Rory shook his head very slightly, a reflexive refusal to take credit for what Pippa had obviously worked so hard to reclaim. He'd listened to her of course, taking in her description of what she'd been through since leaving New York and him. In many ways it mirrored his drive to find an outlet for his own distraught feelings. His hand clenched briefly in the memory of being gouged by a steel guitar string during one over-passionate practice session.

You're in everything I do and feel ... the best part of my life ... I didn't even want to love you ... needed to let go and forget. He might have said every one of those words himself. He felt balanced on a tightrope--no. Clinging to a lifeline in a flood of conflicting emotions, while he watched Pippa caress her creation. Her obsession.

"I don't ... know what to say." His voice dropped to just over a whisper as the tears welled up again. Hells, would they ever stop? "I've made so many mistakes."