“What?” I unlink my arm from hers.
Monica places her hands on her hips. “Come on. You’re a free woman. You’ve taken the dive back on stage here, you’re having fun—you’re over it. Let’s move on.”
Monica is clearly trying to divert my attention from Adrian, and that irritates me, but I don’t want to get into it.
“I met Regan nine seconds ago. Plus, he might have a girlfriend ...”
“I don’t.” Regan stops playing and turns to face us with a crooked grin.
Whispering fail.
“All right, lovers, can we play now?” C.J. thumps the bass drum, and we fall into place as I kick Monica off stage.
Thankfully, I don’t embarrass easily, or rehearsal would be a total waste of time. Regan’s taste is even folksier than Josh’s, and I fall into an easy rhythm with him. He plays songs that are familiar and beautiful, and Josh and C.J. are able to catch on quickly. When he’s not playing, Regan sings with a tone that has me envisioning a gorgeous emerald mountain. I realize that while the stage at Finnegan’s will always be backlit by Bo Cavanaugh, I’m more than capable of crafting new memories here. I want to.
Josh sets his guitar on its stand as we finish. “Great job, guys. Let’s definitely do those last two songs next week.”
“Sounds good. Who’s playing here Saturday?” Thankful that Finnegan’s closed on Tuesdays, I walk behind the bar and pour myself a beer.
Josh and C.J. share an uncomfortable glance before Josh shrugs. “It was supposed to be Bo ...”
Oh.
“What do you mean supposed to be? Did he cancel?” I walk back to Monica, who looks as confused as I do.
Josh hops off the stage and meets Monica and me at our table. C.J. and Regan talk in hushed tones by the drum set. “We kind of didn’t know how to handle it. I texted him last week to see if he was still interested, and he said he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“Who’s Bo?” Regan helps himself to a beer and joins us.
Everyone stares everywhere but at me.
“You guys can quit it with the awkward silence.” I cast disapproving eyes to my friends, and then turn to Regan. “Bo’s an ex-boyfriend. Well, boyfriend might be a loose term since we dated for less than two weeks, but we cared a lot ...you know what, he’s an ex-boyfriend as of almost two weeks ago. That’s all.”
I feel my throat twitch slightly, but I remind it that those yoga tears were the last. Regan’s eyes ask for more. One of his eyebrows pulls inward as he takes a breath, but he seems to decide against pressing for information. He’s not getting it tonight, anyway.
“Well, Regan will be here, you should come watch Bo with him since Josh and I will be out of town.” Monica toasts the air, and I mentally punch her in the face.
“Oh sure, why not?” I play along with Monica’s version of revenge. Truth is, I’m not sure if I’ll be in town Saturday or not. And, I don’t know if any amount of intended revenge could make me feel comfortable enough to watch Bo play at Finnegan’s. “I’ll see you here Saturday, Regan.”
Before things get any weirder, I head home to pack for Concord. And Boston.
*
The last two days in Concord have gone off without a hitch. As promised by his email weeks ago, Bo is largely office and meeting bound. Monica and I have been left to work with Rae and David for a majority of the day. Our conversation at the diner isn’t choking the air between Bo and me. He’s pleasant when we see each other—perfectly business.
Just like I wanted...
We’ve checked out the warehouse space Bo purchased to renovate for the community center, and I’ve spent today digging through Bill Holder’s old files to try to organize his contacts and make new ones.
Monica’s fallen as deeply in love with Rae as I have. She’s so sweet, so good, and such a breath of fresh air. It’s not awkward at all for me to be spending time with her, and I regularly check in with her to make sure she feels the same way. She asks Monica and me to lunch, and we accept.
“This week has been really great, Rae. DROP is really on top of things; you’re thoroughly prepared for this center,” I say as we settle into our table at lunch.
Rae starts to answer but stops mid-sentence with her eyes peering over my shoulder. “You’vegot to be kidding me,” Rae sighs. I turn to see what she’s looking at.
Ainsley Worthington. Of course.
“What?” Monica turns around.
“That,” I whisper, “is Ainsley, Bo’s ex-girlfriend.” I ignore the glaring reality that I’m now a member of the same club.
“She’s such a bitch.” Rae rolls her eyes. “She knew we’d be here. I always come here, and she knows you guys are in town. She’s trampy, but she’s not dumb.” Rae runs her finger over the silverware. “Perfect, she’s coming this way.” She throws her fork on her bread plate and sits back in her chair.