It wasn’t just sex. It was… transcendent. A perfect melding of bodies and souls, as natural as breathing.
The truth reverberates through me, one pure note resolving all the noise—I love her, and the echo leaves no fear behind. The thought should terrify me, send me running for the hills, especially since I’ve known her less than a week. But somehow, it feels right, inevitable, like a melody finding its way home.
Her warmth seeps into my skin, grounding me before thought can steal the moment.
Ana stirs, her eyes fluttering open. “Good morning,” she murmurs, voice husky with sleep.
“Morning, princess.” I brush a kiss across her forehead. “Sleep well?”
She hums contentedly, stretching like a cat. “Better than I have in years.”
Her gaze softens when she catches me watching. “You’re staring,” she teases, but her smile trembles around the edges, like she feels it too.
As we lie there, still glowing from the night before, I can’t help but marvel at how much we’ve both changed. Ana’s no longer the uptight, rule-bound woman who arrived at this cottage. She’s blossomed, embracing spontaneity and passion with open arms.
And me? The wall I built around my heart when my dad left is crumbling. Ana has wormed her way past my defenses, showing me it’s okay to be vulnerable, to let someone in.
“What are you thinking?” Ana asks, propping herself up on an elbow.
I trace lazy patterns on her skin. “Us. How far we’ve come.”
She smiles, a hint of mischief in her eyes. “I know, right? From reluctant roommates to… this.”
“Speaking of which.” What I’m about to propose is so bold, I almost lose my nerve. “I’ve been thinking about our music.”
Ana’s eyebrows raise. “Oh?”
Sitting up, excitement building, I explain, “What if we create something together? Not quite a symphony, not a rock opera, but… a fusion. Something that sounds like us—the way opposites crash, spark, and somehow find harmony.”
Her eyes light up. “Like a modern-day Pied Piper tale?”
“Exactly!” I say, a smile tugging at my mouth, amazed by how perfectly our minds sync. “We could incorporate elements of the legend—the outsider who is so different people fear him and how he uses the power of music to move people.”
Ana sits up, her mind clearly racing. “But how would we structure it? And what about your band? The logistics of combining a rock group with classical elements…”
“That’s the beauty of it,” I say, pulling her close. “We’d be creating something entirely new. Breaking all the rules.”
She laughs, the sound pure melody to my ears. “You really have corrupted me, haven’t you? A month ago, I would’ve balked at the idea of breaking any of the rules. Now I want to break themall.”
We spend the next hour hashing out ideas, our excitement growing with each passing minute. Ana asks all the right questions—about composition, orchestration, even marketing. It’s clear that her classical training and business acumen will be invaluable.
“We could debut it here in Hamlin,” I suggest. “Bring both our worlds together—your symphony crowd, my ‘rats.’ Show them that music transcends genres, that it can unite people from all walks of life.”
Ana nods enthusiastically. “Like the Pied Piper leading the children away—but instead of a tragedy, it’s a celebration. A coming together of different worlds.”
As we talk, I can already hear the music in my head—Ana’s ethereal flute weaving through my band’s driving rhythms, classical and rock colliding in a beautiful explosion.
“So,” I say, taking her hand, “are you in? Ready to create some musical magic?”
Ana’s smile is radiant. “Absolutely. Let’s show the world what happens when a classical princess and a rock-and-roll Pied Piper join forces.”
Pulling her in for a kiss, I feel like I could conquer the world. With Ana by my side, anything seems possible.
We’re not just writing a piece of music—we’re composing the score of us.
Chapter Twenty
Anastasia
