The Next April
KIM
“What are you doing?” Devlin asked from the doorway.
“Just going through some of these boxes. Deciding what to keep.” I sat back on my heels, where I’d been kneeling.
“Why do you sound sad?” He was at my side, pulling the shoebox out of my hand. He brushed back my hair to kiss my temple.
“I’m not sad. Sentimental, I guess. It’s my curse.” I sighed dramatically.
“I can’t believe you kept all these.” He flipped through the old notes with tender care.
“I couldn’t quite bring myself to get rid of them.”
“I like that about you. It makes me happy that they meant so much to you.” He held my gaze, a small furrow between his brows. “Want to hear a joke?”
“Always.”
“What did one musician say to the other?” he asked.
“What?”
“Nothing. He left a note.”
I snorted a laugh. “Terrible. I love it.”
He gently turned my face back to his. “Tell me why you’re sad.”
“I’m not sad.” I nestled into his hand. “I’m happier than I have ever been. It’s just hard not to think about the what-ifs. What if I’d sought out who sent the notes? What if you’d told me? Imagine if we’d met before I ever even met Roddy?”
His face hardened before relaxing into a sad smile. “It wasn’t our time.”
“I can’t believe he lied to me about sending them, and for so long. I can’t believe I trusted him.”
“Why would you have any reason not to trust him? There’s nothing wrong with trusting people you care about. It’s not your fault he turned out to be…”
“Just the worst.” I shuddered.
He scowled. “I never trusted him. Even back then.”
“Well, you were right.” I sat back on my palms when my legs started going numb.
“Speaking of—apparently, his parents are in some financial trouble. That was why he pushed so hard for the tour. He was living beyond his means. His business is screwed. Markus Savagno and Caroline Tetch have both dropped him.”
“Really? I was wondering why the check I got came from his parents.” I wasn’t surprised. Not really—you could only be two-faced for so long until people caught on. “He all but told me he was the reason Carla missed that performance. The one that got me my first solo.”
“Scumbag,” he grumbled.
“I was so willfully blind to it …”
“Hey, stop. If these notes are going to upset you, you shouldn’t read through them.”
“I just think about all the time wasted.”
He grabbed me and pulled me into his arms. “You know we can’t think that way. Everything that led us to this moment was worth it. If I had to stay away a hundred years just for five minutes of your time, I’d take whatever I could get.”
My heart fluttered in my chest. “Thankfully, we have all the time in the world now.”
