Page 58 of The Billionaire Offer
As I thought about it, I realized he was right. He could help me, but it was about more than that. This song was for him—sort of—and if anyone should hear it first, it was him. Try as I might to deny it, it was ready enough for me to play it for him.
It might even help him realize how I felt if I did. Suddenly nervous, I glanced up at him and nodded. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll play it for you when we get back to the suite.”
“Seriously?” he asked as his lips broke into a wide grin. “Fucking finally. I can’t wait. Do you think we can run?”
I laughed but tugged at his hand when he pretended that he was about to take off. “We’re definitely not running. I need all the time I can get to prepare myself for this. If you hate it, you’re not allowed to tell me it’s terrible, though, okay? Just say it in a nice way.”
“I will,” he promised. “Maybe. Unless it’s really awful. In which case, I won’t have to say anything at all. You’ll just see it on my face.”
“How about you try giving me your best poker face?” I suggested as I felt the blood draining from my cheeks.
Bart made a sound in the back of his throat when he looked at me again. Then he released my hand to put his arm around my shoulders as he pulled me into his side. “Relax, baby. I was just joking. I already know I’m going to love it. You were looking nervous, so I was trying to lighten the mood, not give you a stroke.”
I managed a weak smile. “It’s just that this song means a lot to me. If you don’t like it, it will be a huge disappointment.”
“It won’t be,” he said confidently as we walked into our suite. “Get your guitar. I’ll wait right here.”
While he settled into a chair in the living area of our suite, I went to grab my guitar. Without wanting to build it up more than I already had, I started singing on my way back into the living area, before I could start doubting that this was a good idea.
I started softly at first, still struggling with the chord progressions that I hadn’t memorized just yet. Even so, it came together perfectly as I sang, and by the time I sat down opposite him when I got to the chorus, I was so into it that I closed my eyes and just let it all come out.
CHAPTER37
BART
As I listened to her sing, I almost blurted out my feelings right there and then. The only reason why I didn’t was because I didn’t want to interrupt her.
This wasthesong. I could feel it. Sure, I hadn’t heard any of the others she’d been writing, but I definitely understood why this one meant so much for her. It was the kind of song that would reach around the world—and would have thousands of people buying tickets to hear her sing it live.
If any of her other songs were as good as this one, she had it made. As she finished, I burst out in applause and even gave her a standing ovation. The first of many for that song, I was sure.But still, I’m first.
I didn’t know why it mattered so much, but it did. “That was incredible. Fucking amazing. I can’t believe you wrote that while I was right here and I didn’t know a thing about it. Fuck, Serenity. That song is going to make you famous. I know it.”
Her eyes closed, but I was pretty sure it was out of relief. “Do you really think so? Or are you just saying it because I told you how scared I was you wouldn’t like it?”
“Look at me,” I said gently, closing the distance between us and cupping her face in my hands. When she finally opened her eyes again, I looked directly into them so she could see that I meant it with every fiber of my being. “I love it. It’s the best song I’ve heard in a long time. This is the one. As soon as you release it, you’re going to become an overnight success story. I know it.”
She breathed out slowly. Then her lips curled into the biggest smile I’d seen from her in a long time. “Thank you. I hope you’re right, but even if you’re not, I’m just so excited that I finally have the capital to launchanysongs. Knowing it’s one that we both love is just the cherry on top.”
When she mentioned having the capital, I felt a pang in my gut. I was proud that I’d be involved in the album even just in such a small way as to have given her the money to launch it, but I wasn’t really giving it to her. She’d earned it just by being here with me, and that immediately knocked the wind out of my sails again.
Fuck. I should’ve just given her the damn fucking money upfront and asked her to come with me anyway. As I looked into her eyes and saw the genuine excitement there, though, I couldn’t help but be happy for her.
Sure, I wasn’t happy about wondering if this had all been just about the money, but she looked so damn happy that I couldn’t not be. She was skilled and passionate, and she deserved my support. She’d written a hell of a song, and that was what this was all about.
Grinning, I tucked strands of her loose red hair behind her ears. I pulled her into my arms and held on to her, wondering if I could just keep her right here. Just keep holding her and hugging her for the rest of time, and then I wouldn’t have to share her with the world or worry about losing her once we were done with the bucket list.
I knew I couldn’t do it, not just because I’d never keep her anywhere against her will or because I didn’t want to go to prison for kidnapping, but because doing it would mean I was holding her back. Right now, in this moment, she was like some mythical majestic bird that’d been practicing and practicing and was now finally ready to spread her wings. I had to let her fly, regardless of what that might mean for me.
“What’s wrong?” she asked softly. “You looked really sad there for a minute.”
“I’m not sad,” I said when I realized she’d pulled back and was frowning at me. “I was thinking about your career and what this might mean for it.”
“That made you look sad?”
“No,” I repeated lamely. “I was just moved by the thought. There’s a difference. I wasn’t sad. Just… when you release that track, you’re not going to have time to do more traveling for a while.”
“On the contrary,” she said excitedly. “If the track does as well as we both think it might, I’ll be traveling more than ever. I might also have money to takeyousomewhere for a change. Wouldn’t that be grand?”
