“Have you tried?”
Her breath froze in her gorge at the thought. “No.”
“Want to try now?”
“
No.
”
He laughed, caressing her hand. “At the risk of sounding like a shrink, you know you’re going to have to attempt to write a song again at some point.”
“Sooner as opposed to later.” She cleared her throat to dislodge the fear settling there. “Mom wants me to write a song that segues from KT’s concerto to the rest of the concert.”
“That’s powerful motivation to get over your block.”
She turned to him. “What if I don’t?”
“You will,” he replied with unwavering faith.
It wasn’t lip service—he meant it. She felt his confidence all the way to her core, and the way he held her hand only deepened the feeling of conviction.
She stared at their clasped hands. She’d never felt so connected to a man. What she’d felt for Brice didn’t even come close.
Which terrified her because if Brice wielded so much power over her, what havoc could Will wreak?
Bijou thought of the love she’d seen on her sister’s face when Chance walked in, and a shadowed part of her heart puckered in jealousy. “KT is engaged,” she heard herself say.
“To someone she’s been seeing a while?”
“Not at all. She didn’t tell me she was engaged, either. KT’s always been private, but she’s never hid things from me.”
Will ran a soothing hand down her hair, resting on her shoulder. “You feel hurt.”
“It just seems like such powerful music is born out of love.” She angled to face him. “I guess I just expected her to tell me if she’d fallen in love.”
“Did you tell her when you fell in love?”
“I told the world.” She winced, thinking of her song. “Did you, or were you private?”
“I don’t hide my feelings, Bijou.” He tilted her head up and lowered his lips to hers. His kiss tasted like sweet, dark berries and promises. He took his time, like she was a treat to be savored just like the tart they’d shared.
Without thought, she hitched her leg over his and gripped his lapels to pull herself closer.
His left arm stole around her waist, holding her to him. He took his time, kissing her with slow deliberation, a little tongue, a little playful—a lot hot. He tasted her like he had all the time in the world, and she was the only thing he was interested in.
Humming, she arched into him, wishing his hand would do its own exploring. She lifted her mouth from his. “You don’t like anyone now, do you?”
“Actually, there’s someone I do like.” He brushed his lips on hers.
There was no mistaking his meaning, and she gave in to the delicious feel of his mouth. But she forced herself to say, “I won’t date musicians.”
“I’m a therapist,” he said, sitting back but not letting go of her. “I just happen to play at times, too. And it seems like you’d want someone who shares your interests.”
“You don’t know much about me, except that I have crazy parents and am selfish. The only thing we share is lust.”
He rubbed her palm with his thumb. “So we’re in lust, but not in like?”
She shivered at his touch, still wishing his hands were all over her despite herself. “Isn’t that what we are?”
“You know it’s not.” He tugged her over, until she sat straddled on his lap facing him.
Bijou swallowed thickly, her heart pounding in excitement. He’d barely touched her and already she was jumping out of her skin. “I don’t date bad boys anymore.”
Smiling wickedly, Will wrapped his fingers in her hair. “I’m all good, Bijou.”
He pulled her head down to kiss her, slowly, giving her time to protest.
But she wanted it just as much as he did. He knew it, and—worse—she did, too. She couldn’t back away even if he gave her the space. The kiss was necessary.
It was an education.
No one had ever truly kissed her before. What Brice called affection was like a schoolboy’s floundering. She didn’t have words for how deep Will’s kiss went.
She lifted her head, very aware of his arousal pressing between her legs, but she did nothing to encourage it. Instead, she tried to catch her breath and decide what to do.
He ran a hand over her hip. “You’re thinking.”
“You’re giving me a lot to ponder.”
“Sometimes you have to feel, not think.”
She arched her brow. “This from a therapist?”
“There’s a balance in things.” He drew her closer. “Wasn’t that the least bit compelling?”
“It definitely was, but I’m not sure how far I should be compelled.”
“Maybe you can be compelled into going out with me Friday night. A friend has a gig. I said I’d stop by.”
“Okay.” She started to slide off him, the words
feel, don’t think
repeating in her head to the rhythm of KT’s concerto.
He stopped her with a hand on her thigh. “Bijou?”
“Yes?”
“Think about being in like.”
Swallowing a sudden lump of fear, she nodded. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to think about anything else.
Chapter Fifteen
Chance walked into the morning room, as Elise called it. “Have you seen Ante—”
But he didn’t need to finish his sentence because his pig sat very properly at Elise’s feet, snout in the air, seemingly waiting patiently.
“There you are, darling.” Elise cut a piece of French toast from her plate and fed it straight off the fork to the little porker. “I hope you don’t mind that we didn’t wait for you for breakfast. Give Celeste a call, and she’ll bring you a fresh batch.”
He took a cup from the sideboard, giving his porcine buddy a pointed look. “You’re going to have to do an extra workout today, you know.”
Ante Up turned away, giving his full, adoring attention to Elise.
“Traitor.” Shaking his head, Chance sat across from Elise. His phone buzzed, but he silenced it when he saw it was just Tiffany Woods.
She studied him, a faint frown lining her forehead. “You seem different, darling.”
“Different?” he asked, sipping the coffee.
“The past weeks you’ve been jittery with nervous energy. You seem more settled this morning.” She raised her brow. “Any particular reason?”
He smiled faintly. “I have a feeling you already know exactly what’s going on.”
She fed the pig another bite. “Well, Lara Taylor
has
lived next door to me for decades. It’s obvious we’d be friends.”
Actually, it wasn’t obvious at all. Elise oozed society and refinement from every pore. Lara was more earthly. From what he’d seen at Harvard, old money and new didn’t usually mix. In fact, as a “poor” student, he’d been better received by the parents of the girls he’d dated. Overcoming your background was in fashion, he guessed.
But then Elise was different than the typical society matron. It stood to reason since Scott was so down-to-earth.
Elise gave him a look. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on between you and Karma, or do I have to hold your pig hostage?”
“That wouldn’t be a feat. He has Stockholm syndrome already.”
Ante Up just continued to look at her adoringly.
Chance shook his head. Then he faced Elise. “KT and I are engaged.”
“Congratulations, darling.” She didn’t sound the least bit surprised. “Karma is a lovely girl; the rare breed who doesn’t realize how wonderful and talented she is. I’ve always thought it’d take a special man to allow her the space to find herself, but I couldn’t have picked a better man for her myself. Lara is beside herself with happiness.”
He nodded, not sure how he felt. Guilty about the ruse, because he hated deceiving Elise. Oddly, he also felt somehow satisfied about the engagement. His head kept reminding him it was fake, but his heart dared him to believe otherwise.
“You don’t look certain, Chance.” Elise frowned. “Are you having cold feet already?”
Normally he wouldn’t have even considered confessing. If you wanted to bluff, you had to commit yourself to it. You didn’t show your hand.
But the way Elise stared at him, with concern and affection, reminded him of his mom. He hadn’t had anyone care like that about him in a long time.
So he found himself saying, “Can I make a confession about my relationship with KT?”
“Being adventurous between the sheets is nothing to be ashamed of.”
He felt his face flush. “Not that type of confession.”
“A pity.”
“We’re not really dating.”
Elise blinked. “And yet you’re engaged?”
“It started out pretend. I needed someone to help me keep that headhunter at bay, and KT needed to date someone to distract her mom. So we entered a partnership of sorts.”
“And this somehow led to a proposal?”
“Actually, I haven’t proposed yet.”
Elise frowned. “You sound like you plan to.”
He thought about the ring he’d seen in the jewelry store a few blocks away and nodded. “This afternoon.”
Shaking her head, she set her fork down. “Let me get this straight. You and KT have been dating for the past couple weeks?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve kissed?”
At every opportunity. He nodded.
Elise raised a brow. “You’ve been intimate?”
Like he was going to admit that to Scott’s mom. He squirmed in his chair.
“Don’t answer that. I can tell by the look on your face.” She gave him a knowingly look. “Given all the facts, your relationship doesn’t seem very pretend, does it?”
“Not when you put it that way.”
“Do you know what I think?”
“Do I want to know?” he asked with an amused smile.
“I think you found your port,” she said as though he hadn’t spoken. “I think you’re smart enough to realize a good thing when you see one. You came here searching, and you’ve found part of what you’re looking for. You’re too smart a man to let that go. If you were upset about getting married to KT, you’d be pacing right now, trying to climb out of the hole you dug instead of thinking about proposing to her.”
True—all of it.
Elise scratched Ante Up behind his ear. “You need to ask yourself what you want, Chance.”
KT.
The answer was loud and clear. He wanted to find a place and live with her and her enormous piano, and come home from whatever strange hours his job had to find her playing her music. He wanted to kiss her whenever he wanted and know that she’d always be next to him, holding his hand, backing him up even when it put him out of his comfort zone.
He stood up. “Do you mind keeping an eye on Ante Up this afternoon?”
“Of course not.” She smiled fondly at the pig. “I’ll take him to be groomed. How do you feel about a pedicure, darling?” she asked the pig.
Ante Up snorted enthusiastically, standing up.
“There you go.” Elise smiled at Chance. “Go ahead and do what you need, darling. We’ll be here.”
He leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Thank you, Elise.”
Cupping his cheek, she smiled at him. “I should thank you, Chance.”
“What for?”
“For letting me mother you.”
“How about if we make a deal?” He took her hand. “I’ll let you mother me all you want.”
“This deal seems awfully one-sided. What do you get out of it?”
“I think that’d be obvious. Everything.” He kissed her cheek.
She touched his face. “When you put it that way, how can I refuse?”
His first stop was Romantic Notions. A man had to have his priorities straight.
The shop lady, Olivia, remembered him. She picked out what she assured him was the perfect set for KT. He had to agree—it was a deep emerald silk with strategically placed black lace that’d look spectacular on her.
His second stop went just as smoothly, until he exited the jewelry store and bumped into someone. He started to apologize when he realized the “someone” was actually Tiffany Woods.
“Chance,” she exclaimed brightly. “What a surprise.”
If by
surprise
she really meant
creepy
. “What are you doing here?”
“A little shopping on my break.”
He looked pointedly at the lack of bags in her hand.
Her lips thinned as she noted the jewelry store’s sign. Then she nodded at the tiny Romantic Notions bag in his hand. “Shopping for your girlfriend?” she said as if the idea was distasteful.
“My fiancée actually,” he corrected, touching his pocket where the ring he’d bought for KT was. He’d seen it in the window one time when he’d walked by, and it reminded him of her: simple, bold, and shiny.
An awkward silence stretched over the conversation. He glanced at Tiffany, shocked to see bereft loneliness on every line of her face.
But then her expression turned to stone, and she coolly said, “Fiancée.”
“You met her a couple weeks ago.” Maybe he’d imagined her loneliness? Now she just looked like she wanted to carve KT’s heart out.
Tiffany hiked her behemoth purse up into the crook of her arm, her tone frigid. “I’ve been trying to contact you regarding the quantitative analyst position. I see why you’ve been so unavailable.”
Wait a minute—she only ever called him to ask him out. He wanted to point that out but then he remembered he didn’t have a way to contact Roger Leif directly.
Resisting the urge to curse, instead he said, “I’m available whenever Roger is free to meet.”
“I’ll let him know.” She ran a hand through her hair, giving him a knowing look. “But I’m sure you and I can work out the details on our own. Give me call when you’re ready, Chance.”
He wasn’t sure he’d ever be ready. Except he’d done some research into other companies and no one seemed to be hiring except for Paragon.
What he needed to do was bypass the middleman and contact Roger Leif directly.
Later. Shaking off the encounter, he pulled out his phone to text KT.
Coming over.
Her response was instant:
I’m not decent.
He grinned and replied:
Good. See you in 5.
She was waiting at her cottage door for him, her long, lean body propped in the doorway. As he approached, a smile lit her face.
He suddenly knew without a doubt that he wanted to make that smile happen for the rest of his life. He walked up to her and kissed those lips with as much feeling as he’d ever felt.