NATASHA SPENT THE two days after Didi’s gallery show with Jackson’s songs playing on a loop and doubting herself. One minute she wanted to run to him and say she had forgiven him, but the next minute all her doubts crept back in. What happened if she opened her heart up to loving him again and he left? She wasn’t sure she’d survive a repeat of that night he’d stood her up at the ball for a chance at success in LA. Yet she knew everything he’d done—from coming home, to stopping time, to skydiving—was all to win her back.
He had said that whatever she did wasn’t going to scare him away. That he was in Dodge Cove to stay. But things could change. What if he got a better offer? He honestly couldn’t stay away from the music industry just for her. And she wouldn’t do that to him. She might not know yet what she wanted to do in life, but forcing him to abandon his music just to stay with her was out of the question—she knew he would end up resenting her in the future, and then he’d leave all over again.
It always came back to him leaving. Her doubts. Her hesitations. It seemed like the end goal was the same: Jackson not in her life.
Around and around in circles she went until it was Friday night and the clock was ticking toward the time Jackson had told her to meet him. What could be at the open field by the lake? There was nothing there but grass and pine trees. Oh, and a parking lot. Yet she found herself dressing up anyway, choosing a maxidress and flats and braiding her hair.
Once she finished putting the final touches on her makeup, another wave of self-doubt sent her sprawling on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Should she stay? Or should she go? What was the harm in going? But she knew if she did go, it was tantamount to admitting she had forgiven him and showing him that she still had feelings for him.
Her mind said one thing. Her heart said another. If only she could get them to agree.
The door to her room opened, but she didn’t look to see who came in. Then one side of her bed dipped. That was when she finally faced her visitor. Nathan looked smart in a tangerine sweater, with his hair combed back.
“You’re all dressed up,” he said, a soft smile on his face.
She sighed. “I don’t know, Nate.”
“Is that one of Jackson’s songs playing?” He glanced around her room.
Natasha turned it off. Instantly, silence flooded every corner of the space. It felt weird not hearing the music after two whole days of listening to nothing else.
“Why did you leave the art show with Jackson?” Natasha asked. “You’ve been MIA since.”
Nathan entwined his fingers over his stomach. “I thought I’d help out.”
The admission caused Natasha to sit up and narrow her eyes at her brother. “You? Help out Jackson? What happened to being on my side?”
“Tash.” Nathan stared straight at her. “I am on your side. That’s why I’m here.”
“What does that mean?”
“Do you remember when you were on the phone with me while I was in Ireland with Preston?”
She flopped back onto the bed. “How can I forget? It was a low point.”
“Do you remember what you told me?”
“That love is like acid,” she recalled. “It eats you from the inside out.”
“Do you really believe that?”
Her eyes following the crown molding along the ceiling, Natasha thought about it. At the time, while she was heartbroken, it seemed true. Love did hurt. But she always knew that love could be magical too. It was the sunrise in the eyes of the one you loved. It was meeting your soul mate at six years old even if you didn’t have words for the connection yet.
“Not anymore,” she whispered, afraid that if she kept talking, the words would catapult her out of the bed.
“Then what are you still doing here?”
Immediately, she knew what Nathan was referring to. Because if her brother said he had lent a hand, then Jackson was definitely up to something. But the hint of curiosity wasn’t enough. She needed more.
“I’m afraid, Nate.”
There. The truth. In living color.
“We’re all afraid.” Nathan shifted to his side and rested on his elbow so he could look down on Natasha. “Didn’t you think I was afraid when Preston whisked me away during the Society of Dodge Cove Matrons luncheon?”
“You?” She raised an eyebrow. “You’re afraid of nothing.”
“I wish.” His lips quirked. “I’m just really good at rising above the fear. You need to rise above it too. If not for Jackson and what the two of you shared, then for the possibility of a future with him.”
“Do we really have a future together? What if he leaves again?”
“He bought the old music store.”
Natasha sat up so fast that Nathan barely had time to move out of the way to keep their foreheads from smashing into each other.
“What?” she asked, her voice between surprise and shock.
Nathan nodded. “He has plans of turning it into a studio. I saw the copy of the deed at the art show. I know that you’re scared he’s going to leave, but I think he’s here for good. He’s willing to put down roots—”
“For me,” she interrupted.
“And what he has planned tonight.” Nathan’s eyes sparkled with barely leashed glee before he stifled a yawn with the back of his hand. “You should go, Tash. Everyone deserves a second chance.”
It was like being given permission. For the first time since Jackson returned to Dodge Cove, it seemed Natasha’s heart and head agreed. She didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cry. No second chances was what she’d told Jackson in Amsterdam. But, like the idea of love being acid, Natasha didn’t believe that anymore.
She glanced at the clock. Fifteen minutes before their designated meet time. It would take twenty to get to the field by the lake. She bolted out of bed and grabbed her bag. At the door, she paused.
“Are you coming?” she asked, only to realize that Nathan had fallen asleep on her bed.