A blush tinted her cheeks and I could tell his opinion mattered to her. Too much. “What’s the song about?”
Auden smiled before looking at Cece like they shared a secret. “It’s about a guy and a girl falling for each other—”
“Aren’t they all?” I knew what he was getting at, and it was pissing me off. Cece wasn’t falling for this guy. She couldn’t be.
He chuckled. “I guess, but this one’s a little different. It’s edgier, talks about his obsession.” His eyes travelled over Cece’s face. “How he can’t get her off his mind.”
Cece’s father’s words came back to me.To know Cece is to love her.Damn. Sounded like this kid had it bad for my girl and it felt like my hands were tied. I’d only been hot for her, for like a minute. Not long enough to risk a friendship that spanned years. But if I didn’t speak up soon I’d risk losing her to this guy.
“Is that right?” I turned the pad towards me, scanning the words. “What do you think, Cece?”
She shifted in her seat, looking uncomfortable. “Of the song? I think it’s good.”
“Of the sentiment?” My eyes locked with hers. “How would you feel if a guy you’d just met became obsessed with you, couldn’t stop thinking about you, wanted to be with you all the time? Kinda creepy, no?” I knew I was being a dick, but I needed her to be the one to tell this dude to back off, since my message had clearly been too subtle.
She shrugged as her gaze drifted to Auden. “I don’t know. I guess it depends on whether the feeling’s mutual.”
Shit. That was not the answer I’d expected. “Reminds me of that Sting song from years ago.” I chuckled, not at all amused. “I’ll Be Watching You.” I looked at Auden. “Remember that one?”
He nodded. “Vaguely.”
“Yeah, you’re probably too young.” Another reminder that he was too young for Cece too. “You should listen to it. You’ll know what I’m talking about. It was a big hit for them back in the day. Good song. But I have a feeling if it were released today it wouldn’t be so well received. People are kind of sensitive about the whole stalking thing, rightly so.”
Auden rubbed his chin as he looked down at the lyrics. “You think this is the vibe I’d be sending out with this song?”
“I don’t think I’d risk it if I were you.” I curled my hands around the back of the chair in front of me. “Early days in your career, man. You might wanna walk the line for a while before you think about releasing anything too edgy.”
He looked at Cece. “What do you think?”
She looked from Auden to me and back again, like she was trying to figure out whether my advice could be trusted. “I don’t know. He is the expert. Maybe he’s right. Table this song for a while. You could always run it past your manager, maybe your label, see what they think.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” He leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Thanks for working on it with me though. It was fun.”
“It was.” She smiled so big her shallow dimples popped. “We should definitely collaborate again sometime.”
He stood, stretching. “I’m knackered. Been up all night working on this. I think I’ll grab a nap and shower before rehearsal.”
“Good idea.” That would give me some alone time with Cece.
“I’ll catch up with you guys later,” he said, before walking away.
“Not too soon I hope.” My voice was low enough that only Cece could hear, but she still smacked my back when I claimed the chair beside her.
“Be nice!” She looked over her shoulder. “He’s a sweetheart, Knox. And he idolizes you. You remember what it was like when you were in his shoes. Opening on your first tour, wanting to impress all the big dogs.”
She had a way of making me rein in my temper even when I didn’t want to. “I guess.” I pulled the pad closer, looking over his lyrics again. I had to admit they were pretty good, even if the subject matter creeped me out. “Doesn’t mean I have to blow smoke. If he says or does something I don’t like I’ll tell him.”
“What did he do that was so terrible?” she asked, spreading her arms. “We were just working on a song—”
“About his obsession with you.” I scowled. “Doesn’t that concern you?” That was the problem with Cece, she was too trusting. Wanted to see the best in everybody. I thought her experience with Leo would have cured her of that but she was a stone’s throw from the rabbit hole again. Too blind to see she could trip and fall right in.
“Oh please.” She laughed before taking a sip of her coffee. “You take everything so literally. We were getting into our roles when we wrote that.” She pointed to the page. “Pretending what it feels like to be so infatuated with someone you can’t get enough of them.”
I knew a thing or two about that. Hell, I could probably write a song like that about Cece. “And you don’t think he was thinking about you when he got inspired to write it?” Sometimes I could’ve sworn she was blind to the effect she had on men. Most were bumbling idiots around her, falling all over themselves to impress her, and she seemed oblivious.
“Who knows?” She stretched her arms over her head, drawing my attention to the cleavage peeking out of her low-cut white tank top. “I guess it’s a moot point now, isn’t it? Since you put the kibosh on the song.”
I licked my lips, trying like hell to draw my eyes up to her face. She didn’t make it easy. “For the record, I can’t put the kibosh on anything. His career, his decision.” But I sure as shit didn’t want to have to listen to him sing that garbage every night. Especially not with Cece listening backstage, knowing she was his muse.
