AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Kingston.”
“I want you to have something of your own,” he said quietly. “No matter what happens with the band or me.”
“Kingston.” I swiped at my eyes, trying to keep from crying.
“You wrote the song long before you ever met me.”
“But we wrote the lyrics together and then the band added some finishing touches that are fantastic.”
“We did, but we added performance touches. We had no part in the creation of the idea. The melody, title, and early lyrics were all yours. Once we register it, that’s it. It’s yours forever.”
“It should have all of our names on it,” I whispered.
“Nope. We talked about it and the guys all agree this one is yours.”
“You guys split all the songs, on every album, equally.”
“Except this one.”
“Kingston…” Words seemed to be failing me.
“Say thank you!” Greatty stage whispered. “Do you remember a single one of the manners I taught you growing up?”
I sniffled, shaking my head. “Thank you doesn’t feel like an adequate phrase for this. I mean, seriously, Kingston. This might be the best gift anyone has ever given me.”
“You mean it’s not that damn American Girl doll you wanted when you were ten? The one I had on layaway for months so I could afford it?” Greatty demanded, shaking her head. “I see how you are. You are never getting another doll from me, that’s for sure.”
All three of us cracked up, lightening the mood.
“I need to know what doll you’re talking about,” Kingston said when we’d stopped laughing.
“I still have her,” I replied. “I’ll get her out next time I see you.”
“Cool.”
“I’m going to go get dressed,” Greatty said. “We have to leave soon. Thank you again for the wine, Kingston. You’ll have to come over for dinner and share a bottle when you get back.”
“I’ll look forward to it,” he told her.
“Hang on a second.” I got up and carried the phone to my bedroom, closing the door to give us a few minutes of privacy.
“Merry Christmas, babe,” he said.
“Merry Christmas.”
“You guys going to the soup kitchen?”
“Yeah, we’ll go around eleven to help set up for dinner.”
“Remy and Noelle have a bunch of people coming over, so I might be hard to reach for a few hours.”
“That’s okay. We’re going to work at the soup kitchen and then drop off gifts for the kids in the cancer ward at the children’s hospital, so we’ll probably be out until early evening.”
“Okay. I’ll call you tonight then.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him I loved him, but there was something I had to do before I could say those words. He deserved to have all of me if I was going to say something so important, and until I told him about my past, he didn’t have it.
“I miss you,” I blurted out instead.
