Page 105 of Steady Stroke
Thursday night he was in the middle of packing for Unbound when the doorbell rang. Roxy was at work, so he begrudgingly put a half-folded T-shirt down and answered the door.
Melody breezed in with a box of wine in one hand. “You haven’t been returning my calls, so I’m staging an intervention.”
“With wine?” he asked as he closed the door.
“And a movie. What better way to mend a broken heart than a good shiraz and a viewing ofYou’ve Got Mail?”
He followed her into the kitchen and watched her rustle uptwo clean wineglasses. “That’s not cool. You know it’s one of my favorites.”
“Yes, I do. That’s why I’m such a good friend. I listen when you talk. So talk.”
“About what?”
“What the hell’s going on with you and Emmett?” She popped the seal on the box, then dug inside for the spout. “I saw him at Off Beat last night moping around like his dog died. When I asked Van, all he said was you two were having problems, but he didn’t have details.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Honey, I’m a trans woman. I know from complicated.” She poured them each a glass of wine. “Now spill.”
Lincoln sipped the wine, enjoying the sweet, only slightly bitter flavor. “Emmett found out a month ago that during a blackout drunk, he’s the one who ran my car off the road and is responsible for my head injuries. He told me on Monday and we haven’t spoken since.”
Melody blinked hard at him several times, her perfectly brushed eyebrows arching high. “Are you fucking with me?”
“No, but I swear to God, I thought someone was fucking with me while he told me everything. It still doesn’t feel real.”
She started to drink her wine, then paused with the glass halfway to her mouth. “Hold up, you said he knew a month ago? When you two first started seeing each other?”
“Yes.”
“So if it was a blackout drunk, how’d he find out?”
Anger burned deep in his chest. He understood Adrian covering for his cousin, but that jackass had known who was responsible this entire time. “His cousin Adrian was with him in the truck when it happened. He even fucking recorded it on his phone.”
“Seriously? Wow. So if it happened a year ago, and Emmett didn’t remember anyway, why the hell bring it up now?”
“Because we met, I guess.” He took a long, hard drink from his glass. He wasn’t driving to Unbound tomorrow, so he didn’t care if he woke up with a sour stomach from too much wine. “Adrian was an asshole to me at first, and when Emmett confronted him, Adrian confessed. And then Emmett kept it a secret.”
Melody topped off his glass. “Do you think he was protecting his cousin?”
“Sure he was. Emmett says he was protecting me, too. And I guess he was, in a way, but how can I trust that what we had is real?”
“Do you miss him?”
“Of course I do.”
“Do you feel like part of you is missing because he isn’t here?”
“Yes.”
“Then it was real. Trust me, honey, maybe you and me have known each other about as long as you and Emmett, but I watched you change from a grumpy, self-loathing recluse to a joyful, in-love bar back who can make music again. You’re happy with Emmett. You light up when he walks into the room. I’ve seen it. Do you want to lose that over an accident Emmett didn’t even know he caused, and that he only knew about for a month?”
“That’s the kicker, though, right?” He tapped the rim of his wineglass against Melody’s. “He knew a month ago, he didn’t tell me, so I didn’t have all the facts before.”
“Before what?”
“Before I gave him my fucking heart.”
Melody curled an arm around his waist, and Lincolnleaned into the supportive embrace. “Guess the question is do you want him to keep that heart, or do you want it back.”
