Page 34 of Wild Heart

“Oh, perfect. Now, what time does your flight get in? I’ll pick you up from the airport.”

She was eager to have me back. I missed her terribly, too.

I sighed, releasing the last lock of my hair from the curling iron. After setting the curling iron down and unplugging it, I ran my fingers through my hair. Normally, I would have done it to style my hair, but that wasn’t the case now.

My heart was pounding wildly. “I don’t have a flight.”

“What do you mean? The tour is over tomorrow. I thought you were flying home on Sunday. Were more tour dates added?” she asked.

I swallowed hard. “No. No, the final show is tomorrow.”

Ivy didn’t hesitate to request more information. “So, are you staying there an extra day?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just that… Well, I’m sorry for not saying something to you sooner, Ivy, but I’m not coming back.”

“What?!”

Tears welled in my eyes, my throat feeling thick. Maybe it was a good thing I hadn’t done my makeup before my hair today. I didn’t doubt I’d have mascara running down my face by the time this call was over. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“I… I… I don’t understand,” she stammered. “What’s going on?”

The panic was evident in her voice; she sounded as upset as I felt. I wanted nothing more than to ease the pain I’d already caused, but I knew she’d be even more upset once she learned the truth.

“Something happened,” I shared. “Something happened, and I just need time to heal from it. Time to move on.”

There was a brief bout of silence before Ivy gasped. “Oh, God. Did… Did somebody hurt you while you were on tour? Are you okay?”

My terror was replaced by guilt. There was such a heaviness in my body, the weight of this whole situation bringing me down. I’d kept so much from my best friend, and now she was assuming the worst had happened to me. “It’s nothing like that,” I assured her. “The tour has been fine. In fact, it’s been a great distraction for me whenever I’m out on stage. What happened to me actually happened back in Landing.”

“But you were barely here for two whole days. I know I was sort of preoccupied with so much of the wedding stuff happening, but I didn’t think I was that oblivious to what was going on. How could something have happened? Was it at the wedding?”

I closed my eyes, visions of my night with Tate dancing in my mind. It had only been a few days, and I missed him terribly. I hadn’t been even remotely prepared for how bad this was going to be for me. For some foolish reason, I’d assumed when I was at the wedding and had convinced Tate to give me one night that I was doing myself a favor.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Because where my thought had been that I’d feel good about having that single night with the man I loved if that was the only way I could have him, I hadn’t anticipated just how often I’dreplay our night together and worse, how often I’d long for more of it. Long for more of him.

There was not a chance I could return to Landing knowing that I still wanted him, and he had reasons for not wanting to be with me.

“If I’m honest, it started years ago,” I began. “But the worst part of it happened last year on the 4thof July, just a few days before the tour started. And yes, more happened the night of the wedding. But I don’t think I should share more of this with you. I don’t want you to worry, get upset, or feel the need to get involved.”

“My best friend isn’t coming home, Ava. How can I not be upset?”

I wiped at the tears running down my cheeks. “I get it. I understand. I’m just saying that I don’t want you to get upset about the actual thing that happened. It can’t be changed, and I just want to be able to move on.”

The silence stretched between us once again. My nerves were shot, and I was beginning to think I might be better off staying in today instead of going out on my last day off on this tour to do some exploring around the town with a few other dancers.

“Oh, no,” she murmured.

“What?”

“How did I not see it before?”

“See what?”

Following a beat, she declared, “You and Tate. I remember seeing the two of you dancing at the wedding. Then you were gone, and he was gone. Oh, Ava. Did something happen between you and my brother?”

I pressed my lips together, unwilling to reveal any details to her. But because I couldn’t stay like this forever, I finally said, “I don’t want to say anything and create problems for the two of you.”