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But she was at work, so she had no choice but to slap on a smile. “For all that’s holy, Lorelei, spare me the details.” But she got to work boxing up the filled pastries.
“Hey,” a person in line said. “Save some for us.”
The singer whipped around. “That’s not how lines work. If you’re at Target, do you tell the person ahead of you not to buy the last lavender face mask?” She swung back to Gracie. “Sheesh.” And then, in a lower voice, she said, “Do you know I’ve gained five pounds this summer?”
“Well, if you’re eating all those pastries, then I’m not surprised,” the same person said.
“Do you have bat ears?” Lorelei shouted. “And they’re not all for me.”
“Guys, I have plenty more.” As Grace started boxing up the treats, she noticed the singer’s eyes narrow. “What?”
Lorelei didn’t answer. Her features were pulled tight in concentration as she stared in the direction of the woods and the tour buses.
“Here you go.” Grace tried to hand the box over, but Lorelei didn’t take it.
Stark emotions played across her features. Blatant shock faded into a desolation so vast Grace’s bones went cold. Setting the box down, she turned to look out the window on the other side of the truck.
Lorelei’s boyfriend and best friend were coming out of the woods. Landon leaned back and brushed the dirt off the drummer’s bottom.
Grace’s stomach lurched, and she felt sick.Lorelei’s supposed to be in the studio right now. She got done early and wanted to surprise her boyfriend.
I have to help her.
But when she turned around, Lorelei was gone.
For the next two hours, Grace fretted. She and Lorelei obviously hadn’t exchanged numbers, and they didn’t have the kind of relationship where it would be appropriate to go knock on the bus door and check on her. She had no way to find out how she was doing.
“What looks good today?” she asked the next customer.
“Can I get that one?” he pointed to a basket.
“The Paris Brest?” She felt so damn bad for the singer and wished more than anything she could help in some way.
“Yes, please.”
“You got it.” As she grabbed her tongs, she heard a knock at the door and tipped her head toward it, asking Jeremy to see who was there. For one moment, she wondered if it was Lorelei. But of course, that would never happen. She handed over the treat and shoved the five dollars into the till.
“It’s Brodie Bowie.” Jeremy sounded awed. The Bowies, she’d learned, were a pretty big deal in Calamity. Kind of like royalty.
Worried, she wiped her hands on her apron and motioned for Ben to take her place at the window.
When she stepped outside, she found him with Jaime. Even after all this time, all the things they’d done together, the sight of his tall frame, handsome face, and muscular body never failed to send her pulse racing. She held his gaze, found the same yearning she felt mirrored in his eyes, and wondered,Are you here for me? Are you back?
But no. He still wore that same flat expression. Which meant he was back to suppressing his emotions.
She had to accept it. Their relationship was well and truly over. “What can I do for you?”
Brodie turned his back on the meadow and in a low voice said, “Lorelei’s gone.”
“What do you mean bygone?” It was an hour before the final show of the festival, the big Lorelei Calloway concert everyone had been waiting for all summer long.
“She took off.”
“But she’ll be back, right?”She’s never cancelled a tour date in her life.
“No. But the show’s got to go on.”
Those fuckers. How could they hurt the woman who trusted them so completely? Who loved them with all her heart. “You’re confusing me. You’re telling me she’s gone but the show’s still on?”
