Page 44 of Bewitched By the Siren
“You’re welcome,” Natasha replies with a warm smile. “You can come back, anytime. Even if it’s just to hang out.”
“Thank you,” Hali says, returning her grin.
“Thank you,” I mouth to Natasha over Hali’s head, and she gives me a small nod.
After we say our goodbyes and get on the road toward Circe Key, my nerves ramp up as the minutes tick by and Hali doesn’t say a word. Shifting in my seat, I clear my throat and hold out a hand.
“Can I have that thumb drive? I’d love to listen to it.”
“Oh. Um. Sure,” she says, her words choppy and broken as she digs the device out of her pocket.
She drops it into my palm, and I glance at her for a beat before plugging it into the car’s USB port. She looks a bit green, and I chalk it up to nerves over hearing herself sing. I look back at the road as the guitar starts to play, and when her voice comes in, that feeling of euphoria I felt earlier returns, only slightly diminished from the effect it had on me when I heard her live and in person.
I glance back at Hali, and she’s staring at the car’s stereo with wide eyes. As if she feels my eyes on her, she looks over at me.
“Is that really me?” she asks, her voice laced with wonder.
“Is this the first time you’ve heard a recording of yourself?” I ask.
Her head wobbles, then she huffs out a breath, saying, “It’s the first time I’ve ever been recorded.”
“Oh. Wow,” I say, then swallow thickly. “I just want you to know, Hali, this trip today had nothing to do with me or my desire to sign you as a client. This was all for you. I wanted you to see how Natasha lives her life. To see that it’s possible to chase your dreams on your own terms. If you were to sign with me or anyone else, your agent would be the one working for you, not the other way around. You’d be in control of your recording schedule, your travel, and your tours. You could arrange things so you’d never have to leave your mom behind.”
Reaching down, I pop the thumb drive out and hand it back to her. She takes it with a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes, then looks away as she stuffs it back into her pocket.
Shit. Did thiscompletelybackfire?
Reaching over, I take her hand and lace our fingers together. She doesn’t pull away, and I give her hand a squeeze before refocusing on the road. I hold her hand all the way home, and neither of us speaks again. The vibe is weird, and I just pray it’s because Hali is thinking about the possibilities I’ve shown her and hasn’t decided to carve me out of her life, completely.
When I pull up to the curb in front of my rental, I kill the engine and turn in my seat to face Hali, saying, “Listen, I’m sorry if I overstepped today. I really was just trying to give you a fun day and show you how amazing you are. You should’ve seen Natasha when you started singing. She was practically hypnotized.”
Hali inhales sharply, then tries to cover it with a laugh.
“I’m sureNatasha Monkwas hypnotized byme,” she says with a heavy dose of sarcasm and disbelief.
“She was. Just like everyone else is who hears you.”
She curls into herself like someone sucker punched her right in the gut.Shit. What did I say? I feel like I’m messing this up, completely.
“Again,” I say, “I’m sorry if I overstepped. I had no ulterior motives today. I promise.”
Her expression brightens the tiniest bit, and she says, “I believe you,” before leaning in to press her lips to mine.
Relief floods through me, and I kiss her back for several beats before she pulls away. Squeezing the hand still holding hers, she disentangles our fingers and unbuckles her seatbelt.
“I have to go. I should really check on Mom,” she says, popping open her door.
“Okay,” I say, offering her a hopeful smile. “See you later?”
“Definitely,” she says, then climbs from the car and closes her door.
I watch her through the window as she walks away, and I can’t banish the worry gnawing in my gut. Something is bothering her. I don’t know if it’s me, if I really did go too far with today’s surprise, or if she’s just overwhelmed, meeting one of her idols and making her first audio recording of herself performing.
I really, really hope it’s the latter. I don’t want anything to drive a wedge between us when we already have so little time together, as it is.
My insides clench when I think about how much time I have left. It’s Thursday, which means tomorrow, I’m expected to record Hali performing without her knowledge or consent for Julius. Just the thought of doing that makes me want to puke.
I don’t know if I can do it.
