Page 133 of Next to Everything We Wanted

I scratched the back of my neck. “We just got into a fight about his past.”

Raina raised an eyebrow. “He isn’t a criminal or something, is he?”

I flinched, thinking about her dad. “Definitely not.”And thank goodness my assumptions were wrong.

She wiped imaginary sweat off her forehead. “That’s all I needed to know.”

“I wish I could’ve been there for the serenading,” Gracelynn said. “The videos I saw were so adorable.”

“I know—Wait, you saw videos?” Panic rose in my chest. Had some of their fans posted videos on the internet? What if someone who listened to Charm Street saw them and connected the dots between Gavin and Ivan?

Is this how Gavin feels all the time?

Gracelynn nodded to Arielle. “She sent them to me.”

A wave of relief washed over me. “Of course she would.”

“How could I not?” Arielle clasped her hands over her chest. “It was so adorable! The next time a guy screws me over, I want him to apologize like that.” Her face fell as she processed her words. “I-I mean, not that a guy will screw me over again.”

“They better not, or they’ll be meeting my new heels,” Raina said.

“I’d just slap them in the face,” Gracelynn said as she scrolled through her phone. “Oh, I found the videos.” She held out her phone, and I left the couch to watch the video.

Gavin sang the end of the song, and I moved out of the booth to go on stage. After Everett helped me up, I gazed at Gavin with stars in my eyes. We talked for a few moments before our lips met?—

“Oh my gosh,” I said. “Did we really look likethat?”

“Yeah, it’s disgusting.” Gracelynn laughed. “You almost turned the place into an eighteen-and-up café.”

I threw a pillow at her. “We did not!” The backstage kiss was a different story. I could let him touch me like that all day, and I’d never get sick of it.

“Anyway, what was bothering you earlier?” Raina asked me.

Gracelynn sat on her butt. “What happened?”

I sighed, sitting next to her on the bed. “I read my mom’s letter.”

Raina’s eyebrows shot up. “All of it?”

“Oh my gosh.” Arielle rushed over to sit on the bed, nearly knocking Moonlight over with her leg. Moonlight shot a glare at her, and she rubbed her head. “What did it say?”

“If you don’t mind sharing,” Raina added.

My face heated. “She just talked about her love story with my dad and her career dreams. She didn’t ask me how I was doing or anything.”

“So, it was all about her?” Arielle asked.

“Sounds like something my mom would write,” Gracelynn muttered, and Raina elbowed her in the ribs. “That sucks.”

“She talked a little bit about her pregnancy and how she changed her mind about not wanting kids,” I said. “She even mentioned birth control.”

Arielle’s lips parted. “Did she mention any other details?”

Raina jabbed her with her elbow.

“Ow!” Arielle rubbed her side. “It was a genuine question.”

I rolled my eyes. “I kind of . . . want to know more about her. About her job and new life.”Totally not because I wanted to figure out first-hand if her working with my boyfriend would be the end of the world or not.