Chapter 25 The Song Of Us #2
“If it isn’t Devin and his partner in crime!
” she exclaimed, loudly enough to make everyone else scatter.
No one dared come between Darcy and whomever she wanted to talk to.
“I’ve been dying to get in touch with you for months now.
” She pinched Sebastian’s arm. “I wanted to ask when I’d finally get a signed copy of your album, Devin.
It’s not like someone in the family becomes famous every day. ”
I glanced at him. She had used his first name twice now, yet he was still smiling at her. He leaned in, lowering his voice. “You have to keep that to yourself… we brought copies for everyone. But Mom asked us not to hand them out until later.”
Her eyes lit up. Her mouth tightened so much that her smile was nearly invisible. “Oh, I won’t.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “Scout’s honor.”
Sebastian winked at me, probably thinking the same thing as I was: everyone would know within fifteen minutes.
I understood why she was so excited, though. In the last six months, things had moved so quickly that I could barely keep up.
After our concert, Drake, the sound engineer, came up to us.
He said he had really enjoyed the concert and told us he had connections to a studio in L.A.
, where he was interning. He was looking for musicians who would let him hone his skills, as he had recently earned a degree in sound engineering and needed references to find better jobs than working as “the sound guy” at a bar.
More importantly—and he mentioned this twice—he genuinely liked our music.
We kept talking, and, as it turned out, the studio where he interned was the same one we had booked with funds from the crowdfunding campaign.
The following week, we met him again at the studio. It was small and right next to a graveyard, but affordable and well-equipped enough to get the job done. We actually ended up recording with Drake under his mentor’s supervision, and he did a great job.
Once we were finished, the studio owner approached us and asked if he could share our songs with a friend who had connections at a record label that might be interested.
From then on, things snowballed. Our new connections got us a meeting with a mid-sized record label in L.A.
, and when we met with their artists and repertoire team, they treated us like the next big thing.
They had already analyzed our social media following, and they were deeply impressed.
We had almost 100,000 followers at that point, and our numbers were growing rapidly thanks to the footage from our concert.
A week later, the label invited us over again, covering all expenses, including a hotel room, food, and a rental car.
They gave us a tour of their studios and, after some back-and-forth about our reluctance to relive what had happened to Sebastian the last time, they offered us a record deal that guaranteed our artistic freedom.
That night, we popped a bottle of champagne, held each other as we cried, and talked to Seb’s parents on the phone for hours, going through the contract together. The next day, we signed it.
While Sebastian had planned to move back to Seastone for my sake, things actually turned out the other way around.
Over the next few months, we re-recorded the entire album with proper equipment for the third time, took promo photos, and even shot a music video for the song we wrote on the day of our concert.
We rented our first apartment together and prepared for our media debut, which went more smoothly than any of us could have predicted.
By the end of the year, we had almost a million followers, and our first release made it straight to the top 50 of the U.S.
charts. The label was happy—but more importantly, so were we.
“I’ve always known you’d make it big someday,” Darcy said as she punched Sebastian’s shoulder. “I told your dad it was a mistake not to encourage you to keep going after your first attempt failed. But you know how difficult it is to get through to him, no matter how sound your reasoning is.”
Sebastian laughed it off, glancing around to see if his dad had heard, but when he saw him deeply engaged in a conversation with his brother-in-law, he relaxed.
“Now tell me!” Darcy’s eyes shifted to me. “Who seduced whom?”
My head suddenly felt ten degrees hotter.
While we had told Laura, Dany, and Mila, we hadn’t officially announced our relationship to anyone else, neither to the public nor the rest of the family.
The label knew, too, but they didn’t want to distract from our music, so it wasn’t mentioned in any announcements.
They hadn’t asked us to keep it a secret, but they didn’t want this to be the headline—at least, not yet.
Sebastian and I exchanged a look. Cold terror was written all over his face.
“I mean,” Darcy continued, “you said you were never going to make music again, so did Alex talk you into it?”
His chest rose, then he slowly exhaled with relief.
“It was mutual,” he said. “More like an accident.”
“Accidents can change the course of a life. Lucky for you, it was for the better! Well, I’m glad the two of you found each other.
I’ve never seen you so happy and relaxed, despite the full schedule you probably have now.
” She leaned in again. “And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone that you two aren’t just musical partners.
” With a sly grin, she spun around and moved on to her next victim.
Sebastian turned toward me, his eyes wide. “Of course, she knew,” he whispered. “Oh, man. I said it before, and I say it again: that’s exactly why I hate small towns. There’s absolutely no privacy.”
“But without Seastone, we wouldn’t have met. And eight months ago, you were all set to move back here.”
“Because of you!”
“Come on, you can admit it. You like it here, at least a little. I promise, we’re not moving back anytime soon unless things take another drastic turn.”
“Which can always happen, so no, I’m not admitting anything—even if you’re right.” He playfully threw his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into a headlock. We both giggled when Dany clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention.
“Well, everybody,” he said. “It’s good to be back together, and you know what that means.”
He pointed to the basket of candles on the table next to him and took one out, making it clear that everyone had to pick one up themselves this year. One by one, each family member made their way over, and so did we.
When it was my turn, I paused for a second, but Dany, still standing beside the basket, nodded at me.
“Come on, take one. I can’t wait to talk to you two.
” He pointed to Sebastian, who stood right behind me in line.
“And don’t even think I’ll talk to you at the same time.
We’ll have proper one-on-ones this year.
” He looked stern for another second before his lips couldn’t hide a grin any longer.
He gently patted me on the shoulder. “It’s nice to see you back here.
I can’t wait to hear all about your journey. ”
“Thank you,” I whispered as I pulled a candle out of the basket, my heart still thumping from his little ruse.
The plastic wrap rustled in my hands, blending with the growing chatter—but this time, I was prepared for it.
After our make-out session in our old room, I had put in the custom-made invisible earplugs I had bought for occasions like this, and as we walked away from Dany, Sebastian started quietly humming something for me to focus on.
I followed the sound of his hum to the table in the corner—the same one where we had met a year earlier—which was set a bit apart from the larger crowd. Mila was already sitting there with her candle burning.
“Come on, guys,” she said, waving us over. “It’s so rare that we get to see each other.”
We sat down on the bench opposite her, our backs to the rest of the family. Within a minute, our candles stood next to hers, burning brightly. The three of us stared into the flames.
“So, how have you been, Mila?” I asked.
“I’m doing well, thank you for asking,” she replied, glancing at Seb for a second before turning back to me.
“I’m not as successful as the two of you, but I can’t complain.
I’ve found my footing in New York. The magazine finally offered me a full-time position as an assistant editor, which is great. ”
I drummed my fingers on the table in excitement. “Wow, congratulations!”
“Thank you.” Her eyes drifted to Sebastian again, who was still looking into the flames. She glared at him, her expression growing more and more irritated until she rolled her eyes. “What are you sulking about now?”
“I’m contemplating something,” he said, staring for another second before looking up. “Mila, I’m happy for you, too. And…” He paused, breathing heavily as if his thoughts needed time to settle. “I’m sorry I wasn’t the easygoing, fun little brother I was supposed to be.”
Her mouth fell open. “You? Apologizing? Where is this coming from?”
“I’ve had some time to think over the past few months, and thankfully, I had the right person by my side to help me see where my anger was justified, and where I took it out on the wrong people.
” Under the table, his hand slid onto my knee, while he kept his gaze on Mila.
“You were one of the people who didn’t deserve it.
And… I want to thank you for still standing by me as best as you could. ”
“That’s…” Her eyes flickered up, as if she were about to tease him, but then she let out a breath.
“Of course. I’ll always kick your ass if you need it.
” She looked at the candles. “But I knew you’d come around.
And I knew you’d eventually find your footing.
The magic of the candles always works. I used to think they were bullshit, but four years ago, I blew one out, wishing for you to be able to do what you always wanted.
Just a month later, Alex showed up out of nowhere—and if that’s not proof the candles work, I don’t know what is!
To be fair, I didn’t wish for the two of you to get this close, but…
” She grinned. “I definitely should’ve seen it coming. ”
Maybe she was right, and the candles really did work.
Last year, I had wished the same for Sebastian, and he told me he wished I could find the love of a family again, too.
That might not have worked out the way he meant it, but it still did.
Here I was, a new member of the Drapers.
I still wasn’t carrying their last name, at least not yet, but that didn’t change the warmth and compassion they had shown me, especially over the past year.
“Thank you,” Sebastian said again. “Your wish made my greatest dream come true.” He squeezed my knee. “Because I’m so fucking in love with Alex, it’s impossible to describe.”
“I know!” Mila beamed. “You even wrote a song for him in your sleep.”
Sebastian’s mouth fell open. “How do you know that?”
“Assistant editors know things. It’s my job.” She shrugged. “I might have also pushed this story a little because it was the perfect angle to convince my boss to let me write an article.”
“No, official interview requests have to go through our management. Let me call Nora,” Sebastian said, taking his joke as far as possible by pulling out his phone. But as he unlocked it, he couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore.
As the conversation continued, he kept his hand on my knee, and I couldn’t resist, laying mine over his.
When our skin touched, he glanced at me.
We exchanged a smile, and while he turned back to his sister, I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
It was only when Mila left us to get a slice of cake that he noticed I was staring.
“What?” he asked after a few seconds of staring back.
“Nothing.”
“You sure?”
“I’m just happy.”
The smile on his face grew. He flipped his hand around and laced his fingers with mine. “I am, too.”
There was so much more ahead of us that we couldn’t even imagine.
In two days, we were heading back to L.A.
to meet with our label and discuss their plans for a tour scheduled for next year.
They had mentioned they could see us becoming popular outside the U.S.
, too. If that happened, we would soon be traveling the world together, just as Sebastian had always wanted.
If there was anything I could do to make that possible, then… My gaze drifted to the candle. Without thinking twice, I blew it out.
I wish for Sebastian to travel the world.
As the smoke curled toward the ceiling, Sebastian gasped.
“Wait! What happened? Was that an accident?” He turned his head, looking around for reactions from the rest of the family. “You’re supposed to talk to everyone first!”
“Sorry, but I already know who deserved this wish the most. I guess you’ll have to use yours to wish for your family to forgive me.”
“That’s not how this is supposed to work, but… ugh.” He leaned forward and blew his one out, too, his hand gripping mine tightly under the table. “Let’s hope no one saw that. Damn. Maybe we should get out of here. We should go talk to people and just act like we haven’t blown them out yet.”
He jumped up and pulled me with him toward his grandfather. It was sweet to see him so flustered, but I knew we had nothing to worry about. All we had to do was wait and let the candles work their magic.