Page 96 of Share with Me

Chapter Thirty

“What didGrandma tell you about me?” Ivan had to know. Here he was in his three-star hotel room in Savannah resting before tonight’s concert thinking the whole world was well only to find out that his very own flesh-and-blood had tattled on his colorful childhood on St. Simon’s Island.

“You’ll have to talk to her about it.”

He could hear Brinley snicker on her end of the phone. He didn’t like it at all. He made a mental note to text Grandma to tell her to stop regaling Brinley with his past. He wanted Brinley to think the best of him.

“Maybe she shouldn’t spend so much time at your house, Brin.” In the distance he could hear Brinley telling Grandma that Ivan wanted her to go home. He heard the response. Something about “no fun.”

“What did she say?” Ivan asked, stretching out on top of the covers on the double bed in the room he shared with another violinist.

Art had taken the Schoenberg Stradivarius to the hotel vault. He had no idea how Art could sleep at night with that five-point-four-million dollar burden on him.

“She said you’re no fun and told me to hang up.” There was amusement in Brinley’s voice. “We have to go now. We’re having dinner at the Brunswick Senior Living Community. By special invitation, no less.”

“Let me guess. Hiram Jacobs.”

“The very one.”

“All right. I guess I’ll let you go.”No, I don’t want to let you go.“It’s good to hear your voice, Brin. I miss you.”

“I miss you too. Did you sleep well last night?”

“My roommate snores in quarter-notefortissimo.”

“Sorry. Earplugs?”

“No help. They fall off.” Ivan reached for his iPad. “We’re going to post some photos of our events to the SISO website. I’ll email you when they’re up. Also various members will probably update their Facebook pages. Are we friends?”

“You mean on Facebook or in real life?”

“I’d like to think we’re more than friends in real life.”

“Do you, Ivan?”

“I mean, we’ve done more than just hold hands.”

“You mean what happened at the pier?”

“And the lighthouse. I know we didn’t make any commitments.” Ivan could feel her lips on his. The memories were vivid. “When I get back to town, let’s talk.”

“I’m flying out to Vienna to join my parents after Christmas. I’m going back to Atlanta from there.”

“When do you come back to St. Simon’s?”

“Usually, a few times a year.”

“Your next time back?” Ivan tried to keep his cool but he knew he was getting anxious inside.

“End of January.”

“I’ll be home on Saturday, and we have about a week before you leave.”

“I’m afraid so, Ivan.”

Ivan’s heart sank. He wasn’t sure if he wanted a long-distance relationship. He couldn’t change his trajectory now, not even if he took Grandma with him. He was a rising star in SISO. It had taken six years to stabilize his music studio. He couldn’t move to Atlanta just to see if there was something between him and Brinley.

Or could he?

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