The sun warmed her chilled skin as her sister led her blindly down a path. The bells on her sandals tinkled, and the birds in the sky tweeted, and the soft buzz of conversation floated through the breeze. Why did she keep smell oranges?
Then she heard something else. Music. She froze in her tracks. “Is he here?”
Callie kissed her cheek and removed the dishrag. A group of musicians were playing out by the pool—Missy and Griffin and Cato. Next to them, stood a bodyguard, an acupuncturist, a Disco Bus driver, and Walker, wearing a big dimpled grin.
And in the center of them all, under an arc of flowers, a handsome man with long dark hair played guitar.
He sang about secret gardens and candy slides, lollipops and horsey rides, tree houses and pale skin, chaos and identical twins, puffy clouds and bright blue skies, violins and disguises, half oranges and pretty little trees, and making music with his wild Effie bomb—his heaven, and the love of his life.
On the last note, an explosion followed, and the door to her soul burst open, and love beamed out of her, brighter than the sun.
Elias set down his guitar and knelt in front of her. “F-bomb Murphy, te amo. I love you. Will you marry me?”
“Are you sure?” she whispered.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Callie said.
Walker covered her sister’s mouth.
Elias answered her with a warm soulful smile. “Yes, amor, I’m sure.”
She kneeled down with him. “Then, yes, I’ll marry you.”
He slipped a beautiful blue ring on her finger, and everyone cheered and banged on instruments.
It was the sound of love, true love, and also the finale of her opera.
57
Finale
Manhattan, New York
One Year Later
“As the Knight sang the last words of the ballad, he gathered up the reins, and turned his horse’s head along the road by which they had come. ‘You’ve only a few yards to go,’ he said, ‘down the hill and over that little brook, and then you’ll be a Queen.’”
Soundtrack “Ate the Sun,” Mr. Gnome
In the Lincoln Center audience, Elias and Effie held hands and watched the New York Philharmonic perform her first symphony titled: Lovely Chaos.
Effie glanced over at him with her twinkly blue eyes wide with excitement. “I did it,” she whispered. “I’m successful.”
He kissed her hand. “It’s a masterpiece, mi vida.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I wrote it for you.”
After the tour, Effie entered Juilliard’s composition program in the fall and finished her first symphony. The Philharmonic had just chosen her work to headline their modern composer series.
Shortly after the returned from Greece Effie enlisted the help of her friend Skip’s PR person to repair her reputation after Heart Records ruined it. They highlighted her volunteerism and she became spokesperson at schools around New York, helping students through music.
It took almost a year, but Elias sued Heart Records and won. Urban’s song royalties finally belonged to the band.
Once the legal shit was over, he went on camera and told the world what Gail had done. No one wanted to work with Heart Records after that, so Mr. Heart sold the company and retired. Gail hadn’t been seen since.
Effie bought a new violin and played it left-handed with the band a few times before they decided to take an indefinite hiatus. Since then, she rarely played, but once in a while, she put on a naked recital for him privacy of their own home.
Speaking of home, Eli St. James moved out and Effie moved in. Though they shared an apartment, they chose to hold off on the wedding until after a year of counseling together.
After the lawsuit, he hooked up with a buddy in LA and started scoring films. Now he made music all day long without having to step foot into the spotlight.
As for the rest of Urban’s members, Missy and Sam were trying to get pregnant. They visited often, along with and Cato and his new boyfriend, Tito.
Griffin decided to do some soul-searching in South America. He was somewhere in the Andes now.
Annie and LeStrange expanded the Disco Bus operation to the States. And Hal moved his Italian sweetheart to New York. They were all in the audience that night, along with Callie and Walker.
Callie recently found out she was pregnant with twins. After the performance that night, they were riding down to Georgia in the Silver Dildo camper with them, to plan a double wedding.
After the symphony finale, Effie received a standing ovation. She insisted he take a bow with her. “Get up here,” she said. “You’re my half orange.”
He laughed. “I’m crazy about you, F-bomb.”
“I’m crazy about you too, Elvis.”
Making music, making love, and making each other laugh—life with his half orange was pretty damn sweet.
“Of all the strange things that Alice saw in her journey Through The Looking Glass, this was the one that she always remembered most clearly. Years afterwards she could bring the whole scene back again, as if it had been only yesterday—the kindly smile of the Knight—the setting sun gleaming through his hair, and shining on his armor in a blaze of light that quite dazzled her—the horse quietly moving about, with the reins hanging loose on his neck, cropping the grass at her feet—and the black shadows of the forest behind—all this she took in like a picture, as, with one hand shading her eyes, she leant against a tree, watching the strange pair, and listening, in a half dream, to the melancholy music of the song.”
Glossary
Chapter 2
Gil—Spanish insult similar to dumbass.
Puto—Bitch.
La Puta madre—Similar curse to motherfucker.
Chapter 3
Hijo de puta—Son of a bitch.
Estás más loca que la mierda —You’re fucking crazy.
Mujer salvaje—Wild woman.
Chapter 4
Flaquita—Term of endearment similar to babe. Literally means skinny.
Porfa—Familiar version of please.
Mierda—Shit
Chapter 6
Tranquilo—Tranquil.
Dios—God.
Riquísimo —Delicious.
Tesoro—Treasure.
Princesa—Princess.
Me estás jodiendo! —No fucking way
Chapter 7
Podría metértela en la boca — I could put it in your mouth.
Mi Pija —My dick.
Vamos—Let’s go.
Chapter 8
Ghetto de mierda—Similar to fucking ghetto.
Chapter 9
Lao ban—Derogative term for boss.
Joan ren—Similar to the term “fuck off, bitch.”
Chapter 10
Tenés una sonrisa tan Hermosa —You have such a beautiful smile.
Chapter 11
Quiero comerte la boca —I want to eat your mouth.
Mierda —Shit
Cásate conmigo—Marry me.
Por favor—Please.
Ton amour est ma musique—Your love is my music.
Chapter 13
Chau —Bye.
Hasta la vista—See you later.
Chapter 15
Ta gueule!—Shut the fuck up.
Je ne peux pas conduire ce putain d’autobus avec toi hurlant, comme ça—I can’t drive this fucking bus with you screaming like that.
Chapter 16
Que lío de mierda —What a fucking mess.
Chapter 19
Amor—Term of endearment similar to love.
Andá a cagar, puto!—Go take a shit, bitch. Similar to kiss my ass.
Puto de mierda—fucking bitch.
Chapter 20
Non, ce n’est pas étrange, connard—No, it’s not strange, asshole.
Idiota de mierda —Fucking idiot.
Mes testicules ont rampé à l’intérieur de moi pour garder au chaud—My testes crawled inside me to keep warm.
Qu’est-
ce que c’est bordel—What the fuck is this shit?
Chapter 21
Perdóname —I’m sorry.
Te prometo—I promise.
Cojónes—Balls.
Chapter 23
Jefe—Boss.
Chapter 26
Soñá con los angelitos, mi vida —Dream with the little angels, my life
Mi cielo—My sky/my heaven
Quiero cogerte esa boca linda —I want to fuck your beautiful mouth.
Pendejo—Asshole.
Sí, mami —Yes, ma’am.
Vivaz—Vivacious.
Me gustás mucho —I like you a lot.
Chapter 27
Quiero coger con vos toda la noche —I want to fuck you all night.
Chapter 29
Là-bas—Over there.
C’est bon pour l’énergie sexuelle—It’s good for sexual energy.
Il y a du fromage et des fruits au frigo—There’s fruit and cheese in the fridge.
Ce sont pour le système de son—This is for the sound system.
Chapter 30
Vous ne pouvez pas faire ça ici—You can’t do that here.
Mon Dieu!—My God.
Mais, bien sûr—Well, of course.
Chapter 31
El Submarino—Argentinian hot chocolate.
Chapter 32
Estoy loco por vos, mi —’m crazy about you, my sky.
Chapter 36
Putain!—Fuck.
Ça va, chérie—You okay, honey?
Crevé—Flat, crushed.
Croque-monsieur—Grilled ham and cheese.
S’enfuir—Fly away.
Si. Tu vois, I am older, donc beaucoup plus intelligent—Of course it will. You see I am older, and therefore much smarter than you.
De Le merde—Shitty.
Chapter 37
Qué carajo —What the fuck?
Chapter 39
Voy a devorarte—I’m going to devour you.
Chapter 40
Gil—dumbass
Qué pasa, che?—What’s up, dude?
Habrá música y baile y tapas —There will be music and dance and tapas.
Ce n’est pas ici—It’s not here.
Moi non plus—Me neither.
Yo cago en la leche de tu puta madre—I shit in your milk!
Chupámela, gil —Suck my dick, asshole.
Sos divina—You are divine.
Tenés los ojos más lindos del mundo —You have the most beautiful eyes in the world.
Tu concha está mojada—Your pussy is wet.
Chapter 42
Putain de merde—Motherfucker.
Qu’est-ce que c’est bordel—What the fuck is this shit?
The bus is baisée—The bus is fucked.
Exactamente—Exactly.
Chante une autre—Sing another.
Ay! La puta madre!—Motherfucker
Mauvaise idée, les gars—Bad idea, guys
Mes couilles—My balls.
El Semental—Stallion.
Chapter 45
Qué carajo—What the fuck?
Érzi—Son.
Chapter 46
Sos, mi media naranja, mi cielo— You are my half orange, my sky.
Chapter 47
Guten abend—Good evening.
Chapter 51
Steigen Sie aus der Bühne, deich—Get off the stage, dyke!
Chapter 55
Güey de mierda —Fucking loser.
Hijo de re mil puta —Fucking asshole!
Hijo de puta—Son-of-a-bitch.
Acknowledgments
Everyone deserves love, even fuck-ups. That’s why I wrote this book. Sadly though, we all have to grow up at some point. But that doesn’t mean you have to stop having fun. List the things you loved as a kid, and do them often. And above all, laugh. Even when things suck. That’s the moral of the story, in case you didn’t figure it out.
I couldn’t have written this book without help. And lots of it.
Mark Landon, a composer and violinist at the Dallas Symphony, spent hours talking to me about music and issues with violinists. He was amazing.
My friend H, a PhD student from China, provided all the Chinese language information. Penny Sparkles checked my Argentinian Spanish.
Thanks also to my fabulous beta readers, Robin’s Red Pen, Eileen, and Lucy, and to my proofreaders, Stacey and Petrina.
I also want to express my gratitude for a few authors who’ve helped me on the bumpy road to becoming an Indie author.
Penny Reid, whose fabulous books inspired me to write rom-com, advertised my book Road-Tripped on her page when I didn’t know a soul in the book world.
I’d also like to thank Melanie Harlow for helping me and other aspiring authors navigate through the rough waters. And lastly, I’d like to thank author, J.D. Hawkins, for helping me with my introverted male character. He supplied Elias’s line, “My dick’s not shy.” His sense of humor is always a bright spot in my day.
All the quotes in the book were from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.
Effie and the others in the story were loosely based on the characters in these books.
Also, the band Arcade Fire was the inspiration for Urban. They have a kick-ass violinist too.
Child prodigies often struggle when they grow up. Many turn to substance abuse. Check out these articles: The Mind of the prodigy | How to Raise a Child Prodigy | Child Prodigies All Grown Up | The Downside of Being a Child Prodigy.
Effie probably has a mild case of undiagnosed Asperger’s, which often manifests differently in women.
Research has found that people with ADHD often turn to cocaine addiction to self medicate.
And sadly, Neo Nazism is on the rise all over the world, including in the United States.
Readers of romance, please stand up against hatred and give everyone the love and respect they deserve.
About the Author
Nicole Archer’s lengthy career as an advertising copywriter not only polished her writing skills—it provided a lifetime of book material. Many months her book purchases are as high as her mortgage. As a single, full-time working mom of a beautiful, brilliant, and horrifically energetic son, she has little time to do much else besides work, write, read, drink wine, and breathe. In real life, she lives in Dallas, Texas, but she’d rather live in Switzerland.
Website: Nicolearcher.com
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Love, Nicole
Other books by Nicole
Road-Tripped Ad Agency Book 1
What’s worse than driving across country in a phallic-shaped RV with a coworker you hate? Falling in love with them.
Copywriter, Callie Murphy, has a bad attitude, a vicious tongue, and a serious aversion to Shimura Advertising’s resident manwhore, Walker Rhodes. Know where he can stick his good looks and Southern charm? She can think of a few creative places. Avoiding him wouldn’t be a problem, except her boss threatens to fire her if she doesn’t go along with him on their RV client’s cross-country tour.
Walker is sick of his job, tired of women, and in a big old creative rut. The upcoming client road trip is just what he needs to shake things up and rediscover his lost passion. But his plans go south when his partner drops out at the last minute, and Call
ie, the foul-mouthed tiny terror, takes her place. Unless he can find a way to thaw his icy coworker, he’s looking at two months of pure hell.
On the road, they experience one hilarious misadventure after another and soon find themselves on a life-changing journey. But when their paths veer off in different directions, will they hit a dead end?
*Road Tripped is a stand-alone novel and the first book in the new adult romance series: the Ad Agency Series.
Buy it on Amazon.
Head-Tripped: A Sexy Rock Star Romance (Ad Agency Series Book 2) Page 25