Treat You Better (The Family Stone Book 3)

by Brooke St. James

  I had so much fun with Fiona.

  I never knew how natural it would feel to let myself get lost behind the mask of someone else for a little while. I felt liberated and uninhibited. Fiona's character wasn't just about singing, either. She was her own person—one who was unlike Indie in so many ways. It felt great just to let go and be a different person for a little while.

  Fiona was on tonight.

  The place only held about a hundred people, and when I played there before, it was near empty, but tonight it was at least half-full. My sisters and their husbands were in the audience and so were a few of Collin's friends. It was the largest audience we had played for yet. I thought I would prefer to keep the crowd small, but I loved the larger audience.

  Collin was in a great mood as well, so his playing and energy were on point. He was smiling the whole time, and he was dressed sharply. He always wore slacks and a button-down shirt, but tonight he had on a tie.

  I was happy that he dressed up a little because my dress was extremely glamorous. My mother had bought it for me. It was red satin with an exaggerated collar that had waves of material that created a plunging, v-shaped neckline. I felt like a lounge singer mixed with a flamenco dancer.

  My hair had been curled, teased, and pinned into place, and I had on fake eyelashes, heavy eyeliner, and red lipstick.

  Our first three songs were up-tempo numbers that had the crowd smiling and bobbing their heads. I had written a few songs of my own, but for these gigs, I always did classics. It was inevitable that a few people in the audience would know all of the lyrics, and it was fun watching them lip sync while I performed.

  Our fourth song was Blueberry Hill, but we had slowed it down to a ballad. I loved Fats Domino and had several of his songs worked up—there were two of them on tonight's set list.

  I sat down on the piano bench next to Collin as the song began. I didn't look at the crowd at first. I just sat there and spaced out, watching Collin's hands on the keys. The song was nearly over by the time I stood up and looked out at the audience. We would go right into another ballad once this one was over, and my staring off into space or not engaging was all part of the act.

  Fiona was a little more dramatic than Indie—perhaps a little sadder, more introspective at times and, on the other side of the spectrum, she was more zany and carefree. I was relatively sure she was a reflection of me nonetheless. Maybe Fiona was personification of the elements of me that I wouldn't otherwise expose. She was more transparent than Indie, for sure.

  Her personality worked well with blues music, and thankfully, my singing voice brought everything together. Just as I hit the last few notes of Blueberry Hill, I glanced toward the door. The next song we would perform was Will You Love Me Tomorrow. It was a good thing it was one of my favorites and I knew it front ways and back because Noah Case walked through the door, successfully distracting me from everything that was going on.

  It was dimly lit in there, but the room was small, and there was no doubt in my mind that it was Noah. There was absolutely no reason he should be there, but there he was. It was Noah, plain as day. It was a hundred percent him.

  I sang in spite of my nerves.

  Tonight you're mine, completely

  You give your love, so sweetly

  Tonight, the light of love is in your eyes

  But will you love me tomorrow

  Is this a lasting treasure

  Or just a moment's pleasure

  Can I believe the magic of your sighs

  Will you still love me tomorrow

  Tonight with words unspoken

  You said that I'm the only one

  But will my heart be broken

  When the night meets the morning sun

  Noah was with another guy. It wasn’t his father—it was someone his age. It took them a minute to find a table and get settled in. They spoke to each other, and then I watched as Noah leaned back casually in his chair and regarded the stage.

  I was looking at him when he first glanced at me. I was in the middle of singing, but I broke character enough to give him the slightest hint of a smile between the verse and the chorus.

  He stared straight at me. I expected him to be surprised when it dawned on him that I was his student, but he wasn't surprised at all.

  If I didn't know any better, I would think he knew all along that he would find me on the stage singing.

  If I didn't know any better, I would think he came there to see me.

  Chapter 8

  We were doing a short set that night.

  There was a guy who played the piano every Friday at ten, so Collin and I would only be performing eight or nine songs. The crowd was responding to us, and the owner would have probably told us to continue past our allotted time, but Collin had to go to work. He had a part-time job as a cook at an all-night diner.

  We planned on finishing our set at twenty-till-ten, and he would go to work right afterward. Collin kept me on time and focused with little conversations between songs that only we could hear.

  I glanced at Noah after one of these exchanges, and I had to hold back a huge grin when I realized that he was staring at Collin and me with a sort of curiosity that made it seem like he was slightly bothered by our proximity. It wasn't a full-on jealous boyfriend expression, but there was an edge to it. My heart pounded at the sight of him, and I had to look away.

  I glanced at Collin again. He had just told me we had time for one more song, so the next words out of my mouth were, "Wanna do Ain't That a Shame?"

  Collin nodded at me. It was another song we had practiced a lot, so I had an easy time relaxing and letting myself get lost in the music—in the character.

  I sang the classic song and then bowed and walked off the stage. I had already introduced Collin earlier in the set, so he stood up and bowed with me, and we made a quick exit off the back of the stage and into the hallway. I heard music come over the speakers as we left the main room.

  We headed toward an office area that we used as a makeshift greenroom. In a minute, once Collin left, I would lock the door and use the room to change clothes. It was either that or change in the restroom, and I knew from experience that the office was nicer.

  Collin held the door open for me and then let it close behind us.

  "That was amazing," he said with wide eyes. "We have never had a crowd that big. I bet none of those people were here for Dwight." He was talking about the pianist who would go on in a few minutes. He used to be the main draw every Friday, but Collin was right. I had a hunch that a lot of the audience had come specifically to see us.

  Our little duo went by the name Miss White and the Rabbit. I didn't want to be billed as Fiona White, so I asked Collin to help me think of a name. He was the one who thought of it. I introduced myself as Fiona White during the set, but the sign out front had our band name. I liked it better that way.

  "You're going to have to play bigger venues soon," Collin said.

  "You mean we are?" I asked. I wasn't sure that I would be able to do it without Collin. He made me comfortable and kept me on track while I was performing.

  He loosened his tie. I knew he would just tell me goodbye and leave so that I could get changed. I wanted him to get to it quickly so that I could make it out to the lounge and catch Noah before he left. It was out of the question that I would go out there as Fiona. She was strictly a stage performer. I wanted to change my clothes and wipe off the red lipstick first.

  I was ready to change, but Collin was so sweet and excited that I couldn't help but talk to him for a minute. He had just brought up the crowd's reaction to one of our songs when we heard a knock on the door. I glanced at him with wide eyes and he said, "Who is it?" in a voice that was a little deeper than his natural one.

  "It's Noah Case."

  I was standing close enough to the door that I clearly heard his voice. It sent chills up my spine. I instinctually glanced at Collin with wide eyes and his brows furrowed like he was about to tell the guy to get
lost. I was just about to say that he misunderstood my expression and shouldn't do that, but Noah spoke again before I could.

  "Sorry to interrupt, but I'd like to talk to Miss… Stone… Miss White before she leaves, if possible."

  Collin looked at me, and I nodded.

  "You know him?" he whispered.

  I nodded again. "He's a friend of mine."

  When I said that, I realized that I should open the door so I could speak to Noah. I did just that. I reached for the door, opening it and then standing back so that Noah could see into the room.

  "Hey," I said. I tried to control my breathing, but I could see and feel my chest rising and falling as I stood there looking at him.

  He had on black jeans with a t-shirt and a thin windbreaker hoodie. He knew how to dress. It was casual but fashionable. I stared at him, wondering what in the universe could have happened that caused him to be standing right in front of me at this moment. He was the most appealing looking man I had ever seen. His hair was longer on top, and it had been combed away from his face. Some of it fell over his forehead, but it was mostly pushed back. His amber eyes gave him a mysterious look.

  He scanned me from head to toe, taking me in before shifting his attention to Collin who was standing a few feet behind me. "This is Collin," I said, even though it would have probably been more fitting to ask him what he was doing there.

  "Hi," Collin said from behind me.

  I didn't turn to look at him. I kept my gaze focused on Noah.

  "It's nice to meet you," Noah said, looking at Collin with a small smile before shifting to stare at me again. His eyes roamed over my face. "I wanted to say 'bye' before we took off," he said. "You did an amazing job out there. I had no idea you could do that."

  "Thank you," I said. "Thanks for coming."

  I glanced behind him. "Are you leaving right away? Do you have to go now?" I wanted to continue our conversation after I got changed. I wanted to hang out with him. I definitely wanted to know how he ended up at Angelo's.

  "I'm with my friend, Zack, and he has to be going soon, but we can hang out for a few more minutes." He gestured toward the lounge. "Are you coming out?"

  "I am, but I need to leave, too. I have plans to go out to eat with my sisters and their husbands. They've probably already gone. I'm planning on meeting them at the restaurant." I shrugged. "You can come with us, if you want. We're just gonna eat and hang out for a little bit. I'm going to get changed first, and I'll be ready to go."

  Noah glanced at Collin again. He was wearing an unreadable but serious expression. I could tell he was thoughtfully evaluating something.

  "You… do you, just, uh, get changed right here?" he asked.

  "Yeah, but I leave," Collin clarified quickly.

  "Yeah, he leaves," I agreed. "Collin's got to go to work."

  Noah looked at me again, his eyes darting toward my dress before quickly making eye contact with me again. "I, uh, I… I rode with Zack, actually. I didn't know. If I would have known you were going out to eat, I would have taken my car, but… I'm kind of at his mercy for a ride."

  "Your friend could come too," I said, trying not to seem as desperate as I was.

  Noah shook his head. "He's got to go. Something about his girlfriend needing a ride."

  Part of me thought that Noah was making an excuse. I felt a little hurt and it caused me to act really nonchalant I shook my head and waved a hand through the air. "Oh, okay. I'll just see you at school, no problem. I'm happy you came to the show, though."

  "Do you think you could give me a ride home?"

  His question surprised me, and I regarded him silently.

  "I understand if you can't, I just thought that maybe—"

  "Sure," I said cutting him off. "Of course. No problem. Leo's staying at my parents' tonight. I was thinking about crashing over there with him."

  "As long as you don't mind," he said.

  "Not at all," I insisted. "I'll be out in five minutes if you can just wait for me."

  Noah nodded at me before giving a two-fingered wave to Collin. They said something about it being a pleasure to meet each other, and just like that, Noah was gone.

  The door closed, and I looked at Collin. "Who was that?" he whispered, looking perplexed since he knew I wasn't dating anyone.

  "My teacher," I said.

  "At jewelry school?" His expression grew more and more flabbergasted by the second. "That guy is a jewelry teacher?"

  "Yeah, why, what's he look like?"

  Collin shrugged. "I don't know. I just never would have dreamed he was a jewelry teacher. Did you know he was coming?"

  "No. I've never even told him about the act. I have no idea how he knew to come here."

  "Somebody in your class probably told him."

  "None of them even know," I said. shaking my head.

  "I don't know how we manage to put butts in those chairs," Collin said, shaking his head with a little smile. "You're so dang secretive about doing this. Joe said you didn't even want him to put out flyers. I'm surprised you even tell your sisters."

  "It's not that I don't want people to know… I just… don't want to be the one to tell them."

  "That makes no sense at all," he said, reaching out to hug me.

  "Bye," I said. "Thank you. I had fun tonight."

  "Me too," he said. "I can't wait to tell Phil all about it."

  Phil was a full-time cook at the diner where Collin worked. He was a character—a hilarious old coot—and he always got a kick out of hearing how our band was doing. I had met him once when I went to eat there, and he had promised he'd come to a show if he was ever off work for one of them.

  I smiled and said, "Tell Phil 'hi' for me."

  Collin nodded and headed for the door. "I will. Tell your family the same from me and thanks for asking me to dinner. I wish I could go. Talk to you later."

  I nodded, and Collin took off, closing the door behind him. I was so nervous and excited that I was practically buzzing as I changed clothes. My dress had a zipper that I could easily reach, and I made quick work of taking off my dress and getting into something more comfortable.

  All I had was jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt. It wasn't the exact outfit I would have chosen had I known Noah would be there, but it would have to do.

  My hair had been pinned up in a perfect style, and I took it down and ran a brush through it before putting it into a ponytail. I took a tissue from the desk and wiped off my red lipstick.

  I glanced at myself in the full-length mirror that was on the back of the door. My lips were still a little stained even though there was no longer lipstick on them. I blotted them together before checking to make sure my eye makeup was still in place. I made quick work of folding my dress and stockings and placing them carefully into my duffel bag along with my heels.

  In no time at all, I had my bag strapped over my shoulder and was on my way back into the lounge. Noah was waiting near the entrance of the hallway. I could see him standing against the wall, absentmindedly staring into the room—his hands casually resting in his pockets.

  He turned when he saw me approaching. His smile was irresistible, and my stomach clinched at the sight of it. He shook his head, regarded me with a serious expression. "I had no idea you could do that, Indie," he said. "Why didn't you tell me you could sing like that? That was seriously amazing. I don't even know what to say to you right now."

  I grinned broadly and gestured toward the stage. "You liked the show?" I asked.

  He continued staring at me, almost stunned. "Yeah, I liked the show. You didn't tell me you could do that. Why didn't you tell me?"

  I laughed. "Thank you, but I don't really tell anybody about it. I just started doing it like a few months ago, and it's just something I do for fun."

  He glanced around, still looking a bit confused. "I'm just stunned. That was wonderful. Are you sure you don't mind giving me a ride home?"

  His friend was nowhere in sight.

  I smiled. "It's
too late now. Unless your friend's still in the parking lot."

  "No. He's gone."

  We just stood there and looked at each other. I had gotten to know him during the last two weeks, and still, I was at a loss for words.

  "Shall we?" I said, gesturing toward the door.

  Noah asked if I needed help with my bag, but I assured him that it was light. A couple of people talked to me on the way out, including the owner of the venue who said something about already settling up with Collin. We did not get paid a whole lot for these gigs, but what we did make, Collin and I split down the middle. Collin always took care of dealing with the scheduling and handling the money, and he brought me cash when we got together to rehearse. I trusted him, and I didn't really care, anyway. It truly was just for fun.

  Noah asked me questions about music as we walked outside, and I told him the whole story about Collin being a friend from high school and how we had gotten together after I moved to L.A.

  I had parked close to the venue, so it only took us a couple of minutes to find my car. I was so comfortable with Noah that I almost asked if he wanted to drive my car, but I stopped myself just before the question came out.

  I put my bag into the backseat before getting inside, so by the time I sat in the driver's seat, Noah was already settled in his spot and ready to go.

  I started the car, but then I glanced at him before putting it in gear. He had his right arm propped against the door, and he casually smiled at me. Just looking at him made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

  I had a hard time forming a clear thought. I considered asking how in the world he ended up at the club, but I felt a little bashful and couldn't decide how to say it.

  "Ready?" I asked.

  Chapter 9

  "I'm ready when you are," Noah said.

  I loved the way he looked at me.