“True.”
“If you really want me to back off, I will. I honestly thought there could be something happening between you and Riley, and I thought I was helping by suggesting she stay with you.”
“And saving your own ass because you had no other room for her,” I add, but with no bite to it.
He smiles sheepishly. “That too.”
I should keep my mouth shut and let the conversation die here. But for some inexplicable reason, I find myself sighing again and offering him a bit of the truth. “You’re not wrong about something happening with us. Nothing has, but... it could. Maybe. At least, on my end, I might want it to, but I don’t know about her. I’m not saying she’s—”
“It’s okay,” he says, saving me by cutting me off again. “You don’t have to tell me. But I promise if you do want to tell me anything, I can keep my mouth shut. I wouldn’t go blabbing gossip all over town.”
“Thanks.”
“And you probably think I’m just nosy like everyone else around here, and that I like to pry into everyone’s business, but that’s not me. I genuinely want to be your friend, and it seems like you haven’t really made any other friends besides me and Travis here, so if you ever need someone to talk to about anything, it doesn’t have to be your love life...”
It’s easier to give him a real smile now. “If I do, I’ll talk to you.”
He grins and does a pretend hair flip. “Oh my gosh, did we just become besties?”
“I hate you.”
“No, you don’t!”
Rolling my eyes, I admit, “Fine, I don’t. But don’t get any ideas about us having sleepovers and painting each other’s nails, okay?”
He’s laughing as he pours himself another cup of coffee and takes it out of the kitchen.
Thedinnerservicewasn’tnearly as busy as lunch, so by the time I’m done with the cleanup and ready to leave, I’m feeling more relaxed than earlier. I also had time to notice during the slow dinner that Riley didn’tshow up in the dining room to eat. And that doesn’t bother me, of course. She probably went out with her brother. That’s nice for her.
As I’m leaving, I decide I’ll go out the back way and take a lap around the porch. Because it’s a nice evening, and I’ve been inside all day. The fresh air is good for me. It’s not so I can check if a certain singer is hanging around outside.
But when I head down the small corridor toward the back, my ears pick up the faint sound of music playing. It doesn’t seem like the radio. It’s an instrument. A piano.
The inn’s ballroom that we rent out for functions is back here, and as I get closer, I realize the music is coming from there. The double doors are closed, but I’m certain there’s nothing happening in the room tonight, so curiosity getting the better of me, I slowly open one door and cautiously peek my head inside.
What I find probably shouldn’t surprise me, but for a few moments, I stand there frozen, taking in the sight of Riley sitting behind the grand piano in the corner of the room. Her long hair is loose, cascading in red waves down her back. And her head is bent, making some of the hair fall over her shoulders as she focuses on the keys.
She hasn’t noticed me, so I watch her for longer than I should, letting the beautiful music she’s playing wash over me. The melody sounds familiar, but I can’t place it.
I still can’t make my feet move, can’t slip back out of the room and walk away. Especially when she starts singing. I recognize it now as a Sam Smith song. Her voice somehow glides under my skin, making my entire body vibrate with it. And now when I finally move, it’s not to leave the room, but to step farther into it.
She’s like a damn siren. One of those mythological creatures who use their voice to lure people to their doom.
That must be it. That’s why I’m being drawn to her against my will.
I close the door behind me as quietly as I can, and she still doesn’t hear.It’s not until I’m standing behind her and a bit to the side, in her peripheral vision, that she turns her head toward me and startles, hitting a note that sounds wrong before she stops playing altogether.
“I’m sorry,” she says, eyes wide. “Was it too loud? I kept the lid closed, so I thought I could keep the sound down and not disturb anyone. But I shouldn’t be in here, right?”
“It’s fine,” I tell her. Then I shrug. “Or really, it’s not my call, because I don’t run the place. But it sounded good. I can’t see why anyone would be bothered by it.”
She shakes her head, moving to stand. “I’ll stop.”
I step closer and reach out to touch her bare shoulder before I can think better of it, nudging her back down to the bench. “You don’t have to.”
“Are you sure?” she asks, gazing up at me with hopeful, soulful eyes.
Giving her a reassuring smile, I say, “I’d like to hear more. Is it okay if I sit?”
