His Melody (34 page)

“I’ll let you know when I’ve received it and we’ve had a chance to look over it,” Zaria said.

“Good,” Max said. “We want your first album out as soon as possible.”

“Me, too,” Austin said. He’d waited long enough for this.

When Ebony walked them out of the meeting, she said,
“Welcome to the Global family, Austin.”

“The contract’s not signed yet,” Zaria said with a smile in a light tone that carried an undertone of seriousness. “And we’ll need to hammer out something for the music publishing side of things.” Global had their own music publisher, and Austin planned on writing his own material to publish with them. The real money was in writing the songs.

“I’m sure Austin has seen the light,” Ebony said in a matching tone.

After saying goodbye to the three of them at the elevator, Ebony walked in the direction of the conference room.

They parted ways with Zaria in the parking lot and walked over to the car that had brought them together—Melody’s old red beater. It ran better than ever now, and Austin couldn’t help but pat himself on the back a little for that.

“So what do we do now?” she asked, leaning against the trunk.

He wrapped his arms around her and mumbled against her ear. “We celebrate.”

Chapter Forty-Six

As soon as Austin signed the contract, a date was set for an unofficial welcome party to introduce Austin to the Global execs and to celebrate Melody’s position as head of A&R for the new sub-label. They’d made up some fancy title for her that was something like Vice President of Talent Acquisitions. She wasn’t too worried about the title. What thrilled her
was knowing
she had control over which artists the label would sign. Of course, if her artists didn’t make money for Global, she would be asked to step down or leave, but that was the least of her worries at the moment. She was solely focused on finally being given the chance to shine.

The party was to be held at a penthouse apartment that Global rented out for business purposes downtown, not far from their Peachtree Street office. Melody and Austin made sure that all the important names were on the guest list. Melody’s mom, Jen, Chad, Leigh Anne, Avery, Donnie, and Regan had all been invited.

“I hope everyone shows up tonight,” Melody said, biting her bottom lip. She studied her worried expression in the mirror as she rolled a tube of
lip gloss
back and forth on her vanity.

She watched Austin walk up behind her in the mirror and put his hands on her shoulders. She wore only a cream colored slip—she hadn’t put her dress on yet because she was terrified of getting a stain on the nude silk dress she planned on wearing to the party and ruining it before she even left the apartment.

He toyed with the straps of her slip. “They’ll be here,” he said. “They’re on their way now.”

She looked up at him. “You sure?”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “Positive. Mom called to say they passed through Peachtree City not too long ago. Don’t worry. They wouldn’t miss this for anything.” His hands slipped over her shoulders. “They’ll meet us over there.”

“I hope things won’t get too wild for them tonight.”

“This is the fancy suit party, remember? To impress the execs and make sure they know they’re getting their money’s worth.” He squeezed her shoulder. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“Yeah. Zaria made sure to drill that part home, huh?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll behave.” He gave her a suggestive smile. “There’ll be plenty of time to get wild later.”

“I’ll bet,” she said. “You have any idea of what you’re performing tonight?” A few other Global acts were the entertainment that night, but Austin was supposed to do one song as well.

He grinned. “Not one clue.”

“Austin…”

“Don’t worry. It’ll come to me.”

“It
better
.”

“It will.”

After she finished with her makeup, she slipped on the dress and paired it with gold jewelry and strappy gold sandals. She looked up to find Austin staring at her. “What?” she asked, unable to fight a
smile.

“I am so glad that dress is sleeveless.” He ran his hands up her arms. “I do love these shoulders.” He gave each shoulder a slow, lingering kiss.

“Hm,” she murmured. “You look good. Smell good, too.”

“Glad you think so,” he said. His gray shirt hinted at the ripped body beneath it. He’d paired it with a black blazer and dark designer jeans.

“I guess we’d better get going,” she said.

“Yeah. Otherwise, we’re going to be really late.” He gave her a wicked grin.

#

From the moment they walked into the darkened penthouse, they were bombarded with people. Sometimes they were pulled in the same direction, and sometimes they were pulled in separate ones to shake hands and meet all the important people. It was impossible to keep faces with names. Ebony and Fatimah moved them around the room so quickly that Austin couldn’t concentrate on any one person long enough to learn anything of substance about them.

The music was good. Several acts took the stage that had been set up in the middle of the living room that night. Some Austin had heard of, and others he hadn’t. In any case, no one who performed lacked talent.

Every time he thought he was going to steal a moment alone with Melody, Ebony and Fatimah took them off to meet more industry folks. They got a few minutes to talk to Zaria, the lawyer who’d made all this possible, when she showed up. That didn’t last long, though. Soon after she arrived, Austin lost track of her. He made a mental note to find her later and ask her how the contract was coming along.
And to thank her again, too.
He couldn’t thank her enough.

 
Finally, when Austin’s family arrived, he was able to break away from the crowd. Melody walked up to them. She had several people with her—Jen and her date, as well as an attractive older woman who must have been Melody’s mother. She must have found them while the two of them were separated.

Introductions were made all around.

“So. You’re Austin,” Melody’s mother, who’d been introduced as Yvette, said.

“Yes. It’s so nice to meet you,” Austin said, extending his hand.

Melody’s mother raised her eyebrows. “I’m not as easily charmed as my daughter. Keep that in mind.” She reached out to shake his extended hand, and he brought her hand to his lips for a light kiss.

“Yes, ma’am.”

A smile broke out over Yvette’s face. “He doesn’t even have to try, does he?” Yvette asked Melody.

Melody laughed. “Not really.” She linked her fingers through Austin’s. He squeezed them.

They all stood around getting to know each other until
Austin was whisked away from the group by Fatimah
. He’d gleaned that night that Fatimah was going to be his handler at Global. Fatimah took him to a room in the back of the penthouse and ran over his performance with him. He was only doing one song. She asked if he knew which one. He told her he was doing the first song he’d written for Melody, So Beautiful. He had turned the poem he’d written for the open mic night at Myrtle’s into a song.

Fatimah nodded while typing something onto the screen of her phone. “Good.” She looked up at him. “It’s time for you to get out there.”

“Okay.” He was anxious to do something besides stand there waiting around.

His song was a hit with the crowd. He had a bias toward anything to do with Melody, so he had to agree with them. Fatimah and Ebony seemed pleased as well. They walked him back over to Melody, his family, and the others, talking about how they couldn’t wait to get him in the studio on Monday. Zaria kept reminding everyone that all of this was unofficial because no contract had been signed yet.

“I think you’re going to like Robert,” Fatimah said. Robert was apparently the producer they were having him meet on Monday. “You two would work well together.”

“We’ll find out in a couple days,” Austin said.

Melody threw her arms around him. “You were so good.”

Ebony gave Melody a sincere smile. “Good work, Melody. You’ve done great things for Global. We’ll return the favor.”

“I believe it after everything I’ve seen so far,” Melody said to Ebony while still looking at Austin.

Ebony nodded. Melody and Austin introduced Fatimah and Ebony to their friends and families. Everyone raved over Austin’s performance until Fatimah and Ebony had to return to the bedroom that was serving as a backstage area.

Austin stood with his arm around Melody’s waist. That night felt like the true beginning to a new life. He finally felt like he was on the path he’d been meant to walk. And he was glad Melody was walking it with him.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Near the end of the night, Austin finally got Melody alone. They went out to the balcony, which overlooked the twinkling city lights. A gentle breeze stirred the air.

Melody brushed her hair away from her face. “It’s beautiful out here.”

“Yeah.”

She leaned against the railing and looked over at him. “What do you think of tonight?”

“Think it went pretty well.”

“Pretty well? Give yourself more credit than that. It was perfect. Especially your performance.”

“Not perfect quite yet.” He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him.

“What do you mean?” She gave him a quizzical look.

“I never felt as low as I did after I sent you away. I don’t want to feel that way ever again.” He brushed the backs of his fingers against her cheek. “I know I’ll make plenty of mistakes in the future, but I don’t want one of them to be letting you get away ever again.”

He dropped to one knee before her. She stared at the black box he held in his hands.

“I want you to share every aspect of my life,” he said. “I want you as a business partner, yes, but I also want you to be my partner in life.” He opened the box, and a huge diamond sparkled against the black velvet and ivory satin background. “Be my wife.”

“Austin,” she whispered.

“Is that a yes or no?” he asked.

She grinned. “Technically, you didn’t ask a question.”

He laughed. “Well, then.
Will
you be my wife, Melody James?”

“Yes, yes, yes.” She slid into his arms, kissing him. They stayed locked together until the balcony glass door slid open, alerting them that they were no longer alone.

He looked over and saw Jen standing in the doorway.

“What are you two doing out here besides making out like the world is about to end?” she asked.

Melody turned to her. “We’re getting married!” She held up her left hand and wriggled her fingers.

Jen screamed, grabbed Melody’s hand, and pulled her back into the penthouse, shouting the news. Austin followed.

Leigh Anne walked up and hugged them both. Melody turned to Yvette, and Leigh Anne reached up to put a hand on Austin’s shoulder.

“Congratulations, son.”

He bent down, and she hugged him. “It wouldn’t have happened without you bringing me to my senses,” he said.

“That’s what I’m here for. To keep you from messing up as much as I can.”

They laughed.

Once the excitement died down, Austin pulled Melody aside. He held her close. “I can’t believe how lucky I am.” He kissed her softly. “Thank you.”

She grinned. “Thank my stupid car.”

“Are you kidding me? I love that car. If it weren’t for that car, I would’ve never met you. I don’t even want to think about a thing as horrible as never meeting you.”

“Considering how well this all worked out, I might have to agree with you.” She rested her head against his shoulder.

“You just might,” he said. He wrapped his arms around her waist. He had no plans to ever let go of his Melody.

THE END

About The Author

Nicole Green is the author of three romance novels and one novella. In chronological order, they are: Love Out of Order (Genesis Press, February 2010), The Davis Years (Genesis Press, February 2011), Holding Her Breath (Genesis Press, July 2011), and Pink Champagne (February 2012). She is always at work on her next novel and constantly seeking out people who love to read her novels as much as she loves to write them. She believes love comes in all colors, shapes and sizes. And yes, that love comes even to the imperfect. She hopes that her novels reflect those beliefs. You can learn more about Nicole at http://www.nicolegreen.webs.com. You can also get in touch with her through email at [email protected]. She would love to hear from you. She sincerely hopes you enjoyed reading this novel as much as she enjoyed writing it.