see the party from the big bay window overlooking the backyard. She’d always loved this room—including the years she’d shared it with Erin. It had been a retreat from the craziness of the Finley household and their mom’s notorious mood swings. Heather and Erin had spent the last two nights before Erin’s wedding to Remy Weldon in their childhood bedroom, enjoying girl time and giggling about Erin’s future as a married woman.
“Have I told you that you are the most beautiful bride?” Heather got teary just looking at Erin today. Not only because she adored her sister and was happy she’d found a supportive, grounded, hunky Cajun partner for life, but also because Heather wouldn’t be seeing her for a while once she left town.
She may have also gotten teary because she was lying about her reasons for leaving Heartache. The guilt was killing her, even if her reasons were excellent.
“You may have mentioned the beautiful-bride thing.” Erin grinned as she twirled her way across the hardwood floor of the old farmhouse, watching her floor-length tulle skirt swirl. “But since I’m so in love with this dress, I don’t mind another compliment.” She stopped beside Heather and clutched her arm to steady herself after the last spin. “That is, of course, unless you’re doling out praise to distract me from my question about why you’re packing when the party is still going strong?”
Erin pointed out the window where two hundred of their closest friends and family danced to the tunes of a popular country band their brother, Mack, had convinced to play. As the owner of a bar in Nashville, Mack had access to great musicians—lucky for him. For all her love of music, Heather was still stuck in Heartache teaching scales to resistant nine-year-olds.
She squeezed Erin’s shoulders, careful of the sheer lace bodice that transformed the dress from fairy tale to sophisticated—and perfect for Erin’s eclectic taste. The cut wassimple and sleeveless, the lace’s pattern dramatic with see-through sections. Paired with the simple fall of straight tulle, the wedding gown was unlike anything Heather had ever seen.
“I’m not trying to distract you. Trying to distractmyselffrom my nerves is more like it.” She managed a half smile for a half-truth. She definitely would have been happy to sidetrack her sister from this topic. She was jittery enough without justifying her need to leave town.
Or telling more lies.
“You know I’m going to be rooting for you all the way, right?” Erin plunked down onto the chenille bedspread on one of three matching single beds. They used to play Goldilocks and the Three Bears when they were kids, pretending to try out all three beds lined up in a row, headboards tucked under the eaves.
That third bed—their sister Amy’s—had been glaringly empty. The youngest Finley sibling hadn’t attended the wedding. She hadn’t set foot in Tennessee after leaving home at seventeen because of an argument with their mom. Heather had been out of town at the time. She had been devastated to return home to find Amy filing paperwork to become an emancipated minor. Amy had refused all money from their father and accused the family of enabling their mother’s behavior.
“I know.” Heather was grateful for Erin’s support about her new adventure, especially when Erin had so much on her mind with her honeymoon and the transition to being a stepmother with a teenage daughter.
“You’re so talented,” Erin said. “It’s about damn time you let the world see your bright light shine.”
Heather had sold her share of the consignment store she owned with Erin back to her sister so she could follow her own dreams—finally. As a part-time music teacher and full-time worker with Last Chance Vintage, Heather had always imagined trying her luck at singing, but up until now, she’d found toomany reasons to put off stepping out of her comfort zone. Her family needed her. Her bipolar mother, especially, needed her. But there were other things, too. Heather volunteered at the local parks and recreation department, trying to maintain civic ties to the community, which had been important to her father. She had music students who counted on her. She’d also been a driving force getting Last Chance Vintage off the ground. But now, Erin had really made the shop her own, expanding it to double the former size. And after a recent health-scare reality check, Heather was done putting her own life on hold.
“It seemed like the right time to give it a try now thatAmerican Voiceis holding auditions in Charlotte.” Heather’s gaze wandered the room in an effort to change the subject. While she knew she had Erin’s support, she hadn’t really talked about how long she would be gone or howsoonshe planned to ditch town. And she didn’t want to slide into that particular chat right now.
Heather’s friend and former music student, Sylvia, had offered her a place to stay in Nashville for a couple of months if she wanted to knock on some doors in the country-music business. It was a good plan B. “But you didn’t come up here to listen to me talk about my plans. Where’s your suitcase? Can I help you pack for your honeymoon?”
She moved to Erin’s bed—still unmade from the night before when they’d painted each other’s toenails and eaten popcorn while watching movies. Plucking at a corner of the spread where it pooled on the floor, she reached for the handle of Erin’s train case.
“That’s okay. We’re not leaving yet. We’re thinking about waiting around until after the wedding breakfast tomorrow since there are so many friends from out of town we’d like to visit with.” Erin stood and pulled the curtains over the windows,making the room darker. “Right now, I thought I’d change dresses so I can really cut loose on the dance floor.”
“Of course.” Heather let go of the luggage and hurried toward the closet. “Did you decide what to wear yet?” She pulled out a couple of hotly debated options. “The pink lace halter dress or the blue satin pinup-girl number?”
“Remy warned me not to wear the satin one. He says he won’t last ten minutes in public with me in that dress.” Erin’s smile glowed with that “I’m sexy and I know it” brand of joy a well-satisfied woman tended to get. Not that Heather would know anything about that. Her last relationship had been with a guy she’d chosen because he’d checked all the right boxes.
No wonder they’d had zero chemistry.
“In other words, it comes down to this. Do you want to torment the groom a lot?” She held up the slinky blue one. “Or a little?” She held up the pink one, which was still a stunner.
Then again, everything looked amazing on a woman who had that “I’m sexy and I know it” glow.
“Maybe just a little.” Erin slid down the side zipper of her wedding dress and stepped out of it. She handed the gown to Heather and took the pink lace. “I still can’t believe I’m a married woman six months after meeting the man of my dreams.”
“When it’s right, you know it.” Heather’s heart had hurt for Erin when her private sister had finally opened up about Mr. Not Right, who had come before Remy—a guy who’d been married to someone else and never let on while dating Erin.
