She bounded off the couch. “I have to find Nate.”
* * * *
Toby wanted Nate to think about staying, think about a life with Jade. And that’s all he’d been doing, but he still hadn’t come up with an answer. When he thought about walking away from her, a knot the size of a basketball slammed into his chest.
Reaching his next stop, he parked in the visitor’s area. He got out of the car and walked along the pebbled path that led to a cream sandstone crypt. Dusk had fallen, and he should have felt creeped out alone in a cemetery, but lights shined over the manicured lawns and it wasn’t creepy at all. In fact, it was beautiful and peaceful.
Etched in the stone above the black wrought-iron gate was the name Miller. Taking the key out of his pocket, he put it in the lock and the door swung open on silent hinges. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim interior. He found a light switch by the door and flicked it on. A soft, golden glow filled the room of marble and stone. Thanks to the weekly fresh flowers Fi-Fi arranged, the place smelled like a florist.
No one knew where his parents were truly buried. Fans thought they were laid to rest in a cemetery in New York. When they’d passed away, Fi-Fi couldn’t bear having strangers taking photos of their graves like a tourist attraction, and she had their bodies moved to Australia and placed in her family crypt.
The names Liam and Natasha were the only names marked on the plague where they were buried. She’d kept Harvey off in case anyone figured out who they were. Not that anyone could get in without a key. But she didn’t want to take the risk.
Nate sat on the cold floor, leaned his back against the wall, and spread his legs out in front of him, looking up at his parents’ resting place. Sadness pressed heavy on his heart.
“I’m living your dream, Dad.” His deep voice echoed through the room. “I’ve kept the Harvey name alive.”
He remembered the last conversation he’d had with his father in the custom-built music studio attached to their house.
His father was playing an electric guitar, and Nate played an acoustic. They were jamming to an old Pink Floyd song, lost in the sounds they were making.
When the song ended, his father gave him a smile, and put his arm around Nate’s shoulders. “You have my talent, son. You still need a lot of work, but it’s getting better. Never let the Harvey name die.”
At first Nate was excited by this; it was the first time his father didn’t tell him he sounded terrible. “I’ve been working on some songs. Do you want to hear one?”
“Sure,” his father said, a little distracted as he fingered the strings of his guitar.
Nate only played a few seconds when his father stopped him. “What the hell was that?”
Nate dropped his head. “It’s my new song.”
His father laughed harshly. “You’re not playing for some pussy boy band. We’re all about rock-and-roll. Not that crap.”
A lump clogged in his throat, and his cheeks burned. “I like this music.”
His father stared at him like he’d grown two heads. “No son of mine will play that shit. Promise me you’ll forget about it and play the music men should play.”
“But—”
“You’ll be an embarrassment to my name. I haven’t taught you how to play for you to throw it all way. Promise me.”
If he didn’t promise, his father would stop playing music with him. It was the only time they spent together. “I promise,” he said in a small voice.
“Good, and don’t let me hear that shit again.” Then his father did something he’d never done before. He ruffled Nate’s hair and gave him a pat on the back. “I love you, son. You’re a good boy.” And he left the room.
That was the last time Nate saw him.
The memory blasted through his mind and pierced his heart almost as if it had only been yesterday. He pulled air into his lungs like he couldn’t breathe. All he ever wanted was for his father to love him. And when he played his music, he did. How could he stop?
And then he thought of Jade. She’d hit him like an explosion of bright, bubbly light. Making him want things he’d thought were out of reach. A normal life, his own dream…love. Because he loved Jade. And always would.
He glanced up at the wall with his parents’ names. His stomach twisted into a knot. He knew what he had to do.
Chapter 28
After Toby’s visit, Jade rushed to see Nate only to find he wasn’t home. She knew he hadn’t left yet because she could hear Dorito meowing from the other side of the door.
Back at her house, she kicked off her shoes, took her phone from her bag, and sent Nate a text asking him to come over. What she needed to say to him couldn’t be done over the phone. Nerves fluttered like a flock of birds in her stomach.