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Leah stayed where she was.
Zach laughed and pushed her gently in Billy’s direction. “I don’t think you’re getting out of this. It’s birthday serenade time.”
Oh God. She’d never really liked being the center of attention. She liked people just fine. She liked parties just fine. She just never wanted all the people at the party to be staring at her. But Zach was right. Billy wasn’t likely to quit until he got his way. She made her way over to him. He’d made himself at home on a chair beside the piano, guitar resting on one knee.
“Happy birthday, kiddo,” he said and launched into a flamboyant cascade of chords that morphed into a round of “Happy Birthday” that everyone joined in.
Zach was standing beside her and even though there was a room full of people around her, his voice was really the only one she focused on. Was there a little extra stress on “Dear Leah” as he sang? Or was she just an idiot who’d already had two margaritas too fast? But he’d organized this party for her …
The song ended and everyone cheered and then Billy started playing another Erroneous song about party girls and summer nights that had everyone clapping along and could have provided her the perfect cover to ease back out of the spotlight. But she stayed where she was besides Zach, not wanting to move away while everybody was too focused on Billy to notice her lingering next to him.
Billy ran through two more songs then paused, looking over to Zach. “How about you, Zach?” he asked. “Got a song you want to play for us? Maybe one of those new ones you’re working on?”
This got another cheer from the crowd. Which was kind of dirty pool on Billy’s part. If someone was working on new material, it was up to them to volunteer to share it or not. Zach was very still beside her and she wanted to tell him he didn’t have to, but Billy was holding out the guitar and everyone was making encouraging noises. Zach stepped forward and reached for the guitar. She wasn’t entirely convinced by the smile on his face. Billy vacated the chair with a grin that made her uneasy. Why was he poking at Zach?
Zach sat and then he said, “Well, maybe I can play something new. But I’m going to need some help. And it seems unfair to put the birthday girl to work, so, Faith, wanna help me out?”
Leah’s head whipped around, looking for Faith. She found her standing next to Caleb, eyes wide, obviously startled by Zach’s request. For years Faith had refused to perform in public. She’d broken that streak by agreeing to sing with Danny last year at CloudFest, but it wasn’t like she’d been going out of her way to repeat that performance. But as someone in the back of the room yelled “Yeah, Faith!” and someone else whistled, she smiled and went to join Zach, taking a seat at the piano.
Leah’s heart started to pound as Faith bent her head toward Zach and the two Harpers had a short, whispered conversation before Faith straightened and put her hands on the keys.
Zach cleared his throat. “So. Like most of you here, Faith and I have known Leah a long time. She’s always been there when we needed her and I, for one, know I’m a lucky son of a bitch to call her a friend. So, in honor of her birthday, the day on which Sal and Caterina managed to give us all someone very special, I want to play a song that she’s been helping me with.” He glanced over at Faith who was watching him with an intrigued expression. “So. This is “‘Falling Through.’”
The smile he directed at her as he started the opening chords—as familiar to her now as the lines of his face—made her heart clutch.
Not here. Not now.
That was all she could think, scared that she was going to give herself away. That she couldn’t stand here and listen to Zach singing a love song at her—to her—and pretend that all she appreciated about it was the music and not the man himself.
So she stood and smiled and tried not to look transfixed by him. And the fact that he was singing for her. Because he was. Yes, he was putting on a show. She didn’t think either he or Faith were capable of singing to a room full of people and not putting on a show, but he kept coming back to her, those sea-storm eyes finding her, that smile twisting in just the way he knew she was helpless against, his fingers putting in the extra little run on the opening line of the second verse that she’d tried to convince him to add, that voice working its magic.
Every girl’s dream. The drop-dead sexy rock star singing just for her, telling her he was hers.
She wanted to believe him. Oh, so badly. Even though she knew it wasn’t true. Knew he was going to leave. And, even worse, she realized that part of her did believe it. That despite all her good intentions and determination to be logical about this, somewhere, he’d snuck up on her again, crept under all those carefully constructed defenses. Made her do just about the dumbest thing she could think of.
Fall for him all over again.
Apparently she was really just that dumb.
Apparently Zach Harper was Leah’s kryptonite. The one who was going to drag her down to her doom. Or at least leave her world blown to smithereens when he took off back to where he belonged.
Not here.
Not with her.
And so, she listened to the song, wondering how it was possible to be so happy and so shattered at the same time. She managed to smile. She managed to applaud at the end with everyone else and make the right noises while Faith got up from the piano and came over to hug her. Resisted the temptation to bury her head against her best friend’s shoulder and confess just how dumb she’d been.
That wasn’t going to help.
So she watched Zach hand Billy back his guitar over Faith’s shoulder and then, after everyone’s attention started to drift away from him, went in search of another drink.
Chapter Sixteen
“You’re quiet,” Zach said many hours later as they drove back toward the Harper estate.
Leah turned back from the open car window. “Big night.” She’d been staring out at nothing in particular, pretending to be focused on the night sky. It was easier than talking to Zach. She’d managed to avoid talking to him for most of the rest of the party after his song. The whole being-the-birthday-girl-and-having-to-talk-to-everyone-who’d-showed-up routine was actually the perfect cover. She only hoped most of them had missed the fact that she was distracted, keeping half an eye out for Zach so that she could move out of his path when he appeared.
She hadn’t entirely succeeded. She’d wound up in the same small group as him a couple of times and had chatted and smiled and laughed like nothing was wrong. But she had avoided being alone with him until she’d realized that the only ones still left at the party other than Billy and Eli were herself, Zach, Faith, and Caleb. And while she was one hundred percent sure she could have begged a ride home from Faith and Caleb, she was also one hundred percent sure she didn’t want to explain to Faith why she was not going home with Zach. Which was how she’d wound up in the car with him, staring out at the darkness and wondering what the hell she was going to do next.
