Page 35 of The Sound of Harmony

ChapterTen

Saturday night, Emma was once again multitasking with Brooke, this time joined by Brooke’s fiancé. Theo grilled burgers on his deck while Emma toured his apartment, giving Brooke advice about what furniture to bring when she moved in.

“What about your soap?” Emma surveyed the kitchen, thinking about how to divide it in half. “Will you have room to make it here?”

“Don’t have to,” Brooke said. “My parents are letting me convert my apartment into a soaping studio. Can you believe it?” Brooke rented the apartment attached to her parents’ house at a scandalously low rate, which would probably be even lower once she wasn’t living there.

“Your parents are too nice,” Emma said.

“Shh,” Brooke said. “Don’t tell them.”

Theo carried a platter of burgers inside, bringing the scent of smoke and summertime with him. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

“Do you need any help?” Emma asked. “Should we set the table or something?”

“Nah, I’ve got it.” Theo started pulling condiments and salads from the fridge.

Brooke brushed a hand over Theo’s shoulder and down his arm. “Theo is also too nice.”

He gave her an affectionate squeeze. “You’re easy to be nice to.”

Emma smiled at her friends. It had taken her a long time to warm up to Theo. But now, she couldn’t imagine Brooke’s life without him in it. They were nothing alike. Brooke trusted her intuition more than she trusted gravity. Theo was a lawyer who didn’t believe in anything he couldn’t see, hear, and touch. And yet, somehow, they were better together than either of them could ever be alone.

“How are things with you, Emma?” Theo asked when they’d taken their places at the table and filled their plates. “I hear you’re cleaning out a house for a musician.”

Emma nodded. “Brooke told you?”

“I tell him everything,” Brooke said.

“Is the musician famous?” Theo asked. “Have I heard of him?”

Emma shrugged and took a bite of burger. How was she supposed to know who Theo had and hadn’t heard of?

“I’m assuming you Googled him,” Theo said.

“Of course I did.” Google had way too much information, too easily accessed. But who knew how much of it was true? It had been over a year since Emma had searched her own name on the internet, but she knew what was out there. Entertainment was more potent than truth, especially when one side talked to the press and one side did not.

“She says it doesn’t matter,” Brooke said. “Isn’t that right, Emma? It doesn’t matter how famous Kendrick is. Or isn’t. It just doesn’t matter.”

“Not to me.” Emma had never seen Kendrick perform, and had never seen other people play what he’d written. She was getting to know Kendrick Bell the man, not Kendrick Bell the musician.

Fame had its own pull, and it was easy to fall under its spell. Her ex-husband had that kind of magic about him. Whether it was fifty thousand people at a concert or five people on the tour bus, Jonah was the center. He didn’t grab attention so much as absorb what was willingly given. It went beyond talent, although Jonah certainly had plenty. He’d somehow convinced the world that everything was better when the spotlight was on him. And the world agreed.

Emma had been content to share that adoration. And it was beautiful for a time, as long as there was an audience to provide light and heat. But it was unsustainable. They couldn’t remain permanently inside that bright bubble. The lulls between albums became tense. And then dangerous.

“Do you have a plan yet?” Brooke asked, leaning across the table, her eyes shining. She often jumped ahead in the conversation, assuming you’d kept up with the wild leaps her brain made.

“For what?” Emma looked around Theo’s apartment. “You mean, for your furniture?”

Brooke picked up her burger, acting casual. “For when Kendrick moves here.”

Emma stabbed a bite of potato salad. “No. Because I don’t need a plan.”

Brooke and Theo exchanged a silent look of couple’s telepathy.

Emma dropped her fork and covered her mouth with her napkin. “Oh God,” she said from behind the fabric. “You told him that too?”

“She talks, I listen.” Theo scooted his chair closer to Brooke’s. “That’s how it works.”