Songbird (34 page)

Standing in the foyer I could only stare in
surprise. Henley and Fitz sat on my sofa in nothing but a pair of
shorts. They smack talked each other as they had what appeared to
be a very intense battle. Their eyes were glued to the TV I hadn’t
purchased and their entire focus was on the game system that wasn’t
mine either.

“Flower power.” Juliette shot up from the
chair. A fan had been pointed directly at her on full speed. “Why
don’t you have central air in here?”

“It’s a rental.” I numbly moved further into
the house.

Taylor stepped out of the little library I
set up in the study off the living room. He wore only board shorts
and a thin layer of sweat. “Hey, you’re home. Ezra said your plane
was landing soon. I thought we had a couple of hours left.”

“What are you guys doing here?”

“We have to talk. You’re one of the Five. We
can’t talk without all of us.”

“I’ve already ordered pizza.” Juliette
gestured to a chair. “I scheduled it for six so we have a little
bit of time yet before it’s delivered.”

Seeing no reason not to, and frankly happy to
see my friends I stretched out in the chair Juliette had vacated.
“So what do we have to talk about?”

“How did everything go for Nicholas?” Fitz
turned to glance at me. “How did that fucker even get in your
room?”

“An unconscious maid was found in the service
elevator.” I shrugged and leaned back in the chair. “Maid key for
the rooms. Nicholas is fine. I called in a favor.”

If they loved me, they wouldn’t ask for more.
And to their credit, they didn’t. Juliette crossed back over to me
and dropped to the floor at my feet.

“Let’s talk business.” Taylor dropped down
cross legged to the floor in front of me. “Guys shut that off.”

The TV went silent and all eyes turned to
Taylor. He nodded his thanks. “Okay, so some of this is for the
benefit of Bella only.”

The others nodded. Juliette waved her hand.
“Go for it, Taylor. We’re all behind you on this.”

Taylor and I sat in front on lawn chairs with
a couple of beers. Henley and Fitz were out on the town since
they’d be leaving tomorrow. Juliette could be heard on her violin
throughout the entire trailer park but nobody seemed to mind.

The sun was setting, the heat slowly dying.
Overall it had been a good time with my friends. I didn’t have as
much to think about as I thought I did, and Taylor was content for
the moment to sip his beer and watch the sky bleed.

“You need to find a better place.” Taylor
broke the silence first. “You’re not safe here.”

“Are you worried about the safety or the lack
of central air?” I sipped and stretched out my legs even
further.

Taylor’s laugh rumbled in his chest. “A
little of both. I brought your things. There is nothing stopping
you from buying any property in Nashville if that’s what you
want.”

“I haven’t decided what I want.”

“Leaving is cowardly, Bianca. You’ve never
been a coward.”

“I didn’t have the money to go anywhere I
wanted before. Maybe Nashville isn’t my dream home.”

“I know the city certainly wasn’t.”

We watched a gunmetal truck that looked brand
new off the show floor slowly cruise up the lane. The monstrous
machine stopped in front of the house and the driver climbed out.
Nicholas.

He stalked across the yard and faced down the
now standing Taylor. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Oldest friend remember?” Taylor grinned.

“I don’t care how fucking close you are
there’s no fucking reason for you to be undressed.”

“She doesn’t have air conditioning.”

That seemed to stop him for a moment.
“What?”

Taylor nodded. “This prehistoric hovel
doesn’t have AC. It’s a fucking crime. This is Tennessee.”

“Nicholas what are you doing here?” I stood
and moved between the men before Nicholas’s temper got the better
of him, again.

“I told you to come to the house.” He glared
down at me. “You didn’t show.”

“I said maybe. I’ve had a long day.”

“We need to fucking talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“You can’t just walk away.” His hands
fisted.

I heard the screen door creak and slam shut
behind me. I didn’t need to look to know Taylor had deserted the
field. I wish I could have.

“Nicolas, there’s nothing to walk away from.”
My heart stumbled and called me a liar but I kept my face
composed.

“I wouldn’t call us nothing. You’re shutting
me out. After everything we’ve been through you’re pushing me away.
I deserve to fucking know why.”

The smile I forced might have been closer to
a grimace. “There is no us. There never was. We enjoyed each other
while we could. No harm, no foul, right?”

His jaw clenched. “You lie and you know it.
Why are you trying to hurt me, Songbird?”

“I’m not.” My voice shook. “I’m trying to
protect
you
from making a mistake you can’t afford to make.
I’ve done nothing in my life worth the reward of you. You deserve
better than anything I can provide. You need someone to love you.
Every part of you.”

His fist suddenly loosened and as the anger
drained he looked tired. “You really believe that don’t you? You
can’t be with me because of the actions of a rapist and murderer.
Here’s a hint; I’ve killed a man for you.”

I flinched and redirected the conversation
for both our benefits. “Nicholas, I was easily accessible. Nothing
more.”

“I never thought you as a convenience.” He
shoved his hands into his pockets. “You don’t think I can love
you.”

“I think you care.” I chose my words with
consideration. “And I think sex with you was awesome.” At his
raised brow my shoulders rose and fell in a single motion. “I’m not
going to lie about it, but you can’t and shouldn’t settle for less
than everything. You deserve someone whole and unbroken.”

He opened his mouth then shut it. Looked away
and then back again. The remaining tension in his body sagged.

“I think if I said you were that person for
me regardless of flaws, you’d call me a liar.” He didn’t look at me
but out at the road. “And if I said agree with you, you’d say I
told you so. I can’t win here. And you aren’t ready to see the
truth. I’m sorry to interrupt your evening.”

He turned and walked back to the truck. The
urge to call him back was so close to the surface, I forced myself
to go back inside instead of watching him drive away.

Instead of allowing myself to wallow in the
agony I created all on my own, I got down to work. In four weeks
time, my career path was no longer an invisible trail.

Gracing Productions—a branch of it—ran out of
Ezra’s offices. For all the artists he handled, Gracing would
handle the stage aspect of the job. He gave us artists and we gave
him a show that could be boasted about. The arrangement cycled into
itself and generated a huge amount of business in the short time.
The work also meant I had no brain power left to worry over “might
have beens”.

When my mind did wander, I wrote music or
plays or anything that would pull me back from the precipice of
wondering. I had enough music for several years of productions if
that’s what I wanted but I let it all sit and collect dust once
written.

The problem with the inked pages, I never let
anyone see was they all featured something about
him.
No one
was allowed to read the music because the dots could easily be
connected. There were no answers I could give for the questions
that would occur so I kept the notebooks to myself. But even so I
couldn’t stop.

The melancholy music rising from the piano
wept with love lost. My fingers traveled the black and white keys
without any guidance from my eyes. The sound ripped directly out of
my heart and into the music staining the air.

When my door popped open and Ezra walked in,
I didn’t move from the piano bench. My hands didn’t stop their
lamentation. Instead, he received a chin tip before my eyes closed
once more and I let the music speak.

Ezra sat a few moments without saying
anything at all. He sat until I ran out of steam and silence
fell.

I took a deep breath before looking over at
him. “Is there a problem?”

Ezra stared for a moment. “You know the
problem with you being on a main hall?”

I shook my head. “I’m sure you’ll tell
me.”

“Every time you sit at this piano everyone,
and I do mean everyone, in the building can hear you crying.”

“I’m not crying.”

He lifted a brow. “So the piano mourns
because?”

“It’s melancholy not mourning.”

“It’s downright sad and heartbreaking. I have
some artists asking if you do collaboration because they can’t
write ballads for shit.”

“I can if that’s okay with you.” Maybe the
extra work would keep my mind away from dwelling on things I
shouldn’t be.

“Avoiding him isn’t working.” Ezra sighed.
“And since he’s in this building as often as you are, he hears the
music too.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. If
Nicholas wanted to see me he knows how to find me. I haven’t seen
him in almost a month.”

“I didn’t say Nicholas. Taylor’s been in an
out at least twice already this week.” Ezra smiled at my frown.
“Did you want Nicholas to stop in?”

“He has better things to do than visit
me.”

Nicholas had left my life the night he left
my trailer. Staying out of his way was a second full time job I
applied with zeal. My avoidance tactics were bordering on special
ops skills. Points to me for the success.

“Well…then you wouldn’t mind putting a dress
on and going to deal with Nicholas.” Ezra gestured to the piano.
“You’re not really doing anything but making everyone within thirty
feet cry anyway.”

I blinked and my heart stuttered. My mouth
opened to protest and nothing came out. Was there a polite way to
rebuff Ezra?

Ezra continued as if he couldn’t see my
distress. “While I’m thrilled with the music he’s writing, Nicholas
has refused to go to events. He’s refused to perform and everything
else his position demands except write and record music. Nicholas
has
to be at the charity gala tonight. And he
has
to
be nice. There are some powerful people there tonight that can
boost his career.”

“So go take him out.” I gestured to the
papers waiting on my desk. “I do have actual work to do.”

“You know.” Ezra laced his fingers over a
knee. “I didn’t ask. I didn’t pressure. When both of your
temperaments transformed to the scale of ridiculously short
tempered I went with the flow. I’m done with it.”

I raised a brow. “I’ve never been short
tempered.”

“The day you cried and threw your coffee
across the room because you dropped your phone on the marble
floor?” Ezra lifted a brow.

“I’m allowed to have a bad day.”

“The day you cursed out a vendor for asking
too many questions?” Ezra held out a hand. “I can continue.”

I rubbed my hands over my face. “Starting a
new career path is a little stressful.”

“You’re one of the most adaptable women I
know.” Ezra shook his head. “Consider this an order. Get Nicholas
to that gala and make him to play nice. I’ve even made it easy for
you. There’s a gown and shoes waiting at the reception desk. Get
dressed and get going.”

I leaned back in my chair. “I don’t know what
to say to him.”

“Start with hi.” Ezra suggested. “Limo leaves
in an hour.”