Page 135 of Crescendo

Dodge leaned around Clara. “Maybe we can have you two getting a little rock going for us!”

Eliza studied him for a minute. “You know, maybe.”

Adam cleared his throat. “Well, before you do that… Hannah, Eliza, can I have a quick word?”

They both frowned before Hannah said, “Uh, sure. Everything all right?”

“We’ll give you some privacy,” I said, smiling in a way that seemed to clue Adam in on the fact that I, at least, knew what was going on.

We’d have more than one musical success to celebrate tonight.

∞∞∞

I slipped out of the crowded apartment, leaving the others jamming to Hannah and Eliza putting on an absolute show for the crowd, Dodge on guitar with them, and Clara on piano, bringing in that almost classical edge. The combination was fantastic. Just like I knew it would be in Lydia’s score.

I headed for the front door of the building, settling onto the steps, watching the sun slinking behind the buildings that lined Queen’s Gate Terrace. I was going to miss this place. It was an odd realisation that I would miss this apartment more than I’d missed my own flat over the last two months. But then, I’d been given so much during Crescendo, I’d been doing so much living. My own flat had simply been the shell I existed in.

I pulled my phone out, shooting off another text to Lydia to let her know she was missing Hannah and Eliza rocking out—clearly just practicing so they could give her their best work.

For a few moments I was alone. The evening was growing chilly, those late summer evenings from when I’d first met Lydia slipping away as we headed deeper into autumn.

“Your girlfriend is the weirdest woman I’ve ever met,” Hannah said, startling me as she dropped onto the step across from me, leaning back against a smooth, white column. “Sending Adam to recruit me instead of just texting me herself.”

“She wanted it to feel legit, you know?”

Hannah scoffed. “Nah. She just thought Eliza would refuse if she asked directly.”

I smiled. “Congratulations on landing your first film score.”

“Oh, please. It’s not like that. It’s Lydia’s score and we’re helping on one piece.”

“Still, working with Lydia Howard Fox on the pivotal piece of a major motion picture is kind of a big deal.”

Hannah blew out a breath. “You’re not wrong there. Can’t say I expected all of this when we came here.”

“I’m really happy for you. Both of you.”

She eyed me for a moment. “You too, Doc. Overachieving much? Now you’re a composer getting played in concert halls.”

I laughed. “It’s one piece. I don’t think that makes me a composer.”

“You’re right. It doesn’t. The fact that you’re a composer does. The last two months, all your work, all that talent… All of that makes you a composer.”

“Hm. Back to being a doctor in two weeks. I don’t think there’s much space for both of them.” It hurt like hell to say it out loud, but it was true, wasn’t it? I had no idea how to have a life outside my job, let alone one that allowed for composing. It wasn’t exactly the least involved hobby.

“So, what? You just walk away? Date a composer but ignore your own passion for it?”

“Lydia and I aren’t dating…”

She narrowed her eyes, looking me over. “Ella, why did you come to Crescendo?”

I sighed and met her gaze. “Do you have the emotional space to hear a pretty heavy answer?”

“Yeah. I’m good. I’m here.”

I nodded and looked away, staring down the street that had become home thanks to Lydia, thanks to all of my new friends, thanks to music. “Four years ago, my brother died in a crash. Music was a family thing, but it washisthing. He was in a band, it was all he wanted in life. I wanted to be a doctor. Then, he died, and I became nothing but a doctor. Put everything away and tried to run from my grief, from feeling anything, and from music. But it wasn’t healthy, and I finally felt… ready, as I’d ever be, to take a break, to deal with what happened. And I landed here.”

“And you fell in love.”

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