Page 75 of A Love Song for Dreamers

“I don’t see why not. But aside from hitching a ride on the charter, what’s therush?”

He heaves out a breath. “Because after this party…I’m staying in LA. My hand surgery is next week and after that, I’m scheduled to go back into thestudio.”

“Oh.” The backs of my eyesburn.

He threads the fingers of his good hand into my hair, pulling me againsthim.

I want to tell him not to go, but that feels petty and childish. I know it’s not only the logistics that are keeping us apart. The last time I went all in on him, I lost him. We’re older now, smarter, but the possibility of him changing his mind, or of the lives we’re building coming between us, is the most awful thing I canimagine.

He moves behind me, wraps his arms around my waist. “Sing me that songagain.”

I close my eyes and give in to the feeling and do as heasks.

I pretend for a moment it could always be this way—him asking for things, me knowing I can give them to him, that I can make this man happy. This man who, by breathing, gives me so damnedmuch.

“It’s beautiful,” he says. “What happens when this pitch session goeswell?”

Needing to distance myself even a few inches, I mix the cereal into the bowl, then spread the mixture into a pan, pressing it down with a woodenspoon.

“Ifit goes well,” I amend, “we get commitment to move forward.” I take the pan to the freezer and return to him. “Then, if we keep meeting stage gates and the reception is strong… we could be off-Broadway in one year. On Broadway in two orthree.”

“Years. In NewYork.”

Hope swells inside me, but it’s bittersweet. “That’s the dream. And it is a dream, Tyler. For so long I’ve wanted to be in the spotlight. I thought it was about me, but after doing the first show, I learned it’s more than that. When you’re performing live, you get to be intimate with people. Whether it’s a few hundred or thousands, they’re not a crowd. You’re touching every person in that audience. People like us who are questioning if they’ve got it figured out, or who know they don’t and can’t see a way forward. People who need a flash of inspiration, something out of the ordinary. People who need to feel somethingreal.”

He watches me steadily as he strokes a thumb down my cheek. “I have a call with my label this afternoon, but if you want someone to rehearse withfirst…”

“I’d lovethat.”

Tyler’s eyes crinkle at the corners. “Then let’s go to work. I’m allyours.”

But my chest aches because I want the second part of his vow more than thefirst.

17

“Table for Annie Jamieson,”I tell the woman at the front of the trendy restaurant inLA.

I follow her back to a table tucked into thecorner.

“You requested something with privacy. How’s this?” sheasks.

“Perfect. Thank you.” I sit facing the door and watch people driftin.

The full weight of my attention is on thismeeting.

I don’t even know this woman, but I want to like her—and I want her to likeme.

I smooth the skirt of my simple black dress and wonder if I should’ve worn my hair up instead ofdown.

The nerves didn’t hit me when I confirmed the meeting time, not even on the charter flight with my dad, Tyler, and Shay earliertoday.

They’re hitting menow.

A waitress comes by and offers me the drink menu. “Would you likesomething?”

“Sure, I’ll have a glass of pinotgrigio.”

I recognize her the second she walks in. Her hair is red like mine, and her mouth pulls into a startledsmile.

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