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CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT
Aurelia
“Thanks for doing this Luca,I appreciate it.” We step out of the sedan and make our way to the golf buggies. We’re returning from the fifth and final private gig in Miami that Chuck had scheduled, and I’m pretty beat.
“No problem. Your management’s security took over at the venue anyway. I was able to watch the show and actually enjoy it. It was pretty intimate. Do you prefer the smaller venues?”
I throw a bag into the back and hop onto the passenger seat next to him. “Usually, yes. These corporate gigs, not so much. They’re full of drunk salespeople who didn’t need to buy themselves a ticket. Not all of them are fans. I love performing but it’s much more rewarding when it’s for people who’ve saved up their money to see me, or they’ve bought all my records and it means something to see them performed live, you know?”
“I hadn’t thought of it like that,” Luca admits, backing out of the parking lot and ambling the golf buggy towards the south shore. “Gotta pay the bills though, I guess.”
“Exactly,” I grin. This was the only gig Isaac hasn’t accompanied me to, and as much as I enjoy Luca’s company—he’s closer to my age for a start, and at least knows who Billie Eilish is—I missed Isaac. I’ve missed him for days. Goading him into sleeping with me was both the best and worst thing I could have done. Best, because I now know what everyone’s talking about. Sex is better than anything else—if you’re doing it right—and Isaac knows everything about doing it right. But worse because I’ve simply shown myself what I can’t have. I will never be enough for Isaac. I’m not old enough, wise enough or otherwise attached, and I’m certainly not going to make myself unavailable again just so he’ll look seriously at me.
Isaac didn’t argue with me when I confronted him with that truth, which only confirmed what I had figured out. He can’t bring himself to get involved with someone who might leave him, like his father did when he killed himself, and like his mother did when she left him with his grandmother. I wouldn’t blame him for going back to Paris. She’s beautiful, refined, mature and, crucially, unattainable—everything he wants in a woman. When I finally reached the Dolphin suite after Connor’s proposal, Isaac had already left, and the rest of them were cagey about his departure. They are nothing if not loyal. Even now, when I press Luca for any information at all about Isaac, he remains resolutely neutral.
“How many more shows before the residency ends?” Luca asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Just three.”
“Oh yeah, of course. Your birthday is on Thursday, right? The night of your last show?”
“Yup. I’ll be twenty-years-old. Officially an adult, according to Grams.”
“Grams?” Luca glances at me before pulling the golf buggy round a corner onto the road alongside Reef Street, or the ‘retirement village’ as the staff fondly call it.
“My grandmother. She set up a trust for the rights to all my music. It’s all transfers to my business the day I turn twenty.”
“Will that change anything? I mean, will you suddenly have more money than you know what to do with?” He smirks then throws me a wink. “Asking for a friend.”
I chuckle. “Not money exactly, but I could sell the rights to my music if I wanted to. It could be worth a lot.”
“Wouldn’t you miss out on future royalties? I’m not sure how it works.”
I would have said the same a few weeks ago, but since Isaac gave me the bank statements and passwords, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve had to. “I’d no longer receive the royalties for the songs I sell the rights to, but I’ll continue to earn royalties on new material and live performances. The benefit in selling the rights now would be a large cash injection. Probably a few hundred million.”
“What?” Luca accidentally jabs the brake sending us both slamming into the front of the buggy. “Shit. Sorry. I mean, are you kidding? That’s huge!”
“Yeah, it is. But it doesn’t make sense for me to do that yet. I don’t need that kind of money right now. I’m not sure who does, to be honest. It would make more sense for me to wait until I’m older before I consider selling the rights.”
Luca makes a whistling sound through his teeth then turns the golf buggy into a parking space by the beach.
“Will you stay around for a while after the residency ends?” He climbs out and grabs my bag from the back.
“I don’t know yet.” I already know the answer but I can’t tell anyone. There are so many details to iron out and I’m still relying on two people who can help me finalize my plan. It’s going to change my life and the lives of everyone around me, so other arrangements are hard to make right now. I follow Luca down the path to the boardwalk and wait as he opens the gate. “I’m going to miss this place.”
“This place is going to miss you,” he replies, arching an eyebrow as I pass. “Will you sing for us one more time? Maybe behind the wall one night? I’m sure Ché and Camiro will make it worth your while in mojitos.”
I laugh. “Now there’s an offer I can’t refuse.”
“Maybe the day after your birthday. We could hold a kind of birthday/end of residency celebration for you.”
“That sounds like a plan,” I grin.
We walk the rest of the way in comfortable silence, the only noise coming from the quiet sea lapping at the struts holding the boardwalk above sea level. We pass four villas before reaching the Morrison. Then, just as Luca swipes the door unlocked, another one opens. I turn towards the Hemingway villa at the end of the boardwalk and see a familiar figure emerge. His sexy, cheeky smile drops the minute he sees my face. As he steps outside to close the door, I see her. Our eyes meet and she stares back at me, her filled face devoid of everything but a hint of smugness. My insides twist and I want to cry, but I hold it together as I step inside the villa.
“Can I get you a drink?” I ask Luca. My mouth is suddenly as dry as a desert. I head straight for the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water.
“No, I’m good, thanks. I’ll leave you to it, shall I?”
