The Carol Wyatt Collection

by Carol Wyatt

  Elle needed to lookout for herself though. She'd been hurt before, and this time she had a chance to save herself before she'd fallen too hard.

  Then why do I still feel like shit. Why do I feel like the one who's been dumped?

  “Forget about lunch,” Matt said, interlinking their arms. “Let's go for a drink. It's after noon.”

  “I won't argue with that.”

  “I know a place around the corner. We'll get two nice glasses of wine and maybe then you can tell me what's wrong.”

  “Okay,” Elle said, finally giving in. Hopefully, he'd understand her perspective, and not tell her she'd made a huge mistake.

  They stayed arm in arm like that until they reached the bar that Matt wanted to go to. He held the door open for her, his phone ringing at the same time.

  “I have to take this,” Matt said, giving her an apologetic look. “I'll be five minutes. Go ahead and order.”

  “Okay.”

  Elle stepped inside, resting her sunglasses on top of her head, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dimly lit bar. Her eyes moved from one booth to another along the walls to all the empty tables in the middle of the floor. The bar was deserted. She didn't even see a bartender. She was about to leave when she thought she heard a piano.

  The music was coming from the other side of the bar and her curiosity got the better of Elle. She found her feet taking her there, following the slow melody, following the curve of the bar until she saw where the music was coming from and Elle froze. The familiar site of her blond hair swept across one shoulder, her fingers gently pressing the keys, stopped Elle in her tracks. She stood in the middle of the empty bar, listening to Hailey play, her back to her, and then she started to sing.

  Her voice wasn't nearly as powerful as Lauren's but there was an edgy quality to it that Elle immediately loved. Elle couldn't help smiling once she got over the shock of it. Hailey was finally singing for her, something she said she'd never do.

  Elle's hands gripped the back of one of the wooden chairs while she stood, transfixed. Time seemed to fall away as Elle listened to Hailey.

  Even if Hailey didn't realize it, she was talented. Elle imagined living in Lauren's shadow for the last few years did nothing for her confidence as a singer. Lauren was definitely in another league but that didn't mean that Hailey didn't have a beautiful voice.

  Hailey played the last few notes of the song, swinging her legs around the bench before she stood up, her eyes locked on Elle's as she walked towards her.

  “So, I decided to write another song about you,” Hailey said with a shy smile.

  “That was about me?”

  “About you, and also, for you...,” Hailey said, taking a deep breath. “Elle, I had no idea Christina took that photo. She kissed me, but I pushed her away... We were drunk... I don't know how to make this any clearer. I'm sorry and I meant what I said that night when I showed up at your house. I don't like games... The last few weeks have been torture. Please... Give me another chance.”

  Elle swallowed the lump in her throat, her heart breaking as she listened to her. For someone who had such a way with words, Hailey was struggling to string a few sentences together now.

  “Elle, say something... Please.”

  She met Hailey's blue eyes, glistening with tears that were ready to fall. Elle knew she wanted to say 'Yes,' but it was so much more complicated than that. She didn't trust herself with Hailey. If she gave this another chance and it all went wrong again in a few weeks, how much worse was she going to feel then?

  “That song was beautiful,” Elle finally said. “And your voice... You have no reason to hide it.”

  “Thank you,” Hailey said, her voice just above a whisper.

  Elle ran a hand through her hair while she tried to figure out what to say.

  “Seeing you at that party,” Elle said, her hands on her hips now. “Seeing that photo... I don't know. I suddenly felt old... But I guess I am forty now so... That's to be expected.”

  “When was your birthday?”

  “Three days ago.”

  “When I showed up at your house? That was your birthday?”

  Elle nodded.

  “I'm so sorry...”

  “That night kind of summed up my life. I was home alone, drinking, wondering how I was going to get over you... Look, Hailey, I'm crazy about you. I just... I don't want to hold you back.”

  Hailey reached for her hand, holding it loosely, her thumb caressing the back of her hand, and Elle knew she couldn't walk away from her.

  “I can't change the fact that there's thirteen years between us,” Hailey said as she met Elle's eyes. “But when it was just us, it didn't matter... Or am I imagining things?”

  “You're not.”

  “Don't let anyone else's opinion prevent us from being happy.”

  “I'm not worried about that,” Elle said, interlacing their fingers. “I just don't want you to regret this...”

  “Don't worry about me... Why don't we go back to the way things were a few weeks ago? We'll go on a date again...”

  “Does that mean I have to kiss you goodnight and let you walk home?”

  “Not at all... I'm just trying to say that, maybe... Maybe we started things off a bit fast, and while it worked... It was easy for us to get derailed. I'm not trying to backpedal. I'm just asking for a second chance. Don't write me off just yet,” Hailey said with a charming smile, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

  “Okay.”

  “Okay, we're going on a date?”

  Elle nodded.

  “That's what dating's for after all,” Hailey said. “Right? We'll take it slow... not that slow... But we'll get to know each other better and take it from there.”

  “I think I can live with that.”

  They both turned when they heard footsteps behind them. Matt was cautiously walking into the room, but Elle waved him over.

  “So, I take it you two teamed up?” Elle asked, glancing at Matt and then Hailey.

  “Sometimes,” Matt said with a grin, “You have to take matters into your own hands... Both of you were being ridiculous.”

  “How do you put up with him?” Hailey joked.

  “I don't know,” Elle answered, gently elbowing him in the ribs. “But I know I'd be lost without him.”

  Epilogue

  1 Year Later

  Hailey cheered along with the rest of the crowd, clapping her hands above her head with Elle whistling beside her. Lauren waved to the crowd as she left the stage. Hailey was so proud of her. So much had happened in the last year, and because Lauren was a seasoned performer and co-writer, she was able to put her album together in just a few months.

  Tonight's launch party was a huge success, and Hailey couldn't have been happier for her. Lauren's dreams were coming true right alongside Hailey's.

  Christina Clayton's new album would be launching in four months, and Hailey had helped her write almost every song on the album. When it was released, Hailey's name would be next to Christina's and beside Lauren's as her career took off.

  Sometimes, Hailey had to pinch herself, and her career was the least surprising part. She'd been living with Elle for the last nine months. They'd started off dating, like they'd agreed, trying to take things slow, but it didn't take long for both of them to want to spend almost every minute of their free time together.

  Hailey was busy flying back and forth to L.A. when she was working with Christina Clayton, and Elle was starting a new software company, so there were plenty of days where they didn't see each other, and it quickly became clear that they should just move in together. Hailey stayed at Elle's three or four nights a week anyway, and even though they both knew it was fast, it made sense, and so far, it was working.

  Hailey was still teaching six people how to play the piano, but she could work their lessons around her schedule, leaving her time to write with Christina and Lauren, while still working on new songs on her own.

  Hailey had spent two straight week
s in L.A. in February writing with Christina and when she came back, Elle had wrapped her arms around her as soon as she came in the door, leading her up the stairs and covering her eyes with her hands.

  Hailey remembered that night like it had happened yesterday.

  “What are you up to?” Hailey asked, Elle's hands still covering her eyes.

  “It's a surprise.”

  “I get that... What is it?”

  “This,” she said, dropping her hands.

  Hailey stood in the doorway of what was one of Elle's guest bedrooms. Now, the bed was gone, and the walls were painted slate gray. A cream colored couch was on the left as she walked in and crossed the wooden floors. There was a black keyboard she'd never seen before on the opposite wall, along with framed photos of some of the writers and musicians that Hailey idolized.

  “I figured you could use your own space,” Elle said, following her into the room. “Somewhere that you can make your own... I wasn't sure what your ideal writing space or music room might look like, so I kept it very basic... I figured a new keyboard was a good place to start...”

  Hailey blinked back her tears, pulling Elle into her arms as she kissed her cheek. She was loving her life right now, but always, at the back of her mind, she was worried that Elle might not be happy with their arrangement. She'd been used to living on her own, and even though Hailey thought Elle was as serious as she was, she didn't know how living together would work out. She was afraid that they might have jumped into this too soon, but she'd been wrong.

  “Thank you,” Hailey whispered, wiping away the tear that trickled down her cheek as she pulled away.

  “I know it's probably been hard for you... You know, to feel at home here... But I want you to know that this is your home too... and that means you need a place where you can be creative...”

  “I love you,” Hailey breathed as she pressed her lips against Elle's.

  They'd said those words many times before, but for some reason, tonight, they meant a little more. Hailey was finally letting her worries slip away and realizing that this was real. This was her life now.

  Elle wrapped her arm around Hailey's waist, bringing her back to the present. “That was amazing,” she said, leaning in so Hailey could hear her over the crowd. “She's even better live.”

  Hailey nodded. “This is the break she needed.”

  “And her first single is one of your songs,” Elle said, smiling at her. “It's the break you both deserve.”

  “None of it would matter if I didn't have you,” Hailey said, cupping Elle's cheek and kissing her lightly on the lips, not caring about the crowd around them.

  Thanks!

  Thanks for checking out this bundle! I'd be grateful if you could take a minute to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads and let me know what you thought.

  Head on over to TheLesbianSalute.com if you want to stay updated with my future books or follow my Amazon Author Page.

  I’m also on Twitter. You can find me at @CarolWyattBooks

  My next book, Wildest Dreams, will be available in June 2018.

  Thanks,

  Carol Wyatt