Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
“What’s got you blushing, sassafras?” Emmie asks as she climbs into my little Volvo.
The text Will sent me just before I left the house flashes through my mind. Who knew underneath that cocky swagger was a gooey cinnamon roll romantic? “I might have a hot date this weekend.”
“Does this date happen to be with the captain of the football team? Six four, dark blue eyes, panty-melting smile?”
I laugh this off, even though she’s right. My panties haven’t stood a chance. “That’s the one.”
“Have he and Theo made up yet?” Emmie asks I head for the swimming hole.
“Kind of?” I shrug. Though things were tense between us after the tennis team party, Theo’s so busy with his summer job at a PT clinic and getting ready for college that we barely see each other.
And I’m plenty busy with my own stuff—Morgan and Boxcar, summer youth symphony, and spending time with William.
“Now that you guys are head over boots,” Emmie says, “you’d think he’d come around.”
I smile. “He’s my big brother. Protective till the end. ”
The biggest surprise was Dad. I thought he’d drop some kind of warning about teenage boys only wanting one thing, yadda yadda, but he just looked into my eyes and asked, “Does he make you happy?” It made me feel trusted, and free at the same time.
“I hear Nic Salazar’s coming back to the Limelight this fall,” she says. “Is Boxcar gonna open again?”
Nic signed with Valhalla and is probably going to record an album soon. “No, but he’s promised Mo an invite to the Midsummer Night’s Jam at Creekside next summer.”
“Wow, think your dad will let you go this time?”
“If Morgan stays out of trouble.” Even if the idea of playing at a venue like Creekside makes me anxious, I’ll do it for Morgan—for all of us.
William is waiting for me in the Pavilion parking lot after summer youth symphony, leaning against the hood of his truck in a pair of jeans and a charcoal gray T-shirt, revealing sculpted arms that are already tanned. His deep blue eyes brighten as he takes me in with a lazy smile.
“Hi, gorgeous.”
“Hi,” I breathe as he leans in to kiss me.
My lips meet his in a soft caress that quickly turns heated.
I can’t help it. He smells like pepper and citrus.
The craving to touch him everywhere sends my thoughts tumbling end over end.
I cradle the back of his neck, keeping him close.
His soft tongue chases mine, igniting a little spark inside me.
It grows as we kiss, our lips hungry, impatient.
When he leans back, he’s panting. “Why is it every time I kiss you, I can’t get enough?”
I draw him back for another kiss, swirling my tongue with his. “Because we’ve been storing them up for so long.”
He breaks away again, and slides his hand into mine. “Let’s go, blackbird. I have plans for you today.”
“Do those plans include more kisses?” I let him lead me down the porch steps.
He flashes me a devastating grin. “Yep. Promise.”
At his truck, he opens the passenger door for me and tips the seat forward so I can stow my violin and my bag containing my swimsuit and a towel, then helps me up. I steal another kiss, my fingers in his hair. He caresses my waist, his touch lighting me up.
With a groan, he pulls back. “I need you all to myself.”
“I like the sound of that.”
He grins, a wicked gleam in his eye.
“How do you know what notes to play?” William asks, propping himself up on his elbow. We’re lying on a faded quilt, shaded by the lanky cottonwoods edging the river, our skin already dry from our swim. The shadows have grown long but the summer air is warm and sultry.
I cock an eyebrow. “It’s called reading music, QB.”
He laughs, his whole face lighting up. “So you just memorize every single note?”
I’ve been reading music since I was five. “You memorize plays, right?”
He caresses my forehead and tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “Play something for me.”
“Why?”
He laughs again. “Please?”
Is he for real? I bite my lip, thinking it over. “I have a solo I’m working on.”
“Hell yeah,” he says, drawing me close for a kiss.
A soft breeze tickles my skin and turns the light dancing through the leaves above us into a kaleidoscope of colors.
His lips embrace mine, tugging playfully, but just as I reach for his waist to steady myself, he breaks away and rolls to his feet, giving me a moment to drink in his muscular back and strong legs, the broad shoulders and trim waist.
“Nice farmer tan,” I say to quiet the rush of blood in my ears.
He glances over his shoulder, grinning. “I make it look good, don’t I?”
I scoff but my heart is like a bouncy ball inside my chest. Does he see the stars in my eyes when he looks at me like that?
While he lifts my violin from his truck, I pull my sundress on over my bikini and shake out my still-damp hair.
He sets the case down on the edge of the blanket and lowers to his side, propped up again.
“Why’d you choose the violin?” he asks as I take everything out of the case and the sheet music from the pocket.
“My kindergarten teacher always had instruments we could play with, like during free time or even at recess.” I shrug. “I tried them all, but I kept coming back to the violin.”
“Guitar’s recent though, right?”
“Yeah, that’s mostly because of Morgan. I mean, I’ve played it since like fifth grade. And Dad plays, but Morgan’s got such a pretty voice. It made sense that we could play and sing.”
His eyes brighten with curiosity. “Did Mo want to play both instruments because of you?”
I prop up the sheet music against the case. “Yeah. We did everything together when we were little.”
“I get that,” he says with a smile. “I wanted to be just like Zach when we were growing up.”
“Did he play football too?” I picture two little boys, legs pumping through tall grass, shouting to each other as the ball flies through the air, the Alaska midnight sun hovering on the horizon.
“Yep. And baseball.”
A flutter of nerves tingles up my stomach as I perch upright on my knees and pick up my violin and bow. “Don’t watch.”
He scoffs. “That’s the whole point.”
With a huff, I tuck the chinrest into place and check the tuning, the vibrations thrumming through my body.
“You watch me play all the time,” he says.
“That’s different.”
He reaches out to gently pinch my thigh, making me laugh.
“It’s just over two minutes long. Think you can sit still that long?”
“You’re cute when you’re sassy, you know that?”
“Will!” I lower my violin to glare at him.
He laughs. “I make no promises, but I’ll try.”
I can’t help the smirk on my face while warming up the strings.
“How do you know how fast to play?” he asks.
“See where it says allegro assai at the top?” I ask, pointing with my bow. “That means quick, lively.”
He points to the circle and crosshairs symbol near the bottom. “What’s that?”
“It’s a coda. It brings the piece to a close.”
He shoots me a confused look. “Then why isn’t it at the end?”
“It signifies the section that gets repeated to create the ending.” I lift my bow, waiting for him to shut up, but he grabs his sweatshirt to use as a pillow and lays back, his hands tucked behind his head.
I can’t help laughing. Comfortable? my look asks.
“Play for me, blackbird,” he says in that tone that turns my stomach to mush.
I focus on the music and try to shift my mind’s gears away from wanting to kiss my way up his body and toward bringing this beautiful piece of music to life.
Playing Vivaldi is like dancing with my fingers, and it’s not long before I’m sucked into the playful tempo and bright, joyful notes humming through my bones.
The shushh of the distant river and the soft breeze teasing the tall grass fades to the background.
I’ve seen pictures of myself playing so I know there’s a serious crease in my right eyebrow and my lips twitch in concentration.
I also can’t help the way I sway. I once tried to be still but it was like playing with my feet in a bucket of ice water.
When I draw out the final note, I risk a glance at Will. His gaze lifts to mine, and what I see in his eyes makes my heart soar into the cosmos. It’s like he’s observing something precious.
Like he sees me . Nobody’s ever looked at me like this.
I try to play it cool with a little bow.
He rolls up and takes my violin and bow from me, placing them gently in the case, then his lips are on mine and his hands are in my hair. “That was fucking amazing.”
A soft laugh tumbles free. “Thank you.”
“I mean it,” he says, kissing my cheek while running his hands down my back. “And fucking hot.”
I laugh again, the last of my nerves shaking down my limbs with it. “I love you.”
He leans back, surprise and a look of such joy shining in his eyes.
“Sorry, I…you don’t have to say it back.”
He cradles my face. “I want to. I love you, Charlotte. I have for a while. I…didn’t want it to scare you.”
Emotions I can’t contain rise up through me like a bright, beautiful wave. “Why would that scare me?”
“Because it…scares me a little.”
I kiss him, sinking into the feel of his arms around me, his warmth and the love growing between us.
“Later, I want you to play that song again,” he says, kissing the sensitive patch behind my ear. The spot he knows drives me crazy.
“Why later?” I pant, my thoughts turning hazy.
He lowers me to the blanket, gazing down at me with those vibrant blue eyes. He caresses the side of my face with the back of his fingers, slowly, watching me with so much adoration, I feel stripped raw. And while yeah, it’s scary, it thrills me just as much.
Will gives me his sultry grin. “Because I’m going to keep you a little bit busy for a while.”