Release Me

by Farrah Rochon

  “Hi, Sienna,” Aria greeted. She motioned to the cameraman. “There were too many reporters outside of my apartment, so we have to crash here tonight.”

  “Of course.” Sienna nodded.

  “Where have you been?” Toby motioned toward the bag in her hand.

  “Ice cream run.”

  “At nearly two in the morning?”

  “It’s never too early or too late for ice cream.” She used the key he’d given her to open the door. “Let’s get inside and enjoy this.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Aria answered as she followed Sienna into the apartment. “This place is amazing,” she said as she entered.

  “Check out the view,” Toby called. He grabbed Sienna and pulled her to the bar. “I’m sorry. I tried to think of somewhere else to stash her, but there was nowhere.”

  “You’re even sorrier than you know.” A devious smile tipped up the corner of her mouth. “I bought a can of whipped cream to go with the ice cream.”

  Toby closed his eyes and groaned, his stomach clenching.

  “I’m kidding.” She laughed and moved over to the kitchen. She pulled out a carton of ice cream and a box of cones. “See.” She shook the paper bag. “There’s nothing else in here.”

  “Don’t tease me like that,” he said after taking a deep breath. “I could still put Aria and Mark up in a hotel.”

  “No, you won’t. We all need to get to bed. Tomorrow is going to be crazy, and we’ll need to be ready for it.”

  Aria came through the balcony’s open French doors. “Toby, I know you want to go over the Jazz Fest set tonight, but I don’t think I can stay awake another minute. I’m about to fall on my face.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Toby said. “We’ll go into the studio before your performance at the Hard Court tomorrow night.”

  “Thank goodness. I do still want some of that ice cream, though.”

  “It’s on the kitchen counter along with the cones,” Sienna told her. “So, what are the sleeping arrangements?” she asked Toby.

  “I just called Josh to come over and pick me up,” Mark said.

  “How’s he doing? Did everything turn out okay?” Toby asked.

  “What happened to Josh?” Sienna asked before Mark could answer.

  “His wife just had a baby girl,” Mark explained. “Six-pounds, nine ounces. Josh tried to catch a flight back to L.A., but it didn’t work out. He had to listen to the birth over the phone instead.”

  “I know my husband would never miss our child’s birth,” Sienna said.

  “Don’t worry.” Toby pulled her close and kissed her right temple. “I’ll be right beside you.”

  Her brows hiked up, a smile playing across her lips. “You’re pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

  “Extremely.”

  Aria walked back from the kitchen with an ice cream cone in hand. “Where can I sleep?”

  “The guest bedroom is through those doors, to the right,” Toby answered.

  “I’m going to head down,” Mark said, hoisting his camera bag over his shoulder. “Josh said he was about ten minutes away. We’ll be back here bright and early tomorrow morning. Just think, after Saturday, you’ll be rid of us.”

  “After what I saw outside of Aria’s apartment building, having you guys around this week has been a crash course in preparation for what’s to come.”

  “I’m afraid you’re right,” Mark answered. “Have a good night.”

  Toby waited for him to leave, then he grabbed Sienna by the shoulders and brought her to him, burying his face against her smooth neck.

  “I guess the reality of all this really hit home tonight, huh?”

  “What do you mean?” Toby asked.

  “The media. No real privacy. That’s going to be your life, you know?”

  “I guess you’re right,” Toby answered. “I thought after basketball became a non-issue, I wouldn’t have to worry about the spotlight anymore.”

  Sienna nodded. “Funny how things work out, isn’t it?”

  Toby trailed kisses down the column of her neck, thinking how funny it was that after all they had been through together that they would be in this place, lovers.

  “Yes, it is.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Ivana was hard pressed to see green grass as she scanned the crowded fairgrounds at the Jazz and Heritage Festival. The celebration was New Orleans’ second biggest party, next to Mardi Gras, and never failed to bring music lovers out in droves. The promise of great food and a plethora of music, from gospel to country, hip hop to jazz, was enough to pull people in, but add in the unseasonably mild temperatures from a surprise cold front that had passed through the area, and the enticement was too much for anyone to resist.

  Except for her, that is. Ivana would have given anything to be anywhere but here. She’d spent the last day and a half concocting one stellar excuse after another to try to get out of coming to Jazz Fest. She found a way to legitimize every one of them, but in the end, she decided to put on her big girl panties and face the music. And not the sweet sounding music coming from the multiple stages dotting the fairgrounds. She expected something akin to head-splitting hard-core rock when Jonathan Campbell caught up to her.

  She shouldn’t have left the way she did; she knew that now. But lying in bed with him all night had not been an option. It had felt too good, too right. She could not allow herself to be swept away by one night of amazing, mind-altering, skin-tingling sex.

  Something in the back of her mind tried to convince her that she shouldn’t have gone to his home in the first place, but Ivana could not regret what had occurred Thursday night. Making love with Jonathan had been one of the most mystical experiences of her life.

  But running away from him had been cowardly. And she was no coward.

  That’s why she was here today. Yes, she had promised Sienna she would come to Jazz Fest to support Aria Jordan as she performed on the biggest stage of her young career, but Ivana also needed to set things straight with Jonathan. She didn’t want him to think she was ashamed of what they had done.

  Ivana spotted the entire Holmes clan clustered on a patch of grass about twenty yards from the R&B stage. It came as no surprise that Toby’s entire family had come out to support him. Eli lounged back with his hands braced on the ground, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles in front of him. His fiancée, Monica, sat with her head on his shoulder. Jasmine was practicing her dance moves a few feet away, her face more serious than someone auditioning for a part in a Broadway musical. Ivana looked passed Jasmine to find Jonathan staring right at her. He started toward her, and Ivana braced herself for a well-deserved rant.

  Of course, Jonathan Campbell was the king of going against her expectations. He stopped mere inches from her, took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her palm.

  “I wanted to wake you up with that kiss yesterday morning, but didn’t get the chance,” he said.

  Ivana’s eyes slid close and her body quivered. Her bloodstream flooded with desire from the sound of his deep, rich voice.

  “I’m sorry I left the way I did,” she said.

  “So am I.”

  She opened her eyes. “You’re not as angry as I thought you’d be.”

  He shrugged. “Why should I be angry when I have all day to think up the ways you’re going to make up for leaving me alone in bed?”

  The rueful smile tilted her lips despite her best efforts to staunch it. The man was too cocky for his own good. But she sobered the instant she looked into his eyes and saw past the mask of nonchalance. She had hurt him by leaving.

  “Jonathan, I really am sorry. My running out Thursday night had nothing to do with you.”

  “Well, that makes me feel a little better. I thought maybe I’d lost my touch.”

  “I’m the one to blame here. I was just so embarrassed at the way I lost control. I don’t know where some of those sounds came from.”

  His gaze seared her. He grabbed her hand
s and gave them a squeeze. “Look, Ivana. I know you’ve been fighting this attraction between us, and with good reason. People, men especially, tend not to see the real you. It frightened you to have someone see past the façade and reach the real woman.” He took her chin and brought her face up. “But that’s who I’m interested in. I want to know the woman who lives here.” He tapped the place between her breasts, and a hot spark of desire skittered down Ivana’s spine.

  “Are you willing to let me in?” Jonathan asked.

  She nodded. Ivana feared if she did anything more, she would burst into tears in front of everyone here.

  “Well, I’m glad that’s taken care of,” Jonathan said, putting his arm around her shoulder and tucking her head under his chin. He whispered in her ear, “And as for those sounds you made Thursday night, for future reference, I’m partial to the little purr you make when you…you know.”

  Ivana pinched him on the arm.

  ***

  “There’s way more people here than I thought there would be,” Aria said, looking at Sienna through the mirror in the tiny trailer. The make-up artist had been putting the finishing touches on Aria’s face for the last five minutes.

  “Yes, the crowd is enormous this year, but remember they have nearly twenty stages, so don’t worry that all eyes will be on you.” Sienna needed to give it to her straight, though. “But, you’re going to have to get used to the limelight, Aria. You’re one of the biggest draws for today, and will be wherever you go. After this past week, it’s irrevocable. You’re part of America’s pop culture. “

  “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to it,” Aria admitted.

  The production assistant poked his head into the trailer. “Stage time.”

  “Oh, God,” Aria said.

  Sienna grabbed her hand and squeezed. “You’re done with stage fright, remember? You can do this. It is your last chance to win America over before the big show this coming Tuesday. You’ve had an amazing week, and have come so far. Don’t let anything stop you now.”

  Aria nodded, firm determination etched across her brow. “You’re right. I’m ready.”

  Sienna gave her hands a final squeeze, “Go get ‘em.”

  “Sienna?”

  She stopped halfway out of the door and looked back.

  “Thank you,” Aria said. She swept her hands up, encompassing the small space. “None of this would have happened if not for you.”

  “It would have. It just would have taken a little longer.” Sienna winked. “Now come on. It’s time to give everybody what they came to see, Aria Jordan in action.”

  A half-hour later, Sienna stood mesmerized with the rest of the crowd as Aria continued to belt out one soulful ballad after another. At the very last minute, Toby had changed the line-up, deciding, with Aria’s approval, that she should go back to her singing roots. The hip-hop and dancing had gotten her to this stage, but now that she was here, she could be true to the music that had nurtured her.

  “You know.” Sienna tipped her head closer to Toby, who had been standing there with a quirk to his lips for the last twenty minutes. “With all the hype surrounding the show, it’s sometimes easy to forget just how good she really is.”

  “Every morning when I wake up, I thank God that I walked into her uncle’s rundown bar.”

  “I’m sure Aria says the same prayer. The two of you were meant to find each other.”

  “There’s someone else I was meant to find,” Toby whispered. “Someone I’ve known all along, but it took me way too long to find her.” He dipped his head and captured her lips in a gentle kiss. Sienna closed her eyes and let him take her on the pleasurable journey only Toby could captain. The rest of the world ceased to exist as she drifted to that tender place they had discovered together.

  “It’s about time,” came a deep voice behind them. She and Toby jerked apart, finding Alex standing with his arms crossed over his chest.

  “What do you want?” Toby asked.

  Alex’s brow tipped up, along with his lips. Sienna smiled as Toby rolled his eyes. “Just say it.”

  Alex cleared his throat. “A better man wouldn’t subject you to this, but since I’m tired of always having to be the better one, I think I deserve to indulge myself here.”

  “Would you get on with it,” Toby said.

  Alex shrugged. “I told you so,” he said and walked away.

  Shaking his head, Toby smiled as his brother retreated.

  “It takes so little to make him happy,” Sienna commented.

  Toby’s expression sobered. “I wish.”

  “Are you saying Alex is not happy?” Sienna looked over at the oldest of the Holmes brothers as he dipped down and brought Jasmine up on his shoulders. Holding onto her feet, he swayed side to side in time with the music as Jasmine clung to him.

  “I’m not sure Alex knows what happy is anymore,” Toby said.

  Sienna wondered if Toby saw the same father and daughter she was looking at. In her book, Alex and Jasmine were the picture of happiness. Of course, she was not as close to him as Toby. Maybe there was something there she just could not see.

  “Well,” she asked, turning her attention back to Toby. “Are you happy?”

  He shook his head, and Sienna’s stomach dropped. “Happy doesn’t cut it,” he said. “There’s not a single word in the English language that can even begin to describe what I feel.”

  Sienna’s chest constricted. So this is what heart melting felt like, she thought.

  “Toby, I love you. I really, truly love you.”

  His eyes closed and his chest expanded with the deep breath he took. A pained expression came over his face.

  “Toby, what’s wrong?”

  He shook his head. “I’m still trying to find that word. Ecstatic? Euphoric? Nothing comes close.”

  Sienna wrapped her arms around his shoulders, folding her hands at the back of his neck. She pulled his head down until their foreheads met. “How about orgasmic?”

  She felt the tiniest shudder coming from Toby’s body as he wrapped his arms around her. “That’s close.”

  He kissed her long and deep, then turned around so that her back nestled against his chest, and his strong arms wrapped around her middle. Sienna rested her head back against him as they both swayed to Aria’s moving voice.

  After several encores, the crowd finally allowed Aria to exit the stage. To say that Aria Jordan’s final performance during her Week in the Life stint was a success was the biggest understatement Sienna could possibly make. Marshall Kellerman, along with two other men dressed in hideously loud Hawaiian shirts and wide-brimmed straw hats, came over to them.

  Kellerman grabbed Toby’s hand. “I should just sign over the contract right now. Aria Jordan’s popularity has reached heights none of us could have ever imagined.”

  “Why don’t we wait for Tuesday night’s live finale and let the American public decide,” Toby said.

  “I don’t think I’m being over-confident when I say the American public has already decided on their star, and rightfully so. Aria is amazing,” one of the Hawaiian shirt guys said.

  “Toby, I want you to meet Tom Hughes, President of Cardinal Studios,” Kellerman said.

  “Pleasure is all mine,” Toby said, returning the handshake.

  “Your client has surpassed our expectations,” Mr. Hughes said. “We were not sure about the Isaac Payton situation, but you handled it brilliantly.”

  “Thank you. But if anyone deserves to be showered with praise, it’s this woman here.” With his hand on the small of her back, Toby urged Sienna forward. “That entire situation with Isaac Payton could have turned out completely opposite if not for our marketing executive’s quick thinking. Sienna is the real reason Aria has become America’s favorite new star.”

  “Ah, yes!” Tom Hughes grabbed Sienna’s hand in both of his, enthusiastically pumping up and down. “I’m having dinner with Allen Mulholland later tonight. I already told him on the phone that he’s g
oing to have to offer you a hell of a deal to get you to stay with MDF, Inc. Cardinal Studios needs someone with your savvy on staff.”

  “Thank you,” Sienna said, her brain scrambling to come up with a more intelligent statement.

  Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord. Thank you, God, was all she could think of at the moment.

  She’d taken a risk sending out that press release after Allen had told her she was no longer on Aria’s account, but Sienna knew it was the only way to save her job. If she hadn’t played the bad girl angle, everything she’d worked for would have blown up in her face. The realization that her gamble had paid off sent a rush of validation flowing over Sienna, not to mention bone-melting relief.

  “We’ll see you two in L.A.,” Kellerman said. “I promised Tom some of that famous crawfish bread.”

  “It’s not to be missed,” Toby told them.

  “There will be a limo waiting at the airport Monday afternoon, Holmes. It will take you all straight to the Kodak Theater for the rehearsal, then we rehearse one more time Tuesday morning before the big finale later that night.”

  Kellerman and Hughes walked into the crowd surrounding the R&B stage.

  Sienna turned to Toby. “Oh, my God,” she said, jumping into his arms. “Can you believe this?”

  “Yes,” he answered. “We both deserve this, Cee Cee. It’s like you said; like everyone has been saying. This is exactly what God had in store for us. It just takes stubborn people like me a little longer to realize it.”

  “Toby, I’m so happy for you.”

  “Happy still doesn’t describe it. I think we should work on finding a new word.”

  “I kind of like the one I suggested.”

  “Oh yeah, I like your word, too,” he said, leaning forward for another kiss.

  ***

  Toby sat at the table staring at the phone for what seemed like hours, even though he knew only a few moments had passed since he’d ended the call that could change his life forever. Scenarios flew through his mind like a rocket shooting through space.