Текст книги "Rock"

Автор книги: Anyta Sunday

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 12 страниц)

in his power to keep it there.

“Yes, his brother.” Reluctantly, he takes the offered hand.

Jace swallows and looks away. “Well, I wanted to wish you a happy birthday. Dad wants to know

what you want for your birthday dinner.” He shrugs, already moving across the veranda. “Call him. I

gotta go. My girlfriend is waiting in the car.”

He gives us a short wave. “Later.”

* * *

Except Jace is not at Dad’s later. He’s gone, his room void of anything to prove he was even here.

Lila seems saddened by his abrupt departure.

“Maybe he and his girlfriend wanted alone time?”

She frowns. “What girlfriend?”

* * *

Zach and I go back to his place for the night. Still stuffed from dinner, we lounge on his comfy grey

couch. A documentary about milk production plays on the television, but we’re not paying much

attention. We lie lengthwise on his couch, cuddling and nibbling little kisses on each other’s neck.

His phone buzzes against my crotch, and I laugh.

“Sorry.” He sits up and pulls out his phone, then pauses when he sees the sender. He frowns, and

after a second, lies the phone down.

“Who is it?”

He swallows. “Hamish.”

“The big brother you helped?”

He nods, but instead of curling up next to me again, he sits upright.

“Who is Hamish?”

“You just said—”

“No, I mean, who is he to you?”

“Just . . . someone.”

Emotions flicker over his face, and I get it. “Someone special though, right?”

A long moment. “Yeah. But that was in the past.”

I brush my shoulder against his. “It’s okay, Zach. I have a past as well.”

He glances at me. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t think I can.”

“Yeah. I get it. Neither can I.” He twists and kisses me.

I brush his hair back and rub my nose against his.

“You’re beautiful,” he says simply. “You have no idea how happy I am I pulled over that day.”

“Me too.”

argillite

Argillite. The basement-of-New-Zealand rock.

Deformed. Fractured. Veined. Argillite has endured 300 million years of tectonic movement. And

Zach and I are driving over it on our way to Auckland for a concert.

Our first stop was New Plymouth to visit Zach’s cousin, and now we’re on the road again, driving

up the coast with the windows wide open. Salty sea air slowly turns earthy—the smell of a thousand

sheep.

I change gears and wind around a blind corner. More rolling green hills spotted with sheared sheep.

The sun beams brightly through the windshield, and Zach and I simultaneously pull down our sun

visors.

Zach pulls out my sunglasses from the glove compartment and hands them to me. He doesn’t say

anything. In fact, the whole trip so far, he’s been fidgeting and squirming.

I flash him a smile to calm him, even though my insides are tight. Does he want to tell me

something? Does he think we’d be better off friends? The thought makes me cold because I care about

Zach. He’s funny, he’s sweet, and he’s great in bed.

Zach shifts in his seat, picking at his seat belt like it’s constricting him of air. “Cooper,” he whispers

much too softly for my comfort.

A shiver rolls over me, making my heart race and my stomach churn. What if he wants more? What

if he wants to talk about the future?

Zach clogs up again, grumbles and turns on the radio to classic rock. Cat Steven’s The First Cut is

the Deepest plays. The lyrics gently wrap around me until I’m living the song. The song is me. The

song is us. I want Zach by my side.

Even though I don’t know if I can love again.

I push my sunglasses higher up on my nose so Zach won’t try to read me. The next half-hour, I am

lost in thoughts. I don’t even hear the other songs play. I focus on the road and the way the breeze rolls

over grass, making the hills shimmer and feel alive, like a green beast who will stretch his limbs and sit

up at any moment.

And maybe we’d drive down his arm to his large fist, where he’d crush us to dust with all the

memories I can’t seem to shake.

Like the time Jace and I took the hatchback out to Kaitoke Regional Park to see Rivendell, and Jace

had breathed deeply and said It really feels like there’s magic here. I wouldn’t be surprised if the trees

actually came to life—

I slow down and glance at Zach’s large hands, slightly bumpy with veins. I squeeze his fingers.

I care. I care. I care.

Don’t leave me.

Don’t ask me to stay.

He plays with my fingers for a moment before I pull away to steer around another stretch of

winding road.

We’re in the middle of a curve when the song comes on.

“Turn it off,” I plead.

Zach sounds surprised. “What? This is a great song.”

In my mind’s eye, I see Jace’s smile as he says diamonds.

I breathe in sharply. “Turn it off!”

He does, and the silence is loaded with questions that I don’t want to answer. “I’m just dizzy,” I say,

curving around another bend. “The music is too much.”

Zach frowns, apparently not buying it, but he lets it go and asks me to pull over.

I do.

He leans over and kisses me deeply, and then pops open my seatbelt. “How about I drive for a bit?”

We swap places, and I lean back against the seat wondering where he is now. Wondering what his

life is like. Whether he finds it hard to fall in love again too. I shut my eyes and let the vibrations of the

car take me to a dreamy world of giants and rocks and unanswered questions.

* * *

I wake to Zach shaking me gently. “Thought we’d take a stop. I saw a sign for this place and knew

we had to come here.”

I take off my sunglasses and rub the bridge of my nose where they pressed awkwardly. I blink in

the brightness of the day.

Zach is saying how he always wanted a chance to go here, and when he saw the sign, he knew it

was meant to be.

I stretch, ripping out a yawn, and Zach tickles my midriff. I laugh on instinct and yank my T-shirt

down.

“Where are—”

Waitomo Caves. The universe just slapped me in the face.

Zach grabs our jackets. “Mr. Geologist, are you ready?”

No.

I follow him anyway. Forty minutes later, we are inching along a narrow passage down a limestone

shaft. Our guide talks about the formations but I can barely focus with the shivers running through me.

Our song, and now this? Are these signs?

How many earthquakes can our relationship withstand? Are we as strong as argillite?

I clutch my phone in my pocket, yearning to call Jace.

Zach looks over his shoulder and smiles. With every smile, guilt worms itself deeper into my belly.

If you can’t love him completely, set him free. He deserves better.

But I care! I really do!

We hop on a boat. It’s cool and dark with a distant sound of dripping. Zach takes my hand as we

glide into the Glowworm Grotto.

I gasp. It’s like we’re floating in space with galaxies at our fingertips. The darkness thickens and

pushes me from behind toward the edge of a high cliff. The rush is unbearable as it comes coupled with

memories.

As kids in the cave.

All I Want Is You.

Zach whispers in my ear, and my stomach flips. Now I know what he’s going to ask me, and I’m

not ready for it. Certainly not when Jace’s ghost is here dancing with me.

Don’t. Don’t. Don’t.

“Will you move in with me?”

muscovite

Jace’s twenty-second birthday.

My sister, Lila, and Dad huddle around the laptop in Dad’s study, Skyping him as we do every year.

I slunk out after a tense Happy Birthday, Jace. He frowned but waved me goodbye.

Lila and Dad speak to him for a few more minutes, asking him how he’s doing. I know this,

because I’m standing just outside the study in the shadows.

Part of me doesn’t want to stay here, forcing out fake conversation; another part wants nothing

more than to hear his voice, forever, on repeat, even if he said nothing more than a shopping list.

“We have news,” Dad says. I hold my breath, knowing what’s coming because I helped dad pick

out a diamond ring and gold bands. “We wanted to wait to tell you in person, but—”

“We can’t wait,” Lila chirps in. She gestures Dad to spit it out already. He laughs, smacks her with

a kiss, and says, “Your mum and I are getting married.”

“Wow, oh my God, congratulations!” Jace’s tone is enthusiastic. “About time, I guess.”

Lila says, “We’ve also decided on a date.”

Annie says, “You better come, brother. No ditching us like you always seem to do.”

Jace says, “Of course I’m going to the wedding! I’ve never ditched you.”

Even Lila and Dad quiet at that. Lila speaks first. “Never mind that. I would love you to walk me

down the aisle—”

“Yes. When is it?”

Annie snickers. “Three guesses.”

Jace got it right on the second. “Dad’s birthday? You’re kidding.”

Dad and Annie chuckle. “Dad wants everything on his day. Wait until you hear the theme they

have.”

Jace says, “Mum? You agreed to this? A Halloween-birthday-masquerade wedding with a dress

code of hauntingly beautiful?”

Lila laughs. “Sounds like fun to me.”

The doorbell rings. Guests Lila and Dad invited over to share the big news. Lila air-kisses Jace and

excuses herself. Dad says they’ll call again soon.

They’re kissing as they leave the room and don’t notice me hunkered outside the doorway. I rest

my head against the wall and shut my eyes to all this romance. I’m happy for Lila and Dad, but I’m still

raw from last week—

Jace says, “So . . . sister, eh?”

“Yep, been a long while coming.”

“Guess so.” A moment of silence, and then, “Cooper didn’t say much. I mean, I guess that’s

normal. But he usually stays. Listens.”

I close my eyes.

Annie hums. “Just ignore Cooper, Jace. He’s moping around because he broke up with his

boyfriend.”

Quiet. A crackle down the line. “He did?”

Annie sighs on my behalf. “Yeah.”

My heart beats heavy in my chest three, four times before he replies. “Oh,” I wish to hear an edge

of satisfaction, a splash of glee that gives away how relieved he is to hear this. But his tone is merely

genuine. “I hope he’ll be okay.”

Annie gives a slight laugh. “Yeah. Besides, we’re used to it.”

I hold my breath and pray for Annie to leave it at that.

Jace asks, “Used to it?”

“Yeah. He was worse when you left.”

gold

Dad and Lila tie the knot, exchanging beautiful gold bands. The wedding is just what they wish for.

Hauntingly beautiful.

For the wedding reception, the doors to the patio open to eight round tables, each peppered with

twelve guests.

I sip on my ginger beer, cucumber, and gin cocktail, and take in the colorful festivity, which is like

a sea of melted crayons—women wear large skirts and corsets, and men wear tailored suits fit with

vests. Like something from Cinderella’s ball but with grotesque twists: dripping blood, ripped bodices,

deadly-long nails, red contact lenses, and fake scars.

Lila and Dad sit at the head of our table, an arch framing them from behind. The spider webs that

cover the arch are made with hundreds of stringed faux-beryl crystals that sparkle under the fairy lights

behind them.

Lila and Dad both wear white—Dad, a suit with a dried silver rose drooping out of his pocket. Lila,

a gown with the same dead silver roses woven in the bodice. They feed each other olive-pesto-stuffed

capsicums, and nibble kisses on each other’s fingers.

A hand lands on my shoulder, jerking me out of my observations.

“What’re you daydreaming about, pussycat?” Ernie asks, shifting his chair a touch nearer. Dressed

in a black suit with white buttons, a bow tie, and a bowler hat, Ernie has a cross of wood hanging with

string slung over his back. He’d held it above Annie as they arrived. Puppet and Puppeteer.

He waves a hand in front of my face. “Calling Cooper . . .”

I slap him away with a chuckle. “It’s all so much but I’m happy for them.”

Ernie drinks his cocktail and stares at Dad and Lila. “You’ve got an awesome family, Cooper.”

He focuses his gaze on me and grins, but it’s a shy grin; one I’m not used to seeing on him. “I hope

one day I can be a part of it.”

I sit straighter, my foot knocking into the leg of the table. “You and Annie?”

I don’t say the rest, but he bites his lip and nods.

“I never thought I could ever be so lucky. She’s special.”

“Yes, she is.”

“Would you bless it, if I—”

“You’re going to ask?”

“Soon.”

I pull him into a hug. “If you hurt my sis, I’ll make your life miserable.”

“Good. If I did that, I’d deserve it.”

Annie comes and whispers something to Ernie. He nods and she leaves.

“What’s that about?”

“She’s got a little something to do.”

The waiters serve parmesan-lemon risotto with fried oyster mushrooms and roasted cauliflower

purée.

Jace’s chair is hauntingly vacant. He flew in a few days ago but other than stiff hellos and awkward

conversation, we’ve avoided each other.

As though we wanted to say more but didn’t know how, we ducked into bathrooms or the kitchen

pantry or the garage when we caught sight of the other. I’d seen him enough to know he looked the

same, with a few more creases around the eyes. Laughter I hadn’t been part of.

I search the crowd for his Prince Charming suit: a gold blazer with brass buttons, tassels coming off

the shoulders, and a blue sash. I don’t see—

The music and chattering crowds hush to a silence.

Jace’s voice comes over the speakers, laughter at the edges. “For Mum and Dad, may this day haunt

you and your dreams forever.”

The first few strokes of the piano echo in my belly. It’s perfect in every way.

“Time Warp!” Lila cries. She starts singing along with Jace, while Dad pitches his voice higher and

Annie’s voice hits the speakers.

Ernie grins at my sideways stare. His huge grin lights up the room more than fairy light wetas

dangling from the ceilings as chandeliers. “She’s great, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.” The food is delicious, but all I can do is stare and pick at it.

“You all right?” Ernie asks, eying my food like he wants to gobble my plate.

I slide it over to him. “Fine. I need the bathroom anyway.”

I zigzag through the crowds to the arch leading to the foyer and the band. Jace has removed his

blazer and plays with graceful energy. My sister and Jace are sharing a stool and a microphone. I lean in

the shadows of the doorway and wish I knew a comfortable way to minimize the distance between us.

I slink back into the dining room crowds and make my way to the kitchen, which is temporarily

repurposed into a bar. I perch on a stool and order whiskey. I sip and observe the head table outside. At

the tail end of my drink, Annie and Jace return for their dinner.

I swirl the last sip of whiskey, ice clinking against the side of the glass. Rings of condensation mark

the marble bench.

Someone tugs on my sleeve. I twist. Annie in a smooth doll mask. “Help me for a minute?”

“Sure.”

She pinches my sleeve and drags me to the back room where the wedding gifts are stored. The

whole side of one room is filled with colorfully wrapped boxes with large, obnoxious bows.

“What’s up?” she asks, pulling her mask up to her pinned hair.

“Sorry? What do you—?”

“Mean? Don’t think I haven’t noticed how weird you two are acting. Ernie said you were acting

weird too.”

I swallow. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That might work on someone else but not your sister. I know you. You haven’t spoken to Jace all

evening. Barely at all since he came home. What happened?”

I shift in my boots and brace a hand on my fake sword. The cape I’m wearing seems to be choking

me and I unclasp it. The black material puddles at my feet. “It’s been a busy few days, we just haven’t

had time—”

“Not the last three days. What happened to you two? You used to be best friends.” She moves to the

present pile and traces her fingers over the tops of bows and ribbons. “There was even a time when I

thought—” She shakes her head. “Never mind.”

The truth of her suspicions shows in the way she looks at me then looks away.

I fold my arms over a shiver. “What did you think?”

Annie stills her hand on the largest present, silver with drops of fake blood, the one I gave Dad and

Lila. “I—I mean . . .”

Her inability to form the sentence confirms it. I sigh, glad for the whiskered mask even though it

doesn’t change facts.

“And if it was true?” I ask, voice cracking.

“I don’t care.” She lifts her chin and stares right at me. “Broken home, broken rules, right?”

My throat tightens and I shut my eyes for a few beats. Annie closes the distance between us and

rubs my upper arm. “That type of broken is something we all have to live with and accept; but the

broken between you and Jace . . . we all feel it. Dad and Lila too. We want things to be good between

you.”

God, how I wished that too.

Annie kisses my cheek under the mask. “Let’s go back out. We could dance?”

But I don’t think I can face a crowd yet. I need a moment to pull myself together. “Maybe later?”

“Right. I’d better check Dad isn’t pulling Ernie apart piece by piece.”

The air stirs as she shuts the door. I move to the window seat and sit.

Broken home, broken rules.

I breathe in the sharp relief of her words and peel off my mask. I peer at the darkness outside, the

windowpane cold against my forehead. My breath fogs against the glass, and I scribble Jace’s name

through it. I wish things could be how they were then—

The door bursts open. I scrub Jace’s name off the window and leap from the windowsill.

Dad and Lila stop kissing when they see me. “What are you doing in here?”

What are you doing in here? “Just making sure my gift was in order.”

Lila giggles. “Your dad and I just wanted to . . . peek at the gifts.”

Yeah, that’s what they were doing in here. “Well don’t let me stop you.” I cut toward the door but

Dad slings an arm across my neck. “This is the happiest day of my life. Thank you for making

everything so wonderful.”

In the distance, a loud scream sounds remarkably like Ernie.

Dad laughs. “And it just got better.”

I grin. “How many other tricks do you have up your sleeve?”

Lila grabs a present and vigorously unwraps it. “You can also find treats upstairs.”

I leave them to their shenanigans and head toward the chocolate-lava cake. Ernie’s fake blood drips

all down his front and he’s swearing under his breath. “They’re going to pay for that.”

“Oh, yes,” Annie says, dabbing his neck with a napkin. “Let me help you plot.”

I sit and shift my chair in closer to the table. A piece of paper catches my eye. Slipped under my

dessert plate is an envelope with my name on it. I pause before picking it up. No note. Just a smooth teal

stone shaped like an hourglass.

I rub it between my fingers. “Did you leave—” I stop asking Annie and Ernie if they left the

envelope here. I know who did.

I slip the stone into my pocket and search the room for him. For a while I think he left the

reception, but then I spot him.

He looks different without his blazer, and he’s wearing a mask made up of little silver squares that

reflect the light like a disco ball. It’s a different mask than the blue one he arrived in. Does he hope to

lose himself in the crowd? Does he think I won’t recognize his eyes, his mouth, his ears, his hands?

I left my mask in the gift room, but I’m not going back there so I pluck a paua shell one from the

centerpiece and put it on before making my way to the bar.

I slip onto the stool next to him. Jace startles but doesn’t acknowledge me. He sips his drink

nonchalantly instead.

I order one of what he’s having. “You here for the bride or the groom?”

Jace’s hand jerks around his glass but otherwise he’s still. He looks at me for a long moment.

“Bride,” he says. “We go way back.”

“Groom,” I say, leaning in conspiratorially. “Once I saw the guy swear at an old lady for cutting in

line, and she whipped out her cane and tripped him in the parking lot. I’m Cooper, by the way, and who

are you, Mr. Friend of the Bride?”

Jace laughs uncertainly. His gaze flashes to the bartender and the whiskey bottles. “Call me

Wesley.”

I lift my tumbler glass and drink deeply. The warm whiskey burns as it slides down my throat. I

cough and chuckle at myself. “What do you think of the Halloween-birthday-masquerade wedding? I

think the guy is after the gifts.”

“Could be. Makes sense. He’ll get twice as many. What did you get him?”

I grin. “See the biggest gift?”

“The one taking up the entire corner of the room?”

“Yep. That’s mine.”

“What is it?”

“Twenty cardboard boxes each smaller than the last.”

“Ouch. What did he do to you?”

I shrug. “He’s my dad. That’s reason enough.” I take another sip. “But there’s a photo album of our

family in the last box.”

Jace rattles the ice in his glass. “Big family?”

“No, just broken.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be. Broken family, broken rules. I had two birthdays, two Christmases, two great homes. I

hope the album shows him how much I love him and Lila.”

He blinks and parts his lips—

I cling my glass against his. “What is it you do, Wesley?”

He clears his throat. “I just finished university—teacher’s college—but I plan on travelling around

Europe for a year before I settle into a teaching career.”

I hold back my surprise and draw my tumbler over the condensation on the bench. I knew Jace

finished teacher’s training but I didn’t know he was planning to travel. “Wow.” I take a much larger

drink. “When does your adventure begin?”

“A few weeks. I wanted to be here for the wedding first.”

I nod, trying to shake off the disappointment. A whole year away?

How is being in Europe different than in Dunedin if you never speak anyway? “Where will you

go?”

“All over, really. I’ll start with Germany and go from there.”

“Sounds amazing. Make sure you go to Turkey to see the Göreme Fairy Chimneys. And the Giant’s

Causeway in Ireland, and of course, Stonehenge.”

“Have you been?”

“No but one day I will. After I finish my masters.”

“You really should.”

“Teacher’s college, what was that like?” What has happened to you in the past years? What have I

missed?

“I taught one class where a kid got his hand stuck in a tuba. I don’t know how he did it but it was

jammed in there. We tried pulling, rotating, even using soapy water to dislodge him. I had to send him

to First Aid. The class was in a shambles, and the only way I could pull in everyone’s attention was to

tell them about getting stuck up to my waist in mud while hiking a couple of years ago. It took me three

hours with the help of some mates to get free.”

I shake my head, grinning.

“What I didn’t tell the class was that I lost my pants in the process and came out butt naked.” Jace

winces and takes another sip. “I’ll never live it down.”

“That’s a good one.”

“What about you?” he asks. “Any embarrassing stories?”

I shrug. What the hell. “My ex and I went bungee jumping at the Kawarau Bridge near Queenstown

last year.”

“Bungee jumping. You’re crazy.”

“When you’re on the bridge, they ask if you want to touch the water. I didn’t have a change of

clothes with me so I said I’d like to touch it but not get dunked. They fiddled about with the ropes until

it was my turn. I freaked out for a few moments then jumped. I crashed through the surface of the water

and bounced back out. The rush was so intense that I didn’t immediately notice something was off. But

as the bounces slowed, I became aware of cold air on my butt and . . . that’s when I noticed the water

had pushed my shorts around my thighs and I was flashing the world.”

Jace snorts and slaps the kitchen bench. “Shit.”

“Yeah. Worst is they videotaped it and tried to sell us the memory.”

“Oh, God, please say you bought it!”

“Are you kidding?”

He laughs harder. We share a couple more experiences we’d rather forget, and Jace excuses himself

to the bathroom. When he comes back, he’s carrying a plate of chocolate-lava cake and two forks.

“Love chocolate,” he says. “Couldn’t miss this. Want some?”

I take the offered fork and we dig in.

“Did you come here with someone?” Jace asks with a token glance at the guests.

“No. Single. You?” I hold a forkful of cake to my lips.

“Me too.”

I eat the cake and hold his gaze longer than before. He rests his fork on the plate and I follow suit. I

pick at my shirt and undo a button. “It’s stuffy in here. You want to go for a walk?”

“Sure.”

I lead him outside through a gap in the trellises. When we hit the fringe of the bush, he stops and

looks at me.

“This way,” I say warmly.

Fern leaves comb our sides as we trek down the dark trail. Our steps make a dull clumping sound

on the packed-dirt path.

Jace hesitates, and I pause with him. His mask reflects the strands of moonlight filtering through

the trees. I can’t be sure but I think a grin is pulling at his lips. “You can’t expect me to follow you out

into the bush in the middle of the night!”

The words stir an earlier memory—I think they were meant to. “And yet, here you are.”

He follows me around the bend toward the babbling creek. If I listen closely enough, I think I’ll

hear our story being told to us.

Outside the cave, I stop. “We have to whisper now. Come.”

He’s close behind me as we move into the cave. For a moment, I linger in his warmth and observe

his slow, sweet smile.

The glowworms seem brighter than ever. Maybe they’re celebrating our return. “Been a long time

since I’ve been out here.”

“How long?” he whispers.

“Years.”

I try to count the hundreds of pearly-green lights but like always, I don’t finish.

Jace turns and walks out.

I leave a few moments after him. He’s standing at the creek, touching his mask as if considering

lifting it. He drops his hand. “Thank you for taking me here.”

“Want to head back?”

He nods.

When we get back to the garden, we veer toward the nook at the end and sit on the bench dusted

with real spider webs. The cool wood bites through my shirt.

I pull the hourglass stone from my pocket. Jace is watching me, so I hand it over to him. “I got this

today.”

His voice is on the cusp of breaking. “What is it?”

“I’m not sure,” I say. “It could be anything.”

“What do you think it is?”

“An apology. Or maybe someone misses me as much as I miss him.”

His breath hitches.

I continue, “But I’m not sure that’s possible.”

“Why not?”

“Because the guy who gave this to me broke my heart. I’ve thought about him and missed him

every day for five years. Every single day.”

“Maybe it’s the same for him?” He’s staring at the stone in his hand.

“Maybe.”

“Were you close?” He fiddles with the stone, not lifting his gaze to me.

“We used to hang out as kids in the cave.”

His eyes close. I pluck the stone from his warm hands and slide it back into my pocket. “It’s cold,

let’s get back to the reception.”

Back inside, we sidle up to the bar and order two more whiskeys. It fuels the nervous flare in my

belly and shoots shivers to the tips of my fingers and toes. The mask is heavy against my nose and I

adjust it.

“I like it,” he says. “Your mask.”

I laugh. “I hope that’s not all you like.”

“No.”

The direct response sobers me.

Ice numbs my hand where I clutch my glass. I sip, staring at the wait staff as they rush to pour

drinks and clean spills.

His gaze burns the side of my face like the whiskey burns my throat.

“What are you thinking about, Wesley?”

He holds out a hand. “Would you like to dance, Mr. Son of the Groom?”

My breath catches. “Call me Cooper.”

He wraps his warm hand around my iced one and leads me to the dance floor.

Tens of couples are waltzing. Among them, Annie and Ernie are sharing a tender kiss. Lila and Dad

are at the sidelines pointing at people’s feet and discussing something.

Jace tugs my arm just enough to turn me. He slides closer, placing his right hand on my waist

toward my back. I set my hand on his shoulder. He steps forward into a simple waltz and falters. “Sorry,

did you want to lead?”

“I don’t mind. I’m versatile.”

His lips twitch. “Me too but if you prefer—”

“Lead. Please.”

His steps are confident but his eyes hold a vacant sheen.

The first song ends and the next starts. I squeeze his shoulder. “You know the guy I told you

about?”

“The one who you think gave you the stone?”

I don’t step back as far on the next beat, drawing us an inch closer. “The one I know gave me the

stone.”

“What about him?” His words hit my neck and tunnel under my collar.

“He’s a musician. A brilliant musician.”

His grip tenses. “Is he?”

“Yes. You might have heard him play and sing with my sister earlier.”

“I’d hardly call the performance brilliant.”

I smile. “He plays as an accompaniment to operas, ballet, and modern dance. Even had an

appearance with the Dunedin orchestra.”

“Just classical stuff? Sounds pretentious.”

“He’s not though. He makes crowds cry. Makes them roar for more.”

He blinks. “Is that right?”

“Yes. I know. I’ve been to every concert he’s ever done.”

He misses a step. “Sorry, I—”

“You okay?”

He holds my gaze then steers me back into the waltz. His tender touch prickles my skin with

goosebumps. “Why would you see his concerts if he broke your heart?”

“He means too much to me not to witness his successes.”

“You saw all of them?”

“Yes.” I whisper at his ear. “And they were brilliant.”

He shivers and presses us closer with each step. “That’s amazing of you.”

“Do you think he would have minded if he knew I was there?”

“I think he’d have been touched. I imagine he wishes he’d invited you in the first place.”

“But he didn’t.”

“The guy is a fool.”

“I wonder if he’s changed but doesn’t know how to tell me?”

“Can he be both a fool and have changed?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Maybe he’s between the two—no longer a fool because he knows what he’s done wrong, but he

hasn’t quite figured out how to change either.”

“Do you think he eventually will?”

Jace shrugs.

Lila and Dad are scaring half the dancers with their awkward steps. The song winds down, and I

pull out of Jace’s grasp. “Another drink, Wesley?”

“Please.”

“I’ll grab them and we can go somewhere quiet. Sound good?”

His Adam’s apple juts as he swallows and nods.

When I come back with two whiskeys, I lead him upstairs to the balcony. The music rises faintly

from below but otherwise it’s quiet.

We huddle together in the fresh breeze, our drinks resting on the flat wooden edge of the railing.

The bush we walked through is a dark silhouette against a star-spotted sky.

“I think you might be right.”

“What’s that?”

“My guy isn’t really mine right now.” I face him and he mirrors me. “I’m glad I met you tonight,

Wesley.”

His gaze runs over my mask to my nose and lingers on my mouth. “You are?”

I draw closer. “Perhaps you can help me show my man what he’s missing.”

His breath catches and his gaze flickers to mine. “What did you have in mind?”

“If we were”—I slide my hands down his hips and draw us together until our hard groins meet