Page 97 of Love is a Lyric
“That’s crap, and you know it. They may have been Piper’s words—a fact she didn’t even tell me, by the way—but the music was yours. You know she didn’t lie to hurt you, right?” He did know that on some level. Piper wouldn’t have hurt anyone. “Her number one priority in life has been to protect her sister, to hold their remaining little family together.”
“I know.” His shoulders dropped. Piper wanted to hold on to Quinn, but here was Ben tearing them apart. He brushed a hand through his hair. “I just… I don’t know what to do, how to fix this. I don’t want to loseFate,but we can’t keep going like we were. I want Piper, but I don’t know if she’ll ever trust me.” Or if she’d think he fell into his old thinking of fate, that he loved the writer of those words rather than the person behind them.
“Then, show her.”
“What?”
“Piper is one of the most trusting souls I’ve ever known. She sees the good in people. Let her see you, Ben. The real you. Not your rockstar persona. Not the sad sack who came home with her to mourn his broken relationship. And definitely not the guy who believes some higher power gets to choose who he loves.”
“What if I don’t know who I am other than those things?”
“You’d better figure it out.” He nudged him. “And turn on your phone. I’m not the only one who cares about you.” He stood. “I’m going to shower. I have to leave early tomorrow for Cincinnati.”
“What’s in Cinci?”
“My best friend.” He walked away as if those words didn’t steal the breath from his brother’s lungs. Piper would be only two hours away.
Taking Chase’s advice, Ben powered up his phone, preparing for an onslaught of messages. He wasn’t disappointed.
Melanie: You better be dead. Stop ignoring me.
Quinn: I need to talk to you
Conner: Bro, Quinn is about to do something really drastic if you don’t respond to us.
Dax: Congrats on the engagement. Sorry I’m late.
Ben laughed at that one. Dax rarely took his head out of his music to know what was going on.
Noah: Dang, your girl is good at her job.
Piper. He smiled, grateful she had Drew, Noah, and even Jo around.
Jo: I think I like this girl better than you.
Drew: I’m worried about Piper.
Worried? Ben’s heart kicked up a notch. His thumb hovered over Drew’s name before he tapped it and brought the phone to his ear. Screaming filled the line sounding like a crowd of fans.
“Ben?” Drew yelled to be heard over the noise.
“Drew, where are you?” Ben found himself yelling too.
“A concert, man. Listen to them!” More roaring came through the phone.
“You answered my call in the middle of a concert?”
“Ah, these people are okay with it.” He laughed, turning his voice to the crowd. “Everyone say hi to Ben Evans.”
The crowd grew louder. Well, there went his solitude. He’d hear it from Mel that he called Drew and not her.
The crowd faded away as if Drew ran off stage. He huffed out a breath. “Sorry, man. Afternoon outdoor concerts. Gotta love them.”
“Did you just leave the stage to talk to me?”
“Yeah, but my set was done. Jo was already glaring at me from the side of the stage because I went over my time.”
Sounded like Jo. “You said you were worried about Piper.”
