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“Then he wasn’t really yours to begin with, was he? Look, he’ll either forgive you or he won’t. What do you really want out of all of this? You have a life in LA. You have a career and people who count on you. He can either accept it or not. You can’t control that.”

Already, Emma knew the answer. She had to tell him. There was no avoiding it. When she saw her future, it was with Caleb. But that future didn’t have a chance if he didn’t know what they would be up against. She nodded. “Thanks. I needed a swift kick to get myself in gear.”

“Happy to help. Does this mean you’re coming home?”

“Might be sooner than you think.” Emma sighed. Hopefully not sooner than Emma was ready for.

20

Caleb

Caleb lay beside Emily, his hands behind his head as they stared up at the night sky. She’d been awfully quiet since he’d picked her up. All he wanted to do was ask her what was bothering her. He wanted to tell her that even though they’d only known each other for a short time, he felt like they’d known each other for much longer.

Hours felt like weeks. Days felt like decades. Did he know every little detail about her past? No. But deep in his heart, he cared for her. He wanted to spend his life with her. All she had to do was let him in.

Turning his head, he gazed at her. It was dark, but not so dark that he couldn’t see the outline of her face. Even her silhouette was beautiful.

Think. Come up with something to say to break the tension. What could he talk about that would get her mind off whatever was bothering her?

He lifted his head onto his hand as he turned to his side. “You’ll never guess what I heard today.”

She didn’t turn toward him. Her eyes remained on the sky overhead. “What’s that?” she murmured.

“My little sister… Charlotte—but we call her Charlie—anyway, she was telling me about this singer.”

Emily turned this time, making it difficult to see her eyes now that they weren’t reflecting the stars. “A singer?”

He nodded. “There’s this singer who’s from LA. Turns out she’s been missing for like a week or maybe two, I can’t remember. Anyway, she’s gone missing, and her manager is trying to get the public’s help in finding her.”

Emily swallowed audibly. “Why wouldn’t they get the police to help?”

“That’s what I said.” He chuckled as he dropped back and shifted his focus to the stars. “Can you believe it, though? Some famous music star has up and disappeared. I bet you anything something happened to her.”

“Why do you say that?” she asked quietly.

He snorted. “Think about it. She’s rich. She has everything she could ever want in her life. She’s got the wealth, the power, the popularity, adoring fans… Why would she want to risk all of that?”

Emily went quiet, and he turned to face her again, only to find her staring at the sky.

Caleb inched closer to her and shifted his arm beneath her head to cushion it. “People like that don’t just walk away from what they have. They’re selfish beings.”

“Have you met one before?” Her voice almost sounded tight; then again, he couldn’t get a read on her expression, and he was probably assuming something that wasn’t there.

“No. I can’t say that I have.”

“Then you don’t know.”

He laughed. “I do know. I’ve watched enough people to get a good feel for why they do things the way they do. Think about it. If you went through all the trouble to claw yourself to the top, would you risk losing it all?”

“Maybe she had a good reason.”

“Like what? There’s nothing more she could want. I’m telling you, that woman, bless her soul, is probably in a whole lot of trouble. Someone took her or she’s running from something. One thing is for certain. It’s not of her own free will.”

Emily went quiet again, making him wonder if he’d offended her.

He could feel his desperation kicking in, and he grew restless. “Let’s say that the news reports are right,” he said. “This Emma Hart they’re looking for decided to run away for personal reasons. If that’s the truth, then she won’t want to be found. She’s got the money and the fame to believe she can do whatever she wants without suffering the consequences.”

“What consequences?” Emily mumbled.