“Brax?”
Still looking away from her, he answered, “I accepted a job at Axis Media a couple of weeks ago. I start after graduation.”
A couple of weeks ago. Why didn’t he tell me?
“Oh.” Was all she could muster.
“I can’t join you either, sis.”
Her head whipped the opposite direction as she pinned Paxton with a glare. Please don’t break my heart, too.
“Remember how I had my sight set on GSM&S?
She couldn’t forget. Every chance Pax had he reminded her that they represented the hottest musicians around, and she always countered with the fact that GSM&S was across the country from her.
Maybe, that’s what he wants. What they both want. To get away from me.
Old insecurities wrapped around Paisley’s mind and swept into her heart as Pax continued speaking. “I got it. I fucking got!”
Swallowing her hurt, Paisley said what she knew he needed to hear. “I’m so proud of you, Pax.” She was, but she was also sad.
“Don’t be too proud. We all know Lillian had a little something to do with me getting my foot in the door.”
Pax chuckled as Braxton slapped him on the shoulder, saying, “It never hurts to be friends with a Vicci, especially when everyone around there owes that family in one way or another.”
Paisley stood from her seat, walked over, and hugged her brother. “I’m sure you were hired because you left them no doubt that you were the most capable of representing all those talented musicians.”
“Thanks, sis,” Pax whispered as he squeezed tight.
“Hey! What about me? I did good, too,” Braxton joked.
“Yes, you did,” Paisley replied drily, rapidly losing humor for the evening. She turned and bent his way, giving him a hug. “I’m proud of you as well.”
As she made her way back to her spot, her heart ached over the loss of a dream she had chased for so long. One she thought they had all wanted. Paisley wasn’t sure how, but she needed to follow in the guys’ footsteps and let it go.
The rest of the meal, she sat silently, observing the two men she loved the most as they chatted about how great their lives were going to be. She smiled and nodded on cue, answered when required, but withdrew in on herself. Paisley didn’t share their sentiments. She was already preparing for loss.
All of them were taking on jobs that would be demanding. Pax would be across the country. He found it tough to visit during college. This would be even harder. And, Brax…he would be working for a competitor. Maybe they would get to hang out a lot still. Hopefully.
Paisley left that dinner sad and defeated, but she held onto the slightest sliver of faith. Braxton would still be close. They’d been in each other’s lives for so long, there was no way they would move on from each other. She had to believe that, otherwise, loving him all these years would be for nothing.
It had been for nothing because she wouldn’t have Braxton.
It had become apparent this morning that she wasn’t going to have him to herself and all she’d have to look forward to was her career. She’d hoped that she wouldn’t be by herself for long—God forbid she’d become the old hag married to her job and living with six cats like her mother’s friend Lydia. Deep down she knew even if that happened, she’d never be totally alone. Braxton would be there if she truly needed him. But after this morning’s news, it only solidified that his heart was with Alissa now. All of her dreams of him someday realizing she was the one was over.
Paxton and her parents were sitting in the grandstands across the way, celebrating her graduation. She just wished they understood that she wasn’t in the mood to celebrate anything. If they only were made aware that she was breaking inside . . . But that wouldn’t happen; it couldn’t. She wasn’t willing to let anyone know how she felt.
Chapter 9 Two Years Later
Braxton sat at his desk in the back of the condo he rented with Alissa. When they’d moved back to Southern California, they’d decided to find a place in Studio City. It was supposed to be temporary, but it had ended up being priced right when the landlord put it up for sale a year later, so they’d bought it.
Today, he was overly excited. Paxton had flown into town to visit with his family, and he and Paisley were coming over. Braxton would have liked to think that he and Paisley hadn’t grown apart, but something had changed on graduation day, and they’d since become more acquaintances than friends, rarely speaking.
“Babe, are they here yet?” Braxton called down the hall from his home office.
Alissa responded in an exasperated tone, “Christ, Braxton. You’ve asked that every ten minutes since you got the call they were on their way. No, they’re not here yet.”
Braxton couldn’t help himself though. It had been almost two years since they’d graduated. Almost two years without his best friends, and even though there were calls to catch up, not seeing them had been the worst.
Paxton had an excuse. Hell, he was on the east coast making a name for himself. But Paisley .didn’t. She was here in the same fucking city as him and yet she remained mostly a ghost. Every time he’d reached out to her, she’d been too busy to get together. Sometimes he could brush it off, put it down to her busy work schedule, but he would never have thought that he’d be the one person she wouldn’t share good news with. Last month Alissa mentioned that Paisley had someone serious in her life. That had cut Braxton to the bone. How had their lives changed so much that they’d become strangers? But today, that was all going
