“Liam, this is Buzzy,” Emily said. “She lives in the building.”
“This is a great spot up here,” I said. “Sorry for crashing it.”
“Are you two on a date or something?” Buzzy asked.
Emily and I both laughed.
“I was just getting ready to leave actually,” I said. “Have to get some sleep. Work in the morning. Be careful growing up. Sometimes it’s a trap.”
“I can’t wait to grow up and move out,” Buzzy said. “Then I don’t have to listen to my mother.”
“Well, my advice is to do well in school and take care of yourself,” I said. “Which you probably don’t want to hear from a stranger.”
“Exactly,” Buzzy said.
I laughed.
I looked at Emily.
Emily mouthed sorry to me.
I nodded.
I put my hand to my ear to signal to Emily that I would call her tomorrow.
She nodded back.
As I walked toward the door, Buzzy went to Emily for a hug and started to vent.
That was Emily.
She was always helping people. Taking care of others. Sometimes to her own detriment. Most of the time she’d end up hurt.
I couldn’t get the image of me and her closing in on each other out of my head.
What the hell was I thinking?
What the hell was I going to do?
Why the hell couldn’t I fight back feeling something for Emily?
Chapter Twenty-Six
Emily
I did leave the apartment on time.
Which meant I would have gotten to the bakery on time too.
Except…
I took a little detour to walk by the music club.
A part of me just wanted to be there again. To revisit the entire night.
My heart twisted.
I wasn’t a bad person. Or at least I didn’t believe I was.
I was the person who gave food to the homeless. I was the person who talked to Buzzy because she was mad at her mother. I was the person who checked on Miss Crabapple. I was the person who took over the failing family business.
But what did that actually make me?
A doormat.
And all I could do as I walked, was tell myself that all the good I did was worth it and made up for the maybe not so good that I was thinking and feeling.
Liam was… Liam.
It’s how we were years ago.
Yeah, sure, we lost some time during college and after, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t pick up where we left off.
You mean the night you and him were going to meet at that tree and finally admit you had feelings?
I shook my head.
That’s not what I meant at all.
That was high school.
We were seventeen turning eighteen.
That was a far cry from what we were now.
Then why did you enjoy being with him so much last night? Why did you jump into his arms? Why did you and him get so close on the roof…
My cheeks started to warm up.
I replayed that scene in my mind dozens of times.
I really wondered what would have happened if Buzzy hadn’t interrupted us.
It was crazy to think about.
And if that wasn’t crazy enough, when I thought about Liam, I thought about Miranda. Which was duh but it wasn’t good. She was in Boston on business. She trusted Liam and I to help plan their wedding.
Did she though? Or did she just demand it? How many times has she screwed you over?
I looked down at my feet.
I pleaded with my mind to please stop.
There was no way I was getting close to Liam to get back at Miranda.
That would make me evil.
I wasn’t evil.
I was-
“Emily?”
I stopped walking and looked up to find a complete stranger staring at me.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Ernie.”
“I don’t know any Ernie.”
“I know about you,” he said. “I saw you. Last night. Right here.”
He nodded to the music club behind him.
I hadn’t even realized I was there.
My mind had been racing so fast, I would have just walked right by.
“Okay,” I said.
Now the anxiety kicked in.
Thinking this guy maybe knew Miranda. And he was going to tell Miranda that I was with Liam last night. Even though we didn’t do anything wrong.
Did we do anything wrong?
I knew if I had to ask… then the answer was… yes…
“I own the place,” Ernie said.
“Oh,” I said. “Right.”
“You have no idea who I am?”
“No.”
Ernie laughed. He touched his slicked back black hair and pointed to the front door. He wore gold bracelets that hit together like wind chimes.
“Got a minute to come in?”
“Actually, I don’t,” I said. “I own a bakery and I’m already late.”
“Damn,” he said. “Well, then I’ll keep it quick. I was waiting for Faye to give you a call.”
“Faye… right.”
“Look, here’s the quick story,” Ernie said. “Carla and I? A long time ago. There was a moment. Okay? They sing great. I love when they’re here. Last night, all I heard about was you. I saw it myself. Amazing. I was just coming out for a smoke and here you are, walking by. So I stopped you. Now we’re caught up.”
“Right,” I said. “I really do have to get going.”
He put his right hand out. His hands were thick, which fit the rest of his look.
“Emily,” he said. “I want you to come back here and sing again. As soon as possible. I want you to have your own set too. Pick some songs. And just get up there and go for it. Good singers bring in more people and I make more money. The bad singers help a little, but not as much.”
I thought about Liam singing.
The fact that he threw himself to the wolves to get me to sing…
“I’ll think about it,” I said.
“Sounds good,” Ernie said. His cell phone started to ring. “You talk to Faye. And Carla too. Then let me know.”
Ernie produced a business card.
Then he turned and answered his phone.
I started to walk and I caught myself smiling.
Me? Singing on stage? My own show?
I instantly thought about playing guitar.
I saw myself on stage, singing and playing…
It was too good to be true.
Kind of like Liam.
“What are you still doing here?” Lucy asked as she
