Page 61 of Love is a Harmony
You are good.Melanie’s words faded from his mind the longer he talked to her dad and heard about what a screw up he was. “I care about her.”
“Like you cared about the girl from social media? The model. What was her name?”
“Ava.” He rubbed his eyes. “Her name is Ava.” He realized it then, what no one had told him before. Once the world thought they knew you, that was it. There was no changing in their eyes.
And what did the world know of Noah Clarke?
He liked women, lots of them, and flashy cars. He flirted with his fans and let his charm, his looks, be all that he was.
“Ava.” Mr. Snyder’s face puckered. “Yes, Melanie went to quite the lengths to get those photos taken care of.” He uncrossed his arms and walked toward Noah. “Look, Noah, you and my daughter have always been different from other clients and publicists.”
“How so?”
“For one, other clients only visited her office on occasion. But over the years, she has let you stop by whenever you pleased. I’ve watched her grow attached to you.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“You were right. She is your friend. But I’ve also seen the way you look at her.”
“How is that?” He’d always been fond of Melanie, enjoying being around her, talking to her, but it hadn’t been more than that, right? He hadn’t thought about kissing her until the day she showed up in France.
Mr. Snyder ran a hand over his balding head. “I think you know. But Melanie… she’s vulnerable, has been for years.”
“Because of her first husband?” His voice softened on the words.
Mr. Snyder’s brows dipped in surprise, as if he hadn’t expected Melanie to share the information with Noah. “Yes.”
“With all due respect, sir, Melanie is the kindest, strongest person I know. She’s been dealing with a lot of emotions since Justin’s death, but that doesn’t make her vulnerable. I don’t know what I feel for her, but I just want to be around her. I am a reckless rock star—as you so graciously pointed out—and now, I have to care for a child. I’m scared out of my mind, but having her near me makes me believe in myself. I believe because she believes. I won’t give that up, but mostly, I won’t take Stella away from that. She needs me to believe.”
Silence stretched between them as Noah caught his breath, wishing he could pull the word vomit back in. Mr. Snyder was the last person he should be talking to about any of this.
Chancing a glance up at the towering man, Noah wasn’t sure what he saw in his expression. Maybe a grudging respect?
Or maybe that was wishful thinking.
Mr. Snyder stepped forward and put a hand on Noah’s shoulder. “We all rise to the challenges we are given, Noah. You’re all that girl has now, so I have no doubt you’ll be what she needs you to be.” He stepped back. “I was sorry to hear about your brother.”
It was the nicest thing Mr. Snyder had ever said to him, and Noah wasn’t quite sure how to react.
Turned out, he didn’t need to because Melanie’s door opened, and she ushered Stella out.
With her dad’s arrival, she’d changed from yoga pants to a stick-straight skirt and blue blouse. Gone was the Melanie he’d spent the day with. She offered him a tight smile before leading them all to the door.
As they stepped from the elevator into the lobby, Noah leaned in close to Melanie. “What if she wants you again tonight?”
She gave him the same placid smile she’d worn upstairs, only her eyes betraying the war going on inside her. “It’s probably time she learned to sleep without me.” With that, she followed her dad to his car, leaving Noah and Stella to stare after her, wondering where their Melanie had gone.
18
Melanie
Melanie’s dad was quiet, too quiet. She knew he’d have a lot to say about finding Noah and Stella in her bed, that he’d make his opinions known. That was the thing about her dad. He was a powerful man, one who wasn’t used to people disobeying him.
And he’d warned her about Noah before.
He wasn’t the jerk most of the artists at the label saw him as, but he only showed his softer side to her.
They were seated on the patio of her dad’s favorite swanky restaurant. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d taken the time to go out to eat together. Usually, they ordered takeout at the office and worked while they ate.
