Page 39 of Royally Wed
Asher would’ve laughed, if he hadn’t seriously suspected he was about to be fired.
“I am,” he said.
Another lie. It seemedas if he’d told more of them than he had the truth since he’d been in London.
Jeremy let out an incredulous laugh. “You’re screwing with me, right? Because that...” He shot a pointed glance toward the auditorium. “... was garbage.”
Harsh, but true.
Asher’s latest attempt at his solo had sounded like something straight out of a college recital. He couldn’t seem to get his bearings. Notonly was his confidence in the toilet, but once Amelia had walked into the theater, he’d been distracted beyond reason.
He was relieved Jeremy only wanted to give him another lecture about his playing, though. For a moment, he’d wondered if his hidden communication with Amelia hadn’t gone unnoticed.
Hidden communication? Who do think you are now? James Bond?
England was doing a number on him.He’d be lucky tosurvive the trip and get out with his sanity intact.
“This is rehearsal.” Asher shrugged. “Isn’t that what practice is all about? Working out the kinks?”
Jeremy’s brows rose. “Those were some serious kinks. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“No, I wouldn’t.” It’d be a cold day in hell before he agreed with Jeremy about anything, especially his playing. Even if it had indeed sounded likegarbage.
“Well, you’re wrong. And for God’s sake, Asher,the princess is here.”
“I’m aware.” More accurately, Asher was aware of little else.
Every nerve ending in his body was still on high alert. She lingered somewhere in the building, milling about. Every so often, he could hear the lilting sound of her laughter drift through the partially opened door. It had a floating, effervescent quality,like Mozart’s Sonata no. 17 in C.
Jeremy jammed a hand through his hair. “We talked about this, and you told me everything was fine. I vouched for you, Asher. If you screw this up, it’s not just your head on the chopping block. It’s mine, too.”
Asher highly doubted that. If he botched his performance on the big day, he’d probably never book an important gig again. Jeremy, on the other hand,might be finished in royal circles, but he’d still have the rest of the world clamoring at his feet.
“You have some balls, I’ll give you that.” Asher glared at his former mentor. “But if you think trying to blackmail me withyourreputation is going to work, you’re fucking crazy.”
Jeremy’s face went red, either from rage or shame. Asher wasn’t sure, but he wouldn’t have bet any money on thelatter. “You gave me your word. Are you mucking this up on purpose? Do you have some kind of twisted, self-sabotaging revenge plan?”
Right. As if Asher had canceled all his commitments and squirreled himself away for weeks on purpose, in hopes that the British royal family would come knocking at his door so he could take a huge, humiliating dive in front of billions so that people would blamethe conductor.
“What you’re suggesting is not only insulting, but also categorically incorrect. If you think I’m still hung up on Serena, you couldn’t be more wrong.” Seeing her again had confirmed it. There’d been no hint of awareness, no attraction whatsoever.
He had more important things to worry about than his love life, or lack thereof. Although, his floundering career hadn’t kept him fromdevoting a great deal of thought to Amelia...
“Get it together, Asher. This is thelasttime we’re going to have this conversation. Understood?”
AMELIA LINGERED IN THElobby longer than she should have, chatting with the Cadogan Hall staff and patrons from the London Symphony, who’d made the arrangements for the wedding’s orchestra rehearsals. She managed to keep up with each exchange, despitecontinually scanning the space for another glimpse of Asher.
She didn’t even know why she was holding out hope of seeing him again. It wasn’t as though they could have any sort of real conversation in public. But that didn’t seem to matter. Every time she thought she spied him out of the corner of her eye, her breath caught in her throat and her face went warm.
It was ridiculous, really.
Andimproper on every possible level.
She needed to leave, before she managed to forget about Holden and her engagement altogether.
“Amelia?”
She jumped at the sound of someone calling her name. Clearly she had an even guiltier conscience than she realized because whoever had said it sounded a lot like Holden, her elusive fiancé.
