Page 84 of Rival Hearts

“Had to give us some reason why you two weren’t going to work out. That was it.” Tyler stuck some pins between his lips while he brought two pieces of cloth together, a distinct pattern forming on the table.

“I’m supposed to tell my agent today what I’m doing.”

“What are you going to do?” Tyler mumbled around the pins.

“What would you do?”

He dropped the pins into his hand. “Nah, you can’t ask me that. I’m not you.”

“If I turn the job down, and I don’t get her back, I’ll regret it.”

“And the other side of that coin?”

“If I take the job and move to LA, I’ll probably never get another chance with Maggie.”

“So, twenty years from now, which one will be the bigger regret?” Tyler gave me a meaningful look. “Nothing worse than regret.”

The answer was obvious. I’d spent thirteen years pining for Maggie in one way or another. “Do you think if I went to see her, she’d let me in?”

The pins were bobbing in Tyler’s mouth again. “Not a chance.” He slotted the last one into place in the fabric. “I’m not trying to sway your decision, but the two of you were just starting to get past what happened when you were kids. The timing of the job, of Dad… It’s just shitty, man.”

With a frustrated grunt, I hauled myself out of the chair. “I’ll come back later to get the costumes. Just give me a call when they’re done.”

“Will do. Shouldn’t be too much longer. Are you sure you, Trent, Lila, and Kelvin can handle tomorrow night?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about us. Most of the hard work is done now.” While that was true, the organization portion of the concert and strip show was going to be chaotic. Kelvin had reassigned everyone’s jobs, but when I’d looked at how many places I’d need to be at once, I’d had a mini-heart attack.

One way or another, we’d figure everything out tomorrow night. I wasn’t putting pressure on any of the Sullivan family to show up and definitely not to help out given the funeral was on Sunday. “I’ll see you on Sunday.”

Tyler pressed his fingers into his eyes and nodded. “See you Sunday.”

I had searched the parking lot for Trent’s car and then followed a resident into the apartment building. At Trent’s door, I knocked briskly before I lost my nerve.

When the door swung back, Trent’s brows lifted in surprise. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be glued to your keyboard or guitar expelling your feelings into a song?”

I grimaced. “Doesn’t quite work like that. I have to be inspired or motivated.”

“Ah, so, what happened with your first album? Inspiration or motivation?” Trent leaned into the door, not inviting me in.

Hadn’t we been making progress? That was an attack, one I would ignore. “Can I come in?”

Trent stepped back and opened the door wider. “Yeah, I guess. Maggie called me fucking crying the other night, so you’re on my shit list.”

“You talked to her?”

“For like two minutes. She called to apologize that she wasn’t going to see the Small Town Saviors show through to the end. Like I care about that right now.”

“Oh, so she didn’t—”

“Mention she’d broken things off with you? Yeah, she did. Didn’t say why, but Emily and Lila filled me in.” He popped open a beer and took a long drink. “I told you not to hurt her.”

“I was trying not to.”

“By moving to LA?”

“I’m not taking the job. Why does everyone act like there wasn’t another option? I already called my agent and left him a message.”

“So, you broke her heart over nothing?”

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