Page 80 of The Sound of Harmony

“Yes, you have,” Kendrick said. “Which is precisely why I’m shielding you from this. You do not need to hear me fiddle with the same measure sixty times.”

“Only sixty? And you call yourself a professional.” Emma eased off the gas as they neared campus. They were cutting through the university area to the movie theater on the other side of town, which was showing the latest Marvel movie. They usually watched quieter movies on smaller screens, but there was some appeal in popcorn flicks with the soundtrack that thumped through your chest and dialogue that was delivered at full volume.

“You know what I think?” Emma asked. “I think you want to preserve the illusion. You want to pretend that your music comes from pure inspiration instead of a lot of hard work. You want me to think of you as a genius artist.”

“I am a genius artist,” Kendrick said. “You’ve heard my compositions.”

“And I can guess the work that goes into them,” Emma said. They were stuck at a busy intersection with students crossing in both directions, getting their Saturday night started. A few of the girls were in short skirts and heels, but most were dressed casually in jeans and sweatshirts. The guys gave loud greetings along with fist-bumps while the girls squealed and hugged. On the opposite corner, an optimistic kid was busking, his saxophone case open at his feet as he wailed a jazz tune.

Emma inched her truck forward, trying to get an opening to turn before the light changed. “Is that really it?” she asked. “Is that why you don’t want me to hear?”

“No,” Kendrick admitted. “Not really.”

She sensed her opening and turned into it. “I’m not made of glass,” she said. “Hearing a musician write music isn’t going to shatter me.”

“That’s not it either.” Kendrick scooted closer and put a hand on her knee. “I want to surprise you. You inspire me. I honestly couldn’t have written this without you.”

“Sure you could. Don’t be silly.” Emma sped up as they left campus and its knot of pedestrians behind. “CPO is lucky to have you writing for them.”

“This could change everything for me,” he said so softly that she almost didn’t catch it. And yet, his meaning was so clear, he might as well have shouted it.

Emma had been bothered by Gwendolyn’s comment in the coffee shop, mostly because she was worried that her sister was right. But it wasn’t fair to blame Kendrick’s itchy feet. If he wanted a real career in classical music, he couldn’t stay. And she couldn’t leave. She’d made that mistake once, and once was enough. So they both danced around it, always talking about the future in vague terms. The words “someday” and “maybe if” were on both of their lips, but neither of them could quite come out and ask if their relationship could survive Kendrick’s next career move.

Emma’s phone trilled its generic ringtone. She’d plopped it in the cup holder, where she intended to leave it during the movie.

Kendrick looked at the screen. “It’s Mitch. I’ll put him on speaker.” He answered the call and held the phone up for her.

“Hey, Mitch,” Emma said. “If you have a new job for me, you’re going to have to email it to me. I’m driving right now.”

“I have news,” Mitch said. “Thanks to you, I made my biggest sale yet. That house on Oakbrook? I sold it for twenty thousand above the asking price.”

Emma gasped. “I just finished staging it yesterday.”

“And I showed it today,” Mitch said. “Not that I had to do much except unlock the door. The house basically showed itself. Everyone who walked through kept talking about how roomy it was. They were already imagining themselves moving in. ‘Our couch can go here,’ they’d say. Or ‘look at this linen closet!’ I even heard the words dream house. I had three offers by the end of the day so I started a little bidding war.”

“Congratulations, Mitch.”

“It’s all because of you. We make an excellent team, am I right? You make my job so much easier.”

Emma smiled. Next to her, Kendrick’s arm drooped, pulling the phone further from her. She propped one arm under his elbow to keep the phone steady as Mitch continued to gush.

“I’m thinking of requiring all my clients to use your services or I won’t work with them.”

Emma cut her eyes to Kendrick before looking back at the road. “Is that ethical?”

“Sure,” Mitch said. “I can set any conditions I want. If they don’t like it, they can hire a different realtor, right? But they’re going to like it because Bell Real Estate gets results. You can be my secret weapon.”

“I’ll only use my powers for good.” Emma pulled into the theater parking lot. “I’ve got to go. I’m catching a movie with Kendrick.”

“Oh,” Mitch said. “Tell him I said hi.”

“Hi, Mitch.” Kendrick’s arm was sagging again. Emma lifted it up. “Congratulations on the sale. Looks like drinks are on you.”

“Right, right. And thanks for letting me borrow your girlfriend. I hope I didn’t take up too much of her time.”

Kendrick let out a barely perceptible growl. “Emma’s time is her own.”

“That’s what I said.”