My first stop was an independent record store in Greenwich Village that also served beer. Since it was only 10:13 a.m. when I arrived, I abstained from the beer, but I dug into the vintage collection of vinyl.

I found a few treasures to add to my record collection. As I was checking out, a discounted cover caught my attention. It was an original edition of Stevie Wonder’s album In Square Circle, dated 1985. I checked the song list on the back and was gratified to see Overjoyed.

Not wanting to overthink the gift, I added it to my purchases then left the shop. My next stop was a book store, also in the Village, that was supposed to have antique medical textbooks. I’d already sent my dad his Christmas gifts, but he was always looking for wall hangings for his office.

Again, after finding something for my dad, I stumbled across something for Martin. Actually, it was a signed edition of The Princess Bride, one of my favorite books and movies of all time. I was caught up in the desire to share my book joy with him and since the hardcover wasn’t a first edition I could actually afford it.

Then I went to a candy store famous for saltwater taffy. I bought more than I needed, deciding to wrap the extras up for Martin.

On my way back to his apartment, I passed a craft store and maker’s space that had handmade Christmas stockings in the window. Again on a whim, I ran in and purchased a stocking with a crew boat and eight oars on the front in a very unusual black graphic design on red cotton. They also sold ceramics; I grabbed him a Hobbit soap dispenser for his guest bathroom that looked like a garden gnome with big feet.

Then spotted an awesome, handmade coffee mug with the picture of a bass guitar that read, All about that bass. It made me chuckle so I picked it up for Abram.

Before checking out I found some cool stationery; the desk set that immediately called to me had a fishing pole in the right corner and read at the bottom, I’m not lazy, I just like to eat fish. So, of course it was perfect for Martin. So, of course I grabbed that, too.

I maybe spent more money than was prudent, but I figured Martin had let me stay in his home for free; the least I could do was pick him up a few cool things for his apartment. Plus, I felt strongly compelled to buy him these items. I saw them and I felt an undeniable compulsion to give them to Martin.

I was juggling my bags and trying to fish out the key to his place while navigating the lobby of the apartment building, when I heard a familiar voice call to me from behind.

“Kaitlyn, may I speak with you?”

I stopped and tensed, waiting a beat before turning and glancing over my shoulder. The voice belonged to Emma Cromwell and—good news—she wasn’t looking at me like I was responsible for Ebola.

But she did look determined.

CHAPTER 7

Atoms, Molecules, and Ions

I faced her, feeling caught and a little confused regarding what I ought to do next. “Um, hello, Emma.”

I’d always been raised to say, Nice to see you. But in this case I didn’t feel like it was appropriate because I didn’t want to lie. She crossed to me, her eyes moving over me and to the bags in my hands. She smirked. It wasn’t a nice smirk.

“Spending Martin’s money already?”

I sighed, because she was already being distasteful. “No. I don’t spend other people’s money.”

Her eyes narrowed as her attention moved back to my face. “Not even your parents’ money?”

“That’s a terribly rude question, Emma. Why do you feel like you have the right to be rude to me?” I asked this calmly because I was calm. She hadn’t upset me, but I was curious as to why she felt like attacking me constantly. As far as I knew I hadn’t salted the earth around her house or erased her DVR.

Her eyebrows notched upward and her lips parted. I’d obviously surprised her with my direct question.

“I…I…” She struggled for a few seconds, then finally her expression lost its hard edge. “I’m sorry. You’re right. That was rude.”

“You’re forgiven. Do you want to come up for tea? I can’t figure out his coffee maker, it has too many buttons. I feel like I might launch it into outer space.”

I didn’t wait for her to respond, instead I turned and walked toward the elevator. This was mostly because I was losing circulation in my fingers due to the heaviness of my bags. I knew she was following because her heels clicked on the lobby’s marble floor.

Once inside the elevator I waited until she boarded before pressing the button for his floor. A few other passengers also filtered in, so we remained quiet for the duration of the ride. As well, we walked in silence down the hall, and she stood silently as I used my key to unlock the door.

She grabbed two of my bags and helped me carry them into the living room. I didn’t miss how she peeked inside as she set them on the table behind the couch.

“Tea first or talking?” I asked, unburdening myself of my winter coat.

“Talking. I don’t want tea.”

“Fine.” I shrugged, tossing my coat to the couch and claiming a leather club chair. “What’s on your mind?”

She didn’t sit. I noted she was bursting with restless energy. “Aren’t you even a little bit sorry? A little ashamed?”

“Sorry about what?”

She huffed, like I was being purposefully irritating. “About Martin? About what he’s done for you?”

I studied her, cocking my head to one side. “Here’s the thing, Emma. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She snorted and crossed her arms. “Yeah, I find that hard to believe.”

“I don’t. I haven’t been keeping up with Martin, I haven’t been searching out news stories about him. In fact, I’ve been avoiding them.”

“But you read the news, right? You keep up with current events?”

I shook my head. “Nope. I’ve been spending the last nine months avoiding the world, outside of music and work. I haven’t read a newspaper or a headline in almost a year.”

Something behind her glare loosened as I spoke and she blinked at me several times, like she was seeing me with new eyes. Her arms uncrossed and fell to her sides. Emma slowly sat down on the couch, her gaze growing introspective.

“You don’t know about…anything that’s happened?”

I shook my head.

“And Martin, didn’t you ask him?”

“I haven’t seen him since Wednesday morning, and he didn’t want to talk about it then, so I didn’t push.”

“You haven’t seen him since Wednesday?”

“Nope.”

“But aren’t you two back together?”

“Of course not.”

“Why of course not?”

Now I huffed. “Would you please tell me what’s got your piano out of tune? Because I need to leave for a gig in about a half hour.”

She studied me for a beat, her eyes narrowing, but with thoughtfulness, not suspicion. At last she said, “Do you know about the houses?”

I shifted in my seat; this topic was a bit of a sore spot for me. “You mean the houses Martin was to gain as part of the trust his father set up?”

“He did, he got them. And then he sold them for approximately one hundred twenty million dollars.”

This wasn’t a surprise, given what I’d seen of the house in the Caribbean. “And then his father…? Did something happen?”

She shook her head. “He could do nothing about it. By the time he found out, the houses were sold and the money was offshore. Though he tried to file an injunction, a petition to sue for the proceeds, it was thrown out.”

“How nice.” I gave her a flat smile and she issued me a questioning look; I clarified, “How nice for Martin, that he got his revenge.”

“His revenge? Hardly.” She rolled her eyes, scoffing at me.

“What do you mean? He sold the houses, didn’t he? He launched his fancy satellites?”

“He sold the houses, sure. But, so what? What’s a measly one hundred twenty million to a man worth billions? Nothing. Denver’s injunction was half-assed at best. Honestly, I think Denver had been looking for a reason to cut Martin off. As of right now, Martin is Denver’s only child. He stood to inherit over twenty billion if he’d just been patient and quiet.”

“Twenty…billion?” My mind had trouble comprehending that much money. It might as well have been a googolplex of pirate gold.

“Yeah.” She nodded once, then added with an impressive amount of derision, “The money was invested into the satellite project, but instead of using these first satellites to drive Sandeke Telecom out of business—which was the whole purpose of his involvement and investment—he’s proposed to the board that the satellites focus on delivering Internet to areas with the most need.”

“He what?”

“Nothing about selling the houses has gone according to the original plan,” she said, mostly to herself. “He gave the money away!”

I tried not to show my interest, but I was interested. Martin’s plan and his unwillingness to deviate from it had been—at least in my mind—why we’d broken up.

“Gave the money away? What do you mean?” I picked a piece of lint off the knee of my jeans.