Page 124 of Hideaway Heart

“I’ll be there. Every time.”

I smiled. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He kissed my lips. “This is only the beginning.”

* * *

The following night, I attended the grand opening of Buckley’s Pub. It was crowded from the moment the doors opened, full of family and friends, locals and tourists, neighbors and strangers. I stayed out of the way, sitting with Veronica at a little table against the wall, sipping drinks and chatting with people who popped over to say hi. I wore a ball cap and ponytail and tried to stay under the radar, but I was recognized fairly quickly. Although the crowd wasn’t my usual fanbase, I did get requests for autographs and photos for people’s kids.

I said yes each time, but I was careful to ensure my presence there wasn’t a huge distraction. If it had been, I would have left—I wanted the focus to be on Xander.

He was busy all night long—everyone wanted to shake his hand, or give him a hug, or hear all about the renovations he’d done—but he checked on us whenever he could. Watching him work the room, I thought my heart might burst with pride and excitement. This place was going to be a success, I could feel it.

Around eleven, Xander came over and dropped into the chair next to me, draping his arm over my shoulders. “Is it over yet?”

Veronica laughed. “Not yet.”

I patted his leg. “You must be exhausted.”

“I’m fine. You doing okay?” He glanced around. “I saw some people ask you for photos.”

“I’m totally fine. My goal is to be such a regular around here that it’s no big deal when I’m spotted. I want to be old news in Cherry Tree Harbor.”

He laughed and kissed my temple. “I want that too.”

When Xander got up again, Veronica’s eyes were huge. “I still can’t get over it,” she said. “You guys look so happy together.”

“It took us by surprise too,” I said with a laugh. “But in the best possible way.”

“So now what? Will you guys go back and forth?”

“We’re talking it out. Actually,” I said, pulling my ponytail over my shoulder, “I might stick around here for a while.”

Her jaw dropped. “Seriously?”

“Yes. I’m in sort of a transitional space in my career, where I want to move away from the whole Pixie Hart persona and do something more personal and meaningful to me, and I think maybe taking a little time off might be good before that kind of reinvention.”

“That makes sense,” she said. “So will you rent a place in Cherry Tree Harbor?”

“I think so,” I said tentatively. “Xander and I talked about it on the flight here, and we think that’s the best plan for now. I really like it up here, and plenty of people in the industry don’t live full-time in Nashville.”

Veronica picked up her gin and soda and took a sip. “Have you decided what you’ll do about your record label?”

“If PMG won’t give me more creative control, I’m out,” I said firmly. “I’m reaching out to several people I know who left their big labels behind in favor of going indie, and even though it means less money and exposure, it also means more freedom, which feels more important to me right now. I really want to love what I do.”

“I bet they give you what you want,” Veronica said confidently.

“We’ll see.” I shrugged. “They’re definitely going to have their hands full doing damage control for Duke, so they might not want the headache of losing me at the same time. And I have some other projects in the works. I just had a meeting with a Hollywood music director about contributing some songs to a soundtrack, and we clicked really well. I’m excited about it.”

“That’s amazing. You have to follow your heart, you know? Money is nice, but it isn’t everything.”

“I agree,” I said. “It’s the music that matters to me. And the people I love.”

Xander caught my eye across the room. He lifted his hand and tapped his chest three times.

I smiled and tapped mine too.

epilogue