Page 33 of Mending Hearts

Too late for explanations. Wasn’t it?

It had altered the pattern of my life. Once the seam between two hearts had been ripped, it wasn’t always possible to mend it. Sometimes, the two pieces would never again fit together.

Mia pressed her cheek into my chest, and I breathed her in. “I’m glad you’re here,” I whispered in her ear. At least I knew that much for sure.

When I heard the soft retreat of Katie’s sneakers, I tried really hard not to care.

Chapter Eleven

Mia

Floating at the edge of my consciousness was the image of Tyler standing in the middle of the hospital corridor, too close to his ex-girlfriend. I’d gone through the concert motions, but the performance wasn’t my best effort. Being on stage was my escape from all the other shit. But every tune, every lyric reminded me of Tyler tonight, and it was driving me insane. The urge to punch him or kiss him was overwhelming.

Perhaps punch him, and then kiss him.

Jealousy was eating its way through my gut, and it was different from how I felt about his relationship with Mom. Too different. Because when he’d turned in the hall, there’d been an expression on his face I’d never seen before.

Guilt.

Whatever he and Katie were talking about had made him feel guilty. Had he betrayed my secrets? Made promises to his ex about a future once the baby was born and I was out of the way?

From Katie’s body language and how she’d looked at Tyler, her regrets over their breakup were obvious. And his face, God, the expression on his face before he realized I was there. Round two between them didn’t seem out of the question.

My gut clenched.

“You tired?” Tyler’s brow puckered before he helped squeeze me into the final outfit of the night. The second encore was usually my favorite because I could make the crowd wait for a minute or two while we flirted. Not tonight. I wasn’t in the mood.

“Sure. Yeah. Tired.” I’d held my tongue at the appointment and responded to the doctor’s questions with short, truthful answers. I even spoke to Katie a second time without being completely rude. Other than the sickness, the crying, and the expanding breasts, I could almost forget I was pregnant. Wouldn’t that be nice?

He studied me for a moment, and then we stared at each other, mute.

“You gonna talk to me?” he asked.

Since I’d come off the stage for my last change, I’d barely spoken to him. Normally, we were energized, almost frantic in our playful exchanges. The best kind of foreplay…as though we’d rip each other’s clothes off later.

“I’m talking to you right now.” I tipped my head at the stagehand who usually strapped me into the harness, and then we walked off together, leaving Tyler behind. Other nights, our playful banter left him watching me when I walked away, and I always threw him one last glance. Tonight, when I looked back, it wasn’t with my usual sassiness; and his eyes weren’t glued to me either. He was deep in conversation with Taryn and didn’t notice me at all.

I ground my teeth and flung out my arms, letting the stagehand buckle me into the butterfly harness. Whatever this feeling was building in my chest needed to go away. Jealousy. I had no time for jealousy. Tyler needed to be exterminated from my thoughts.

He wasn’t a knight in shining armor sent to save me. Even if he was this bright, saintly example of manhood, I didn’t need saving.

The harness yanked tight, and I was propelled toward the ceiling, arms out, wings flapping in the breeze from the arena’s cooling system.

I was Mia Malone, at the pinnacle of my career. Fans buzzed around in the darkened arena, filling up the space with an energy I’d kept at bay all night. When the lights flashed and the crowd burst with their frantic screams, I breathed a sigh of relief and let their enthusiasm flood me.

This. This feeling.

Who wouldn’t want my life?

Taryn eyed me in the mirror while the makeup artist removed my stage makeup and applied another coat for the club appearance. I had an hour to get there. Rebecca stood behind Taryn consulting a list of commitments scheduled for the next week.

“You’re exhausted.”

“I’m fine.” I held still in the chair and tried to keep my features neutral. If I went with Grady’s suggestion, I would agree with Taryn, admitting this life was all becoming too much. It was. But the work wasn’t doing me in or even the pregnancy. The baby daddy was the real problem. I’d never wanted to yank someone closer while also pushing them far, far away. Whatever feelings were sprouting, I needed to find some weed killer.

Then he could make eyes at his ex in the hospital hallway, and I wouldn’t care at all.

“You’re not fine. Tonight’s concert was lackluster at best. Social media is abuzz with how off you were.” Rebecca didn’t look up from her calendar, passing the clipboard to Taryn. “We’re going to cut some things. We don’t need you spiraling and being hospitalized.”

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