Hitting the Right Note

by Rhonda Bowen

  “JJ?” Nigel echoed, confused. “What are you doing here? Where is who?”

  “Simon!” she almost shouted. “Where is Simon?”

  Nigel’s face fell and his eyes filled with sympathy. “Oh, JJ. I’m sorry. He’s going to—”

  “Malawi,” JJ finished, nodding frantically. “I already know. But I need to know where he is right now, at this minute.”

  Nigel ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know—his house? Maybe on the way to the airport . . .”

  She perked up and her hands tightened around his arms. “He was going home first?”

  Hope sprang into her heart.

  “Maybe,” Nigel said. “I’m not sure. He just worked a twenty-hour shift with that delivery, so I assume he would go home, grab a shower or something before he left . . .”

  “Thank you!” JJ said as she raced back to her car. “You know what time his flight is?”

  Nigel shrugged. “Not sure. Just know it was an overnighter. He wanted to be out of here . . . uh . . . quick.”

  JJ saw the embarrassment on Nigel’s face as he realized exactly what he had let slip. But JJ didn’t care. She released the parking break and began to maneuver around Nigel’s car.

  “He’ll have to go through me first,” she threw back as she peeled out of the parking area.

  Highways became her friend as she sped north on the Don Valley Parkway toward the 404 expressway. The DVP was a pain in the behind for anyone trying to get out of Toronto in a hurry. But since it was after seven p.m., she had managed to avoid the rush hour. Nonetheless, JJ felt like she wasn’t moving fast enough. Every minute she was on the highway was another minute when Simon could be slipping out of her reach.

  How could she have been so stupid? How could she not have seen it all along? She had everything she needed right here. The people who loved her, a city that would nurture her as she grew her career, and a man who was willing to put down roots for her. Yet she was willing to give that up for the chance at a fast life that would probably take more from her than it would give. It had taken seeing her nephew come into the world, seeing the miracle of creation, for her to realize it. There had been more meaning in that moment than there had been in her whole year. And she wanted more of those moments. But she wanted them with Simon.

  It felt like forever, but she finally pulled into the driveway of Simon’s Uxbridge home. Forgetting the keys in the ignition, she stumbled out of the car and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of his Jeep in the open garage. She ran up the steps and banged on the front door.

  No answer.

  She knocked again, this time for longer and with more intensity.

  The door flew open.

  “Did you forget somethi . . . Oh. Hello.”

  JJ stared into huge brown eyes that were not Simon’s.

  “Who are you?”

  The woman at the door cocked her head to the side, the dark, spongy dreads in her high ponytail brushing her bare shoulders. Her full lips stretched wide, framing her cool coffee features into a smile that filled her whole face.

  “You must be Judith,” she said. Carved wooden bangles jingled happily as she stretched out her slim, unmanicured hand to JJ. “I’m Rashida, Simon’s cousin.”

  JJ took the woman’s hand absently. “How’d you know I was. . . never mind. Where is he? Where’s Simon?”

  The same look that she had seen on Nigel’s face less than an hour earlier was replicated in Rashida’s eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “You just missed him. He came back, got his stuff, then left for the airport.”

  JJ raked both hands through her hair as nausea crept through her. She had missed him. Probably passed him on the highway. Maybe even on the road into Uxbridge.

  “I would call him, but he left his cell phone here,” Rashida said. “I won’t hear from him until he lands early tomorrow morning. I’m sorry . . .”

  So he was gone. Completely gone. Catching him at home had been her last-ditch effort, but it had proved fruitless. Finding him at the airport would be near impossible. She didn’t even know his flight time or gate number. And even if she somehow figured it out, by the time she rushed across the city to Pearson International, he would have passed through check-in and into the restricted area of the airport where she would have no access to him.

  It was time to accept the truth. It was over.

  She thought she mumbled thanks before she trudged down the steps to her car, but she couldn’t be sure. She was just so overwhelmed. She pulled the car out of the driveway under the sympathetic eye of Rashida and headed down the road, back toward the highway. But when she got to the end of Simon’s road, she had to pull over, her eyes so blurred with tears that she couldn’t see.

  She was a mess. She knew that. But there was nothing she could do about it. She rested her head against the steering wheel, too weak to do anything else. She was so tired. Tired of being disappointed. Tired of realizing too late what was really important. Tired of chasing something that seemed constantly unreachable. If only she had wasted less time mired in the land of uncertainty. If only she had walked away from Franklin and Forbes, and Rayshawn, and Sound City, the first time she saw the flashing red lights of her heart, instead of waiting until everything was burning down around her.

  “God, I’m sorry for waiting so long to come back to you,” she whispered. “Thank you for waiting for me anyway. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but this time I’m going to wait for you to bring it to me.”

  She put her head back against the seat and lifted her eyes to where a full moon filled the night sky. It was so clear and beautiful in the absence of all the smog and streetlights and distractions of the city. She could see why Simon loved it here. In a place like this she could meet God, have the quiet time with him that she needed to refresh her soul. She closed her eyes and let the rays of soft white light wash over her. The tears stopped. Her breathing leveled out. The queasiness in her stomach settled. It was going to be okay.

  Chapter 50

  It took a few more minutes before she felt strong enough to start the ignition again and pull off the curb into the road. This time she made it to the highway. She considered going back to the hospital, but she knew she was still too fragile to deal with anyone else for the rest of the night. So when the exit for her home came in sight, she gladly took it. The one good thing about the night was that, with the excitement of Dominique’s birth, everyone would be at the hospital and she would have the house to herself.

  The night was cool and welcoming as she got out of her parked car, and so instead of going straight inside, she sat on the curb near the street. JJ smiled to herself. Jackie would have a fit if she saw her now. She hated when her girls sat on the ground outside. She would scold JJ, Sydney, and Lissandra from the front door when the three of them used to sit on the curb as teenagers and watch the boys from the block play street hockey during the summer. During those days, their only concern was escaping the wrath of their mother, and so they would be sure to sit a few feet away from the driveway, behind the rosebushes, so their mother couldn’t see them from the front window.

  Simon would love a story like that. He had had so few of those normal moments of childhood that he always loved hearing about all of hers. She closed her eyes. She could almost feel him next to her, catch the slight, fresh smell of citrus that she often enjoyed when she was around him. She sighed and opened her eyes. She had it bad.

  “Bet your mom would have a fit if she saw you sitting on the ground like that.”

  The sound of his voice doubled her heartbeat and set off a quiet symphony inside JJ that grew louder and louder with every stir of emotion. She trembled, hoping that her senses weren’t playing some cruel trick on her. But she was too scared to turn around to check. If she was just imagining him there . . .

  She felt the air shift next to her.

  “Judith.”

  Her name on his lips was the combination to open the lockbox of her emotions. She c
ouldn’t stop her body from turning toward him, her eyes from devouring every feature of his beautiful face, lit by the moonlight. The music grew louder.

  “I thought you left.”

  He reached over and with gentle fingers wiped a renegade tear from her cheek.

  “I thought you left,” he echoed softly.

  “I did,” JJ said, leaning into his hand. “I got all the way to Boston before I realized that it wasn’t what I wanted.”

  “And what do you want?” he asked, peering into her eyes with his soulful ones.

  JJ closed her eyes for a moment, realizing suddenly what song she was hearing. It was her song, “I’m Yours.” The one that she had sung for millions but had never sung honestly until this moment.

  “I want to be where God wants me to be,” she said, committing to the words anew as she sat on her curb with Simon. “I want to do what he wants me to do. I want to be his completely.”

  It was so liberating to say those words out loud. She let out a breath that she felt like she had been holding forever. A breath that freed her to let go of her need to have a picture-perfect future; a breath that left her room to breathe in all the uncertainty and all the unimaginable possibilities God had in store for her.

  “What about your career?” he asked with concern. “The tour extension, the new contract?”

  JJ shrugged. “I signed Rayshawn’s name instead of my own. If I’m going to be God’s completely, I have to choose him first. And with the life that contract was offering me, I couldn’t do that.”

  He nodded. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  She reached over and rested her hand on his arm. “Your turn.”

  She watched his jaw flex as he wrestled with what to say.

  “I got all the way to the airport. But I couldn’t go.”

  “No?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I wanted to. I really did.” He paused to look at her. “But there was something I wanted more.”

  JJ smiled as the music in her heart began to swell. “What did you want more, Simon Massri?”

  His eyes roamed over her face for what felt like forever.

  “You.”

  JJ felt like someone had taken ten-pound weights off her shoulders, allowing her to fly free. Simon Massri wanted her! He had changed his plans again, for her! This time there was no way that she would let him get away.

  She threw her arms around his neck, holding him tightly to her.

  “I’m sorry for walking away like that.” His voice was intense with remorse as he spoke the words near her ear. His hands touched her hesitantly, as if afraid, as if unworthy. “I should have stuck around. I never should have made you feel like you had to choose.”

  “It’s okay,” she whispered against his neck. “I get it. Believe me, I do. I’m just glad you came back. Thank you for waiting for me.”

  JJ felt the rush of warm air as he let out a breath. His arms encircled her now, cocooning her in the warmth of his affection.

  “I waited five years,” he murmured back. “What’s a few more days?”

  JJ pulled back to stare at him, amazed at how deep into her heart this man had crawled. She rested her forehead against his. “I am never letting you go, ever again.”

  He grinned as his eyes fell to her mouth. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  And then he ended the conversation with his lips on hers. JJ surrendered herself to his kisses, deciding in that moment that Simon Massri was the last and only man she wanted to kiss for the rest of her life. He was the man she had been waiting for, the man God had been holding for her. The wait had been long and painful in some parts. She had stumbled into heartbreak and misery in her impatience. But God had not given up on her. Despite her wavering faithfulness, he had blessed her. And everything she had gone through, all the waiting she had done, was worth it for what—and who—was waiting at the end.

  A horn blared and car lights illuminated the curb, where JJ sat with Simon’s arms around her. With one last kiss, Simon reluctantly pulled away.

  “I think we have company, angel.”

  JJ looked up, instantly recognizing her sister’s car, even before Lissandra’s voice came loudly through the driver’s window.

  “So this is where you ran off to without even saying good-bye,” Lissandra teased. “To go make out with your boyfriend on the curb. If Mom saw you, she would light your ba’hind with licks!”

  Simon turned to JJ, confusion all over his face. “What’s licks?”

  JJ laughed out loud before kissing him on the cheek. “Oh, honey, you are so cute when you’re confused.”

  He scratched his chin. “Sometimes I don’t understand everything your sister says.”

  “Sometimes neither do I,” JJ said, running her fingers over his smooth dreads. “But we got lots of time to try and figure it out.”

  A slow smile spread his lips as he gently wrapped one of her curls around his finger. “Lots and lots of time.”

  The touch of his hand jumpstarted her heart into a new rhythm. The music was back. But this time it was a different song. One she had never sung before. A duet. But her partner, the one God had picked for her, the one holding her in his arms at that moment, was exactly on pitch with her. And she could already tell that together, they would be hitting all the right notes.

  A READING GROUP GUIDE

  HITTING THE RIGHT NOTE

  Rhonda Bowen

  About This Guide

  The questions that follow

  are included to enhance your group’s

  reading of this book.

  Discussion Questions

  1. How do you feel about JJ’s response to her sister Sydney’s engagement news? Do you think she should have been happier?

  2. What were your first impressions of JJ’s relationship with Rayshawn? Do you think it’s okay to hide your romantic relationships from your family sometimes? Are there ever good reasons to hide a relationship?

  3. Do you think Sydney was justified in being upset with JJ about her relationship with Rayshawn? Is it really any of Sydney’s business who her sister dates?

  4. Do you think Simon should have brought up his past connection to JJ during their first meeting at the hospital? Why do you think he waited to say something? Why did she?

  5. What do you think about the almost instant attraction between Simon and JJ? Do you think it’s possible to have feelings for someone after meeting them only once? Do you think Simon and JJ’s feelings are real, or were they just magnified because of the circumstances under which they first met?

  6. Do you think Sheree has really become a better person, or is this just an act until the baby is born?

  7. Do you think JJ’s relationship with Rayshawn could have worked, despite the differences in their spiritual beliefs? Why or why not?

  8. Was JJ’s break into the entertainment industry based only on talent and hard work, as Rayshawn suggested, or did God provide that opportunity for her? Do you think God has a part in the opportunities we receive in life? If yes, how big a part?

  9. How hard do you think the entertainment industry really is on a person’s faith? Is it possible to be super successful in the business but also hold on to Christian values?

  10. Do you think Xavier’s parents were justified in lying to him about who his father was? Is it ever okay to keep that kind of information from a child?

  11. Should JJ have told Simon about Rayshawn? When would have been the best time for her to tell him?

  12. Do you think JJ made the right choice in the end, in regards to her contract? Did she really have to choose? Couldn’t she have had it all—the contract, her faith, her family, and Simon?

  13. Do you think JJ and Simon have a real chance, or is it impractical for them to try and have a relationship, given the nature of both their jobs?

  Don’t miss Rhonda Bowen’s

  Get You Good

  On sale now at your local bookstore!

  Chapter 1

  Sydney was
never big on sports.

  It wasn’t that she was athletically challenged. It was just that chasing a ball around a court, or watching other people do it, had never really been high on her list of favorite things.

  However, as she stood at the center of the Carlu Round Room, surveying the best of the NBA that Toronto had to offer, she had to admit that professional sports definitely had a few attractive features.

  “Thank you, Sydney.”

  Sydney grinned and folded her arms as she considered her younger sister.

  “For what?”

  “For Christmas in October.” Lissandra bit her lip. “Look at all those presents.”

  Sydney turned in the direction where Lissandra was staring, just in time to catch the burst of testosterone-laced eye candy that walked through the main doors. Tall, muscular, and irresistible, in every shade of chocolate a girl could dream of sampling. She was starting to have a new appreciation for basketball.

  Sydney’s eyebrows shot up. “Is that . . . ?”

  “Yes, girl. And I would give anything to find him under our Christmas tree,” Lissandra said, as her eyes devoured the newest group of NBA stars to steal the spotlight. “I love this game.”

  Sydney laughed. “I don’t think it’s the game you love.”

  “You laugh now,” Lissandra said, pulling her compact out of her purse. “But when that hot little dress I had to force you to wear gets you a date for next weekend, you’ll thank me.”

  Sydney folded her arms across the bodice of the dangerously short boat-necked silver dress that fit her five-foot-nine frame almost perfectly. It was a bit more risqué than what Sydney would normally wear but seemed almost prudish compared to what the other women in the room were sporting. At least it wasn’t too tight. And the cut of the dress exposed her long, elegant neck, which she had been told was one of her best features.

  “I’m here to work, not to pick up men,” Sydney reminded her sister.

  “No, we’re here to deliver a spectacular cake.” Lissandra checked her lipstick in the tiny mirror discreetly. “And since that cake is sitting over there, our work is done. It’s playtime.”