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I shrug. “No clue. It depends on how people react to it, including Duncan Santos.”
Her gaze sharpens. “How did the call go?”
“It was fine. He’s going to follow up with me in a week or two. He’s the one who told me about all this.” I wave a hand at the computer.
Her lips purse. “This won’t affect him signing with you, will it?”
I shake my head. “I have no idea.”
“Have you thought about—?”
“Hey.” Archer’s broad frame fills the open doorway connecting the office and the main part of the house. “There you are.” He takes in my slumped posture and Finley’s troubled face. “Is everything okay?” He moves to her side, bending over to brush a kiss over the top of her head.
The motion is brief but effective.
When he pulls back, Finley smiles up at him, her face fairly glowing, as if the simple movement is enough to assuage any worries, relieve the heaviest burdens. His responding look is just as warm and blazing with tenderness.
Rough waters are easier to navigate when you aren’t the only one handling the oars.
What would it be like to have a partner to shoulder my troubles?
What would it be like to have Luke gaze at me the way Archer looks at Finley, like she’s the sole reason the sun shines every morning?
The problem is I think Lukedoeslook at me that way, or at least something similar, but I can’t acknowledge it, let alone accept it.
Can I?
“Everything is fine,” I say.
Their gazes break away from where they are locked on each other.
Finley’s face tightens in concern. “I was just going to say, have you thought about talking to Taylor about some of her connections in the music industry? She’s met so many people over the years.”
I swallow. “I need to talk to her about other things first.”
She nods in understanding.
Finley agreed to help me get Taylor alone when she comes back home. We’ve tentatively planned for the day after Luke’s show, when all of the siblings will be here, to go through Dad’s room. I need to find a way to speak with her privately before she takes off again.
I stand up, grabbing my laptop from the desk and shoving it into my briefcase. “If she forgives me, I’ll ask her if she wants to help me with Outfoxed Records. I’ll even offer to pay her. But I have a feeling she isn’t going to forgive me, so it’s a moot point.”
I don’t deserve forgiveness, but I will do my best to at least try and repair our relationship, even if it’s irrevocably broken.
Finley reaches over the table, grabbing my hand. “You can only do the best you can. I just want you to be happy.”
“That’s what I want, too.”
I want my career. I love working in music. I want my label to be successful, and I want Luke, too. Imagining what it might be like, to truly have it all, sets off an explosion of nerves in my belly, a mixture of fear and excitement.
I examine the emotions. Am I afraid of what people think, of my career being affected, or am I afraid of being hurt again?
Losing Blake was brutal. He broke my heart.
Losing Luke would be worse.
But if there’s even the slightest possibility that I can keep him, if I could have love and my career?
Hope blossoms inside me, a burst of light as dazzling as the brightest of stars.
