Chapter 24
Elodie
Is it a Murderer?
No, it’s…
“You’re really sure about this?” Lennon asks me through the phone as I lean against the headboard of my hotel bed.
It’s been four days of non-stop meetings, parties, and calls.
I now have contracts lined up for a publicist, an agent, a record label, and I’m still not done putting everything in my new life into place.
“I’m sure. These past few days have been eye-opening.”
“No regrets, right?”
I shake my head, even though I’m all alone. Though it feels like the fibers of my soul have been severed with little hope of being repaired, I’m confident that my decision today will put me on the path to correct that.
“No. I just think the fantasy is so much better than reality in this case,” I say, just as there’s a knock on my hotel door. I ordered room service about thirty minutes ago, desperate to eat a meal alone so I can act like a trash panda and not worry about being judged.
“But the fantasies include red carpets and award shows,” Lennon says as I stand from my bed and make my way toward the door.
“Those can still exist, Lennon…” My words die on my lips as I open the door to find the last person I was expecting. “Oh my God.”
“What?”
“Lennon…I have to go.”
“Are you okay? Is it a murderer?”
“No. It’s Henley.” I end the call and drop the phone from my ear, vowing to call her back later while staring up at the tower of a man hovering over me in the doorway.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
“I—uh—” Pushing my hair from my face, I manage to form a sentence. “Um, what are you doing here, Henley?”
“Is this a bad time?”
I peer back into my empty hotel room. “Well, as you can see, I’m entertaining about one hundred people.”
The corner of his mouth lifts. “Fuck, I missed you, El.”
But I don’t know what to say to that. The last time I was standing in this position with this man, he was telling me to leave, and now he’s here? In Los Angeles? And we haven’t spoken all week.
“How did you get up here? How did you know what room I’m in?”
“I have my ways,” he says, pushing the door open further and waltzing right into my room like he owns the place. He has a duffle bag slung over his shoulder, and he’s wearing dark jeans and a plain black shirt under his unbuttoned flannel.
Damn him and those flannels.
“What are you doing here, Henley?” I ask again as he places his duffle bag on the chair in the corner, stripping off his flannel next and tossing it on top. When he turns to face me, his smile almost steals the breath from my lungs.
He looks lighter, like a dark cloud finally stopped following him around. He seems taller too, his spine straighter and his stance more grounded.
And then he says something that makes me forget how to breathe.
“I love you, Elodie.”
I gasp, covering my chest with my hands. “I’m sorry. Did you just say that you…love me?”
“Fuck,” he breathes out, followed by a low chuckle. “That wasn’t what I planned to say to you the minute I got here, but it just…came out.”
“I haven’t spoken to you since I left and…You—you love me?”
His feet carry him across the room to me, stopping when there’s only an inch of space between us.
“I do. I think I finally realize what that word means because the second you left my life, I felt like a piece of me went with you. All I could feel was your absence. And when Meghan signed over her rights to Remy, all I could think about is how you would never do that, how you’ve loved my daughter like she was your own since the day we met.
” He reaches up to cup my face, pulling me into him by my hip with his other hand. “Can we talk?”
Tears are threatening to spill from my eyes, but I manage a nod. He grabs my hand and leads me to the bed, where we sit facing each other. “What else could you possibly have to say after that speech?”
He laughs, then nuzzles his nose with mine. “Oh, I’m just getting started, El.”
El. Sweetheart.
The terms of endearment that have haunted my dreams during our time apart sound like a melody coming from his lips that was only made for me.
“Letting you walk away without fighting for you was the biggest mistake of my life, and trust me, I’ve made plenty.”
“You weren’t the only one who didn’t fight, Henley. I—I didn’t want to leave you, but I did anyway.”
“Yes, but I thought I was doing what was best for you when I told you to leave.”
I reach up and frame his jaw with my hand. “What’s best for me is having you and Remy in my life. You two are my family, my purpose.”
“What about music?” he asks, a hint of hesitation in his voice. “You belong on a stage, singing and sharing your songs with the world. Your words—they’ve changed me in ways I can’t even explain. I can’t imagine how many more lives you could touch.”
I scoot closer to him, which he takes as an invitation to slide my legs over his hips, straddling him now as he leans back so he can still see my eyes.
“You see, while you were figuring out a way to push me away, I was figuring out what I could do to show you that I would never stop fighting for you and what we have. You’ve changed me too, Henley.
You and your daughter showed me that some dreams are meant to shift and morph, to form something new and different from what you envisioned, but still equally beautiful.
” I frame his face with both of my hands.
“You are worth the fight, Henley, so I fought for a contract this week that allows me to keep you with me. My life with you is my new dream, so why can’t I have both? ”
“What do you mean?”
I prepare to tell him what I planned on saying eventually, after this whirlwind of a week was over.
“Sandra was fully intent on signing me as a new recording artist with the label, but I realized during my last performance that I don’t want the spotlight.
I just want to write songs, words that make people feel something.
So, instead of being the one singing them, I’m now on the label as a songwriter, which means I can work from anywhere. ”
“Anywhere?” His lips curve into a smile.
“Yes, even somewhere like Blossom Peak.”
“Fuck, Elodie.” He brings my face to his, kissing me softly. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, Henley. I want a quiet life, but I still want music to be a part of it. You and Remy helped me figure out what I wanted, even though you thought you knew what that was.”
“Watching you walk away fucking killed me, sweetheart. But your absence was what I needed to realize a few things.” He kisses my cheek and then my lips.
“First, my daughter is the luckiest girl in the world to have so many people in her life that love her, even if her biological mom isn’t one of them.
Watching Meghan walk away from her made something else click for me—how selfish I’d been to hold a grudge against my parents for leaving me, when I had two of the best foster parents a kid could have asked for. ”
“Carol and Nick are one of a kind, Henley. I could have told you that.”
“Yeah, well? I finally told them that I loved them. How’s that for growth?”
I gasp. “Are you joking?”
“I think you should know better than to assume I would joke about saying words like that.” Pulling him to me, I kiss him again—deeply and with every fiber of my body.
“You made me a better man than I was before you crashed into my life,” he breathes out when we part.
“I want to go to therapy, to bury these demons of mine once and for all. I feel like I can now, knowing you’ll be there cheering me on.
I’m yours, Elodie, in every essence of the word.
” He brings one of my hands to the center of his chest. “I’ve never asked someone to stay, but I want you to be the first. Will you stay with me?
And Remy? And give me the family I couldn’t imagine living without now? ”
“I love you so much, Henley Clark,” I whisper against his lips.
“Is that a yes?” he whispers back.
“What do you think?”
“I think you need to use your words.”
“I just did. How about you use yours?”
“I gave you all of mine, Elodie, even the ones that no one else got to hear.”
“Then I’ll give you mine for the rest of our lives. How does that sound?”
“It sounds like love.”
I rest my forehead on his again. “That’s exactly what it is, Henley. The type of love that songs are written about.”
***
“Mmmm.” The soft flick of a tongue against my clit pulls me from sleep. As my eyes flutter open, I see Henley staring up at me from between my legs. “Henley…”
“I’m here, baby. I had to fucking taste you again the second I woke up. Make sure this was real.” His tongue returns to my clit, slowly circling the nub before he slides one finger inside me.
A moan escapes me. “So good.”
“Fucking hell. This pussy is perfection,” he mutters against me. “Heaven under my tongue.”
I bury my hand in his hair as he licks me, exploring every inch of my most sensitive flesh. But I don’t want to come under his tongue. I want to come with him buried deep inside me.
Even though we had sex twice last night to make up for our time apart, I can’t stand the thought of not feeling this man between my legs again, of holding him in my arms and hearing those words fall from his lips again as he comes.
“I love you, Elodie.”
Yeah, I think those are my new favorite words in the world, and they don’t even need to be accompanied by music.
“Henley, I need your cock. Now…”
He lifts his head and crawls over me, sliding in with one slow thrust. “You need me buried inside of you again, huh, sweetheart?”
“Yes.” My back arches from the bed as his lips capture my nipple and tease the bud, his pace relentless as he thrusts deep and hard, filling me completely.
“This pussy was made for my cock, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“And you were made for me, Elodie.” My eyes find his again as his tongue darts out to wet his lips and he presses them to my own. “I love you,” he murmurs against my mouth. “I love you so fucking much.”
“God, I love you too.” My fingers run through his hair, tightening on the strands as he picks up his pace. “Fuck, I’m close.”
He reaches between us and rubs my clit with his thumb.
“I need to watch you come, Elodie. There’s nothing I want more than to watch you fall apart.
” He speeds up his movements, taking me higher and higher until I crash over the peak.
As I moan and scream through my release, his groans grow in volume until his voice draws out.
“Fuccckkk…” And then he collapses on top of me.
Once we’re spent and cleaned up, we return to the bed under the sheets with nothing between us, skin on skin. “Can we call Remy today?” I ask as I drag my nails through his chest hair. “I miss my baby bear.”
“She misses you too.”
“How do you know?”
Henley grows quiet for a moment. “The first night you weren’t there, she fought going to sleep. I knew she was confused because a part of her routine was gone—you. So, I found a clip online of you singing that song you wrote for her and played it for her. She fell asleep almost instantly.”
“Oh my God.” My eyes sting with tears. “Henley, I—I want to go back to Blossom Peak right now.”
His chuckle vibrates against my cheek. “I’m ready when you are, but I imagine you’re not finished here yet.”
“No,” I pout. “I have a few more meetings with the label, and then I have to fly out to Nashville.”
“What’s in Nashville?”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you last night.” I twist to face him, resting my chin on his chest. “My main point of contact will be in Nashville since they want me working with country artists, so even less of a commute. And that way I can still be Remy’s nanny.”
He drags a finger down my cheek. “I’m so fucking proud of you, Elodie.”
“Thank you. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“That’s not true. And by the way, Carol agreed to help with care for Remy when you have to work, so you can be in our lives, but not as Remy’s nanny. You’re my girlfriend moving forward.”
“But…”
“And one day, you’ll be more to my daughter than just my girlfriend, but we can talk about that later.”
Emotion clogs my throat, but I swallow it down. “I also didn’t get a chance to tell you this last night, but my song for Remy has already been secured for an artist. That’s what prompted Sandra to call me. The singer requested it.”
“Who is it?”
“I—I can’t say yet.”
He turns over, placing me flat on the bed beneath him. “But I’m your man. The secret privilege doesn’t count with me.”
“Is that so?”
“Yup. Official rule. I just made it up.”
“Well, I’ll have to check the by-laws.”
“Better get on that.”
Laughing, I stare up at him. “You know, before you, I sang about love but I didn’t fully understand it.”
“I never understood it until you, El.”
“But now that I do, I feel an endless supply of inspiration is coming.”
He reaches down and tests the wetness between my legs. “Oh, I can give you plenty of that, baby. In fact, I’d better get to work on that right now.”
“Henley!”
“Shut up and let me love you, Elodie.”
And so I do as I’m told, letting him love me the best way he knows how.