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“I guess that’s the best any of us can do.” He extends a leg, setting the swing to a gentle sway.
“Thank you for listening.”
“Do you want me to go?”
I lean my head back, my neck resting against his arm behind me. I should tell him to leave. He needs his rest, and I don’t need to be developing tender feelings for another musician.
“Stay, for just a little bit?”
He nods, and we rock back and forth in silence.
ChapterSeventeen
Luke
The sun is kissing the horizon when Laila and I make our way up and over the hill to where the bonfire is being held.
It’s a little cool, but the fresh air is energizing. The past week has involved a lot of sitting or standing around and very little time for exercise other than vocal.
Laila skips ahead on the packed dirt path, spinning around in a circle, her arms spread wide. She stops and faces me, arms still extended. “Don’t you just want to live here forever?”
I chuckle at her exuberance. “Forever is a long time.”
She sighs and jogs back to me, linking her arm in mine. “It is, but this place is like . . . magical.”
“You only think that because you found your inspiration here after having writer’s block for an eternity."
She laughs. “Maybe. But I think it’s more than that. It’s the fresh mountain air, it’s quiet that only comes from being surrounded by nature, and it’s the energy of the people who live here. Like it’s one of those mystical places, you know, Sedona or Mount Shasta or something. I feel so vibrant.” She squeezes my arm. “I’m so glad we met. It was kismet, Taylor sending Ursula that video.”
“Maybe it was,” I murmur.
We went from being unsure if an album would even happen to what feels like near stardom overnight.We. Mindy and I. Of course, it’s my face and voice that have been plastered all over the Internet, but she was the impetus.
I wanted to kiss her last night so badly it was like a physical ache. I still want it so badly I can almost taste it—taste her—on my tongue.
“It was definitely kismet that led you to Mindy,” she adds, nudging me with her elbow. “There is so much built-up tension between you two I could jump on it like a trampoline.”
“It’s not like that.”
But I want it to be.
The errant thought strikes like a lightning bolt.
This isn’t the first conversation we’ve had like this. Laila’s been teasing me about Mindy since about day two. She’s convinced we make calf eyes at each other every time the other isn’t looking.
“So you’ve said.” She rolls her eyes, clearly unimpressed at my blatant lie.
“Even if there was something between us, you know I can’t do anything about it because of her past. You know what she’s been through.”
She snorts. “You are not Blake Bonham, and I mean that in the best possible way. He’s a total piece of shit. Don’t worry.” She smacks me on the shoulder. “I’ll talk to her.”
“Please don’t.”
“Relax, Romeo. I won’t even mention you. It will just be a little girl talk to assure her that she doesn’t need to let her past dictate her future.”
“I’m not sure—”
Pounding footsteps sound behind us along with a feminine peal of laughter and the distant hum of golf carts.
