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Cassie headed down the short hallway to her cramped bathroom. The taps screeched as she turned the water on in the shower and adjusted the temperature before stripping off and stepping under the spray.
She tipped her head back and let the water run over her face and down her body. Thinking about Zac hurt. Still. But with more time, she knew she’d get past it. She just needed to keep her chin up and get through each day. And eventually, after however many days it took, thinking about him wouldn’t leave her feeling like she was a little shattered inside.
She had to believe that was true.
After a few more minutes, she reached for the taps and turned the shower off. She dried herself, put on her pajamas, and headed to the kitchen to pour herself a wine. She figured she’d probably need it.
Cassie grabbed a pen and her new notebook off the side table, opening it to a fresh page.
She forced herself to remember everything that had happened. From the first time she’d met Zac, to staying up nights with him on the tour bus, the kiss, the first time he’d touched her in the hotel room, the first time they’d slept together, to him making love to her after his dad’s funeral. And then she remembered how it had all slid away from her.
The dream shattered by reality.
She let herself experience it all again, all the highs and lows, all the emotions, all the love she’d felt for him. Still felt. Tears trickled down her face, but she put her pen to the page and let it all flow out of her.
When she finished, she didn’t look over it straight away. Instead, she let her eyes drift shut on a jagged exhale. It had been cathartic, letting her love and pain pour onto the page. She felt stripped bare but cleansed.
Cassie finally looked at what her heart had poured onto the page. A smile trembled on her lips. It read like a story. A love story. Just one without a happily ever after. Wasn’t that what they called a tragedy?
Maybe it was. Maybe she could look at her life so far and label it a tragedy. But she wasn’t going to. She wasn’t going to depend on anyone else to make her happy anymore. She was going to rely on herself.
She’d write her own goddamn happily ever after.
Cassie closed the notebook with a snap, drank the rest of her wine, and went to bed.
ChapterForty-One
Zac punched in the code to Noah’s house and pushed the big wooden door open.
He wandered through to the backyard where he could see the three others outside, sitting around the table next to the pool. Zac slid open the glass door and stepped out. His friends looked up, grins spreading across their faces.
“Welcome back, man,” said Noah. “Grab a beer and get your ass over here. It’s been too long since we’ve seen your ugly face.”
Zac rolled his eyes and smirked but pulled a beer bottle from the bar fridge and joined them at the table. He dropped into the chair next to Tex.
“So, how was it?” Connor asked.
Zac sat back and took a sip of his beer. Three expectant faces watched him, but he took his time deciding how to answer. “The guys loved it. The recording went off without a hitch, and the tour was good. The UK crowds are as insane as ever.”
He didn’t miss the look the three of them exchanged.
Tex rubbed his chin. “How about you? Had a blast?”
Zac narrowed his gaze at him. “It was fine. Great. Recording at Abbey Road is always awesome.”
“Uh-huh. Don’t overwhelm us with your enthusiasm.”
“Heard from Cassie?” Noah jumped right in.
Zac’s heart lurched. He’d spent the last three months trying to put Cassie out of his mind and failing miserably. He hadn’t even been able to bring himself to get laid while he was away, turning down every proposition, rejecting every approach by groupies. Reverting to cheap, meaningless sex seemed too much like a betrayal of Cassie after what he’d experienced with her.
Which was ridiculous, considering he would probably never see her again.
He just needed a little more time to forget what he’d given up, that was all.
When he finally got his voice working, it was like sandpaper. “No.” He cleared his throat. “Didn’t really expect to.”
“Really? Because you two were pretty close there for a while,” Tex said. He pulled out his phone. “It’s good, though, because I met a woman the other week who would be perfect for you—”
