“To be fair, she hates everyone. And yes, she’ll be blowing her whistle at drivers until they pry that thing from her cold, dead hands,” I said.
Vander chuckled. “Did you go there when Leo and I were there? You look familiar.”
Leo shifted at my side. Whether it was the mention of their shared past, I wasn’t sure.
“I did. I was a few grades ahead. I was in the same year as your older sister,” I explained.
Dammit, I was supposed to be getting rid of this guy, not playing small-town catch-up. I put an arm around Leo’s shoulders. I’d meant for the action to display friendly camaraderie, but the second I moved close to Leo, his arm slunk around my waist, pulling me tight to his side.
“Leo is mentoring Cath. She’s incredible, as you saw. She’s applied to Berklee, and he’s helping her prepare for her audition in spring,” I said, pretending this was normal behavior for us.
Leo’s ears burned red, but he still hadn’t spoken to Vander.
“Fantastic. Well, she’s obviously going places.” Vander directed it to Leo but then looked back at me when he only got forehead.
“How’s the album going? Devlin mentioned you were recording. Must be a lot of pressure, especially after how good your first three were,” I said.
Leo glanced up at me. The first three albums were the only albums Leo had been on.
Ha. Suck it, Vander.
Vander scratched at the back of his neck but took my passive aggression well enough. “Ah, well. We’re still finding our rhythm for this new LP. You know how it goes. Hit some bumps but we’ll pull it out, yet. Hoping for some of that Smoky Mountain magic,” he explained.
“Good album name,” Leo mumbled at the same time I said it. He looked up to finally give me an authentic smile and some of the tension relaxed out of me.
Vander looked between us, brow furrowed, missing the punchline of our inside joke.
“Devlin was on his way out when I came in. He said you guys should have been wrapped up. I didn’t mean to intrude,” Vander said.
When neither of us spoke, he cleared his throat and nodded. “Right. Okay. Well, I’ll get out of your hair. Devlin’s gone into Knoxville with the family for the night. He just said to lock up the downstairs exit when you leave. Uh, see you.” Vander glanced at Leo, but Leo was still focused on me.
Dang, I started to feel bad for the guy.
“Bye, nice meeting you,” I said.
He gave a flat smile, glanced at Leo one more time, sighed, and went out.
Leo didn’t move for a few minutes. He just stared at the floor as his cheeksgrew more and more red. I tried to give him space, but when I moved, his arms locked me in place.
“Are you okay?” I asked softly. It had been so loud in here just a few minutes ago, and now the silence was deafening.
He made a sound that might have been a growl or a moan.
“Yeah. Stupid question,” I said. I lowered my head to his chest and pulled him tight. He hugged me back. I should have done or said more.
I didn’t want this to cause Leo to retreat. I wanted him to talk about what happened and process it, but my experience with men told me that now came the part where he got angry and shut down.
“I’m sorry—” I leaned back to meet his gaze, and he loosened his grip to release me.
“I’ve spent so much time thinking about what I’d say when I saw him.” He spoke low and steady, still staring just past me into a void of memories I couldn’t see. Leo wasn’t like all the other men. Maybe it was being raised by a progressive single mother or just his nature. But he always shared with me. And it was a gift. “And then I just froze. I just—” He stopped and tugged at his hair, blinking himself back to the present. His gaze moved over me. “I’m just glad you were here. I-I don’t know what I would have done.”
I swallowed down the tightness in my throat. “I wish I’d done something more.” I glanced at the stairs. “He might still be here. I could go slash his tires?” I asked hopefully.
He threw his head back and laughed. His Adam’s apple bobbed before he turned to grip my shoulders. “God, I love you,” he joked, pulling me into another hug. I froze at his words. My stupid heart went haywire at the sound of that confession. He hadn’t meant it like that. I had wanted him to laugh. I had broken his trance, and that was what I meant to do, so why was I totally unable to move past what was just a common turn of phrase? “Nah. Then he’d be stuck here with us.”
“Good point.” My arms finally remembered how hugs worked, but he was already pulling back.
He let out a sigh and ran a hand over his face. “It was so weird to see him. I thought I would know what to say. I thought it would all come pouring out of me exactly as I meant it to after all my mental rehearsals in the shower.” I smiled at his confession. “But...”
