Page 27 of Love is a Lyric
His words wrapped around her heart, squeezing until she couldn’t breathe. Fate. His music. Her lyrics.
What would he do if he knew the words didn’t belong to Quinn? That they never had?
It was too much. Ben, the boy who’d been like an older brother, the man who became a friend was in love with her sister because of Piper’s words. “Is that why you named the bandFate?”
He gave her a boyish smile. “I know, I’m kind of cheesy.”
“No… it fits. You and Quinn… fate.” Her breaths lodged in her throat as an entire world opened up before her, one filled with the version of Ben Evans she’d never seen before. For years, she’d only seen him and Quinn as a duo, not separate entities.
And that couldn’t change, she wouldn’t let it.
She had to keep her secret, Quinn’s secret.
Because if she didn’t, everything would tumble to the ground, and she knew she’d be the one left behind, the one with a broken heart.
Quinn got everything she wanted, and Piper made it happen. That pattern wasn’t going to change.
“We should go back to the house.”
He nodded, a blush still on his cheeks from his admission. Or maybe it was just a sun burn. She’d never know because she looked away and gathered their belongings. It took everything she had to keep walking, to not turn around and reveal the secrets she’d been keeping for six years.
There were only a few months before the job with Drew would start. She just had to survive until then.
* * *
Ben’s footsteps behind Piper were the only way she knew he followed her up the wooden steps. They hadn’t said a word as they made their way across the beach.
“Piper?”
She stopped, not turning. “Yeah?”
“I’ll miss having you around.”
She glanced back over her shoulder, noting his shy smile. “Until the new assistant replaces me and makes better coffee.”
He shook his head with a laugh.
Piper stepped onto the deck first and froze, not knowing if the sight before her was real. When Ben reached her, a growl low in his throat, reality crashed in at her.
Conner had a topless Quinn pressed up against the side of the pool as he went to town on her neck like a freaking vampire.
She stole a glance at Ben’s stony face, the same Ben who’d just confessed he thought fate brought him and Quinn together.
Quinn obviously didn’t agree.
Ben stormed across the deck, kicking empty margarita glasses into the pool before slamming into the house.
Piper couldn’t move.
Quinn pushed Conner away as she stared after Ben, fear sparking in her eyes. “What have we done?”
Conner shrugged with a sly smile. A thousand memories rushed in at Piper. Conner massaging Quinn’s neck. The way he constantly looked for her. His rivalry with Ben.
This wasn’t the first time he’d been with Quinn. She was suddenly sure of it.
Piper’s heart cracked in two for the man she could see slamming drawers in the kitchen. “I hope he’s searching for a knife.” Her scalding gaze bounced from Conner to Quinn, and she tapped the side of her neck. “That’s gonna leave a mark.” Without another word, she left them behind.
When she entered the kitchen, Ben stood gripping the counter with his back to her, the muscles in his bare back tightening.
