Chapter 33
Liam
The gig at The Phoenix’s Wing was probably the roughest I’d ever played.
As were the gigs at Luna’s Nest, Pub de la Raven, and The Songbird. Looking back on it later, I wondered why all the venues had bird-related names.
It wasn’t that I did poorly necessarily—though Bridget would likely disagree—it was more that I just couldn’t get into it. It was routine, a job, going through the motions, but beneath it all, that spark was missing.
The spark I had rediscovered by being back home in Meridel with Emma.
And with that came another realization:
I missed her.
Way more than I ever had before. Moving to California two years ago had been hard, but I had been able to shut out the ache of missing my best friend because of my excitement. But now…now it all felt meaningless when she wasn’t here with me.
Saturday morning, I woke up feeling like I had a wagonload of bricks sitting on my chest. It was the day of the convention. The day I should’ve been home, getting ready to go look at nerdy weather things with Emma.
But instead, I was here, in LA, standing in the kitchen of my apartment, waiting for Emma to appear somehow so we could eat breakfast and have coffee together like we’d done almost every morning since getting married. I hadn’t realized how used to that—to her—I’d become.
But she wasn’t here. No one was.
It was the same apartment I’d stayed in the past two years, but it felt all wrong now. The red brick walls, exposed ceiling, and gobs of natural light, all of which used to bring me so much joy, now felt empty. What were fame and success and money when the person who made it all mean something wasn’t there?
And if I was truly honest with myself, it all meant nothing without Emma by my side. What was the point of accomplishing your dreams when there was no one to share them with?
Dreams weren’t meant to be lonely.
Being back in California for a couple days had also made me realize something I’d been denying for a long time. Too long. Probably long before I even recognized what it was.
I loved Emma. Heart, soul, mind, every piece of her.
It may have taken a dumb scheme to get me to recognize it, but now that I was sure of my feelings, all I wanted was to run back home to Meridel, to my wife.
I wanted to love her for real—if she’d let me.
I was ready to go home.
There was just the little problem of my contract and Bridget’s threats about what would happen if I broke it again.
With a sigh, I poured the second mug of coffee I had absentmindedly made for Emma down the drain.
What am I doing? I shouldn’t even be here. I should be home with Emma.
It should’ve been proof enough by how poorly my gigs went that I needed her—wanted her with me.
Everything I thought I always wanted was right here, but it meant nothing without someone to share it with. I didn’t know when the familiar started to feel foreign, or when the things that used to be bright, vivid colors turned black and white, but a switch had flipped, and I knew what I needed to do now.
I pulled out my phone, heart hammering as I waited for the call to connect.
Bridget answered on the first ring. “Yeah?”
I braced myself for impact.
“We need to talk.”