The world connected to him as the next British invasion musician. His life had been a roller coaster since. Grammy after Grammy. BRIT after BRIT. Award after award. He’d worked with his idols who still toured the world and written songs together.
But the hole in his heart was always there, always present.
Until he’d heard her voice, then he’d searched online and found Taylor again, mentioned in a music article.
In Nashville. In a girl band.
And in the article, it said "currently single."
His heart lifted so he’d made it happen. He’d met her in Memphis.
Now she was here, and she was real.
This was his moment. He pressed his hand on her lower back to lead her to his dressing room and ignored how his staff stared at them because they all knew he never brought anyone backstage.
He held the door open for her and she pressed her hand to her heart as she surveyed the vases of roses that surrounded the round table with two chairs; in the center sat a crystal vase between a pair of burning red pillars.
Taylor had always loved roses.
This was his second chance to get his life right. She twirled around the scented space and threw her hands out like the first time she’d seen Times Square, ever. “This is your dressing room?” She walked over to the table that had their lunch as she pointed to the blossoms and said, “Seriously, candles, too?”
The setting was a dressing, a way to impress her.
He wouldn't mess this up. He couldn’t. He shoved his hands in his back pockets as he followed her toward the table. “I ordered from a local restaurant and their staff set this up.”
She checked under the silver cloches at the chicken dishes and placed the cover back. “Everything is so beautiful.”
The all-black dressing room had needed the lights of the candles to make the space seem more intimate and less cold. He took her hand. “Taylor, so are you.”
Her eyes flashed. “I’m not just a face.”
“You are absolutely not.” His heart soared at her familiar show of spirit. He held her chair for her to sit. “I’m glad to hear you know there is more to you than just your smile. I’ve missed you these past three years.”
She laughed as he also sat and said, “Has it been that long?”
Right now, it was like no time had passed at all. He poured her half tea/half lemonade favorite he’d flown in from New York this morning and said, “My first album, White, came out the first week of June, a month after you left.”
“I heard all about your success, and I own every song.” She sipped her drink. Her eyes widened. “This is delicious.”
If she was his, she’d have anything she ever wanted. He would make sure of it. But he ignored the impulse to say so, as Taylor hated talking about money because it led to discussion of her parents and their non-musical and absolutely normal expectations for her. “I would have preferred to hear from you.”
Her entire face turned red and she gulped her drink. She put it down and he re-poured her more. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It wasn’t you. It was all me. I was embarrassed.”
He met her blue eyes and refused to think about how she made him still feel like the gangly teen he'd been, despite hours in the gym every day to ensure his muscles were in top shape. “I would have run to you if I thought your heart might be open to me.”
She tugged her ear but shook her head. “But you’ve always had part of my soul, Eddie. You’ve been there. You still are.”
Women all over the world, unique, beautiful creatures, including models and other singers, had tried to get his attention but not one woman compared to Taylor.
Eddie wasn’t crazy--he recognized his other half. His heart sped up as he said, “I don’t mean as your friend.”
She sucked in her bottom lip which meant she had something to say. He sipped his water, waiting, then she let out a small huff and said, “I was hoping I could ask a favor.”
He finished his drink and nodded. “My lawyers are working on Keith’s threats. They hired Alec O'Donnell, a Nashville up and coming attorney. Keith won’t contact you again and will likely have to start paying you for using your music he stole.”
She pressed her hand to her heart. “Thank you.”
This wasn’t enough. “Your label, Storm Music, is helping.”
Taylor smiled and it was brighter than the candles lighting the room. “Val, our manager and creator, is kick-butt. I like her a lot, but…”
Her voice trailed off. His ears now buzzed as he waited for more. She was oddly quiet. He placed both his hands on the table and asked, “So, was there another favor?”
She nodded. “Yes, to do with my parents.”
Her father was a doctor who never had much time and her mother always talked about the parties she threw. He'd met them at Walnut Hill School for the Arts graduation, and then Julliard’s when Taylor had performed in college. He'd fetched her father coffee while Dr. Jones had checked on patient’s charts as they were sailing to Ellis Island for a picture at the Statue of Liberty. Eddie tasted some of the chicken and mashed potatoes as the memory stirred. “Thomas and Tanya. How are they?”
She sighed and said, “Wanting to set me up with Patrick.”
His gaze narrowed as he recalled when they were in school and still best friends, and they’d talked about everything. “I thought your sister Hailey liked him.”
Her eyes widened and her face paled. “She does?”
Huh? He put his silverware down. “You told me that years ago. I’m just repeating you.”
She massaged the back of her head and stared at him. “I forgot about that. Anyhow, I don’t know your tour schedule and you probably can’t, but my parents wanted to set me up and I said I’d have a date.”
Date. Seriously? His pulse leapt as he imagined Taylor on his arm. “Are you asking me to be your date?”
Her shoulders slumped and she said, “It doesn’t have to be. I know you’re famous and can have a different girl every night.”
“No, I want it to be a date.” He cut his chicken, then put the silverware down and decided it was time to go for broke. “I never wanted a woman like I want you. You were always my one and only.”
Her eyes watered. He stilled as his skin was alerted to her. She rose and walked over to him. He stood as she placed her hand on his heart and said, “'One? Eddie, if you liked me all those years ago, why didn’t you tell me how you felt?”
To the rest of the world he was some sophisticated, talented singer who had women toss their phone numbers on the stage. The first time that'd happened he’d been confused and thought someone had gone to the wrong summer camp. Now his cheeks felt hot as he said, “You’re the only woman in the world that makes my palms sweat and my mind whirl.”
She pursed her lips and a tear escaped her left eye. “I wish you had told me. Maybe I’d still be more open. Eddie, I’m not that girl anymore.”
Good. He wasn’t the same either. He wrapped his arm around her waist, determined to show her who he was now. “I’m not the boy anyone forgets and leaves behind.”
Three years without a word had hurt.
Another tear escaped her eye, but she didn’t pull away. “I never forgot you.”
“You acted like you had.” His insides thundered. The last time they’d been together, alone, he’d struggled for words to tell her how Keith was wrong for her, but nothing had come from his mouth. He hadn't told her how he felt, and that was on him.
She sighed. “Keith left me at a garage we'd stopped at for gas. In the middle of nowhere, because I'd read him the news you’d just signed a record deal.”
His entire body froze. She’d told him part of this yesterday, but the thought of Taylor in trouble still hit like a sucker punch to the gut. “Why would he do that?”
She stared at his shoulder. “Jealousy? He drove off with my notebook that I used to write down everything you and I worked on our senior year together.”
“The green one?�
� He remembered her habit of writing all her songs on loose leaf before typing them up in a computer program.
Half the time she never typed them as she fought her inner demons that she wasn’t good enough.
She met his gaze. “Yes.”
Well her ex was going to lose now. He massaged her lower back. “That’s how we’ll prove that he should have to pay you. I’m a good character witness and know your songs. From now on, you need to stay away from him.”
He glanced at her pink lips and wondered how she tasted.
He’d always wondered as she said, “I… after Keith there have been others that weren't great. I told you, I vowed to not date anyone for a while.”
And she was trying to put him back in the friend box, though together their bodies were in tune to each other, even with clothes on. She was his soul mate. Part of her had to recognize that. He pushed her hair out of her face. “You aren’t married, and you already said you care about me.”
She lowered her lashes and nodded, “I do. You’re here.”
“I want to be here,” he whispered and closed his eyes.
He gently pressed forward and their lips met.
At first, she didn’t kiss him back and he almost stopped. But then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
He held onto her as his fantasy became real.
She kissed better than he’d ever imagined. As they both needed air, he let her go and more tears raced down her cheeks.
She hugged her waist and asked, “Why did you do this?”
But she’d kissed him back. His lips still tingled. He hadn’t made up her passion. The idea he’d pushed her to do anything made him uncomfortable. “Taylor, what are you so afraid of that might happen?”
She shook her head furiously as she said, “That you’ll cheat on me with other women, some faceless woman across the globe. I’m already broken now. If you hurt me, I’ll be shattered.”
Relief filled him as he understood that he hadn't done anything to hurt her. He smiled and motioned toward their plates. “So, you don’t want to date me because you’re comparing me to Keith? He cheated on you before you left New York with him.”
“I was stupid.” She slumped into her chair, managing to hold herself together.
He handed her a napkin for her lap and she took it from him. Eddie knelt beside her on one knee and looked up so they were eye to eye as he said, “But Taylor, I’m not him. I’ve hated Keith since the day you met him.”
Her lips slowly quirked into a smile. “You did?”
He nodded and stood, then returned to his own seat. “He stole you away before I had my chance.”
Taylor laughed and the lightness made the space between them more intimate. “I’m still here, Eddie.”
He handed her the basket of bread. “Taylor Jones, I love you. You’re the only woman I can trust. Hundreds of women for years now have tried to catch my attention, but they all failed because they just aren’t you.”
She took a slice of dark bread. “You’re saying no woman ever caught your eye?”
Truth. No one with a name or heart came to mind. But he gave her a shy smile and said, “You’ve always been the only woman in my heart.”
Her eyes fluttered. “Let’s take it slow, Eddie. I’ve been hurt.”
This time he’d not let her think "friends." He leaned across the table, claiming her lips in a kiss. She sighed and wrapped her soft arms around him, kissing him back.
And she tasted better than any ice cream or cream puff he’d ever had. Taylor Jones even tasted like perfection.
5
Eddie’s catered lunch filled Taylor’s stomach.
And Eddie’s sweet kiss set her pulse into overdrive.
No man had ever made her feel weak and strong and vulnerable and safe all from one liplock.
Her mind was jumbled but thankfully, Eddie lightened the mood by making her laugh.
She didn’t want to leave his dressing room, but Rissa, C.C., Katie Lyn, Cinnamon and Mac all stuck their heads in the door.
Eddie left the table and Taylor straightened her white button-down with a rhinestone pink heart she’d sewn to the right shoulder. A moment later, her friends and bandmates crowded into Eddie’s all-black dressing room, romantic with candles and roses. Rissa matched the room in black jeans and a shirt, patting Eddie’s shoulder like he was in her way as she said, “We have to get ready, Taylor.”
Eddie nodded but walked beside Taylor toward the door. “I’ll be watching your performance.”
Cinnamon carried her fiddle for the first set, and Mac held her bass guitar as they headed out first. Taylor tucked her hands in her pockets and stood still with her head down. What if he hated their performance as a group? Eddie always had a keen eye for musical talent. “After a performance the girls and I all go to a midnight breakfast.”
He raised his eyebrow, understanding her meaning, and asked, “Then real breakfast in the morning with me?”
She let out the breath she hadn’t known she was holding and nodded. “Sounds amazing.”
C.C. and Rissa walked out the open door, but Katie Lyn stood like she’d help guard her in case she called for help. Taylor smiled at her friend. Eddie was a sweetheart, but as they were about to leave and join the band, Eddie said, “Leave the number for your parents?”
Taylor spun on her heels, her hands on her hips. “Seriously?”
He gave her that shy smile of his that the world now swooned over, though she’d always seen it as his mask. “If I’m to be your boyfriend, I should call Thomas and Tanya and ask if they want me to bring anything to dinner.”
Eddie had once run through New York to get her father the perfect biscuit after he’d said all foods were found in the city and wanted to back up his claim. Her father, after the tenth biscuit though Americans called them cookies, agreed and said Eddie was right. The memory hit fast, and she stroked his slightly scruffy rock star face as she said, “They already like you, Eddie.”
He walked her to the door where the rest of the band waited. “See you soon, Taylor.”
C.C. had on her sunglasses though they were in a dark hall, walking beside Taylor as they headed toward the dressing area. “Did he just call himself your boyfriend?”
She hadn’t explained her plans to her friends, and they didn’t know Thomas and Tanya Jones personally. The band had only been together for three months and until they’d scored the Miranda tour, they’d never left Nashville. She ignored the zip in her heart as she thought about Eddie and said, “In Denver, he’s coming to my parents' house for dinner as my pretend boyfriend.”
Rissa laughed and directed them into the dressing room with their blue jeans and skirts for the performance, along with a new hair and makeup team, led by Melanie, who’d joined the group’s employment a few weeks ago. Today she’d added a blue streak to her already red, orange and pink hair. Taylor accepted the jeans she was given as Rissa said, “You’re "pretending" to have a relationship… with Eddie Williams?”
Taylor’s face felt hot, but she took off her simple white button-down she’d practiced in and started dressing in her pink and green hearts t-shirt for the stage. “Yeah, we’re old friends.”
Rissa gave her a side eye and said, “Kissing friends.”
Oh, my goodness. Was it written on her face? For real? She hadn’t worn lipstick so it wasn’t possible to have some smear. “What?”
Katie Lyn laughed loudest and said, “Taylor, just be ready to play the keyboard and sing backup, so no more kissing for a few hours unless that’s your plan to up our social media standing to a world-wide audience.”
Melanie directed women Taylor had never met before to stations and then had everyone take a seat. Taylor was last and Melanie pointed her to the seat she personally ran as Taylor said, “I… I don’t know what’s happening.”
Rissa, her friend long before they’d joined a band, said, “We’re getting ready to give the performance of our lives tonight.”
Good
. Yes. Music. This was her life. Melanie worked her magic on Taylor’s soft fine hair making it somehow bigger which was a skill only Melanie had. Melanie then checked the makeup of everyone while C.C. twirled her drumsticks and said, “Isn’t that every night?”
“Exactly,” Taylor added fast as she transformed from every day to her stage persona of Taylor Jones, country singer.
Mac, with her favorite guitar pick in her hand, was in the seat next to her and asked, “What happened to your swearing off all men to stay focused on the band?”
That was still true. Taylor had had enough men break her heart. She glanced to her side as Melanie finished with a second round of hair spray and said, “I… Look, Eddie’s going to jet off for his next tour soon and I’ll never see him again. This is just, reconnecting.”
Now she was a liar and she hated lying. But her stomach twisted at the thought of trying to explain what she didn’t understand. Soon they were all dressed.
Tonight was another performance at this amazing venue, in front of a crowd that had never heard the Lipstick Outlaws.
This was the life she wanted. And it didn’t include men.
It couldn’t. She rolled her shoulders and stuck in her earbuds to listen to some Zen music alone as she liked to do before a performance.
Once she found her dark corner, and her trusty notebook and pen in case inspiration popped, she closed her eyes and listened to her breaths.
She breathed from her abdomen and focused on her cocoon of safety where nothing hurt her.
She was in charge of her own happiness and destiny.
Eddie’s face and kiss replayed in her mind and so did a melody. Without looking, she wrote down what she felt, until she was at peace, then she opened her eyes. Rissa asked, “You ready to pray?”
“Sure.” Taylor took off her headset, leaving it with her supplies.
Rissa stared down at Taylor’s yellow notebook. “What’s this?”
With her eyes closed, she’d jotted something down. She hadn’t actually read what she'd written. “More lyrics to the love song I’m working on.”
Her gaze went down to the words that had sprung to mind earlier and read,
Taylor’s Legendary Heart: Sweethearts of Country Music, Book 2 Page 4