Page 78 of The Last Love Song
“I’m surprised you’d try to give the mayor’s job to me then.” She blinked, not wanting to feel tears in her eyes. Had she been too selfish to see what was right in front of her? That Zach needed to stay in Heartache as badly as she needed to leave?
“Maybe I thought a Finley would always do a better job than I could.” He shrugged. “I sure as hell wouldn’t be handing it over to Tiffany McCord or half the rest of the town council.”
“You do a great job, Zach. My dad would be happy with the way you’ve run things, and it’s clear the town’s pleased with you, too.”
“If I had my sister’s stalker behind bars, maybe it would be easier to walk away. But I can’t turn my back on that and the town, too, no matter how much I care about you and want you to be happy.”
The words echoed hollowly in the mostly empty room, bouncing off the floor and bare walls to rattle around inside her. He wanted her to be happy. Just not enough to come with her.
Not enough to walk away from what mattered most to him.
“I understand.” Her words sounded stilted.
“Do you?” He cupped her chin and lifted her face to look in her eyes. “Because if you’re serious about being together, like you said you are, we can figure something out. Leaving Heartache tomorrow doesn’t mean you’re gone forever.”
“I can’t think past the audition.” And she certainly wasn’t ready to think about giving up after the audition and moving back to Heartache for good. She stood abruptly, needing to move. Unable to feel the weight of his rejection on her shoulders. She was supposed to sing her heart out for total strangers in less than forty-eight hours’ time. “I mean, I am serious that I care about you and want to be with you. I just want to get through this audition.”
“That’s understandable.” His hazel eyes followed her as she stalked the room like a caged animal. “We’re both under a lot of pressure. I hate that I can’t be there for you. You should have someone rooting for you in Charlotte.”
“I have a friend who might go with me.” She said it mostly so he wouldn’t worry about her. She hadn’t heard much from Sylvia lately, but her former student had told her she’d love to go to Charlotte and cheer her on. “Maybe I’ll stop in Nashville tomorrow to pick her up. But you definitely don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
Bad enough he’d seen her when her illness had all but incapacitated her. She didn’t want to be another responsibility on the list of people he took care of: the nursing home residents, Megan, his sister, the whole town of Heartache…
She paused by the door, needing to leave and half hoping he would try to stop her. But he didn’t move. She had gambled with her heart and it hadn’t paid off. That’s what a gamble meant—the reward was not guaranteed.
And all the rationalization in the world didn’t make the ache in her chest hurt less.
“It’s not a weakness to need someone, Heather.” Finally, he rose to join her at the door, making her realize she was already fumbling with the knob.
“Sometimes it feels like it.” She stepped outside. The sun had lowered on the horizon. The fairgrounds were full of more booths but fewer people than when she’d walked the property earlier.
“Will you still come home with me now?” he asked, sliding an arm around her waist and holding her against him for a long moment while she breathed in his scent. Memorized the feel of him. “I want to hold you tonight. Especially if I won’t see you again for a while.”
She swallowed hard. Tempted beyond reason.
“If I spend the night with you, I might not have the heart to leave after the press conference tomorrow.” She brushed a kiss along his cheek and forced herself to pull away. “And I would never want to look back and feel like I gave up my dream for love.”
Even as she said it, she remembered what Nina had told her about modifying a dream to fit a new circumstance. About dreaming new dreams. Together.
But Zach’s rejection hurt. And maybe she wasn’t ready to give up her dream yet.
Zach locked up behind her and she tried to pretend her heart wasn’t breaking. To distract herself, she opened her messaging program and shot a note to Sylvia.
How’d you like to go to Charlotte tomorrow for myAmerican Voiceaudition?
She’d barely hit Send when she received a reply.
I can’t wait! Pick me up at noon?Sylvia included a link to a doughnut place on an interstate exit just outside town for the pickup. It would save her driving all the way into Nashville.
Small consolation, considering what she really wanted. For Zach Chance to return her feelings, make love to her all night long and sit beside her on the way to her audition.
So far, her experience with taking big risks was not a happy one. But she’d be damned if she’d look back at her life and have regrets. She’d put her heart on the line for once. Now all she had to do was figure out how to recover from that trauma. She was pretty sure her new doctor wouldn’t have a medicine for that.
Chapter Eighteen
“I’m so bored,I’m going to lose my mind.” Megan spoke into the speakerphone on her cell since she was using her hands to wage battle against mutant zombies online.
But she was grateful that Bailey had called her after the days of boredom with nothing but school and work and police interviews. It was like being grounded at home by the cops instead of her father, although the end result was just as mind-numbing.
