Listen to Your Heart(12)

I grin. “Got it. Anything else? What if she starts asking me about napkin colors or something else we don’t care about?”

“Then do what I do. Tell Lynsey to pick whatever she wants. It’s worked so far.”

True. Except for the wedding date, Jules and I hadn’t made one single decision about this ceremony. The dynamo wedding planner had taken care of everything.

“I can do that.”

“Good.” She kisses my cheek and grabs her carry-on. “I need to go. Don’t worry. Just show up for your fitting. Let Lynsey handle the rest.”

I help carry her luggage out front. The cab’s already there. Because I know how stubborn she can be, I slip the driver twenty bucks to help her with her bags once they reach the airport. He gives me a salute and pockets the cash.

I hug her one last time. “Be safe, Jules.”

“Always am.”

She’s almost in the cab when I gently grab her arm.

“Jules, have you ever met someone? Someone who literally took your breath away from the second you laid eyes on them?”

Juliana blinks rapidly. “Caleb, what’s—”

“Just . . . have you? Ever?”

She smiles sadly. “You know I haven’t. Otherwise, it would be his name on the wedding invitations . . . instead of yours.”

Nodding numbly, I give her one more hug before she climbs inside the taxi. I don’t have the heart to wave goodbye. But that’s okay, because she doesn’t look back as the car pulls away.



Despite my sleepless night, I’m too anxious to actually go to bed, so I decide to take a walk to try to clear my head. It’s useless, because my head is filled with her.

Skye Douglas is fun, sweet, and loves music almost as much as I do. I’d love to get to know her better . . . to see if she’s really as great as she seems.

But I can’t.

I know that life can be cruel at times, but never had it been more obvious than when I looked across the music room and found myself staring into the eyes of the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. With her long red hair and bright green eyes, Skye Douglas could be a supermodel, but she’s not. She’s just the coolest girl I’ve ever met in my entire life.

And I can’t have her.

Like an idiot, I thought taking Skye to the club would be safe. We’d listen to music, eat some chicken tenders, and it didn’t have to mean a thing, right?

Wrong.

I just had to ask her to dance. I just had to hold her in my arms.

I’ve never been a big believer in instant attraction or love at first sight, but in that moment, I’d never felt more connected to another human being. I hadn’t meant to ask if she felt it, too. The words escaped before I could stop them. But Skye admitted that she did, and stone-cold fear had instantly pierced through me like a blade, because I realized there was no way I wasn’t going to hurt this girl.

And then I did. I walked Skye to her car and pretended like I couldn’t care less if I ever laid eyes on her again.

I’d tossed and turned all night, riddled with guilt over how I treated her. I’d been rude. Cold. Heartless. But I know it’s better this way. Why start something I can’t finish?

I made a promise to Juliana, and I intend to keep it.

Thunder ripples in the distance as I make my way back to the apartment. I’ve just reached the building’s steps when a soft rain begins to fall. I lift my face toward the midnight sky and exhale a heavy sigh.

Skye loves the rain, too.



The rest of the week is exactly the same.

Each day, at the end of guitar class, Eli receives a text from Skye to meet him outside. He gives me a wave before he lugs his guitar out the door. Wallowing in misery, I head home to my empty apartment and stare at the TV, but that’s useless because I always seem to find Dirty Dancing or some old 80s TV show that instantly reminds me of Skye. When television fails, I grab my guitar and write cheesy love ballads until it’s time to go to bed. What little sleep I get isn’t nearly enough, but I drag myself out of bed the next day and go through the motions all over again.

I’ve always heard that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

It does.

And it sucks.

What sucks even more is that Jules isn’t around to remind me of my obligations. That’s dangerous, because those are the times I nearly convince myself that it’d be okay to call Skye just to say hi. Maybe to apologize for acting like a jerk that night at the club.

But common sense always prevails.

It’s been a week since I stepped foot inside The Boombox. I’m not really in the mood tonight, either, but I promised Jesse I’d stop by for Songwriter’s Night. I’ve performed in the past, but not tonight, despite the fact I’ve written enough sappy love songs this week to fill a Monster Ballads compilation CD.

“What’s up with you?” Jesse asks as he hands me a beer. Along with being the lead singer of the house band, he bartends a few nights a week.

“Just a rough week, Jess.”

He nods. “I know it’s none of my business, but I couldn’t help but notice your beautiful date last week.”

I grimace and take a long drink.

“I also couldn’t help but notice that she wasn’t Juliana.”

“She’s just a girl. No big deal.”