Songbird (Songbird, #1) (26 page)

“So has your friend gone home?” Marcus asked as Kelli, Jason and I sat down around a table at
Songbirds
. It was a Monday night, and the bar was only half full at best.

“My
boyfriend,
you mean,” I said with a grin.

Marcus frowned. “Yeah, whatever.” Then headed back to the bar, obviously not that interested in my love life.

Jason, on the other hand, was much more enthusiastic, and clapped his hands together playfully. “Do tell, little miss. I want
all
the juicy details!”

I filled Jason in on the events of the last couple of days. I hadn’t seen him since he had helped Kelli and me get ready for the ball, so he had missed the drama of Patrick and Stephen.

We chatted animatedly for about an hour before I looked around and noticed an old baby grand piano pushed into the far corner. My heart skipped a beat.

“Marcus,” I called to him, and he came over. “Where did that come from?” I asked, pointing in the direction of the piano.

“Oh, that old lemon. I’ve just paid out a fortune to get it restored and tuned.”

“So it works?” I asked, hopefully.

“Well, I don’t know for sure, seeing as I don’t play. I was thinking though, that maybe on the quieter nights during the week,
Songbirds
could be a piano bar, so the customers could just have a quiet drink and a chat while someone played in the background.”

I walked over to the piano and lifted the lid. I ran my fingers lightly across the keys, then sat down, and pressing a bit heavier, did a run up the keys. It sounded to be in perfect condition.

Marcus called out, “Hey, do you play?” I nodded in reply. “Why don’t you try it out then, and tell me if I’ve completely wasted my money?”

Having played at the ball for the first time in nearly two years, my passion had been rekindled. Before my break from playing, I had practiced for hours every day. I didn’t need sheet music for the pieces I knew; I could hear the notes in my head, and just let my fingers do the rest.

Closing my eyes, I thought of one of the songs Riley had saved on the iPod, ‘Make You Feel My Love’ by Adele. I rested my hands at middle C and began to play. The music flowed through me, then without thinking, I started singing along.

When I finished, I looked over at our table. Jason and Marcus were sitting there, mouths open, dumbstruck. Kelli was sitting there with a smug grin on her face; she had heard me play at the ball.

Cassie, the new bartender, called out from behind the bar, “Do you know any Alicia Keys?”

I smiled; I had learnt a couple, so I rummaged through my mental filing cabinet and pulled out ‘If I Ain’t Got You’.

When I had finished, a few patrons sitting at the tables clapped, and I laughed. I had forgotten they were even there.

“I guess I know who I can get to play here on a Monday and Tuesday night,” Marcus said with a huge dimpled grin, as I headed back over to the table. “If you’re interested, of course.”

“Absolutely!”

As soon as I got home, I called Riley to tell him the exciting news. I knew he wouldn’t answer the phone and it would go straight to voicemail. Kelli had already warned me that when they were on a training exercise, there was absolutely no contact whatsoever. But I wanted him to know that I had been thinking about him, and he was the first person I wanted to tell my good news.

I then sat down and started working out my set list. Marcus had suggested more Alicia Keys and Adele, and maybe some Norah Jones. That was a good start, and I was more than happy to have another project to focus on to help fill my time until Riley came back to me.

T
HE THREE
weeks went by surprisingly faster than I had expected. It only felt like three months instead of the expected three years, as I bounced from the gym to the office to
Songbirds
most days.

I had even seen Mr Hotbod a couple of times at the gym. We never spoke again, mainly because I tried to keep my distance, but Kelli and I agreed there was no harm in the occasional flirty smile.

He had tried to approach me the first time I saw him after he had opened the door for me, with a wide easy smile, like we were old friends. But I was with Riley now, and it just felt wrong, so I had scurried away like an idiot.

I knew that if he wasn’t so attractive—oh, who was I kidding, if he didn’t look like sex on a stick—I would have quite easily chatted to him. But every time I laid eyes on him, my stomach did that nervous somersault thing and my cheeks grew hot. He could see it happening too, and he seemed to find great pleasure in watching me squirm, always grinning at me charmingly, or giving me a wink.

In between everything else that was going on, I met with Marcus regularly over takeout Chinese food, and a bottle of wine at his house to discuss the set list. Not that we discussed the set list for any great length of time. He always seemed to divert the conversation away from work, instead wanting to know about my interests, and life growing up.

He laughed at all my silly jokes, and complimented me on my appearance every time we met. He was also a good listener, and seemed keen to be a shoulder to lean on as I confided in him my insecurities at managing a long-distance relationship, advising me to take it slow and keep my options open.

To bring my playing back up to scratch, Marcus had entrusted me with a set of keys to the bar so I could practice whenever the bar was closed. It surprised me to see how many hours he put in at the bar outside normal business hours. He always seemed to be there when I was, and stayed while I practiced for hours at a time. When I had finally finished practicing, he would pour us a drink and we would talk into the night.

Marcus was quickly becoming one of my closest friends, and I loved spending time with him.

Night time was when I felt the separation the most. After the hustle and bustle of the day, when I was finally alone, I would lie in the big empty bed and cuddle Riley’s pillow. I had even resorted to buying his brand of cologne and spraying it in the room. Kelli thought I had clearly lost my mind when I told her. But I found it comforting and it helped me sleep, drifting off to his scent and the songs he had saved on the iPod.

I waited nervously for Riley’s plane to land. He had called to confirm the flight number and time, which was the same as Cooper’s, so Kelli and I had driven to the airport together.

On the way there, Kelli had filled me in on what to expect based on past experience with Cooper. Apparently Riley would be exhausted, and not want to do very much except sleep and eat for the first three or four days. So I should go about my business as usual, and just make sure there was food when he was hungry, and leave him to rest.

I saw him as soon as he cleared customs, before he had a chance to see me. He was as gorgeous as I remembered, but he looked a little thinner, and tired around the eyes. As soon as he saw me his eyes lit up, and a wide, beaming smile spread across his face.

Racing over to him, I jumped into his arms, almost knocking him over.

“I’ve missed you too,” he said with a laugh as he wrapped me in his arms, lifting me off the ground and twirling me around.

He put me down and held me at arm’s length so he could get a good look at me. “You sure are a sight for sore eyes,” he said, still beaming, and hugged me tight.

It felt like coming home to be wrapped in his arms again, and I stayed there until he reluctantly loosened his hold.

Right from the start, Cooper milked his exhaustion for all it was worth, asking Kelli to help carry his bag because he was so tired. She just rolled her eyes and then went to get a trolley for all the luggage.

“Are you as out of shape as Cooper?” I asked Riley with a wink.

“No, thank goodness. I’ve been thinking we may have to send him on extra training to bring him up to speed with the rest of the unit,” Riley joked back, then turning to Kelli, added, “Let me know how he manages his recuperation. I’d hate to think he needs you to run around doing everything for him.”

Kelli laughed, and promised to give Riley a full report at the end of the week. Cooper, however, just pouted; it looked like his plan to sit back and have Kelli wait on him would have to be put on hold.

As soon as we got to the apartment, Riley headed for the bedroom to lie down. I thought that would be the end of him for the night, but he called me in and patted the bed beside him, wanting me to join him.

“I thought you would just want to sleep after three weeks of extreme training?”

“I do, but I’d like to hold you while I do it, if that’s okay.”

Snuggling into his chest, I wrapped my arm around his slightly thinner frame, feeling perfectly at home as our breathing got into sync.

“So, tell me about playing at
Songbirds
,” he said sleepily. “I’m so happy for you, and I was so rapt you left me the voice message, it was the first thing I listened to when I got back,” he said, then he added, “I apologise in advance if I fall asleep while you’re talking.”

I told him about how my part-time job had come about, the songs I’d been playing, and the reaction from the patrons, and somewhere in the middle of me talking he drifted off to sleep.