I bolt into an upward position. My cheeks are wet with tears. I thought I was finished with the flashbacks.

I look over to my clock and see that it's four o'clock in the morning. I get out of bed and walk over to my closet. I turn the light on. I have a little table in the corner of the closet. On the table is a picture of James in his uniform.

I take the picture off the table, turn the light off, and leave the closet. I switch on my nightstand lamp and sit down on one of my window seats. I stare at James' picture.

I whisper, "Why did you leave me? You knew I needed you, so why did you have to go? How can I ever love anyone again? My heart has a large hole that still hasn't healed. It's almost been a year. How have I lived this long without you?"

I, of course, get no response from the picture. I lean against the wall and close my eyes.

"It will be okay."

"How could you know?" I say without even thinking about who it is.

"Trust me."

"This isn't the first time you've let me down. How can I ever trust you again?"

I don't get a response. Somehow, I realize I'm wrong.

I sigh. "I trust you."

I walk back to my bed and lay down, holding James' picture tightly. My head is filled with thoughts of him as I slowly drift off to sleep.

~-~-~-~
Beep, beep!

I groan as I slowly open my eyes. I roll over, almost smashing something. I look down and see James' picture staring at me. The memories flood back from just a couple of hours ago. I take his picture and stand it up on my nightstand.

I slide out from under my covers and go to my closet. I pick out a black, knee length dress. The dress wasn't too tight or too loose. I also grab my red blazer. I pair the outfit with a red necklace and red shoes.

After putting on my shoes, I run downstairs to grab breakfast and my things. I hurry to my car and drive to work. When I get to the office, I see a huge crowd of people in the center of town. All of them are being assigned their last minute jobs for the parade.

I walk into the office and stop to talk to my secretary.

"Hello," I say.

She smiles. "Good morning, Miss Garner."

"Any news for me?"

"I think we have some college students coming today. You also have an interview lined up with a potential editor."

"Sounds great. Any new books?"

She shakes her head. I smile at her and walk into my office. I set my things down and get to work. I'm engrossed in a book when I hear someone clear their throat. I look up and see Beth in the doorway.

"Hey," I say.

She sits down across from me and smiles. "Hi."

"How'd the interview go?"

She shakes her head. "Don't ask. It was pretty horrific."

I laugh. "It couldn't have been that bad."

"You don't know the half of it."

"From that tone, I'm guessing you didn't get the job."

"Nope."

"What if I offered you a job here?"

"Kate, I know we're friends, but I don't need your pity. What do I know that can be helpful at a place like here?"

I laugh. "Don't forget that this 'place' is my passion."

She laughs. "Right."

"There's a lot you could do. We need someone who can look for new employees and maybe interview them. You're good at doing that."

"That is a possibility."

"Think about it."

"I will," she says as someone taps on the door.

I look up and see Matt. "Hi, Kate."

I smile. "Hi."

Beth looks at me, then him, and then back at me. She raises an eyebrow at me. I give her a quick look before motioning Matt forward.

"Matt, this is my best friend, Beth. Beth, this is Matthew Parker."

He shakes her hand. "Nice to meet you."

She smiles. "You too. I wish I could stay, but I have some appointments."

I stand up and give her a hug. Matt sits down in Beth's seat. I sit back in my chair and smile at him.

"What brings you here?" I ask.

"Studio problem," he replies.

I mentally smack my head. "We never talked about your studio."

"I'm glad you noticed."

I roll my eyes. "Find your own phrase."

He laughs. "I'll be working on that. Anyway, do you have a way to help me?"

"Well, you have two options. We have a building behind the office that's a pretty good size. A few buildings down, there's an office type building for rent. If you give the owner a good offer, she'll probably even sell it to you."

"The first one's bigger?"

"Yes."

"Would I be able to see it?"

"If you come back before lunch, I'm sure I can work something out."

He smiles. "Alright. I'll see you then."

I smile at him as he stands. "See you later."

He waves before walking out. I get back to work. I edit a little more before stopping to interview a few people. I've had a lot of interviews lately, and the office is beginning to look and sound like a real office. It's really satisfying to know this office hasn't been a total bust.

Knock, knock.

I look up. "Is it already lunch?" I ask Matt.

He smiles and sits down across from me. "Try a late lunch."

I look at my clock and see he's right. It's past twelve. "Were you here long?"

"No. I just got here, but I waited a second because you looked really interested in what you were doing."

I smile and stand up. "That's because I love what I do. Come on, let's go eat."

He smiles and follows me, holding every door open for me. Once we get out of the office, he walks beside me on the sidewalk. As we near Mrs. Tucker's Diner, he hurries ahead and opens the door. I smile and say thank you to him.

"Kate!" Mrs. Tucker's voice exclaims.

I turn around and see her hurrying towards me. I smile and give her a hug. She looks beyond me at Matt.

I step back and motion to him. "Mrs. Tucker, this is Matthew Parker. He's my boss' son and a singer."

She smiles at him and shakes his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Matthew."

"Likewise," he replies.

"So, it sounded like you needed to tell me something," I say to Mrs. Tucker.

She nods her head. "Matthew, if you could please excuse us for a moment."

"Of course," he says as he goes to sit down.

Mrs. Tucker takes me to her office. "Josh is facing a lot of scrutiny already."

I bite my lip, not trusting myself to speak. I wish I could say I felt sorry for him, but I can't. He hurt my best friend and his mother. A jerk like that will get little sympathy from me.

"I know what he did was extremely wrong, but I'm worried about him."

I take her hand in mine. "I'm sure he'll be fine. If I know one thing about him, he's determined. He won't let anyone change what he thinks or wants."

She sighs. "I just wish he hadn't been so stupid."

"I'm sure we all do."

I talk with her for a few more minutes before going back out to eat lunch with Matt. I can tell he's curious about what we were talking about, but he doesn't say a word. Instead, he starts talking about the studio.

"Who owns the building?" he asks.

"Mrs. Tucker."

He smiles. "Is that why you brought me here?"

I laugh. "I'm not that clever, but why don't we go with that?"

"My job is to get on her good side so we can look at it and buy it," he says.

"Not exactly. I could've shown you the building without coming here. I was just hungry," I reply.

He laughs. His rich laugh fills the room, making people to turn and look at him. I laugh. Nobody knows who he is, so he just looks like a very loud person.

"Good thing I'm wearing these sunglasses, right?" he asks as he adjusts them.

"Sure."

"Well, why don't we eat and then go look at the building?"

I look down at the menu. "Sounds good."

~-~-~-~
"I'll have the contract ready by tomorrow," Mrs. Tucker tells Matt.

"Thank you so much," he says as he shakes her hand.

She smiles. "No, thank you. I've been wondering how long it was going to take for that old building to be sold."

He laughs. "Thank you, again."

He says his goodbyes, and I follow him out of her office.

"You did it," I say.

He holds his hand up for a high five. "No, we did it."

I laugh and give him a high five. "I need to get back to work, but I'll see you around."

~-~-~-~
A month passes by with a steady stream of work. Occasionally, I'd walk over to Matt's studio and watch him at work. He mostly came by my office. We talked and got to know each other even more.

These every day conversations began to make the town suspicious. Beth would give me sly glances every now and then because she now worked for me and knew when Matt came. My other employees would also look slyly at me when they weren't fawning over Matt.

I can't say that he isn't cute, but I can say that I'm not interested. It hasn't even been a year since James' death. I've gotten a lot better, but my wounds haven't healed all the way. My wounds are still open, and I can't see myself moving on anytime soon.

"What are you thinking about?" I look up and see Matt in the doorway.

"Life," I say.

He smiles and sits down. "Can I help?"

"Probably not. How's the studio going?"

"It's great! The building is perfect, and I've already started writing some new music. It's peaceful here, and I'm away from prying eyes," he says.

"South Hart has a way to make you feel peaceful."

"Yeah."

"So, what brings you here today?" I ask, quickly trying to make the awkwardness go away.

"I can't just come talk to my amazing friend?"

"I don't take flattery," I jokingly snap.

"You don't take any compliments," he replies in an equal joking tone.

"Not true," I say.

He laughs. "I've learned not to fight with you."

"Smart man."

"Anyway, I have something I want to ask you," he says, making the feeling in the room go to serious.

"Why do you always have to be serious?" I teasingly ask.

"Kate, will you go on a date with me?"

I stop smiling and freeze. I hadn't expected this. I can't think of anything to say. I know I'm not ready to date, but I don't want to ruin our friendship. What would happen if I say no? What would happen if I say yes?

"Kate? Kate?"

My world begins to unfreeze, and I look up to see Matt waiting expectantly. I bite my lip.

"Matt," I start, "I'm sorry, I can't."

His face falls, and he stands up. "Don't be sorry. I shouldn't have asked when I knew you're bound to someone. I just got caught up in the moment."

"I'm bound to someone?" I ask.

"Kate, you've been wearing that ring on your left hand ever since I first met you that night. You're obviously bound to someone. I don't know why, though, because he's never showed up in the month I've been here," he explains.

I look down at my ring and then look back up at him. "Matt, you don't know everything about me."

"Why can't you tell me?"

Tears begin to form in my eyes. "It's too personal. I like you, Matt. You're an amazing friend, but I can't see you as anything more for the time being."

"Will you ever be able to see me as something more?" he asks.

A few tears fall as I say, "I don't know. All I can tell you is that I need time. I'm still dealing with issues, and I can't pull you along with me. What I need from you, right now, is friendship. I need all the friends I can get. Please don't let this ruin it."

"Okay," he says before hurrying out of the office.