Playing For Keeps (The Alpha Brotherhood #3)(34)
Author: Catherine Mann

Might as well meet this head-on. She didn’t play games anymore. She wasn’t an immature, spoiled teen. “Your mom has never been my biggest fan, and I get it. She was protective of you. And honestly, I admire how hard she worked to give you the best life possible.” The town had never been short on gossip about the way Malcolm’s father—a musician in a band—played a gig in Azalea, then cut out on his family. “The past and present can’t help but be entwined.”

“Remember how in fourth grade we had music class together? You were like magic at the piano, so happy when you played. You made the music come alive.” He caressed down her arm to link fingers with her.

She laughed, squeezing his hand. “You played right alongside me, faster, trying to show me up. I recall that day well.”

“No, I wanted you to notice me, so I figured I’d better step up my game. I’d mastered the technical side, but I missed the boat when it came to understanding music the way you did.” He leaned back against the headboard, his glass resting on his bent knee.

“I never guessed.” She blinked in surprise. “I thought you needed a duet partner for the talent show.”

“You accomplished what all those music teachers had been pounding their heads against the keyboard to make happen. I appreciate what my mother sacrificed for me, but all of this, the concerts, none of it would have happened without you.”

A stint in reform school wouldn’t have happened without her relentless pursuit of him, either, she thought wryly. She’d worked hard to change, but that didn’t alter the past. He’d been so angry with her for insisting the baby be put up for adoption. Had he let that anger go? Or was it just set aside for now while the adrenaline and hormones worked to keep them both sated, relaxed?

She wondered if she could bring herself to ask him about it when their reunion was still so fresh, when only heaven knew how long it would last.

Instead, she drew circles on Malcolm’s muscular chest. “You would have gotten there on your own. I was just in the right place when you were on the brink of understanding the music.”

She remembered those days when Malcolm had catapulted from a skilled player to a talent to be reckoned with. She could almost see the music coming from his heart instead of his head when he’d been at the piano.

“Tell yourself whatever you want.” He set aside his glass and hers, then gathered her against his chest.

In spite of all her good intentions five seconds ago, she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “Why didn’t you contact me after you got out? It’s not like I was tough to find, hanging around our old hometown.”

He rested his chin on top of her head. “I’d already wrecked your life once.” His voice rumbled in his chest against her. “I was mature enough not to do an encore.”

“But you’re with me now because my life’s in danger.” Instead of shying away from the tough questions, she decided she deserved real answers. “Would you have stayed away forever?”

“Would you?” he countered.

Ouch. Good point. “You’re a world-famous singer. I wouldn’t have been able to get past your first line of bodyguards. That security is why I’m here now, remember?”

“I wouldn’t have turned you away.” His arms wrapped tighter around her.

“It’s not like we can even blame evil parents for keeping us apart. We did this to ourselves.” She understood her reasons, if not his. “I’ve been punishing myself. Atoning for every mean-girl thing I ever did.”

“Where the hell do you come up with this mean-girl notion?”

“I was a brat.”

He tipped her chin up and stared at her with intensely blue eyes. “You were rebellious, funny, spoiled and absolutely magnificent. You still are.”

“Spoiled?”

“Magnificent.” He sealed the word with a kiss, nipping her bottom lip then nuzzling her ear. “I don’t want this to end when the tour ends or even if all your father’s enemies are locked up.”

Stunned, she arched back, staring into his eyes. “You’re serious.”

She’d just managed to think about being with him tomorrow and now he was talking about longer.

“Absolutely serious,” he answered. “Let’s spend the summer together, explore what we’re feeling and see where it takes us.”

What about after the concert tour ended in four weeks? Where would they spend the rest of the summer? He’d avoided his hometown for nearly eighteen years. But the life she’d built there was a part of her, a part of who she was and the peace she’d found. She could enjoy this part of his life, but could he enjoy hers? Or did he only want the impulsive, bold girl she’d once been?

“What if I said I want to spend the rest of the summer in Azalea after your tour ends?” Why was she pushing when just that one question made her chest go tight? She didn’t have to have the answers today.

“If that’s where you want to be—” pausing, he cricked his neck from side to side “—I can stomach a few weeks there.”

Stomach? Not a ringing endorsement for the safe life she embraced. “And in the fall?”

They were only delaying the inevitable crash, delaying the confrontation of the things that had made both of them choose to stay apart all these years. Her guilt over how she’d ruined their lives. His anger over her decisions. Her need for the stability of Azalea. His preference for luxury and travel.

Her feelings of betrayal because yes, damn it all, she’d expected him to come back for her a long time ago, but he’d chosen this life over her.

He moved the tray aside and took her hands. “This isn’t going the way I intended. Do you need some kind of commitment from me? Some sign that you mean more to me than just a fling? I can do that.”

That wasn’t what she’d meant at all. Her heart fluttered in her chest, and it wasn’t panic, but it was fear. What if he proposed and she said yes? Could she let go of the past and be with him? Could she live with the uncertainty and lavishness of his lifestyle after working so hard to create a stable existence? What if he was genuinely willing to live a regular, boring life with her when he wasn’t on tour?

Was that even possible with his notoriety?

“Celia, I’m not just a musician.”

“I know. You’re also a gifted composer.” She thought of the songs he’d written for her when they were younger, and even beyond that to the dozens of award-winning tunes he’d sent soaring up the charts over the years.