Page 37 of Wild Heart

I jerked back in my seat, a reaction to both her raised voice and the news. “What?”

“I just got off the phone with her, excited she was at the end of the tour and doing the last show tomorrow,” my sister began. “And when I asked her what time her flight comes in, because I wanted to pick her up from the airport, she told me she didn’t have a return flight booked because she’s not coming back to Landing.”

Something twisted painfully in my gut. “What do you mean? Is she taking a few extra days there?”

“Nope. She’s just not coming back.”

The pain in my gut shifted north to my lungs. “Why?”

Evidently, my sister wasn’t concerned about how I’d react to the news, because she never prepared me for what she said next, which absolutely gutted me. “Because apparently, something happened between the two of you, something that Ava, and I quote,needs time to heal from. Time to move on.”

The ache in my lungs became a painful burn. It was becoming harder and harder to breathe. This didn’t make any sense at all. Why would Ava need time to heal from what we had between us? Why would she want to move on? I thought everything had been perfect. It was easily the best night of my life.

“That makes no sense. When she left, we were on good terms. Great terms. She never gave me any indication she wasn’t going to return.”

“Okay. But let me ask you this. Did she give you any indication she was? Did she tell you she couldn’t wait to get back? Did she tell you how she was going to count down the days until she returned?”

I was trying my hardest to take in full breaths and failing miserably. This was too much.

I thought back on the morning after the wedding, the morning she left. Ava had kissed me. Several times. She was tearful, but I assumed it was because she had to leave. I thought she was upset about us finally getting together and her needing to leave so soon afterward. Was that simply wishful thinking? Ignorance? What had I missed?

“I don’t… I don’t know.” I was so upset, so frustrated, I couldn’t think straight. I couldn’t see straight. “Are you sure you didn’t misunderstand her?”

There was a hint of pleading in my tone. I was desperate.

But the more I considered how things had gone down since Ava left, the more I already knew what Ivy had told me was the truth.

Ever since she left, Ava had been distant. I had been the one to reach out to her later the evening she’d flown out, even though I’d asked her to let me know when she landed. She’d responded to confirm she had arrived safely, but my calls over the next two days went unanswered. I had assumed it was a matter of timing, especially once I sent off a text and she told me the final few shows were monopolizing most of her time.

Had that been the truth? I didn’t doubt it was chaotic for her, but was it so bad she couldn’t have reached out at all?

I already knew the answer to that question, too.

Evidently, it was all a lie. Because she’d successfully found the time to have this conversation with my sister today.

“I didn’t misunderstand her. She’s not coming back, and I know exactly why.”

While this news didn’t make me feel much better, at least I could get answers and fix this mess. “What is her reasoning?”

“You don’t want a relationship with her, and she’s not prepared to be around you when that’s not an option.”

“That’s not true.”

Some of the tension eased out of Ivy’s frame, curiosity washed over her, and she lowered herself into the chair on the opposite side of my desk. “I’m not talking about a friendship or a relationship like you’ve had with her for years. I’m referring to a romantic relationship between the two of you.”

“So am I.” I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation with my little sister.

Shooting me a look of disbelief, Ivy said, “Well, I don’t think you made it clear to her, because she believes what you had together was just a single night. That you took what she offered because she was never going to ask or offer it again.”

It was like I’d been stabbed through the heart. “Does she think I would have taken advantage of her like that?”

“Did you tell her you had reasons for not wanting to date her?”

“Yes. And I wanted to talk to her about those reasons, but she indicated she wasn’t interested in talking. I intended to explain it all to her when she got back. I just didn’t want to risk turning her down again and losing her.”

Ivy audibly sighed. “Ava knows the kind of guy you are, Tate. She knows that once you’ve made up your mind about something, there’s little chance of getting you to deviate from that. So, she pushed for something she wanted with the man she loves and settled for a single night with you. In her mind, it was better than nothing at all.”

God, what had I done to her?