Page 7 of Love Rescheduled

My eyes stung for how lucky I felt to have such wonderful friends in my life. I may not have many, but the ones I have are golden. “Thank you.”

“Well, I think we should get this party started. Should we plan a road trip and go wedding dress shopping?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I think we, I mean I, should probably go on a few dates before we hit up a bridal shop.”

“Oh, fine. But think about it. It could be an incentive if you saw a gorgeous dress that cost a fortune in your closet.”

I laughed. “That’s true, but people would really think I was crazy if I picked out a wedding dress without a groom in sight.”

“Uh …,” she hesitated. “I’m just going to throw this out there, but since you’re being all ‘hear me roar’ right now, do you think maybe you should call Josh?”

“No,” I was quick to say. “Number one on my list is he can’t be famous, and he must be home more than away. Besides, you know what Josh said to me.” I could still hear the words distinctly in my head: “If you walk out that door, there is no coming back. We’re done.” Sobbing, I had walked out the door and looked back. I stood in the hall of his complex and stared at that door, begging myself to walk back through it, to be someone I wasn’t. In the end, I realized it wouldn’t be good for either of us. And I thought maybe if he didn’t mean what he said, he would have opened the door and come after me. That doorknob never twisted.

“I know. I just always got the feeling he regretted it.”

“He moved on awfully fast.”

“I think he regretted that, too.”

“Are you still talking to him?” I had to wonder. Not like I would forbid it or even be upset by it. Tara and Jolene loved Josh like everyone else. Not only that, but Josh had helped Jolene catch a big break at the best comedy club in Nashville, Laugh on Tap. Josh had convinced the owner to give Jolene a shot and let her open for him a few years back.

“Not since Jolene and I ran into him last year when he was visiting his folks here.”

“Then where is all this ‘talk to Josh’ stuff coming from lately?”

“I don’t know, Nat. I just think there might be some unfinished business between the both of you. And let’s be honest, you guys were good together. You had the whole yin and yang thing going.”

“Polar opposites.”

“Yes, but also connected forces. There can be magic in opposites.”

“What are you saying?” I flinched. “I made a mistake?”

“I’m not saying that. I know how hard Josh’s life was for you. It would be for a lot of women. And I definitely don’t see you living in LA. That wouldn’t be good for you. It’s just that you’re still in love with him. That has to mean something.”

“It does. It means I loved him enough to let him go so he could live his dreams.”

“It was very noble of you. I mean that. But are you sure your feelings for him won’t impede your new adventure?”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Why would they?” I stuttered out.

“It’s just something to think about. It’s the way my romance-writer brain thinks. True love never dies, you know?”

“It’s not supposed to. If it did, it wouldn’t be true. But people can have more than one true love, right?” I was praying the answer was yes or all of this was a moot point, because I would always love Josh.

She didn’t answer right away, making me nervous. Like heart palpitations and sweaty upper lip kind of nervous. “Tara,” I squeaked out into the silence.

“I think it’s possible,” she reluctantly agreed.

“Are you just saying that?”

“No. But … I have to say, a love like yours and Josh’s … well … I’m not sure that comes around more than once.”

Ouch. How was it that the truth can hurt more than lies? But she was right. Josh and I had had something special. At least for a while. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it was, in a word, magical. Until it wasn’t. “We argued a lot,” I reminded her, and myself. Not only that, his lifestyle constantly had me feeling like I was going to crawl out of my skin. That was no way to live.

“Like most couples do.”

“But it was about big things.”

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