Page 36 of Not Another Love Song

CHAPTER NINE

Gwen’s life slowed down after the Anniversary Concert. She was looking forward to a quiet summer, filled with days sunbathing in Central Park with Jacob and the new boyfriend, Nicky. When Gwen asked what happened to Declan, Jacob gave her a short answer about things moving too fast before swiftly changing the subject. But she kept seeing Declan’s name flash on his phone, unanswered. In June, Gwen hinted that she wouldn’t mind if Declan were invited to her birthday dinner, but Jacob just shrugged and hit the next episode button on the Netflix queue.

To prep for the new season, she had weekly meetings with Ava and Nathan and spent studious mornings locked away with her sheet music. Each day felt like a clock ticking until their first rehearsal in September.

Summer for Xander Thorne, though…From what Gwen could tell, it was anything but slow.

Thorne and Roses had an East Coast tour, spanning twenty cities and playing anywhere from music halls to dance clubs. At each stop they catered to their audience, playing their classical music at the Boston Symphony Hall and their eccentric covers at a club in Orlando.

They had an excellent publicist, or whoever was responsible for booking them and keeping the social media accounts active. Pictures and videos of them in rehearsal, at the beach, in the club. Chelsea was on tour with them again, much to Gwen’s dismay. Usually there were pictures posted to Instagram of her and Xander sitting close in clubs or hot tubs, but so far, nothing.

Not that Gwen cared. At all.

Whatever.

She had put the moment they’d shared at the Plaza far from her mind. There was something she was remembering incorrectly. There had to be. She wasn’t “anything but ordinary” and especially not to him. She’d probably missed something. Maybe he hadn’t been about to kiss her.

“Gwen, why are you gaslighting yourself?” Mei had asked her over drinks. “Leave that to the patriarchy. Xander Thorne was about to devour you in the bathroom at the Plaza hotel and you can’t change my mind.”

She let Mei in on her theory that Xander was trying to sabotage her and throw her off her game. Mei refused to hear it, so Gwen changed the subject to Mei and Jeremy, who had begun hate-fucking each other to mixed results.

But despite everything, Gwen still spent too much time obsessing over Xander on Instagram.

She sighed, put her phone down, and concentrated again on the piece she was bowing for their first day of rehearsal. The music needed to be turned in to the arranger and distributed by tomorrow evening, so she had asked Mabel to check her markings this morning.

And later that day, Ava would look it over at lunch.

Gwen felt like a child of divorce, bouncing between parents and hoping one didn’t ask about the other. She had no intention of telling Mabel that Ava was going to be reviewing her notations too. Maybe it was overkill, but she wanted Mabel’s stamp of approval just as much as the Pops’, and Mabel would never let Gwen turn in anything that would embarrass her.

She finished her notes, said goodbye to a sleepy Jacob, and headed out early.

A popular orchestra magazine (she hadn’t known those existed) had contacted her about a featured interview for their October edition. Her interview was that coming Wednesday, just before their first rehearsal. In preparation, she swung by a bookstore to grab the August edition to flip through, trying to figure out what exactly they would ask her about.

Of course, who else would be featured in the August edition but Xander Thorne. When the salesgirl slid the magazine over to her, Gwen froze at seeing his uncovered arms bowing his red electric cello on the cover.

“He’s hot, huh?” The salesgirl winked at her.

Gwen jolted, taking a deep breath. “He’s…a bit of an asshole, actually.”

“Oh yeah?” The girl shrugged. “Still hot, though.”

Gwen opened her wallet, and when it seemed the salesgirl was still waiting for a response she added, “Yes, he’s hot.”

She went to a coffee shop and flipped open to the article. More pictures of Xander Thorne and his Stradivarius, Xander Thorne and the Roses, Xander Thorne in the recording studio. No mention of Alex Fitzgerald. Or violins. For a magazine targeted at classical musicians and instrumentalists, it seemed like quite the purposeful omission.

The YouTube video of Alex Fitzgerald playing Vitali’s Chaconne had been removed two days after Gwen had played it at the Anniversary Concert, as had the entire YouTube account. The Reddit threads she’d scoured to find out how many other people knew the truth about Alex had mysteriously disappeared. All evidence of Alex Fitzgerald: erased.

Even in the article, the interviewer asked him what other instruments he played, and violin wasn’t one of his answers.

Gwen took the E train over to Queens and arrived at the shop right as Mabel was opening at ten.

“On time, as usual,” Mabel called out from behind the register.

“I can’t help it.” She whipped around the counter and plopped down a Tupperware with two blueberry muffins.

Mabel frowned at her. “How many times do I have to tell you I’m on a diet!”

“One muffin won’t hurt! I made them yesterday.”

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