A Winter Wedding(21)
“I did. You’re telling me I won’t have heat until Monday.”
“I’m sorry. I could call a few other companies, but even those places will probably tell me it’ll be the first of the week before they can get a tech out here. I figure if that’s the case, we might as well wait for Owen. He should guarantee his work.” He bent his head to peer into her face. “I hope you’re not too upset...”
She’d probably lost the man she’d expected to spend the rest of her life with and, unless she could come up with a Hail Mary pass, she was looking at the demise of her career. Waiting a couple of days to have heat in her rental seemed like a fairly minor problem by comparison. “I’m not.” She felt him watching her while she tried the coffee. “This is good.”
“Glad you like it. No one has better coffee than Black Gold. So...what do you want to do? Again, I’m happy to pay for a bed-and-breakfast. But you’re perfectly welcome to stay here until I get the furnace working.”
She didn’t care to go anywhere else, wasn’t convinced—in her current state—that she’d be able to summon a brave smile for the strangers she might encounter. Besides, the prospect of hanging out at Kyle’s place a bit longer didn’t sound unpleasant. He had a clean, comfortable house with plenty of room. And, considering her situation with Derrick, it might actually be helpful to have the right kind of company. She didn’t want to break down and call Derrick. Last night, during their final conversation, she’d told him not to contact her again unless he passed Crystal on to some other manager. She was afraid she’d be more prone to give in if she was staying on her own. “It’s only for the weekend,” she said. “As long as you can put up with me, I should be fine.”
He seemed surprised. “You’d rather stay here?”
She nodded. “Having someone to talk to last night... That helped,” she said. “But don’t worry. I won’t keep crying on your shoulder.”
“Did you have the chance to work things out with Derrick?”
“No. But I did what I felt I had to do.”
He didn’t ask, although she could tell he was wondering, so she said, “I’ve put everything on hold for now, until he decides how he feels about Crystal.”
“He admitted being involved with her?”
“No. He’d never admit that. I didn’t want to tell you earlier, but...he cheated on his wife when he was married. With an intern who works at one of the major record labels.”
“He was married?”
“Yes, but it didn’t last long.” She’d believed him when he’d told her how demanding his wife had been, how he’d been so frustrated and unhappy and how things had unintentionally gotten out of control when that intern had started flirting with him. Now she felt like an idiot. Was it a onetime mistake, as he’d said? Or was he a serial cheater, more to blame for his divorce than he’d ever taken responsibility for?
Kyle had indicated that his marriage hadn’t lasted long, either, but he made no mention of that now. “Was it the cheating that broke them up?”
“Who can really say what goes on in a marriage? I only have his side. I can tell you that his ex is still bitter about it, though.”
“So you know he’s had at least one extramarital affair.”
“Yes, and I don’t care how many times he swears he’s a changed man, something is going on. I can feel the difference in him. So unless he’s willing to let go of Crystal completely, I can’t stay with him.”
“I admire you for taking a stand.”
“If I was the one he wanted, he’d make it plain. There wouldn’t be all this suspicion and angst and heartbreak, right?”
Obviously recognizing the doubt that had crept into her voice, he gave her a kind smile. “I’m sorry.”
She felt a familiar lump rise in her throat but fought the tears that went with it. “You understand how it feels, don’t you? That it hurts like hell?”
“I do.”
“Great. We have heartbreak in common.” She laughed humorlessly. “Any chance you could bring home another bottle of wine when you get off work tonight?”
“I can manage that. But will you be okay here alone?”
Did he think she might hurt herself? She hoped not, but she could see why he’d wonder. He didn’t know her well enough to determine how she might react to what she was going through. “Of course. I’ve never been suicidal, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Good. Because you have a lot to live for. Remember your new album? It’s going to shoot you into the stratosphere. So maybe you should get started on it.”
She frowned, implying that she wasn’t too sure she could tackle such a big challenge at the moment.
“Working might take your mind off...things. Provide an outlet,” he went on.
Her feelings were too raw to be able to concentrate. She’d checked her phone before getting in the shower. Derrick hadn’t tried to reach her. She’d thought, after the way they’d ended their conversation last night, he’d call first thing this morning to say he’d told Crystal she’d have to find another manager. It was two hours later in Nashville, almost eleven. He had to be up. And yet he hadn’t even texted her.