Melody of the Heart (24 page)

I couldn’t help laughing at him. “Then I hope you know the number for room service.”

He gave me his best puppy dog expression. “But no one cooks pancakes like you, Lils.”

“While incredibly flattered, I’m going to have to pass today.” Glancing around the room, I then asked, “Where’s Jake?”

Rhys snorted. “Toning his masterful physique down in the gym.”

“Thanks.”

When I started to the door of the suite, AJ hopped up. “You’re, uh, not going down there to talk to him alone, are you?”

I couldn’t help rolling my eyes. “Honestly, first Brayden and now you think I can’t be alone with Jake. I appreciate your concern, AJ, but Jake and I need to clear the air.”

AJ and Rhys exchanged a glance. I had a sneaky suspicion they might follow me downstairs. “Brayden has some news he wants to tell you.”

“He does?” AJ asked.

“Yeah, he’ll be out in a minute.” With that, I slipped out the door and got on the elevator. On the ride down to the fitness center, I tried to still my nerves. This had to be done. Jake and I couldn’t continue to go on like we had, especially not now with Brayden and me getting married.

When I reached the gym, I searched the occupants for him. Just as I was about to leave and go back to the room, I saw the door leading out to the pool and sauna. Jake was gliding under water as he did laps.

Walking around the edge of the pool, I sat down on one of the chairs and took my boots off. Then I eased down on the concrete edge and dipped my feet in the water. As Jake neared me, he jerked his head out of the water. “Hi,” I said.

“Hey.” As he pushed his wet hair back, he glanced around. “What are you doing down here by yourself?”

“I needed to talk to you.”

His brows rose in surprise. “The other day wasn’t enough to get your point across?”

I grimaced. “I’m sorry about hitting you.”

Jake came to rest his arms on the edge of the pool. “Don’t be. I sure as hell deserved it and then some.” He gazed up at me. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Brayden and I are getting married.”

A range of emotions flickered in his eyes before he finally smiled. “Congratulations. I’m really happy for you guys.”

“You really mean that?”

“Yeah, I do.” At what must have been my skeptical gaze, Jake sighed. He pulled himself out of the water to sit by my side. “If you had asked me that question a week ago, I would have said no I wasn’t. But I was being my usual stupid, selfish asshole self.”

Gripping the edge of the pool, I swirled my feet around in the water. “Why do you hate me?” I finally asked.

“I don’t.”

“Jake, please, I need for you to be honest with me.”

Brushing his hand over his face, Jake asked, “Bray didn’t tell you about our conversation before he left for Georgia, did he?”

“No. Why?”

“Shit,” he muttered. He stared down at his hands for a few seconds before glancing back at me. “I never hated you, Lily. The truth is I hated myself because I cared about you more than I should.”

I don’t think anything else so shocking could have come out of Jake’s mouth. For a moment, I almost wished he had admitted he hated me. I could have worked with that. But learning what he really felt was overwhelming. “How long did you feel that way?”

He shrugged. “A year. Maybe longer.”

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

With a snort, he replied, “Just exactly what was I supposed to say? ‘Hey Bray, I like your girl, and I think she should ditch her high school sweetheart and take up with me. Hope this doesn’t cause any hard feelings between you and me’.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“It wasn’t like I was heartsick and pining away for you, Lils. I just grew to like you more than I should. Then when Brayden started to change, I thought it would be so nice not having you around anymore.”

“Ouch,” I murmured.

His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m an asshole, remember?”

I shook my head. “That’s just it, Jake. You can be a really sweet and caring guy. I don’t know why you sell yourself short and let the jerk side of you come out so much.”

“I don’t know either.” He reached over and took my hand in his. “I’m so fucking sorry for hurting you, Lily. You never deserved any of the shit I gave you. I don’t know why I acted the way I did. I should have just manned up and moved on, appreciated the relationship that we had. But I seem to have a special gift for fucking things up.”

“Thank you. Your apology means a lot. I really mean that.”

“I promise you that things will be different when you come out on tour with us. You can count on me to do whatever I can to make you feel comfortable.”

“I would like that a lot.”

He smiled. “This last year without you has been pretty much shit for Brayden.”

“It has? I figured he’d been living it up, having the time of his life.”

“He did enjoy it all for about a couple of months. But then I think he began to realize it wasn’t all that he thought it was. More than that, he started realizing what he had lost. Like me, he’s a stubborn jackass who hates to admit when he’s wrong. So he just kept going through the motions.” Jake shook his head. “He’s been so fucked in the head he hasn’t been able to write anything since you guys broke up.”

I gasped. “Seriously?”

“Why is that so shocking to you? You’re his muse, Lily. The person that got him writing songs to begin with. It makes sense that when you were gone, he lost his gift.”

“I had no idea. I knew you guys put out a new album a month or so after we broke up.”

“All those songs he had already written. Most of what is going on our new album is stuff I wrote.”

“I see.”

“But he needs you for way more than just songwriting.”

“I would hope so,” I replied, with a teasing smile.

“You’re his soul mate, Lily. He’s never going to be any good without you.”

My breath hitched at his words. “You really mean that, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“It works both ways. I’m never any good without him either.”

“Then it was high time you two got back together, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yeah, I would.”

Brayden appeared suddenly behind us. “Everything okay?”

I smiled up at him. “We’re fine.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Releasing my hand, Jake then rose to his feet. “I’m very happy for you, Bray. I wish you all the happiness in the world,” Jake said, before offering his hand to Brayden.

Brayden grinned before taking Jake’s hand. Then he drew Jake to him for a bear hug. “Thanks man, that means so much to me—to both of us.”

“You’re welcome.” Jake glanced between Brayden and me. “You both deserve to be happy.”

After echoing our gratitude, Brayden held out his hand to me. “We need to go pick out a ring.”

“You know I’d be perfectly happy with the one I had before,” I protested.

“I know, but I want us to start fresh.”

I rolled my eyes. “You just want an excuse to buy me a big diamond.”

Brayden laughed. “Well, that, too.”

“So when is the wedding?” Jake asked.

“Tomorrow,” I said, as Brayden replied, “Today.”

Sweeping my hand to my hip, I said, “I cannot possibly be ready to get married by this afternoon.”

“And why not?” Brayden questioned.

“Because I need a dress and time to get ready. Besides, we don’t even know which chapel we’re going to.”

“Yes, we do.”

Cocking my head at him, I demanded. “Oh, which one is that?”

He rolled his eyes like he was appalled I didn’t automatically know. “The Graceland Chapel.”

“You want us to get married at a chapel where an Elvis impersonator officiates the ceremony?”

“Hell yeah. You know how much I love Elvis. I mean, he’s second only because of the Beatles.”

“Babe, I’m a huge fan of Elvis, too. I’m just not sure that’s exactly what I had in mind when it came to my wedding.”

Brayden grinned. “Lily, we’re eloping in Las Vegas. Whatever you thought your wedding was going to be like, it’s not.”

I sighed. “You’re right. Okay, the Graceland Wedding Chapel it is.”

Pulling me into his arms, Brayden then gave me a long and sweet kiss. “Thank you. Now can we go find your ring?”

“Yes. Then I’ll look for a dress for our wedding tomorrow.”

“Fine, fine. I’ve waited this long. I guess I can wait less than twenty-four hours.”

With a laugh, I said, “I’m glad to hear it.”

   
LILY

             
 
THE PAST

A soft knock came at the dressing room door of the Graceland Chapel. “Go away, Brayden. Even though Elvis is marrying us, I’m still clinging to some traditions, so I’m not going to let you see me right before the wedding!” I shouted.

“It’s Susan Slater—Jake’s mother,” came the muffled reply.

Mortification rocketed through me that I had just been yelling at a perfect stranger. I threw on my robe and hurried to the door. When I threw it open, I gave the tall, graceful woman standing before me my most apologetic smile. “I’m sorry for yelling at you.”

She grinned. “It’s okay. These boys usually need some yelling to keep them in line.”

“That’s true,” I replied, with a chuckle. Motioning to the room, I asked, “Won’t you come in?”

“Thank you.” After she stepped across the threshold, I closed and locked the door back. We stood there in an awkward silence for a moment. When I once again realized I was just in my robe, I pulled the lapels tighter against my chest.

“I didn’t know you were in Vegas.”

Susan smiled. “Jake flew me out here for my birthday tomorrow. He knows with my dancing background how much I’ve always wanted to see Cirque de Soleil, so we’re going to the different shows together.”

“That’s awfully sweet of him.”

“He is always doing the sweetest things for me.”  Susan then closed the gap between us. Taking my hands in hers, she squeezed them. “Jake asked me to come and see how you were doing.”

“He did?”

She nodded. “He was worried that you might be having a hard time getting ready on your own—you know, without your mother and sister.”

With sobs rising in my throat, I could merely nod my head in reply. One of Susan’s hands came to softly cup my cheek. “Jake is my only child—the long awaited answer to my prayers. I won’t have a daughter to help on her wedding day, so it would be my honor to be with you.”

Tears stung my eyes at her kindness. “Really?” I whispered.

“Yes, really.”

“I-I w-would really love for you to help me get r-ready,” I hiccupped through my tears.

Susan laughed. “Oh honey, looks like you’ve got the pre-wedding jitters.”

I shook my head. “I swear I don’t have cold feet. There’s nothing in the world I want more than to marry Brayden.”

“Just because you’re overly emotional it doesn’t mean you’ve got cold feet.” Her expression softened. “It’s only understandable you would be teary considering what you’ve just been through.”

My eyes widened in surprise at the fact she knew about my dad. Score another point for Jake’s sensitive side that he had thought enough to tell his mom. “He would’ve loved the fact I’m eloping.”

“Really?” Susan questioned.

With a giggle, I replied, “He always joked that on a chief of police’s pay, he would never be able to afford weddings for all of his daughters, so we better start thinking of eloping.” As I repeated his words, my father’s smiling image appeared in my mind so crystal clear he could have been standing right in front of me. My hand flew to my mouth to try to stop the desperate sobs building in my throat. Without a word, Susan drew me into her arms. Instead of chiding me about how I was going to mess up my makeup or look horrible with blood-shot eyes and a red nose, she just let me cry. Her hand rubbed reassuring circles over my back as my body shook from the emotions ravaging me.

“That’s it, sweetheart. Just let it all go,” she murmured.

Once I finally wrestled a grip on my emotions, I pulled away. Giving Susan a shy smile, I said, “Thank you for letting me do that.”

“Don’t be afraid to keep doing it either. Our emotions, both good and bad, are what let us know we’re alive. You don’t ever want to get to the point that you don’t feel, especially when it comes to your father.” Cupping my chin in her fingers, she smiled. “But at the same time, don’t let your grief ruin what is going to be the happiest day of your life. You have your father with you.” She placed her hand over my heart. “He’s right here, and he always will be.”