Chapter 36

thirty-six

JACOB

I hadn’t been on an Easter egg hunt in years. But today, I was turning Liam and Paul’s house upside down, hunting for the last Easter egg.

“Is it there?” Amy, Paul’s niece, asked from beside me.

I knelt on the carpet and stuck my hands under the sofa. “I don’t think so.”

Amy joined me on the floor. But instead of kneeling, she dropped to her stomach, peering under the sofa as if we were on a military operation in the middle of a war zone. “Are you sure this is the right place?”

I checked the map Liam had given me. The Easter egg hunt should have been a breeze. But whoever had hidden the eggs hadn’t made it easy. So far, we’d found six chocolate eggs, but the last one was proving more difficult.

I scratched my head. “It’s here somewhere.”

Amy jumped to her feet. Leaning over my shoulder, she studied the map. “That’s the chair and this is the sofa.”

As soon as I looked from the map to the furniture, I knew where we’d gone wrong. The map was upside down.

“The Easter egg isn’t under here, silly. It’s over there.”

Before I could scramble to my feet, Amy was already on the other side of the room.

With a high-pitched squeal, she reached under the chair and pulled out a bright yellow Easter egg. “Found it!”

Liam walked into the room. “Here you are. I thought you’d gone missing.”

“We found the last Easter egg,” Amy said excitedly. “That makes seven in our basket.”

“I’m impressed,” Liam said. “Everyone else’s basket is almost empty.”

Amy grinned. “That’s ‘cos Jacob and I are amazing.”

“You definitely are,” Liam agreed.

“Can I show Uncle Paul my Easter eggs first?”

Liam nodded. “He’ll like that.”

With the basket of foil-wrapped eggs clutched in her hands, Amy rushed out of the room.

I stuck my hands on my hips. “I don’t know how you do it.”

“Do what?” Liam asked.

“Keep up with Amy. She never sits still.”

“Welcome to the world of parenthood. I’m assured by friends who have teenagers that it only gets worse.”

“Maybe Andrew’s idea of getting a kitten isn’t so bad.”

Liam’s eyebrows rose. “If you’re talking about children, your relationship must be more serious than I thought.”

I closed the living room door. If anyone overheard our conversation, they could take something the wrong way. And the last thing I wanted was to upset Andrew.

I looked at Liam and took a deep breath. “I’ve fallen in love with Andrew.”

“Why do I get the feeling there’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere?”

“He’s performed in front of fifty thousand people. Before Andrew left Nashville, he was one of the highest-paid male country musicians in the world.”

“Andrew wouldn’t have told you that, so I’m assuming you’ve been reading about him on the Internet.”

I sat on the edge of a chair. “Wouldn’t you?”

“I work for the FBI. I’d be crazy not to do a little research before jumping headfirst into a relationship. But it’s true what people say—don’t believe everything you read.”

“What if Andrew decides to go back to Nashville?”

Liam sat beside me. “I imagine he’s thinking the same thing about you. If he’s looking for stability then, on paper, you’re a risky bet. You haven’t lived in the same country for more than two years. And let’s face it, working for Doctors Without Borders gives you a big tick on the humanitarian aid front, but the salary sucks. You could have earned more money working for Walmart.”

I ran my hands through my hair. “Are you trying to make me feel better or worse?”

“I want you to realize that no one’s perfect. We’ve all made decisions that have brought us to where we are today, but that doesn’t mean we can’t change. Has Andrew said he wants to go back to Nashville?”

“No, but his manager gave him a contract from a recording studio. They want him to make another album.”

“What does he want?”

“He said he’s happy with his life in Sunrise Bay.”

“But you don’t believe him?”

I didn’t know what to think. “Who would give up the chance to perform in front of thousands of people and earn huge amounts of money?”

“You’re asking the wrong person.” Liam frowned. “You aren’t projecting your insecurities on Andrew, are you?”

“You sound like my counselor,” I muttered.

“Maybe he had a point. Instead of worrying about what Andrew’s doing, focus on your own life. If this is where you want to live, give Andrew lots of reasons to stay with you.”

“What if it’s not enough?”

Liam sighed. “That’s the million-dollar question you have to ask each other. For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about.”

I hoped some of Liam’s confidence rubbed off on me. Because right now, I had a feeling Andrew was about to make a life-altering decision that wouldn’t involve me.