“Look, Terrance.” Karoline stepped aside so that her husband could see. “The charm is a little rose. He gave Harper a real rose on the night they met.”

“Thoughtful, right?” Harper said.

“I can’t argue with that,” Terrance replied.

Karoline went back to her place on the couch. “Why didn’t you tell me that he got you a gift?”

“Because you were in bed when I got home last night. And Axel was here as soon as we rolled out of bed this morning.”

Karoline took her last sip of wine. “To be honest, after how well things went today, I thought you’d be more conflicted. You’re still set on continuing to see Tobias?”

“I am. Axel might be repentant now. He knows he’s lost me, so he’s doing his best to win me back. But if I ever remarried him, I feel like he’d just take my love for granted all over again.”

Karoline set her empty glass aside. “What about the girls?”

“If he loves them as much as he says he does, he’ll work with me to make sure our divorce is as amicable as he promised when he left me.”

Karoline didn’t seem particularly optimistic about that, but Harper trusted Axel’s willingness to do the right thing. “He loves his music, his bandmates, his fans. Not me. He’s just afraid he’s losing something he might later want. And I’m not going to let an ‘Oh, wait! I might want this, after all’ make me blow what’s going on between Tobias and me. If Axel really wanted me, he wouldn’t have done what he did.”

Her phone went off before Terrance or Karoline could respond. She thought maybe it would be Tobias asking about her Christmas. She’d planned to call him before bed. She wanted to see him, but she was waiting until Axel left town.

It wasn’t Tobias, however. It wasn’t even Axel. It was Rory, from the band.

Harper excused herself and left the room as she answered the call. She didn’t want to make Karoline and Terrance sit through her conversation when they were finally getting a chance to recoup after the big day. “Hi, Rory.”

“Harper, this is nuts. You’ve got to get him to change his mind.”

“I assume ‘him’ is Axel. But…change his mind about what?”

“I realize you want to keep him there with you. I’m sorry for all you’ve been through, and I’m excited you’re getting back together. But can’t you hold on for just two more weeks? The rest of us are dying. He’s making us cancel a New Year’s Eve show! No one in the industry does that. It’s professional suicide!”