Page 59 of Love is a Harmony
Noah couldn’t take his eyes from the animation and the songs that seemed to pull at the heartstrings. It definitely wasn’t his kind of music, but it hit him all the same as he watched the two princesses deal with their grief and come out on the other side.
“Isn’t she the one who wanted to watch this?” Melanie whispered, looking down at the sleeping Stella.
“No, I think she wantedusto see it. That was the point of her chastisement.”
“She did chastise us, didn’t she?” Melanie smoothed the hair out of Stella’s face, and Noah couldn’t help but watch. It was a motherly gesture, and the Melanie he’d known didn’t have a motherly bone in her body.
Yet, something about Stella changed that. Just like the girl changed him, made him want to be good enough for her.
“How long have we known each other, Mel?” His voice was soft.
She thought for a moment. “Probably since you first signed with the label.”
Nine years. Which meant she’d only been widowed a year when he first met her. Yet, the entire time he’d known her, she’d had this professionalism about her.
“You were one of my very first clients after I took the job. You and Dax. The others were assigned to a publicist who quit a few years after that.”
“Is it all an act?” He had to know, to see behind the mask she wore.
She was quiet for a long moment. “What do you mean?”
“The workaholic, professional to the point of stiff woman. Is it really who you are or a way to keep all of us away?”
She didn’t answer his question as she dragged her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. “I could ask you the same thing, Noah. Your bad boy reputation, all the mistakes and ‘I don’t care’ attitude. Is that an act?”
“No.” It hadn’t been. Not really. “It wasn’t an act so much as a rebellion. I grew up in a structured world where every decision was made for me. Your turn.”
She sighed and rested her chin on her knee. “I… I don’t think I know.”
He reached over, putting one finger beneath her chin to lift it up so she met his gaze. “I do. You’re more than that, Mel. I’ve always known. You’ve never been simply a publicist to me.”
Her lips curved into a smile. “Friends. You told me when we first met that we were going to be friends.”
“And you didn’t believe me.”
“Because I wasn’t friends with my clients.”
He removed his hand. “Then why create Rockstars Anonymous if you didn’t want to get to know us more?”
“Noah, that group… I have seen so many singers rise and fall in this industry. It isn’t their talent that fails them. They get too involved in the life and eventually fizzle out. But you five… I saw something in each of you that made me hope for the best. The group wasn’t about you becoming friends with me. I wanted you to learn from each other, to hold each other accountable.”
Her voice softened. “I chose all of you because you aren’t just talented, you’re good, no matter what the media says about you.”
Her words bounced around in his mind, refusing to take root. You’re good. You’re good. He knew she didn’t mean musically.
He wanted to kiss her. Right then, he wanted to pull her to him and let those words sink into his soul.
“No one has ever called me good before.” His voice was barely more than a breath, a whisp of words.
Their eyes locked, but he didn’t move, he couldn’t. Not when only an hour ago she’d told him about her dead husband.
That wouldn’t be good of him, and he’d never wanted to prove someone right so much in his life.
No matter what he felt for the woman beside him, he’d be whatever she needed him to be. Because the only thing worse than not loving Melanie Snyder was not having her in his life at all.
* * *
A tear slipped down Noah’s cheek, and he didn’t bother to wipe it away. He tried to blame the exhaustion from traveling or the secrets Melanie confided in him.
