Page 20 of Until the End

“You’re a goober,” I say to cover the slip. I don’t make eye contact with her as I walk into the kitchen to get dinner started. “How was your day?”

“Uneventful.” Ginny drops the robe when she slides onto the barstool on the other side of her island. “Tanya posted our message today, so I’ve been staying off social media and news sites.”

“Ah. Has she given you any updates?” Working in Ginny’s kitchen is a luxury. Everything is high-end, and I love using it as often as possible.

“It’s mostly gone over as expected. People are shocked, sad, angry, all the usual emotions toward someone they don’t even know.”

“Have you heard from Weasel or Cece?”

“Chelsea has fielded calls from both of them today. She’s been the real MVP. Wesley was beyond livid, and Cecelia wanted to talk to me. She wants to work together again.”

“I’m glad Chelsea’s handling that for you. I have a feeling Cecelia is very good at manipulating situations to her advantage.” I slide the chicken into the oven to finish cooking, then open the bottle of white wine in Ginny’s fridge. After filling both glasses, I sit next to Ginny at the island.

“You’d be right about that.”

I wrench my gaze from Ginny’s lips against her glass.

“She told Chelsea she’d drop Wesley immediately if I’d take her back.”

“Because she knows you’re a better bet than some B-list actor who can’t keep it in his pants.”

“I’m not sure I am.” Ginny fidgets with the rim of her stemless glass. “This life isn’t what I thought it would be.”

“I can’t imagine it’s easy to live your life in the spotlight twenty-four seven, but this craziness with Wesley will die down, Goose.”

Ginny shakes her head. “Even before I let him tear down my confidence, I wasn’t sure how long I could keep this going. At first, it was exciting. I couldn’t believe I was selling out shows where people were coming to see me sing. It was incredible. Then the reality set in, and suddenly, it wasn’t fun anymore. Two years of a grueling tour, and the label is already talking about getting another one going the minute I put out my next album. How do other singers live like this? Is this truly the only way to stay relevant? Living out of hotels, never quite sure what city we’re in, and isolated from the people I love most? How is that a life?”

There’s no right answer to her question. As much as I’d love to tell her to quit and move back home, Ginny has to be the one to decide what she wants. She won’t be happy with anything less.

I wrap her in my arms, pulling her head into my chest. It’s the only thing I can think of doing since I can’t give her an answer.

She looks up at me, her ocean-blue eyes staring deep into my soul. Can she see how gone I am for her? Is it obvious that I’m so deeply in love with her that I’d give her the world on a platter if I could?

I cup her face, my big hand making her appear tiny. Her skin slides smoothly under my thumb. Is she longing for me, too? Does she want me the way I want her?

A line forms between her eyebrows. Questions dance in her eyes that I can’t answer, not right now.

“Carson?”

My name is a whisper on her lips. It fills me to the brim, making it harder to hold back from kissing her.

A beeping noise startles me out of the moment. I jump out of my seat, and the quick movement causes Ginny to almost fall out of hers. It’s only my hand on her forearm that keeps her upright.

What the hell just happened?

Chapter 12

Ginny

“For you.” Gia hands me a highball glass filled almost to the brim with a margarita.

The tart drink goes down smoothly. “You guys are spoiling me.”

“It’s deserved,” Lottie says, sinking down next to me on their couch. From here, we can see Gia putting the finishing touches on her drink in the kitchen. She grabs the pitcher in her other hand and brings them both to the coffee table before sitting on the floor in front of me.

Lottie and Gia have lived together since they graduated from college. A part of me has always been jealous of them—they get to spend every day together while I live alone on the opposite side of the country. I wonder sometimes what my life would’ve looked like if I hadn’t gone to Nashville. Would I have become a teacher like I’d thought, or something else? Would I have gotten the courage to tell Carson how I feel about him? Would we be living together by now? I don’t know, but what I do know is that something has to change in my future. I can’t keep living on the sidelines of my own life anymore.

I spread my fingers through Gia’s blonde hair like I have a million times before. Our teachers and classmates always had the hardest time telling us apart. Of course, we never understood why—to us, the differences are obvious. Gia’s face is narrower than mine, and she keeps her hair cut to her shoulders. Her personality is also vastly different. She’s bold and unapologetic in the way she lives her life.

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