“Yes,” he said, pulling his phone from his pocket. “I still check the app sometimes, hoping I’ll hear from you.”
His fingers slid and tapped on the screen before he handed it over and she began to read.
rockboy7:
sweet jane, it’s farmboy7
i’m so sorry I was gone for a few weeks - i’ve missed you so much
i need to tell you everything now, even though you might not want to hear it
my real name is charles and i’m from the same county as you, believe it or not, but i was never in the orchestra all-stars
i disappeared for a bit because the unthinkable happened - myband took off!
they got rid of all my socials and sent me on tour, but i finally had a chance to come back on and let you know
you don’t have to tell me who you are if you don’t want to
but I want you to know that i’m cash law
yeah i know, i used to say i didn’t like cash
i just didn’t want you to guess
and, well, at times i do feel like a second rate elvis impersonator
you made my day that time you said cash law has his own sound
but i knew i was in love with you a long time before that
anyway, i hope you can forgive me - for disappearing on you, and for telling you my real name - and also for not telling it to you sooner
When Bella finished,she read it again, her heart racing.
“I never saw this,” she said. “I was on the app for a while after you left, but I never thought to look for new message requests. You were the only person on there that I ever wanted to talk to.”
“I said I would leave you a ticket for all my shows,” he said, his voice deeper now with emotion. “So, when I saw a girl wearing a county All-Stars Orchestra shirt at the Burlington concert, I was sure it was you.”
“Harper was wearing my shirt,” Bella realized out loud.
“It’s the only reason I did what I did,” Cash said. “Spending time with you this month, for the first time I thought I might finally be getting over Sweet Jane, but I wasn’t—it was just that I’d found you without knowing it. You’re the only one for me. You always have been.”
Her heart was aching with love, but it was better to look the truth in the face.
“Tell that to the girl whose name you got tattooed on your chest,” she joked sadly.
Cash’s dark eyes stayed on hers as his hands moved to his shirt.
As she watched, he unbuttoned his flannel and then pulled it open to reveal the name tattooed over his heart.
Sweet Jane
“Cash,”she murmured.
“It’s you,” he whispered back, shaking his head in disbelief. “It’s really you.”
This time, when he reached out to cup her cheek, she kept her eyes open, drinking in the sight of him.
