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“London,” Alvin muttered, shaking his head. “It does nothing but rain there. She ain’t going to like it, I’ll tell you that. They might not like her much, either. Look at that girl that married the prince.”
Jason put his mouthpiece to his lips so he couldn’t say what he wanted to. Which was, Kendra is going to knock them out with one smile, especially when she followed it up with her keen mind and can-do attitude. Any business anywhere would appreciate those qualities.
He waited for a good moment to join the flow of music. There it came, a shift in the chord progressions, the perfect chance to jump in. He softly blew into the trombone, adding a quiet deep brassy note to the mix. Most people thought of the trombone as a loud, almost obnoxious instrument, but not the way he played it. He liked to create a lovely sonorous understructure with his playing. He didn’t blow out all the other instruments—unless the piece called for it.
He glanced down at Alvin’s phone as more texts popped onto the screen, but he ignored them. It wasn’t his business. Kendra was texting her father, not him. She was making her choices on her own. Doing what was best for her. He couldn’t blame her for that. In fact, he wanted that for her. So where did that leave him?
Blowing on a damn trombone in a dusty rehearsal room in Braddock.
Twenty-Eight
Kendra stopped at home to pack an overnight bag.
“Bring enough for a week. If you decide to stay, you can buy everything you need there,” Dominic told her. “You’ll love the stores in London. Some of them serve tea.”
“Not a tea drinker. Stay in the car, I’ll be right out.” She didn’t want to have to introduce Dom to her dad, in case he came home early from the jam session. Her mother wasn’t due back from Arkansas until next week. Most likely, Kendra would be back by then. I’m not moving to London. I’m just possibly selling my business and checking out an opportunity.
She filled an overnight bag with her most chic business-type attire, then grabbed her sharpest pantsuit—white with a black camisole underneath—and zipped it into a wardrobe bag. That outfit always filled her with confidence. If she had to face a hiring committee or a CEO, she wanted to be wearing that, along with her four-inch Louboutin heels that made her feel like a warrior.
She hadn’t worn any of these clothes since she’d left Minneapolis. They felt like old friends she hadn’t seen in a while. A tingle of anticipation danced through her. She’d been licking her wounds for too long. There was so much more for her to accomplish in the world than running her dad’s restaurant. She wanted to get out there and make something happen. She was ready.
Sleepwear. She needed something for bed, but her favorite sleep shorts were at Jason’s. She was rummaging through her drawer of nightwear when she found one of Jason’s t-shirts—a comfy faded oversized shirt with a cowboy-hat-wearing trout on the front. Holly had given it to him for his birthday, and he loved it for its random goofiness. He’d lent it to her after they’d gone skinny-dipping one night in the lake.
She tossed it into the bag, and immediately felt better about this trip. She’d have a piece of Jason with her.
Silly, she scolded herself. It was just a dumb t-shirt. But even in her rush to pack, she knew it was more than that. It was like a hug in the form of a t-shirt. A smile from someone who cared about her. Who always supported her, no matter what.
She scrawled a note for her father on the dry-erase board mounted on the kitchen wall. Read your texts. They explain everything. Carly will handle things at the Blue Drake while I’m gone. I love you!
Outside, she found an Uber already waiting. Dominic was chatting exuberantly with the driver, but he cut off his charm-fest to help her load her things into the trunk of the Honda.
“Only two bags, that’s my girl, always the efficient packer.”
“Not your girl,” she reminded him.
“Of course not. You’re your own person. An independent, modern woman.”
Was he mocking her now? Or did that damn British accent just make it sound like that?
Their shoulders bumped as Dominic closed the trunk of the car. He edged closer to her, but she shifted to keep enough distance between them. “Don’t make me regret this,” she warned him.
“You won’t regret it because you’re making the right choice. I knew you’d never resist an offer like this.”
She hated the way that sounded, as if he knew everything about her. “You don’t know that.”
“I haven’t decided anything yet.”
The buzz of her phone made her jump. It was a local number that she didn’t recognize.
“Please don’t answer that.” Dominic frowned at her across the seat. “We don’t have time for distractions.”
“I have to. Operation Respected Elders.”
“What’s that? Sounds dull as hell.”
Ignoring him, she answered the call. It was Holly, her words tumbling over each other, audible even without the speaker. “Kendra! Where are you right now? I need your help, or someone’s help, like a grownup’s, and my sister’s too busy and Jason was a dick to me, and his phone isn’t answering anyway, so I called you. Can you come help me?”
Dominic shook his head in a firm “no.” She ignored him. “How urgent is it? What’s going on?”
