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“So what’s up with you two, then?”
Kevin paused with one hand on the refrigerator door, and Nick regretted his approach. He’d planned on asking the question today, but he now realized he couldn’t betray Hayley by mentioning what she’d said the night she’d gotten drunk: Sometimes it was easier for her to miss Kevin than to spend time with him.
“I don’t mean to pry,” he went on. “I just know you mentioned a rough patch. I thought maybe I could help.”
Kevin stood still a moment longer, his face hidden by the door, and then he stepped back. “I started working at Icarus as soon as I graduated from high school,” he told Nick. “Then I went to a homecoming game the next year, and it felt different. Like the place was the same, but I didn’t belong there anymore.”
Nick took this in. “You’re saying you don’t belong together?”
“Sure we do.” Kevin shut the refrigerator. “Life is great, sex is great, whole nine yards.”
“Then what’s with the homecoming story?”
“We belong on stage, as headliners,” Kevin said.
Nick thought about this as Kevin headed out the back door. Apparently, Hayley and Kevin agreed: They needed to be able to dance together on stage. Nick didn’t quite understand why that was so important, but how could he? He would never be able to dance like they did. His job was to be supportive. But as he stood at the top of the back steps and watched Kevin start the grill, he realized he needed to ask one question—and he wasn’t sure what he wanted the answer to be.
“Do you love her?” he asked.
“Sure I do,” Kevin said. “And she loves me.”
No hesitation. He hadn’t even looked away from the grill when he’d said it. Nick ignored the flicker of disappointmentinside him and said, “You’ll be dancing together soon. September’s not that far away.”
“It’s not.” Kevin scooped patties from plate to grill. “Problem is, I don’t think Linda’s a big fan of the headliner mentality.”
He had a point: Linda hardly mentioned her cast without calling them a family, and Vivez didn’t highlight performers in their advertising. Kevin and Hayley would absolutely earn a featured number or two, but not the sort of fame Kevin seemed to be talking about.
“Wouldn’t it be enough to be on stage together?” Nick asked. “Hayley’s never mentioned being a headliner.”
Kevin’s smile seemed a little condescending. “Trust me. She’s too modest to say she wants her name in lights.”
Nick heard the front door open at the other end of the house. “Babe?” Hayley called. “Is Nick here?”
Kevin said, “Out back!”
Before Nick could cross the room, Hayley was striding into the kitchen and beaming. It was a relief to know he was welcome, especially when two people walked in behind her.
“We saw your car!” She hugged him. “What’re you doing here?”
“Had to have Nick over to watchHeat,” Kevin volunteered. “Is it cool if he stays for lunch?”
Nick tightened his grip on the walker. He should’ve wondered why Kevin wanted to watch a movie at ten in the morning, but he’d wanted to try his best at a friendship with the guy. He should have asked where Hayley was, but he hadn’t wanted to show too much interest in her. It couldn’t be a coincidence that he just happened to be here now. Kevin had made sure of it, probably to use Nick as a buffer, probably because the older couple standing behind Hayley were related to her. Nick felt anger building in him—and yet Hayley was still able to blunt the edge of it by looking at him with the sort of teasing reproach he’d grown to love.
“Nick,” she said, “when would it evernotbe okay for you to stay for lunch?”
He managed a smile. “Doesn’t hurt to ask.”
“Meet my parents.” She stepped to the side. “Nick Freeman, this is Tom and Carolyn Burke.”
Tom Burke offered a handshake and a broad, open smile. He was a big man, heavy in a way that fit his frame, the sort of guy who looked like he ate huge meals because he needed the fuel. He wore a dark blue polo shirt with khaki shorts, and Nick was willing to bet he sold cars or played golf, or sold cars while playing golf.
“Firm grip,” Mr. Burke said approvingly.
“Lots of practice,” Nick told him. Mr. Burke’s grip went beyond firm, and Nick wondered if he’d ever broken the fingers of weaker men.
Hayley’s mother merely looked Nick in the eyes. Her smile wasn’t as warm as her husband’s, but Carolyn Burke didn’t seem mean. She just made it abundantly clear that Nick hadn’t earned much of her interest in the three seconds they’d known each other.
“Are you a friend of Kevin’s?” Mrs. Burke asked him.
