Reunited in Wishcliffe - Chapter 18
In a lifetime of friendship, Lucy didn't think she'd ever seen Jon as scared as he was right now. He thinks we're going to fight. And he thinks that will be the end of us.
Except they'd already ended, hadn't they? When he'd left two years ago without a backwards glance, seeking fame and fortune without her.
She'd told Jon she didn't hate him, and that was true. But that didn't mean she wasn't feeling at least a little residual anger about the way he'd shut down her attempts at meaningful conversation before he left—even if it had been by seducing her.
Normally, her default action here would be to jump in with both feet, getting all her emotions and her anger out on the table so they could work through them. It was what helped her.
But it was the exact opposite of how Jon worked.
Two years ago, she'd have done it anyway, if he'd given her the chance. If he hadn't stolen away in the early-morning light before she was even awake, her tears still on her cheeks.
She wasn't the same person she was two years ago, though, and neither was he.
So Lucy took a deep breath, and tried a new approach.
"I didn't hate you for following your dreams and taking that opportunity when it came," she said, keeping her voice calm and even. "I was happy for you to go to Nashville and become a star. That had always been your dream, but it wasn't mine."
"It wasn't?" Jon looked astonished, as if he couldn't imagine anyone not wanting stardom.
Lucy shook her head. "I love playing music live, and I love writing it—especially with you. But the whole star thing? Not for me. I wanted to build a life for myself here in Wishcliffe—you know how I love this place."
"And you have," Jon said.
"And I have," she confirmed, with a nod. "I have a job I actually enjoy, I get to play music regularly with people I like and—" She broke off, suddenly unsure. Should she share her hidden achievement, the one she hadn't told anyone about, hugging the secret to her chest to keep her warm at night?
"And?" Jon pressed.
If she was ever going to tell anyone, it would always be Jon. "And I've been writing songs for some other acts. I…I got an agent, and now it's actually a pretty profitable side hustle. You've probably heard at least one of them on the radio, in fact."
Jon looked gratifyingly impressed at that, which was nice, but wasn't why she'd told him. She needed him to understand that his dream had never been hers, and she'd pursued her dream the same way he'd chased his.
And she'd reached it.
"Sounds like you've built your perfect life here," Jon said, a small smile on his lips. The sort that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"I have," she agreed. "Except…" And this was the part that felt like jumping off a cliff without a parachute. "Except for having someone to share it with."