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“Since when do you fish?”
“Since when do you show up unannounced?” Skylar walked past Elena, bumping her shoulder into her. Elena spun around.
“Since you won’t answer any of your phone calls.”
“Maybe you should stop calling then.”
Skylar didn’t look back as she responded. She kept walking up the dock as if she had no interest in seeing Elena or hearing why she was in the Cove. The least she could do was listen to her. After all, Elena had made the long trek out here.
“Could you at least stop for a minute and listen to me?”
Elena watched as Skylar spun around to face her. Nothing but contempt was on her face, and it caught Elena off guard.
“Oh, like you listened to me nine years ago?” She scoffed. “Go home.”
“I can’t go home without you.”
The fuck, Elena? Way to make this sound like some Hallmark movie.
Even Skylar seemed confused by her choice of words. Elena pressed on, not wanting to give into the awkwardness she’d just created.
“The band needs you. I know you know about the tour.” The way Skylar gritted her teeth only confirmed that for Elena. “You know I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have to be. But the management company won’t go forward with the tour unless you agree to do it.”
Skylar shifted her weight from one foot to the other but remained silent. So, Elena continued.
“It’s twenty shows. That’s all. Less than four months and you’ll never have to see me again. But the band needs you. This is a big chance for all of us. Even you. I know things are probably great for you here with your boat and your dog, but this is big. Not many bands get a second chance, especially after the way ours ended. Everyone else is on board. We just need you. I know things ended badly between us, and I can’t change that, but this is bigger than that. How long are you going to make me grovel before you agree to come back?”
A slight smirk appeared on Skylar’s face, and for a moment, they weren’t two former lovers who now hated each other. They were simply Sky and Ellie. Elena almost let herself get pulled back into her memories, but Skylar’s response stopped her.
“I can’t just uproot my life here.”
“Well,” Elena returned the smile, trying to show Skylar she wasn’t here to start a fight, “who would want to leave the smell of fish behind?”
Is she smiling?
Skylar Ford was smiling. And not a forced smile, either. Elena had learned the difference. No, this was a genuine smile. It made Elena’s own smile widen. Maybe this visit was going to be easier than Elena had anticipated.
“I’m going to need time to think about it.”
Elena’s smile turned upside down. “How much time? I know you’ve known about this for weeks. Hasn’t that been enough time?”
“My life is here, Elena.”
Hearing her name on Skylar’s lips again did something to Elena that she wasn’t prepared for.
“I have a job, my dad, and my dog. I can’t just uproot those things because you decided to make a decision for everyone without running it by everyone first.”
Elena knew the dig was deeper than just their current conversation, but she wasn’t in the mood to rehash the past.
“All the shows are on Fridays and Saturdays. That means you’ll get to be home the other days of the week. You’d just need to be at soundcheck early Friday morning wherever we’re playing.”
Elena crossed her arms over her chest. It was warmer in the Cove than she was prepared for. She’d dressed in a gray sweater and yoga pants, which seemed to take up most of her wardrobe these days.
“Of course,” she took a cautious step toward Skylar, “we’ll have rehearsals for a few weeks before the tour starts.”
“So, more time I’d spend away from here.”
“What do you want from me, Sky?” Elena threw up her hands in frustration. “You can bring your dog and your dad on the tour for all I care. If that gets you out of this small town and back out where you belong, then do it.”
