Heartstrings (Rock With You #1) Rock Star Romance (3 page)

“He
broke off the engagement on Friday night.” Melody watched, not without a bit of
amusement, as a range of emotions flash across Melissa’s face, including a
brief smile of something that resembled relief. She felt a frown crease her
forehead.

Melody
had suspected Melissa had a bit of a harmless crush on Patrick; the girl
blushed crimson any time he’d come to visit Melody at the office, and became
giddy and giggly if they all went out for drinks. Melissa was young and Melody
chalked it up to girlishness and inexperience with men.

Melissa’s
face finally settled into an expression of concern. “I’m so sorry, Melody. That
must have been awful, especially after the high you were on from winning the
Montague case. Did he ask for the ring back?” Melissa nodded toward Melody’s
left hand, the ring finger bare.

“No,
actually…he broke up via text.”

“You’re
kidding! Patrick? I would never have thought…he’s such…he always seemed such a
gentleman. Did he give you a reason?”

Melody
shook her head, waving her hand. “No. Just that this ‘wasn’t the right
time’…something vague.” She really didn’t want to get into that much detail
with Melissa, certainly not at the office. Maybe after work sometime. Melody
still really wasn’t sure of Patrick’s reasons, and right now, he was the last
thing she wanted to talk about.

“So,
what’s on the docket for this week?” Melody sat forward, picking up her pen,
smiling at Melissa.

“Oh,
okay.” Melissa took the cue and opened up the red leather docket book, scanning
the dated columns.

“So,
you have three filings due, Benton on Wednesday; Phillips, and Monroe on
Thursday. All of them are on your desk…” Melissa pointed to the stack at Melody’s
elbow.

“And
I see you’re already working on the Benton case.” Melissa nodded toward the
open file in front of Melody.

“Do
you think Benton will go to trial or will they settle?”

“I
think they’ll settle. I don’t think either party wants to drag this out. The
Montague case was the exception, you know. Not everyone wants their day in
court, or is as stubborn as Frank Montague is.” Montague was a high rolling
casino owner who enjoyed the limelight. His favorite quote was ‘Bad publicity
is still my name in the paper.’

“Most
are willing to work out a deal. Sometimes it’s just a matter of a client
feeling they were listened to and being treated fairly. I get that’s more what
Benton is looking for at this point.”

“But
the Montague case made Mr. Marshall happy and makes you the star of the week.”
Melissa blushed at the mention of Ryan Marshall, managing partner and Melody’s
boss.

Melody
laughed. “Well, yes, a big case and a win equals a big fee for the firm. And I
can’t deny I’m still enjoying the good feelings from winning my first big
case.”

Melissa
hesitated and Melody knew there was more the girl was aching to know. “So…are
you okay, Melody? I tried calling, like I said, but you didn’t answer. Were you
upset after, well, the thing with Patrick?”

Melody
debated only briefly how to answer. She was still appalled over what had
happened with Logan, and wild horses wouldn’t drag it out of her, much less
Melissa. She shook her head.

“I
drowned my sorrows in a pint of ice cream, nothing more. Totally dove into
that, and slept, and didn’t come up for air till Sunday.”

“Oh…yeah.
That’s probably what I would have done.” Melissa stood, clutching her stack of
notebooks and folders. “Well, back to work. Drop the Benton file on my desk
when you’re ready.”

Melody
spent the rest of the day immersed in her work, trying hard to push everything
from the weekend out of her head. But fleeting images of Logan MacKenzie kept
cropping up unexpectedly, pushing their way to her consciousness. Images of him
as he held her, kissed her, as he did things that drove her crazy, as she gave
in to him. 
As he took advantage of her.

It
was well after lunch when she heard a knock at her door. Her boss, Ryan Marshall
was leaning against the doorframe.

“Hey,
how’s my star today? I’ve been meaning to drop by, but the partners’ meeting
ran longer than I anticipated.”

Melody
blew out a breath, waving Ryan toward a chair. “Come in. I’m fine. Back in the
thick of it. Did you want an update on my cases?” She shuffled the case files
on her desk, trying to restore some semblance of order.

“No,
not today. I checked with Melissa on your docket and you have a fairly light
week. There’s nothing new on the foreseeable horizon.  But we all know
that can change with jut a phone call.” Ryan stepped into her office, closing
the door behind him.

“She
told me about Patrick. I’m really sorry, Melody. I know how much you love…him.
How much you were looking forward to getting married. You must be absolutely
devastated.”

Melody
cringed. She’d wanted to avoid this conversation with Ryan, or at least been more
prepared for it.
And now I have Melissa telling tales at work.

Ryan
had seemed to have a difficult time after Melody announced her engagement.
She’d long suspected he’d had some kind of feelings for her, but his consummate
professionalism had kept him from acting on them. She was apprehensive now that
all that might change.

But
Ryan appeared sincerely concerned, and she relaxed.

“Thank
you, Ryan. It is…
was
hard. I’m not really ready to talk about it, so…”
She smiled and Ryan took his cue, rising from his chair.

“I
understand. I’m here for you, Melody, whatever you need. Even if it’s just to
talk. Or not talk…” He laughed. “You know what I mean. I value your friendship,
you know that. My door is always open.”

Melody
watched as Ryan left her office. She idly tapped her pen against her teeth,
lost in thought, a whirlwind of emotions suddenly surfacing. And chief among
them was the regret she felt over her night with Logan MacKenzie, combined with
a persistent and annoying visual of Logan, his dark hair sexy messy, watching
her in the throes of passion, as he did things to her no man had ever done.
It
was the alcohol…that damned Macallan.

She
shook her head, trying to dislodge the image. “Work, Melody…just do your work.”

But
over the next several days, Melody found it increasingly difficult to forget
her night with Logan. She’d be blindsided at odd moments by a thought of him, at
hearing a voice that sounded like his. Catching a glimpse of any tall
dark-haired man would make her gasp. And hearing his latest hit song on the
radio almost drove her over the edge.
There was nothing between them, but a
one-night stand…a damn good one, but just one night. And he took advantage of
the situation, of my emotional state and…I was drunk.

It
wasn’t until a couple of weeks had passed before she forced herself to take the
time to think about what had happened. She’d accepted an invitation from Ryan
for drinks after work, and had invited Melissa along. Ryan had been good-natured
about Melissa showing up with her, but Melody sensed an undercurrent of mild
annoyance.

But
Ryan had been his ever-charming self, attentive to Melody, even more so after
Melissa had gone home. But she couldn’t focus on Ryan after a couple of drinks.
Her thoughts kept going back to Logan, to their night together. She was distant
and it wasn’t long before Ryan picked up on it.

 “Is
there something bothering you, Melody? Is it Patrick?”

She
winced. Patrick was the least of her worries. She hadn’t thought about him in
days. In fact, it surprised her at how easily she had been able to just push
the whole thing out of her mind.  He’d called a few times, once asking for
the ring back as Melissa had predicted. She wasn’t sure what that said about
their relationship…or lack thereof.

“Not
so much Patrick as my reaction to what happened. I did something…rash.” She
took a sip of her drink, playing with the little plastic sword that held a
cherry that lay at the bottom of the glass.

“I
can’t imagine you doing something rash.” Ryan chuckled softly, leaning on the
bar watching her closely. “You’re the epitome of clear thinking. It can’t be
that bad.”

“I
had a drunken, one-night stand with a complete stranger.” There, the words were
out. She’d admitted her foolish mistake. Ryan was quiet for a moment, looking
at her with a serious expression on his handsome face.

“Well,
I guess that was a rash move. But still…” he reached out, his hand resting on
hers, squeezing her fingers briefly, warm and solid against her skin. “It’s not
like you’ve continued that pattern. You’re not a wanton woman; I’m sure it was
just an extreme reaction to an extreme situation.”

Melody’s
head jerked, a fragment of memory sliding through her mind.
Never leave the
Macallan, even for a beautiful wanton woman. Damn Logan MacKenzie.

“It
was…extreme.” Melody didn’t want to recount the details to Ryan, but she’d kept
everything bottled up for so long the words just seemed to tumble from her
mouth.

“It’s
just…well, I can’t forget about it. It was…I don’t want to be dramatic, and I
can’t say it was life-changing, but it was…more, maybe…” She frowned at her
drink, poking the cherry with the plastic spear. She really couldn’t continue
to explain just how intense the night with Logan had been, especially with her
boss.

“Maybe
you’ve fixated on this guy…whoever he is…rather than dealing with Patrick. You
haven’t said anything about how that’s affected you. That must have been a
terrible sense of betrayal, being left by Patrick, someone you trusted, someone
you loved.”

Ryan’s
hand had moved to her arm, his fingers sliding over her skin, quickly brushing
against the side of her breast. She turned sharply, but Ryan had picked up his
drink, looking at her over the edge of his glass. She shook her head.
You’re
far too jumpy…and more than a little tipsy here.

She
shrugged, pushing her drink away, the cherry in tattered pieces. “Maybe. Maybe
you’re right. I’m beating myself up over my mistake rather than let myself
think about Patrick. I don’t know.”

She
wasn’t thinking clearly—again—and the last time she’d been like
this, something terrible had happened.
But this is Ryan. You know Ryan.

“Melody…”
Ryan’s voice was suddenly very close, his breath moving the hair on the nape of
her neck. She turned toward him and found him right there, his gaze locked with
hers. Before she could speak, their lips were pressed together and she was
kissing Ryan.

With
a gasp, she broke away. “Oh, I’m sorry.” She turned away, feeling a heated
blush on her cheeks. When she turned back to Ryan, he was looking at her with an
intensity that startled her, but that was quickly replaced by a look of genuine
concern.

“Melody…you’re
confused right now. I think…maybe we’d better call it a night. Before you lose
control”

“Ryan,
really. I am sorry. I don’t know…this isn’t like me.”
Maybe it is; maybe you
throw yourself at any handsome man when you’ve been drinking since Patrick
dumped you.

“Let
me call you a cab, okay? You should go home. Don’t worry about it; I’ll see you
tomorrow at work.”

The
cab ride home was miserable. All she could focus on was the fact she’d kissed
her boss. Her head was spinning and by the time she let herself into her
apartment, she was in tears.

Melody
set the alarm, crawled into bed and pulled the covers over her head.
What
the hell have I done?

But
sleep was elusive and the longer she lay in bed, tossing and turning, the more
muddled the evening became. Had she kissed Ryan or had he kissed her? The more
she thought about it, the more it seemed he’d initiated the kiss. She
remembered him touching her hand, his fingers skating over the tender skin on
the inside of her arm, brushing against her breast. That had happened, she was
sure of it…but then…

She
rolled over, punching her pillow in frustration.
No more alcohol for
you…ever.

Sleep
finally overcame her, along with the disconcerting memory of Ryan’s lips on
hers. And that memory was swiftly replaced by one of Logan MacKenzie, his
irresistible lips on her mouth, sliding over her body…Logan, who had taken
advantage of her. But who had also taken her on a whirlwind ride of
passion. 

* * *

As
much as she wanted to, Melody knew she couldn’t avoid Ryan all day. It was just
after lunch when she finally worked up the courage to go to his office.

He
was sitting at his desk, dictating, when she knocked on his open door. He waved
her to the chair in front of his desk as he finished his dictation. Setting
aside his notes, he rose, closing the door before taking the seat next to Melody.

“How
are you today? I haven’t seen much of you. Nose to the grindstone again?” He
smiled at her as if nothing happened and Melody wondered if their kiss had
really taken place last night. But she knew she wasn’t that drunk; she hadn’t
imagined that.