Songbird (Songbird, #1) (53 page)

We made it through the song with Cole backing up my vocals. When we finished, the crowd applauded loudly. I couldn’t deny that Cole and I together were a great team.

“Thank you,” I whispered in his ear as he gave me a hug.

“No worries. You know I’d do anything for you, babe.”

Kelli’s birthday was coming up, and, feeling like the worst best friend in the world, I called a Kelli’s Birthday Party committee meeting with Jason and Marcus to work out what we should do. Of course, a party was in order. She was turning twenty-five, which was a quarter of a century, so it had to be celebrated BIG, but the question was where to have it.

Jason, Kelli and I all lived in small apartments.
Songbirds
would be open for business, and didn’t have a private function room that we could use, so Marcus offered his house for the venue.

I threw myself into the project with relish. It helped take my mind off things, and on occasion I even forgot about Riley for an hour or two, while I ran around ordering cake, and writing invitations.

The Sons were supposed to be playing at the bar that night, but Kelli’s birthday was more important. So instead of playing at the bar and getting paid in cash, they agreed to play in Marcus’s living room and get paid in beer.

I stood in front of the wardrobe trying to decide what to wear to the party. It was still a sticking point for me, so it took longer than it probably should have before I noticed the red cross-over top sandwiched between my work clothes.

Taking the top out, I held it to my chest, remembering how Riley had loved this top, and the reaction it had evoked in him. The weather was starting to get a bit cooler, and I would need a cardigan over it, but I decided to wear it for old times’ sake. I dragged out a short black A-line skirt that finished just above the knee, and stiletto ankle boots to go with it. Then finished getting ready, and headed over to Marcus’s house to set up.

The band arrived not long after me, and set up in the corner of the living room. We had moved the couches out to the sides of the room, and opened the bi-fold doors to the alfresco area, creating a large open area for dancing and mingling.

I played the perfect host—or at least, I tried to, as people started arriving. Marcus had arranged the alcohol through his suppliers, so the beer, wine, and spirits were flowing freely.

There was a break in people arriving, and I needed a break from all the smiling and good cheer. No matter how much of a front I put on, I was really not in the mood, and if one more person asked me what had happened with Riley I was going to scream.

I was just on my second Budweiser when Kelli and Cooper arrived, followed closely behind by Riley.

He was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with the cuffs rolled up. With his nearly black hair and thick black lashes, his eyes looked impossibly blue as they scanned the room purposefully.

He looked good enough to eat, literally, and I sighed loudly at how I had missed the sight of him.

My first instinct was still to rush to him, and throw my arms around him. My second instinct was to duck down behind the kitchen bench, and hide for the rest of the night. I had missed him so much, every minute of every day, and as I watched him looking around the room, my heart ached for what we once had.

I was still staring at him when his eyes found mine. He smiled hesitantly, and I smiled back; he still had my heart wrapped around his little finger, and just the slight inclination of his mouth made me sigh. He made his way over to me, stopping just short of a hug; it seemed his first instinct was the same as mine, which was to touch.

“Hi, Tara, how are you?” he asked, chewing his bottom lip, and then, recognising the top I was wearing added, “You look beautiful.”

Now that he was up close, I could see that he had lost a little weight and his eyes had lost their smile. He looked tired and sad. He looked how I felt.

I smiled again, but I could feel tears already starting to sting my eyes, and when I looked into his eyes they were beginning to well up too. Then, without speaking, I stepped forward and hugged him.

He hugged me back tightly, burying his face in my neck, and inhaling deeply. The feel of his body against mine after so long was overwhelming, and all the emotions that I had tried so hard to bury deep surfaced and came spilling out.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he whispered into my hair, and I nodded, unable to tell him I had missed him too.

There was still the issue that he had chosen Rebecca over me, and we needed to hash that out, but right at this moment he was here in my arms, and I was not going to let him go. We held each other for the longest time before finally loosening our arms but still maintaining contact.

Wiping my eyes, I tried to compose myself. “I’m surprised to see you; I thought this would be the last place you would want to be,” I said, still drinking in his face.

“Why would you think that? You’re the one who didn’t want to see me. You broke up with me, remember?” he asked puzzled. “I called you so many times in the beginning, sent you so many messages, but the calls just went to some automated voicemail.” He looked down, his brow furrowed. “Then you sent me the text message telling me to stop texting you.”

“What?” I pulled out my phone and held it up to him, as if it were proof of his lack of communication. “Not one missed call, Riley, and not a single text.”

The thought of that upset me again and I stepped away, confused by my feelings and his closeness.

Riley pulled his phone out of his pocket, and went to the messages folder. Twenty-seven messages had been sent to
Tara
on his phone.

“I started feeling like a stalker I sent so many messages,” he said, flicking through them all. “Then you sent this one back.” He scrolled to the response, and held the phone up to me.

Stop texting this number. I’m not interested.

I took the phone out of his hand, trying to make sense of what was happening. “I never sent that,” I said confused.

It said it was from “Tara”, but it wasn’t from me.

I had carried my phone around with me day and night, waiting for him to contact me, and he hadn’t. I would never have told him to stop contacting me—just one sign that he still cared and I would have been on a plane to Sydney, whether he wanted me there or not.

Riley took his phone back then dialled my number. I smiled to myself when I saw it was still programmed into speed dial number one. My phone didn’t ring, and the call went to an automated voicemail, not my voicemail.

I looked at my phone, bewildered. If he had dialled number one, it should have connected.

“I told you,” he said, the proof clearly evident. “I even asked Kelli to talk to you for me, but she said you made her promise not to mention my name.” He looked shattered by this last revelation. He held his hands out to the sides, and shook his head. “I don’t know what else I could have done, Tara.”

Taking his phone from his hand, I checked the setting. “This isn’t my number. The last two digits are reversed.” Instead of ending in 35, the number ended in 53. I shook my head in disbelief. “Did anyone have access to your phone?” I asked. “Would Rebecca have changed my number?”

I couldn’t believe anyone could be so devious, but then, she had tried to lead me to believe that there was something going on between her and Riley. So was this that much of a stretch, really?

He ran his hands through his hair, then closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, he looked apologetic. “I’m so sorry, babe,” he said “babe” as if it were the natural thing to call me, and it made my heart smile to hear it. “I didn’t even think to check the number. I just thought you were avoiding me.”

He reached out and took hold of my hands. I let him this time. “I can’t believe we wasted so much time not being together.”

He brushed a loose hair behind my ear, then ran the backs of his fingers down my cheek. “So does this mean all is forgiven?” he asked hopefully.

I wanted to say yes, but I still had issues about what had happened. I backed away from him. “I don’t know, Riley. I need some time to think.”

Being so close to him was clouding my judgement. All I wanted to do was kiss him and touch him. I needed some space, but the house was full of people, so I turned on my heels and headed for the door.

C
LIMBING INTO
my car, I sat there for a few minutes, debating where to go. Finally, I turned on the ignition, and pointed the car in the direction of my second home:
Songbirds
.

Walking straight in, I headed to the back room, only just acknowledging Cassie behind the bar. For some reason, just being there helped me think things through. I was so confused. Had Riley really been trying to get in touch? The misdirected text messages would indicate that he had tried a stalkerish amount of times, even when I hadn’t replied to him.

I felt a massive wave of relief at the thought that he hadn’t given up until he received the text telling him to stop. The text that he thought was from me.

I was just sitting at the table, staring at my phone, when it beeped with a new message, then another one, and another one after that. Twenty-seven messages came through, one after another. Riley was forwarding all the messages he had sent to the wrong number on to me.

I put my hand over my mouth, not believing what I was seeing, the tears flowing once again.

Babe I’m sorry, please forgive me. I love you.