Page 68 of Embraced in Ink

And so, she would have to put herself out there, finally. And hope to hell that he loved her back.

And if he didn’t?

She put her hand over her belly and took a deep breath. If he didn’t, then they would have to go back to being friends.

Friends who knew what each other tasted like.

She knew that song, loved playing that song, how friends didn’t know what each other tasted like, but maybe they could go back because she refused to lose him.

And that was totally selfish of her.

She closed her planner, rolled her shoulders back, and knew she had to get back to practice. She was having trouble with this song, and she knew it wasn’t for lack of trying. No, it was because her mind was on other things.

The doorbell rang in that instant, and she frowned. No one was supposed to be here. Marcus was working, as was the rest of the family.

Maybe it was the UPS driver or something.

She went to the front door and looked through the peephole and groaned.

“Of course,” she whispered, hoping he didn’t hear her through the wood.

Bristol opened the door and tried to smile. “Colin, what are you doing here?”

He smiled at her and stuck his hands into his pockets. “Hey, I was driving around, trying to work out the last bit of a song, the one I told you about, and figured I might stop by.”

“You were driving around Boulder and just happened to come to me?” she asked.

“Yes, but I found myself driving directly towards you, if that makes any sense.”

“Maybe. I was about to get some practice in. What’s up, Colin?”

“Practice? You think I can join you?”

She held back a wince. “I don’t know. I’m focused at the moment.”

“I’m not going to bother you. I promise. It would be good to have two people working together, right? And there’s that song that our agents want to do.” He quickly held up his hands as she opened her mouth to speak. “I’m not the one who brought up the idea. Yes, I want to go on a tour with you, and I know it could help us, not just you, not only me, but both of us, but the song wasn’t my idea. However, it’s a great one. And for charity. How can we go wrong?”

This was the Colin that she usually liked. The one that wasn’t so self-centered. He hid that part of himself a little too often.

“Okay, fine, I could use a little help, honestly.”

Colin’s eyes brightened. “Really?”

“Really. I’m working on this last bit of a new piece, and I have a feeling it all has to do with my brain. But I could use someone to listen and figure out where I’m holding myself back.”

“Well, I’m here for you. Always, Bristol. You know that, right? I mean, I know we’re not together anymore, and that’s perfectly fine. But we can be friends. After all, you’re moving on, getting married and shit.”

She smiled, but she didn’t know where he was going with this.

“I am getting married. It’s going to be kind of amazing.”

“Oh, yeah. Totally. Is he going to go on tour with you? Or are you going to have to deal with not seeing each other for long periods? You know how lonely it can get out there. Even with everybody surrounding you, you need your core people. What are you going to do?” They were walking towards her back studio and practice area, and she frowned, not liking that his thoughts were going along the same path as hers. She didn’t know if he had an ulterior motive, but it was Colin, so perhaps he did.

“We’re still working on that. Everything’s still new.”

“I’ll say. Didn’t even realize you were dating, and suddenly, you’re getting married. I haven’t seen the full announcement yet either, you know, on social media. You guys just keeping it close?”

She frowned as she sat down in her chair, rolled her shoulders back, and got ready to pick up her cello.