Page 84 of Love is a Harmony
“I used a British word wrong again, right? Ugh, one day you’ll teach me how to be a proper English lady.”
Jo could never be a proper English lady, and that was one of the best things about her. “Our family estate—”
“Wait, estate? When someone calls a house an estate, it means it’s huge.”
He nodded. “The Clarkes are kind of a big deal. And the funeral… it’s going to be an event. I hate that I have to bring Stella into their world.”
“I’m sorry your family sucks.”
He laughed. Leave it to Jo to put it so eloquently. There was one thing he looked forward to. Introducing Stella to Nan. She was the one member of his family who would love her in all the right ways, not as a prop or a way to garner sympathy.
Noah looked out at the dark ocean, the silence stretching into the night, punctuated by the crackling of the fire. Sparks wound into the dark before raining to the ground.
It was the kind of night that once brought him peace. No matter what was happening in his career—tours, new albums, scandals—bonfires on the beach wiped it all from his mind.
But not this time.
“I’ll be right back.” He pushed himself to his feet and walked toward the steps to his deck. It might be desperate, his next actions, but they weren’t for him. He wasn’t enough for Stella, not that day. Melanie might hurt them in the end, she might never let herself be a part of their family, but for now, he just wanted to see her, for Stella to see her.
Inside, the clock read eight PM. He wasn’t sure how long she planned to stay at her dad’s, but he retrieved his phone, finding no missed calls or texts. It was almost like he didn’t exist to her when she was living her real life.
And he called her anyway.
He drummed his fingers on the kitchen counter as the phone rang. And rang.
When the voicemail picked up, he hit end and put his phone down, turning to head back to the beach with the people who had thought of him today.
When had he turned into such a sap?
A knock on the front door had him stopping. A second knock sounded, and he walked over and pulled it open, annoyance flashing across his face that someone would bother him on Christmas. If it was a reporter —
But it wasn’t a reporter.
“What’s the problem?” Melanie smiled. “Your wife not call you back?”
Everything else was forgotten as he reached out without a word, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her across the threshold. His eyes skimmed across her face and down to her pajamas, a smile tugging up one corner of his mouth.
“Are you going to kiss me, or do I have to find someone else who will?” Melanie lifted her chin in challenge.
“Oh, I’m definitely going to kiss you. I just don’t know if I’ll be able to stop.” Their breath mingled as their lips hovered inches apart. Slowly, he kissed one corner of her mouth and then the other, savoring the moment and vowing not to think about the future. “Wife,” he whispered, knowing he couldn’t tell her how much he liked that label for her.
She dropped her purse on the floor with a thud and kicked the door shut behind her. One palm came up to flatten against Noah’s cheek as a smile played on her lips. “I missed you today.”
That was as big a confession as he’d get from her, but he held onto it with both hands. “Oh, you have no idea.” He claimed her in a searing kiss, his hands skimming up the ridges of her spine to the curve of her neck.
He tangled a hand in her messy ponytail, enjoying the feel of this version of Melanie, the one who didn’t try to keep up appearances. He loved that she’d felt comfortable showing up at his house in pajamas. He loved that she smiled into his kisses, that her breath sighed out of her.
He loved her.
And he couldn’t tell her.
She broke away, her eyes never leaving his. “Where is Stell? I missed her too.”
He liked the sound of that. “She’s down at the beach with Dax and Jo.”
“Oh.” She released him and took a step back. “They’re still here?” Her eyes shuttered, wiping away the longing he’d have sworn was there before. She cared about the members of Rockstars Anonymous, he knew she did, but there was still a professional barrier between them and her, one that no longer existed with Noah because he’d practically fired her as his publicist.
A fact he still wasn’t happy about. His first meeting with the new guy was when he got back from London, and he still hadn’t told Jo about the change.
