Page 98 of Resist Me (Forget the Past 3)

I shake my head. “I like when you play.”

I like you, I almost add. But I catch the words before they escape and leave a vulnerable opening in my chest.

This marriage between Charlie and me is changing already. Every time I notice the shift, I try to remind myself this is good. We should get along because that’ll make everything easier this next year as we spend our time together.

Charlie plucks a series of strings, and the resulting music has me grinning. One of Violet’s songs. I wonder if he already knew her discography or if he learned it after he met her.

I make a mental note to myself to invite her over. We are friends after all.

Then Charlie starts singing, his voice low and deep and so smooth I imagine a knife spreading peanut butter. He lends a different perspective to the country pop song about a lost love, and soon all thoughts of my father are forgotten.

All I can focus on is the ache in my chest. And how I’m terrified of the gaping wound I’ll be left with a year from now when Charlie leaves.

When I’m the one with a lost love.

ChapterThirty-Eight

LUNA

The club is sizable, but the dim lighting and strategically placed tables give the main room an intimate atmosphere.

“There’s my dad.” Charlie nods to the left of the stage, then places a palm on my lower back to guide me. Even through my shirt, the warmth of his hand burns and has me wanting to melt back into him.

Instead, I press forward.

When we get close to the table, Charlie’s dad rises to greet us. Mr. Keller stands at an average height, barely reaching his son’s shoulder. He gives me a warm grin in greeting, reaching out to shake my hand.

“Dad, this is Luna.”

“Of course. Didn’t think I’d recognize my own fake daughter-in-law?” His words are jovial, a twinkle in his eyes telling me he finds our situation more amusing than disconcerting.

I breathe a touch easier.

After our talk about telling our families the truth, I still worried the Kellers would get defensive or protective, thinking I’m taking advantage of their son.

I am, but not maliciously.

It appears I wasted my time worrying, as the older man pulls out my chair with a welcoming flourish. Before Charlie takes his own seat, he gives his dad a firm hug.

The gesture fascinates me. What would it be like to have a relationship with my parents like that? Where family members pass gestures of affection back and forth rather than insults and cutting remarks?

Chances are I’d be a lot friendlier today if those were the type of guardians I’d grown up with.

“Y’all have enough time to order a drink before your mom goes on. She’s looking forward to singing here. Says they’ve got great acoustics.” Mr. Keller waves for a passing server.

Charlie glances around the space at his father’s words, as if he can discern the truth of them on sight alone. Maybe he can. After living together for just over a month, I’ve become familiar with Charlie’s hidden musical depths. Multiple evenings I’ve come home to find him strumming his guitar on the back porch with Pig laying rapt at his feet.

After the waiter takes our drink orders, Mr. Keller leans toward me. “I hope you don’t mind if I hold off on the get-to-know-you-better portion of the evening until after my love’s show. She’s gonna want to ask you the same questions as me. No need for you to have to repeat yourself.”

“No problem.” I glance at Charlie in time to catch the amusement curling at the corner of his mouth.

I’m considering if I should be the one asking questions when the waiter returns with our drinks, and just as I’m taking the first sip, the lights dim everywhere except for the stage.

When Regina Keller steps onto the stage, I discover where Charlie’s height came from.

The woman is statuesque, rising high above us all. Soft, kinky curls halo her face and glow in the stage lights. A gold dress hugs her curvaceous figure, and if I didn’t know she had a son in his late twenties, I might assume she’d only lived two or three decades herself so far.

“Hello, everyone.” Her voice is music even when she speaks. “I’m glad you could join me tonight. I haven’t sung in Nashville for many years now, but I know a city that loves music as much as you all would always welcome me back. Let’s have a good time tonight.”

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