CHAPTER 20
CARY
Lying on the hotel bed, Cary stared at the ceiling, Tyler’s words echoing in his head.
Eternally single. That label had followed him for years.
Maybe it was easier for people to reduce his life to a punchline than to understand it.
What was he supposed to do—marry the first woman he dated and get divorced every time he went on tour?
No. He’d waited for the right person. And now she was here, sleeping beside him.
Tyler Robertson.
She was everything. And he was terrified of screwing it up—like he always had before. She was the closest thing to perfect he’d ever found, and he couldn’t risk losing her.
But how would she handle the chaos? The relentless paparazzi in LA, the scrutiny, the noise. Tyler cherished her privacy. She hadn’t signed up for the circus that came with loving him.
And what about kids? When they had them, not if. Another thing to consider when deciding where to live. For now, Winnipeg gave them peace. Maybe they’d never leave. Maybe they’d hole up like John and Yoko—except John and Yoko didn’t have to watch the World Juniors with her entire family.
His mind refused to quiet. Sleep drifted further out of reach.
He slipped out of bed and shut the French doors behind him. The city below buzzed quietly, unaware of the storm in his chest. He picked up his guitar, his fingers finding the shape of the unfinished melody.
He inhaled slowly. Let the music take over. Let the words that haunted him take form.
Everything in his life had led him to this—
This truth.
This moment.
This woman.
She was it. There was no denying it.
His pulse quickened, certainty blooming deep in his bones.
But could she handle his life—the madness, the glare, the weight of it all?