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10
SUTTON
PRESENT DAY
There was a time when going out on tour and performing in front of what would add up tomillionsof people was a terrifying prospect.
Now, I’m only worried about seeing one person.
I glance at the clock, then ask in the most casual tone I can muster, “What time is Teddy’s plane supposed to land?”
My eyes stray back to and stay on the packet of papers that list out my full itinerary for this tour—press, shows, rehearsals, and meet and greets. They should have scheduled eating and sleeping too. Studying the list of times and dates is a distraction from Suzan’s discerning gaze.
“It landed twenty minutes ago,” she answers. “He should be on his way here. Hannah sent a car to pick him up.”
“Oh. Great.” I bob my head. Flip a page. Swallow. Nerves fizz and expand in my stomach.
What thefuckwas I thinking,agreeing to this?
Yeah, finding a random replacement for Devon last minute would have been a pain. Planning for this tour took seven months, and we’re already several shows in. Bringing in someone new, especially at this point, is never ideal. But it didn’t have to be him.
“Our second stop back in the US is Chicago. I’ll send your father and Lily tickets?”
“Yeah, sure,” I mumble, distracted.
“What about Teddy?”
“What about him?”
“He won’t be part of the tour then, but I can send him one in case he wants to attend.”
I swallow. He hasn’t even arrived yet, and we’re already discussing his departure. It’s a necessary reminder.
“Sure,” I repeat.
“He called you June,” Suzan says.
I meet her curious gaze. “What?”
“In Brookfield. Teddy called you June.”
The view out the window at Cologne Cathedral has my entire attention all of a sudden. I’m worried what my face might give away, so I focus on dusk falling and the lights flickering on along the cobblestone streets. “So?”
“As in yourfavorite month?”
Suzan has been with me since the very start of my career. She was one of the first people to hear me perform what’s remained my most famous song. No one—no one—has ever linked Teddy to “Heartbreak for Two.”
We never dated back then. Our lives are completely and totally separate now.
Most days, my time in Brookfield feels like a distant dream that happened to someone else—to June. The vast majority of the meaningful moments we shared—the happy and the heartbreaking—played out between the two of us when we were alone. In almost every interview, I get asked about the story behind that song. I’ve always let the lyrics speak for themselves.
I fix my face to expressionless as I turn my attention away from the stone church and back to Suzan. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Suzan hums an, “Uh-huh,” before going back to answering emails on her phone.
I’ve just reached the last page of the itinerary when the door opens. The suite I’m staying in has a full adjoining living room and kitchen, which I already know will serve as my team’s headquarters for the three days we’re spending in Cologne.
It could be Hannah, my assistant. Greg, my head of security. Jackson, the bandleader.
