“More than you know. But I should probably thank the bastard. That breakup, and all of that writing, led to me starting the Mad Truth About Love greeting card line, which allows me to travel all over the world doing my storytelling and puppeteering.”

His gut clenched. He knew those cards all too well. Knew their rough texture, the papery smell. The way the printed letters looked handwritten and the logo on the back had an angry face as the a in Mad and a broken heart for the o in Love, and the way reading them now slayed him.

“You’re the girl behind the cards?”

“Yup. I created every one of them and have distributors all over the world,” she said proudly. “Are you familiar with them?”

He nodded. “My sister is a fan.” Or at least she had been. He swallowed hard and quickly tried to thwart any questions about his family. “I think you should sic your brothers on the bastard who broke your heart.”

“My brothers don’t know about him, because they would kill him.”

He wanted to say Let’s hope not, because he wouldn’t wish the guilt he carried on anyone. But he kept that to himself. “It sounds like you found your calling three times over, and that’s more than many people get in this lifetime.”

“I know. I only wish Ashley were here to find hers.”

He wished that for her, too.

“You said you knew what it was like to lose someone?” she said carefully. “Who have you lost?”

He hadn’t thought she’d paid attention to that, and he wrestled with the idea of changing the subject, but she’d been so open, he decided to give her something. “My mother, to cancer, a long time ago.” He pushed a hand through his hair and cleared his throat. “Aren’t there supposed to be fireworks?”

“They should start soon. I’m really sorry about your mom. How old were you when she passed away?”

“Thirteen. So how’d you get into puppetry? Was it because some asshole broke your heart, too?”

“Smooth subject change.”

“I guess that’s a yes?”

She rolled her eyes. “I heard a podcast about grief, and they talked about using puppet therapy with kids. I thought it was a cool idea and went from there. What about you? You know how I got through losing Ashley. How did you get past your mom’s death?”

“I didn’t have a choice. I had to be strong for my younger sister.”

“Ah, the plot thickens. How many siblings do you have?”

He wished he hadn’t mentioned her. “Just Carrie.”

“That must have been hard for both of you.”