Chapter Twenty Collin
I quickly sent off another text to Glory and then tried to focus on what the bride to be was saying.
The band was in an early morning meeting with the wedding clients, hammering out some last minute details at the venue before we played for the event later that night.
The bride and her mother were talking fast and kept going off on tangents, so it was hard to pay attention, especially when all I had been able to think about lately was Glory.
The past several days had been heaven. If I had thought getting Glory’s letters made me feel amazing before, it was nothing compared to the way it felt to actually be with her now.
Her depth, her weird humor, her inviting smile, her gorgeous brown eyes.
.. it was almost too much to take. Since attending her drawing class I had spent every spare minute with her.
We had eaten at restaurants and food trucks, walked down long streets, explored parks and hiked mountains.
I had even taken her to the science museum because I knew she would love it, and I listened to her talk about the planetarium and space exploration for almost an hour.
She had told me her whole life story, which I mostly already knew.
But it hadn’t been boring. Instead, it felt like I was watching one of my favorite movies, looking forward to the good parts.
The only damper in all of this euphoria was the fact that I was still lying about who I was.
I had gotten really good at asking her questions, but anytime she asked about me I would say something vague and quickly change the subject.
When she asked me what I did for work I told her I was in entertainment.
She probably thought I was an analyst or something.
“Is that okay with you, Collin?”
I blinked away my daydreams and concentrated on Jeremy, who was glaring at me. “Sorry, there was something out the window,” I lied. “What was the question?”
“She wants us to play Glorious Mess for the first dance,” he said, making no effort to hide his annoyance with me.
I looked back at the bride, who was smiling serenely. “Really?” I asked her. “That’s not the most romantic song.”
“Oh, but it is!” She assured me. “It’s about how much you love her even though she’s a wreck, and you always sing it with so much emotion.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I was used to people telling me what my songs were about and they were usually way off, but I realized that this girl was spot on.
“Okay, that’s fine,” I said with a smile. “It’s your day.”
The bride responded by blushing and giggling.
“And you’re paying us a whole lot of money, so we should probably do everything you ask,” Jeremy added awkwardly.
“Yes, we are,” the bride’s mother said with a tight smile. “Now, we need to go check in with the planner, and we’ll be back in a few minutes to tell you all what time you should expect to be here this evening.”
The bride and her mother left, and I slipped out of the room a few seconds later to avoid a lecture from Jeremy.
He had been a little frustrated by my frequent absences.
I gazed out over the golf course we were on, admiring the bright green of the grass contrasting with the reddish mountains beyond.
My phone vibrated with a text and a thrill ran through me when I saw it was from Glory.
She had sent me a few pictures of some alarmingly inappropriate paintings of fruit from her class the day before.
I never knew grapefruits could be so vulgar.
I shook my head and laughed, wondering if I would ever get used to her humor.
I heard someone walking up behind me and slipped my phone into my pocket. Turning, I saw it was Logan.
“Hey man, what are you doing out here?” He asked.
“Admiring the view,” I replied.
“It is nice.”
“Nice? It’s incredible!” I exclaimed. “I mean, look at it! I think the band should relocate here. We already have a solid fan base, and we could save a ton in rent. We all might even be able to afford a house.”
Logan came around to stand in front of me and looked me over. “Okay, what’s going on with you? You’re practically glowing, and I don’t think it’s just from that tan you’ve recently acquired. I haven’t seen you smile this much since college.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. This right here is the look you would get every time you got a letter from that girl you used to write. What was her name?”
My smile grew wider. “You mean Glory Parker?”
“Yeah, Glory Parker. Whatever happened to her anyway?”
“Well,” I said, rocking back on my heels, “she lives here in Phoenix, she works at a place called Monet Cafe, and... I’ve seen her almost every day since we’ve been here.”
Logan’s jaw dropped. “What? That’s who you’ve been spending all your time with? When you said you were going to catch up with an old friend, I imagined it was some slob you knew from high school, not a hottie that makes rays of sunshine shoot out of your eyes! How’s it going? Have you two...?”
I shook my head. “No. We haven’t even kissed.”
Logan made a face. “Then what have you been doing?”
“Talking, laughing, being together. Honestly, with her, sometimes that feels like it’s enough.”
Logan rolled his eyes. “Said the guy who wanted to be celibate for the rest of his life. Seriously, why haven’t you kissed her? Does she have coldsores or something?”
“No. Her lips are perfect.”
“Then what’s the deal?”
I rubbed my jaw. “I haven’t actually told her who I am.”
Logan’s eyes widened. “What did you tell her?”
“I said my name was Clayton.”
“Clayton? That sounds like the name of a cowboy lawyer. Why would you do that?”
“To be honest, I’m scared.”
Logan blew out a breath. “Scared? Of what? That you’ll get married and die of ecstasy?
This is crazy, Collin! You find a girl who could very well be your only chance at true happiness and you tell her you’re someone else?
Last time I checked, girls don’t really appreciate being lied to. You’ve got to fix this ASAP.”
“I know, I know. It’s just that I’m kind of in deep right now.”
“Well, get out. If you don’t, you’ll be drowning. In your tears.”
I felt sick. Logan had a talent for getting straight to the point in dramatic fashion.
“I’ll tell her tomorrow,” I conceded. “We’re supposed to spend the whole day together.”
“Tomorrow?” Logan asked, raising his eyebrows. “You know Jeremy wants us to do a photo shoot tomorrow, right?”
I cringed. “Yeah, I know.”
Logan smiled and clapped his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll cover for you. I’ll tell him you’ve got explosive diarrhea or something.”
I laughed. “Wow, thanks.”
Logan grinned. “That’s what friends are for!”
*****
My facial muscles were sore from smiling so much.
I had been a nearly perfect day. Because it was my last free day in Arizona, I wanted to make it really special.
It had started with a magnificent hot air balloon ride to watch the sun rise over Phoenix.
Glory had been a little grumpy with me for having to get up so early, but by the way she had rested her head on my chest when I put my arm around her, I was pretty sure she had forgiven me for lost sleep.
The we had gone to the musical instrument museum, and it had been my turn to ramble on about all of the many instruments that I found fascinating.
Glory had seemed adequately interested, but more importantly, she had held my hand the entire time we were in there.
Now we were seated outside at a lovely little bistro by a man-made lake, and in the fading light Glory looked positively enchanting. We had finished our food a while ago, but we just kept talking and enjoying one another. It seemed as though neither one of us wanted the night to end.
“How did you find this place?” Glory asked, admiring the twisty shape of her water glass. “It’s amazing.”
“A friend told me about it,” I responded. The “friend” had been the best man at the wedding the night before. I had struck up a conversation and asked him for recommendations on where to take a date for dinner.
Glory leaned forward and her eyes caught the light of the lanterns hanging above us.
“Hot air ballon rides, great hikes, amazing restaurants... I’ve lived here my whole life and I feel like you know Phoenix way better than I do.
” She winked at me, and if I hadn’t been sitting I would have lost my balance.
“I think that always happens with the place you live,” I replied, trying not to get lost in her eyes. “I mean, there are still a million things I want to do in New York, but I never get to them because the day to day just gets in the way.”
She straightened a little. “I thought you lived in Indianapolis?”
I gulped. “I do!” I blurted. “I just... I used to live in New York.”
“Oh,” Glory said simply. I could tell she wasn’t completely satisfied with my answer, but she didn’t press it further. “I had a friend that lived in New York City. The way he talked about it made me want to go there.”
I gazed at her, not quite knowing what to say.
She was probably talking about me. I drummed my fingers on the table.
I had had ample opportunities to tell her the truth that day, but I hadn’t wanted to ruin all the perfect moments we kept having.
I closed my eyes, dreading what I was about to do, praying that she would understand. It was time to come clean.
“Glory,” I began, “there’s something I have to tell you...”
But the rest of my admission was cut short by a passing waitress tripping and spilling a hot plate of spaghetti all over my shirt.
“Oh no! I can’t believe it, I am so sorry!” The waitress exclaimed, looking at my shirt in horror.
I had to laugh. The timing of it all was too comical. “It’s okay, really,” I assured her. “Believe it or not, this is the second time this month that I’ve been covered in pasta sauce.”