Morris and I worked on the song for most of the day. It was as heart wrenching as I'd imagined it would be, but it was also something of a relief.

Through the music, through the lyrics, I was able to express all the things I hadn't been able to say out loud.

I came home and immediately flopped into sofa, worn out, exhausted, but with my heart feeling lighter than it had in years. The song wasn't done yet, but it was a start. We'd continue working on it until we got it right.

As I began to fall into a light nap, I heard a knock at my door. A part of me wondered if it was Liam. My heart leaped. When I opened the door, my brother was standing on the other side.

I didn't have time to ask him why he'd come. The moment he saw me, he pulled me into a fierce hug.

"How you feeling?" he murmured.

"Better," I said. "Sorry I missed rehearsal."

"No worries. We all understand. Besides, the rest of us have skipped out for worse reasons." Gael pulled back and looked into my eyes. "The guys are worried about you."

"I'm doing fine. Maybe even better than fine."

"I'm glad. Because if you were still upset over what Liam said I would have punched him in the face for you."

"I know you would have. You don't need to."

"The offer still stands." Gael raised his clenched fist and shook it. "No one messes with my baby sister."

I winced inwardly. If Gael knew the whole story, if he knew Liam and I had been together and he'd broken my heart, Liam would have been done for.

But then Gael said something that surprised the hell out of me.

"Are you going to take him back?" he asked.

I gaped and stammered. Gael laughed.

"Did you think none of us noticed?" he asked. "The way you looked at each other? All those times you snuck away together?" Gael smirked. "You weren't exactly subtle."

"Shit," I groaned.

"No, it's fine," Gael shook his head. "The guys and I talked about it. As long as it doesn't affect the music, we're cool with it." He gave me a soft smile. "We just want you to be happy. And up until a few days ago, you seemed the happiest you've ever been." His smile faded into a glower. "But if Liam did something or said something shitty, then he's out."

"He—" I paused to consider my words. "He said some things. Things that did hurt me at the time. But I think I understand now why he said them. I'm just not sure whether or not understanding why he said them is enough. He still said them. Some things you can't just get over."

"I get that. Some things are unforgivable." He cocked his head at me. "But is this one of them?"

"I don't know," I said truthfully. "I can forgive, but I don't know if I can forget."

Gael hummed thoughtfully. "I had the same problem with Jessie. You know I did some dumb things."

"And she forgave you."

He nodded. "I didn't expect her to, but she did. Somehow, she was able to look past what I did and understand why I did it."

"And that was enough?"

"For her it was. Maybe it's different with you and Liam." Gael shrugged. "But love is love."

"Lo—" I nearly choked on my tongue.

"Are you saying you're not in love with him?"

"I don't— It's not—" I continued to sputter.

Gael chuckled and put a hand on the top of my head, stroking my hair. He ducked down slightly to meet my wide gaze.

"It took me by surprise, too," he said. "I never thought I'd feel that way for anyone. I had you, and I had the guys, and that was enough. But Jessie…" His eyes gaze went distant, tender. He didn't need to continue. From the look in his eyes, I knew exactly what he was saying.

Love changed everything.

My heart pounded heavily in my chest. Was it love I felt for Liam? A jolt of panic shot through me. I didn't know if I was ready for that. As much as I liked him, as crazy as I was for him, love was something else entirely.

Was I even capable of loving again? For a long time, I'd thought my heart had died along with Harper.

Did I even want to love again? Did I want to risk opening my heart, just to have it ripped out of my chest?

"It's okay if you don't know yet," Gael reassured me. "But just think about it. He makes you happy. Before he showed up I would have given anything to see you smile that way again." Gael stopped, hesitating for a moment, as if wondering whether to continue. "I wanted to run something by you," he said. "About Liam. And the band."

I frowned, wondering what he could possibly have to ask.

"What do you think about asking him to join?" Gael asked.

I started. "Join the band? As in, for real?"

Gael nodded emphatically. "Yes. He fits in perfectly with us. We're so much better with him. You know we are. We've never been as good as we have than when we're playing with him. The guys and I talked about it. We're all on board with the idea. We think Liam should be a permanent part of Cherry Lips."

My mind whirled as I contemplated the idea. I knew Gael was right. We were better with Liam.

But bringing him on had always been a temporary thing. All of us knew it. Besides, Liam seemed more than happy with his position as a session guitarist.

"Even if I agreed, I don't know if he'd go for it," I said.

"Why not?" Gael asked. "We all work great together. Why wouldn't he want to join?"

"Every time it was brought up, he seemed not too keen on the idea." Something occurred to me then. "Some bad things went down with his old band. Maybe he just doesn't want to risk things falling apart again."

"Then we convince him," Gael said simply. "If you agree, if all of us agree, then we can make the offer and convince him." Gael pinned me down with a stare. "Do you agree?"

"Aren't you worried?" I asked. "About me and him? Band members dating each other doesn't exactly have a good track record. Look what just happened to us. We're in the middle of this huge—" I cut myself off, not knowing exactly what we were in the middle of. A break up? A fight? "—thing." I finished lamely.

"I was worried at first," Gael said. "But despite what went down between the two of you, you've still both been professional. We've still rocked on stage. I trust you to be adults about it. Besides," Gael chuckled darkly. "There's no reason why we can't just kick him out again if things really go south."

"Let me think about it," I said.

I hadn't talked to Liam since that night when I'd told him all about Harper. He'd apologized to Morris, apologized to me.

But I still didn't know if I could get over the terrible words he'd flung at me.

If Liam couldn't get over his trust issues, I didn't think there could ever be a future for us.