by Cat Schield
“When you say she needs you to be there for her,” Nate began, bringing up something he should’ve probably saved for another time. “Does that include making excuses for her when she doesn’t feel like doing something?”
To his mind, Ivy could stand to concern herself with something more than her immediate needs and desires. Maybe she’d grow up a little if she took some responsibility. He wasn’t sure that Mia was doing her sister any favors by shielding her.
Mia pressed her lips together and held still for a long moment before offering up a long sigh. “Yes.”
He made a rude gesture.
As always Mia was quick to make excuses for her sister. “She’s an artist and artists are sensitive.”
Nate wanted to point out that he was an artist, as well, and that didn’t stop him from dragging his ass out of bed when he was exhausted or showing up on time and ready to work even when he didn’t feel like writing or singing or being interviewed.
“That’s not going to cut it in my studio. My time is money.”
Mia’s resistance crumbled. “I know. I’ll warn her about that.”
“Come here.”
This time she didn’t resist. Once he had her beneath the covers, he slid down until he lay flat on his back. The urge to reach across the foot of space separating them on the mattress and touch her overpowered him, but she shook her head, as if she could read his intentions.
“We can’t.”
“You want to.”
“Yes,” she whispered, even as she shook her head. “But I can’t.” And then she turned onto her side and put her back to him with a mumbled good-night.
He signed his response, knowing she couldn’t see it, and rolled onto his side away from her before temptation had him rolling her onto her back and covering her mouth with his. Not that he had the energy to make love to her. Damn it all. It figured that he’d get her back into bed when he couldn’t capitalize on it. On the other hand, she wouldn’t be here at all if not for his surgery.
Nate drifted off to sleep, keenly aware that bare inches separated his back from Mia’s. However, at some point during the night, they both shifted, and when he woke up she was nestled beside him, her softness warming his left side, her cheek pillowed on his chest. His arm was around her. He’d buried his nose in her sweetly fragrant hair.
From her deep, even breathing he decided she was still asleep, so he kept perfectly still and savored the moment. Outside, the sun was kissing the balcony railing. Nate closed his eyes and pretended that he still had hours and hours to enjoy having his arms around Mia.
He guessed it was no more than twenty minutes later when she woke. Her body tensed as she became aware of their position, and almost immediately she began to disentangle herself. He tightened his fingers.
“How long have you been awake?” she asked, resisting his hold for several seconds before her muscles went limp once more.
He signed “twenty minutes” with his right hand and then placed his fingers beneath her chin to shift her head back. Their eyes met as he lowered his lips to hers.
She sighed into his mouth and he deepened the kiss, tracing her lips and teeth with his tongue until she let him in. His heart ached as her fingers stroked his cheek before latching on to his hair to pull him closer. She groaned against his mouth. Her morning kisses were sweet, with just a hint of sexy. Since he couldn’t tell her how amazing she tasted or how soft her lips were, he did his best to let her know with his fingers against her cheek and neck.
“I don’t think this is what the doctor ordered,” she half moaned as he worked his lips down her throat. With a breathless laugh, she ducked away from the hand he’d slipped beneath the hem of her pajama top and half rolled, half shimmied off the bed.
“I was told not to speak. He said nothing about sex.”
“I’m sure you were told not to exert yourself.”
Her color was already high and his wicked grin drove the brightness in her cheeks even higher. She caught her lip between her teeth and stared at his bare chest for a long moment before shaking her head.
“I’m going to make you some Throat Coat tea and order you a smoothie for breakfast.”
Nate watched her go before rolling out of bed and heading into the bathroom for a shower. When he came out, a bottle of water awaited him on the countertop by the sink. Mia was serious about keeping him hydrated. He dressed and headed into the living room, wondering how he was going to keep himself occupied and his hands off Mia for the next couple days. Idleness wasn’t something he did well. If he wasn’t working in the studio, he was writing music or promoting the band.
“I don’t suppose you want to share what you’ve been working on lately with me?” he signed after breakfast.
“I have a couple beats I recorded the other day. When Ivy decided she wanted to change things up a bit, I started playing with some synthpop sounds.” Mia frowned slightly. “Of course, that was before I learned she wants to record Melody’s music.”
“Let me hear.”
She pulled out her phone and scanned through until she found the track she was looking for. When she played it for him, his eyes widened. It was very different from anything Ivy had done. Perhaps a little too different for the pop princess?
“Has Ivy heard this?”
“I can read your mind,” Mia said with a self-conscious sigh. “I know it’s different from her usual stuff. And no, I haven’t played any of this for her.”
“I know a couple singers who might be interested in what you have there.” Nate paused and gave her a second to digest that. “I can give them a call. Or send them a text,” he amended.
“I’ll think about it. It’s all pretty rough at the moment.”
“Maybe when we get into the studio you can play around with it some more.”
“Maybe.” She gave a noncommittal shrug. “By the way, I mentioned to Melody that Ivy is interested in recording some of her music, so she can prepare.”
“I’m sure she appreciated the heads-up.”
Mia’s phone buzzed and she glanced at the screen. From her grimace, Nate assumed it was her sister calling. She got up and took the phone out to the small terrace.
“Hi, Ivy, what’s up?” Mia stood with her back to him, but it didn’t prevent her voice from carrying back into the suite. There was a pause, during which she paced from one end of the terrace to the other. “I can’t, because I’m out of town. I drove up the coast for a couple days.”
She turned in Nate’s direction so he signed at her.
“Liar.”
“Shut up.” And then she sat on one of the chairs and leaned her forehead on her hand. “Dad hasn’t talked to me about the direction for your new album.”
Nate wondered what it would take for Mia to come clean about their relationship. What was the harm in explaining that she’d spent last night helping him out after his surgery? The dynamic between the sisters continued to baffle him.
“Of course I understand that you want to work with Melody Caldwell. She’s incredibly talented.” A long pause, then, “No, I’m not upset. I just needed a break...from LA. Can we talk about this later?”
When Mia hung up with her sister, she blew out a big breath.
“What did she want?”
“For me to run some errands.”
“Your talents are wasted on your sister.”
“It’s more complicated than that.” But she didn’t defend her situation as adamantly as she’d done in the past. “She really does need me.”
Not wishing to spoil their limited time together with an argument, Nate held out his hand and gestured Mia toward him. There would be plenty of time in the next month for them to discuss her future and for him to convince her to leave her sister and stay with him.
“Come play more of what you�
�ve been working on.”
* * *
A week after Nate’s surgery, Mia found herself in the lobby of Ugly Trout Records with her sister and father. The spare, utilitarian space was like Nate. Unpretentious and purposeful. There was a beige leather sectional beneath the company logo rendered in copper on the wall. On the opposite wall six guitars hung in a neat line. It wasn’t designed to impress executives or big name stars. Musicians came to Las Vegas to record and work with Nate. His stellar reputation was all the promotion the label required.
Mia followed Ivy and their father through the glass door that led from the lobby into the empty conference room. They were late and Mia grimaced, wondering how upset Nate was at the moment.
“I’m surprised he isn’t here to greet us,” Ivy said, pulling a small mirror out of her purse to check her appearance yet again.
“Me, too, especially since we’re fifteen minutes late.”
Ivy shot her a dirty look. “What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
Mia bit the inside of her cheek and reminded herself that this session would not go well if Ivy was upset. “It’s just that I promised Nate we would be here right at ten.” The second she used “we” Mia knew she’d screwed up.
“He’s expecting me.”
“Of course.” Mia used her most soothing tone. “But you need me to translate what he’s saying.”
Ivy went back to checking her appearance. “If you think this makes you special, it doesn’t. Remember that it’s me he asked to work with.”
Because he wants to spend time with me. But Mia didn’t dare speak the truth out loud. Ivy wouldn’t believe her. She barely believed it herself. Why was someone as talented and successful as Nate Tucker interested in a nobody like her?
A couple minutes later Nate, Melody and two men entered the room. The very air seemed to change with Nate’s presence and Mia’s eyes were glued to him as he came around the conference table to shake hands with Ivy. The rest of his team followed suit. When all the introductions had been made, Nate’s gaze sought Mia.
He raised an eyebrow before signing. “Let’s get started, shall we?”
Mia translated, and for a while the only sound in the room was her voice as she followed Nate’s hands. He spoke about Ivy’s previous two albums with West Coast Records and how the songs had been great, but the production had been rushed on both.
When Ivy had originally been signed by the label, the company had been run by Siggy Caldwell, Trent and Melody’s father. In the past month, Nate and Trent had purchased the failing record company and planned to restore it to its former glory.
“We’re going to develop a better marketing strategy for releasing her music this time,” Nate signed.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Javier Navarro said. “The delays in releasing her last album really hurt the sales.”
“Trent and I agree.”
“I’ve been dying to work with you and Melody,” Ivy said. “When can I get into the studio?”
Nate glanced toward Melody. “Studio C is open right now. Why don’t you two run through a few songs. I want to give Mia a tour and introduce her to some people she’ll be working with this next month.”
Ivy’s eyes narrowed. “I thought she was going to translate for you.”
“She is.”
“Then why does she need a tour?”
“Your sister showed an interest in sound production and she’s going to need to learn what I’m talking about in order to make people understand what I’m asking for.”
“Whatever.”
When Melody led Ivy and Javier out of the conference room, Mia turned to Nate. A blend of resignation and anxiety caused her chest to tighten. Conscious of the production assistants that remained in the room, Mia signed, “You and I working together is going to make her crazy.”
“I don’t care.”
“I do. And you’re not the one who has to live with her.”
“You don’t have to, either.”
“Please tell me we’re not going to have this discussion every day for the next month.”
“It’s not my fault that your sister misunderstands our relationship.”
“By ‘our relationship’ do you mean yours and mine or yours and hers?”
“Both.” Nate’s eyes were liquid silver as his gaze settled on her lips. “Now let’s go find an empty studio so I can kiss you.”
“You are nothing but trouble,” she declared.
The next four weeks were going to be heaven and hell. As much as it delighted her to be working so closely with Nate, keeping him at arm’s length was going to be a nearly impossible task.
“When it comes to you I am very determined.” He put his palm on her back and nudged her toward the door.
Just that fleeting touch sent her pulse skyrocketing. A nagging twinge in her chest bloomed into a sharp dig, but she smiled through it. Three days ago she’d woken in his arms and for a few minutes her world had been perfect. But the reality was that they couldn’t be together. He wanted something that was impossible for her to give right at this moment. And she couldn’t bring herself to hope that he’d wait around long enough for Mia to be reassured that her sister was strong enough to go it alone.
Mia’s hands shook as Nate escorted her into a control room. She was relieved to find it occupied. On the other side of the glass, a group of studio musicians were jamming. The intensity of their concentration broke as the song came to an end. Smiles and high fives were shared all around.
Nate signed and then pushed a button. Mia stared at him until he made a gesture and she realized he wanted her to speak.
“Sounds good. This is Mia,” she translated, then waved. “She’s going to be my voice for the next month.”
“You should keep her on permanently,” a bald, barrel-chested guy with a goatee called out. “She sounds way better than you ever did.”
“Looks a lot better, too.”
Once the sound engineers introduced themselves, Nate indicated the door across the hall, which led to another control booth. In the studio a young man rapped to an intricate beat that Mia recognized as something Nate had been fooling around with during the tour.
“You wrote that.”
He nodded before introducing her to the guy manning the booth. His name was Craig.
“Moving on.”
Nate opened the door to another studio and gestured her inside. The control booth on the other side of the glass was empty. The studio held a set of drums, a couple keyboards and several guitars.
As expected, he spun her around and pinned her against the door. He’d promised to find them an empty studio where he could kiss her, and he’d delivered. She didn’t resist as his lips found hers and he stole her breath away. Damn. The man knew how to kiss. His tongue traced her lips until she parted for him. She expected him to deepen the kiss, and when he continued nipping and nibbling her lips, she was the one who pushed up onto her toes and took the kiss to the next level.
Both of them were breathing hard and flushed when he stepped back and signed.
“Feel like fooling around?”
“Depends...” She tucked the hem of her shirt back into her pants and drew the word out, wondering what Nate had in mind.
“Give me a taste of what you’ve been working on. Just play around a bit with some of it and see what happens.”
“I can play some of the melodies.” Mia glanced at the instruments.
“And the lyrics.”
This wasn’t what she was accustomed to. Usually she recorded all her demos using her laptop, alone in her room with a keyboard, synthesizer and a guitar. She was free to make mistakes, and stop and start if things didn’t work. She often danced around, as if that somehow could make the creative juices flow.
Nate was
watching her closely. “Okay?”
She gave a reluctant nod. While on tour, Mia had written several songs inspired by her growing feelings for Nate.
She sat down at the keyboard, but with Nate watching, her mind was blank.
“Can you maybe go sit over there?” She indicated a stool behind her. “You’re making me nervous.”
“Why? You’ve played your songs for me before.”
“That was messing around. This is your studio and you’ve kinda put me on the spot.”
“Fine.”
With him out of her line of sight, the music came rushing back. Mia set her fingers on the keys and played a chord. The notes filled the space, a comfortable cushion for her emotions. She stopped worrying what Nate might think and just set her songs free.
They were two ballads. Some of her best work. Not only had her romance with Nate infused her lyrics with deeper emotion, his musical genius had encouraged her to innovate. To say she was proud of them was an understatement.
But the songs were too personal. Mia had been speaking the truth of her heart. And as she finished playing, she realized she’d written them for Nate. Suddenly, she was very glad Ivy wouldn’t record them. To hear her sister sing those lyrics before Mia had even come to terms with what they meant to her would have been awful.
As she turned to face Nate, she found herself holding her breath. His thoughtful expression gave her no clue to his opinion. At last she couldn’t take it anymore. “Well?”
“I’d like to run both of those past the guys. Free Fall might be interested in recording one or both.”
Mia couldn’t stop the tears that flooded her eyes. It was the nicest thing he could’ve said to her. Nate got to his feet and took several steps in her direction, but she waved him off.
“I’m fine.”
“I can’t guarantee anything.”
“I know.” She gave a shaky laugh and wiped moisture away from the corners of her eyes. “It’s just such a thrill that you’d even consider...” She trailed off and regarded him suspiciously. “This isn’t a bribe to get me to sleep with you, is it?”