“What are you doing here?” I ask stupidly.
His lips quirk. “What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for someone.”
“Huh. Could you be waiting for your witchy sisters?”
I straighten. “Maybe.”
He pulls out a chair and takes a seat. “They aren’t coming.”
“What? How do you know?”
He leans closer to me, and I find myself lost in those mossy eyes. “Because this is a setup.”
I blink. “What?” My conversational skills are really dazzling tonight.
“I didn’t know if you’d talk to me. So I asked them to help get you here.”
My lips quiver. “Why?”
“Because I have some things to say to you.”
“Oh.” I swallow. “Okay. Go for it.”
A waitress appears next to us with a smile. “Another beer for you?” she asks me.
“Sure.”
“What are you drinking?” Trace asks.
“Hoppy Ending Pale Ale.” And then my bottom lip trembles and a tear leaks out of my eye. No Hoppy Ending for me and Trace.
He frowns. “Is it that bad?”
“No.” I swipe the tear away. I have to be stronger than this. “It’s good. You know. H-hoppy.”
“I’ll have one of those too,” he tells the waitress.
She nods and moves away.
“Hopefully it won’t make me cry,” he says.
“Are you making a joke?”
He grimaces. “Trying. Not funny?”
I rub my nose. “No, no. That was good.”
“Romy. I’m so sorry.”
I gaze at him. “For what?”
“For being an idiot.”
I purse my lips and consider that. “Fair.”
He chokes on a laugh.
“You’re not an idiot,” I say. “I didn’t realize that you’ve been trying to bring your family back ever since the accident. I understand why that’s so important for you. Even though it wasn’t your fault. I knew you felt responsible for the accident you were in, but—”
“You knew?” He stares at me, openmouthed.
“Yes. Felise told me. I… I wish you’d told me.”
He swallows. “I thought you’d hate me.”
“No.” I touch my fingertips to his cheek. “It wasn’t your fault, Trace. Someone pulled out in front of you. There was nothing you could have done.”
“I was a kid. A new driver. I kept telling myself there could have been something. There should have been something I did. I felt responsible. Like I killed them.”
“I know. I know you felt like that. But you don’t have to.” I swallow a sigh. “I wish things could be different. I wish you knew how valued and loved you are here. I mean here…” I wave my hands in a big circle. “Not here in this bar. Here in this time.”
“I do know.” His eyes glimmer with amusement, but his voice is low and serious. “And that’s what I’m sorry about. That I didn’t realize it. But now I do.”
“You do?” My heart leaps and then zooms into a gallop worthy of Secretariat. I search his face, trying to figure out where this is going.
“Yeah.”
The waitress brings our beers and sets them on the table. We ignore her and the drinks, staring into each other’s eyes.
“I’m not going to do it.”
I blink a few times. “Do what?”
“Go back in time.”
I stiffen. I can’t breathe. My hand splays against my breastbone. “Why? It’s what you’ve always wanted.”
“I was wrong. I wanted love. Family. Belonging.” He pauses, pulling in a breath through his nose. “It took losing you to make me realize… I already have those things.”
“Oh.” My lungs expel all the air from them. Dizziness assails me. Those are the things I’ve always wanted too.
“I have family. Family who loves me enough to send me back in time to make me happy.” His smile holds a touch of sadness. “I have a great job that I love. I don’t just work there because of the Candlers. I work there because I love what I do. I love making beautiful homes for people. Because home is important.”
“It is.” My throat thickens.
“And I have something else to tell you.”
I nod, waiting.
He stands.
My forehead tightens as he walks over to the karaoke stage.
“Our first performer of the evening!” the announcer booms into the microphone. “Trace Holcomb!”
I can’t stop blinking, and I press my hand flat to my chest where my heart is still galloping. What is he doing?
He steps onto the stage and takes the microphone amid a smattering of applause.
Then my jaw nearly smacks the table as Dad and Cassie… and Felise and Magan walk into the bar. They head straight toward me and pull up more chairs around the small table.
“What are you doing here?” Somehow I manage to form words.
“We came to watch Trace sing,” Felise whispers.
“He hates karaoke!” I whisper back.
“I know.” She smiles, eyes on the stage.
“This song is for you, Romy,” Trace says into the microphone.
Oh. My. God.
My fingers fly to my lips as I watch.
The first notes of the song play. I recognize it immediately. I gasp.
Then Trace opens his mouth and sings, “Fly me to the moon.”
He’s singing. A song I love.
He has a good voice!
I listen to the words in a daze, hands on my cheeks, watching him move on the stage, getting right into the jazzy music. A veritable Frank Sinatra. He ends the song on a flourish, holding the long notes impressively, then slowing down and capturing my gaze across the room to sing the last line. “I…”
My eyes tear up.
“…love…”
He points at me.
“…you.”
The applause is rowdy and appreciative as he takes a bow and jumps off the stage to walk toward me.
What has he done? I gulp and my gaze bounces around the table. Cassie and Joe are beaming. Felise and Magan too, all of them clapping wildly. Felise sticks her fingers in her mouth and emits an earsplitting whistle.
My mind is in a spin cycle, my heart hammering wildly. I rub tears off my face, shaking everywhere, inside and outside.
Trace stops in front of me and drops to a crouch. “I love you, Romy.”
My eyes are ready to pop out of their sockets. “What are you doing?” I whisper, jerking my head toward the others at the table.
He grins. Grins! “They already know I’m crazy about you.”
“Whaaaat!” My head shakes no; my mouth is dangling open. “But…”
“It’s okay. They’re good. Now you need to know. I love you.”
I gaze at him helplessly, so confused. “You do?”
“I do.”
“This is unbelievable. I c-can’t believe you did that.”
He smiles. “I did it for you.”
“Oh, Trace.” More water spills from my eyes. I need to get a grip. My mom would be horrified at this public display of emotion.
The rest of the family pushes their chairs back and stand. “We’ll leave you two alone,” Cassie says, her smile as big and bright as a full moon.