Dissonance (33 page)

Eli checked his watch again. “I’ve got to go pick her up. I’ll send a text when we leave the apartment,” he rushed out, already running out the door.

“Eli,” Charlotte called at his quickly disappearing back. Impatience and anxiety dominated his face when he turned. “Relax,” she advised. “If you pick her up like this, she’ll notice. She’s going to think something is wrong. She’s going to say yes, so just breathe.”

He followed her direction and took a couple deep breaths. His body visibly loosened, at least a little. “You’re right. I just want this to be perfect. I don’t want to let her down.”

Charlotte pulled away from me and went to wrap her arms around her brother. She reassured him again that Alex would love everything. “Just calm down, alright? It’s time to go get her.”

When she pulled away, he finally looked ready to go through with it. My angel’s grace could do that. I wished she could see how powerful she was. It never ceased to amaze me.

“Thanks, Lottie,” he murmured as he pressed a kiss to her head. “Alright, I’ll be back soon.”

As I unpacked my guitar and checked the tuning, Charlotte started asking questions. “How are we going to do this? Split up the verses?”

Of course she was ready to jump right into the music. “You sing the melody; I’ve got a rough harmony worked out.”

I strummed the chord progression for the verse. A, E, B minor. Before I could even ask if she needed her note, Charlotte was humming along the vocal line. I should’ve expected as much.

“Is that key alright?”

She hummed through the lines a minute longer before assenting. “Yeah, that’ll be good.”

“Let’s give it a try then.”

I hit the first chord for her again, though I doubted she had forgotten the key yet. It wouldn’t have surprised me to learn she had perfect pitch, honestly. Music just seemed to come so naturally to her. Assured that we were both ready for the abrupt opening, I gave her a single nod in rhythm before I began. She was right there with me, the first line coming out in perfect time and right on key. No surprise there.

Her voice caressed each note with beauty and confidence. The lowest tones sounded as clear and strong as the higher notes were full of depth. She was so much more than just a natural talent; her voice had been honed, trained to be so perfectly balanced. But even beyond that, what made her so incredible was her ability to express limitless emotion with each note. When she sang, her soul was laid bare.

My siren was back vengeance. I was already under her spell in every way. There were no means for me to defend myself. She had me so entranced that it was well into the chorus before I realized I had forgotten to come in with the harmony. I immediately stopped strumming, leaving a discordant twang ringing around us.

“You’re a little distracting,” I admitted. “I forgot my part.”

“What did I do?” she asked, feigning a doe-eyed, school-girl innocence.

Sliding the guitar around so that it rested on my back, I hauled her delectable body against mine. I skimmed my lips across the delicate skin of her neck, endeavoring to drive her even a fraction as crazy as she had me.

“What did you do?” I hummed into that far-too-appealing flesh. “The same thing you always do to me.” He scent had me teetering on the edge my self-control. I wanted nothing more than to taste her, to feel her pulse spike beneath my tongue. Like an addict jonesing for another hit, my need was overwhelming me. I had to stop. I knew we didn’t have the time for me to fulfill my carnal appetites, no matter how desperately I wanted to.

Ripping myself away from her was almost more than I could bear. “We need to get this song right,” I uttered regretfully. Eli really needed to get back with Alex, so I could have Charlotte to myself.

She didn’t respond, just nodded with the distinct widening of her pupils that gave away the fact that I’d managed to work her up, too. Pride barely scratches the surface of the feeling that overcame me whenever I had that effect on her. It affirmed that as absolutely as I belonged to her, she was mine.

I brought the guitar back around, taking an extra step back from her. Distance might not do the trick, but it couldn’t make my concentration any more fractured than it already was. My need to touch her whenever she was in reach certainly was not getting us anywhere, and I couldn’t control that impulse when she was so close I could smell that damn perfume. I swore I was going to be forced to buy her something else that wasn’t so captivating. To hell with the fact that I had just replaced the current bottle.

The second run-through went much better. I made my entrances. The harmonies sounded better than I could have imagined. There was magic in those moments. Staring into the eyes of the girl I loved, hearing the music we made together fill the room, it was the sweetest euphoria. Fantastical ideas overtook me. I never wanted to perform without her voice singing right along with mine. Every piece of music I had ever created up to the moment felt less important compared to exquisiteness we could create together.

Wonder and excitement sparkled in Charlotte’s eyes. She recognized the same majesty I did. Her soul delighted with mine in the music we made.

As the last notes faded into silence, neither of us moved. What we’d made deserved a second to just permeate around us, and we both granted it that. Only when the silence overtook the echoes of that sound in our minds did we speak.

“That was…” I couldn’t form the words.

“Perfect,” she supplied.

It seemed too simple. Perfection wasn’t enough to describe the flurry of emotion that was overtaking me. Charlotte had been right, souls did have mates. Mine stood right in front of me. The single being on Earth meant for me.

I’d known I was in love with her, but in that moment I realized how fundamental she was to my entire life. Charlotte was my destiny.

Eli would be back any moment. Somehow, Logan and I had pulled ourselves from the awe of our first duet and managed to run the song a few more times. Each time our voices came together, my body broke out in goose bumps. There were no words for the overwhelming feelings the sound was causing in me. Nothing in my life had ever felt as right as that moment. A part of me wanted to be selfish and keep it to ourselves. The music felt so intimate between us, I wasn’t sure I wanted anyone else to experience it. But this was for Alex and Eli. I would do anything for them.

Not long after we finished lighting the votive candles that were scattered around the room and shut off the overhead light, the groaning sound of the metal door downstairs alerted us that they had arrived. We stepped off to the corner of the room, waiting for them to hit the top of the stairs.

“Eli, what the hell is this place?” Alex’s voice carried up to us.

“Do you trust me?” Eli shot back. She must have given her ascent because he continued, “Good, then follow me.”

Their feet on the stairs could be heard distinctly in the silent building. I had no idea how many stairs there were, so I watched Logan for a cue.

When the steps stopped for a moment, I heard Eli’s voice again coming from just outside the door. “Close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“Damn it, Alex. Have you never heard of a surprise before? Just close your eyes,” he snapped.

I wanted to laugh, but held it in. My nerves were starting to build knowing Eli would be proposing any second now. I could only imagine what he must have been feeling.

As the doorknob turned, Logan nodded off the tempo for me before striking the first chord. Nerves or not, I knew I had to sing this as perfectly as possible.

Eli led her in with his back to us, pulling her by both arms.

“Is that–” Alex began to ask before Eli shushed her.

He led her a few more steps so that they stood in the middle of the room before he stopped. He released her hands and dropped to one knee before telling her to open her eyes.

A gasp escaped her the minute they opened. Her eyes flew in our direction as we sang through the first verse, then to her other side at the arrangements of flowers and candles, before finally falling on my brother kneeling before her. Both hands flew up to her mouth, her eyes wide and already glistening with tears in the candlelight.

Eli offered a hand, waiting for her to give him one of hers. Of course, she started extending her right. He chuckled and shook his head slightly, causing her to jut her left hand out quickly instead. The poor girl was still in shock. I didn’t think I’d ever seen Alex struck completely dumb before.

Singing through the first chorus, I waited for Eli to say something. Logan and I shared a nervous glance when he continued to kneel before her, mute.

Suddenly, Alex reached down to stroke his cheek, and it hit me: Eli was crying. I’d only seen him cry a handful of times in my entire life, but knowing he was about to propose to the woman he loved must have done him in.

His voice was soft, but sure and clear when he finally spoke. “Do you remember the first time I played this song for you?” he asked.

Alex nodded, still unable to speak.

“It was this day, all those years ago that you changed everything for me. That night, I told you I was falling in love with you, but I was wrong. I was already too far gone to ever look back. I may have tried to deny it for a long time, but I’d been falling for you since we met. That night, I just let myself admit what my heart had been trying to tell me all along.

“That night changed my life. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I’d let you slip away, but I can’t even imagine what my life would be now without you in it. You always say I saved you that night, but you’re so wrong, princess. You saved me. You’ve been saving me every day since. You saved me from a life that would be empty and meaningless without you in it. And now I know that I can never give that up.

“You make me a better man. Every single day, I wake up and I am a better person because you are in my life, constantly reminding me that I can do and be more than I ever thought. And I want to be more, I want to be the best man that I can be, because you deserve the best.”

I could see the tears rolling down Alex’s cheeks as he continued, “I was going through the motions when you came into my life, but now each day is a blessing. Each day I get to spend with you, each time I get to make you smile, each moment I get to look into your green eyes, is a gift you’ve given me.

“You’ve given me a million moments I wouldn’t trade for the world, but it’s not enough. I want a million more. I want a lifetime with you, princess.”

Finally, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out the ring. “Alexandra Leigh Baker, promise me a lifetime of moments. Marry me.”

“Yes!” Alex’s emphatic answer was out of her mouth the second Eli finished speaking.

The excitement in the air was palpable as the two kissed for long minutes. I could hardly remember feeling so joyful, so optimistic. It reminded me of the way Dr. Brooks had harped about finding the good in each day. This moment could feed weeks. All I had wanted since we’d lost mom – hell, since our dad had walked out – was for Eli to be happy. Alex had been giving him that for a while, but I had never seen him as content as he had been the moment she said yes.

Logan’s arms wrapped around me from behind, pulling me against him and kissing my cheek. Contentment wasn’t something I was all that used to, but in that moment, it consumed me.

Later that night, long after Logan had fallen asleep next to me, my mind was still running wild.