Crescendo

by Kaitlin Maitland

  Erik looked almost understanding, not something Seth would"ve expected of a hard-ass businessman. “And now?”

  “The parade of willing pussies we brought through our apartment used to be enough. Unfortunately, half of them were about as smart as the woodwork, and the rest were cold, calculating bitches trying to figure out the best way to use us to their advantage.”

  Erik looked right at Seth. “That"s why the right one is worth the craziness. At the end of the day, I know I can go home to a woman who isn"t trying to manipulate me, use me, or play mind games I don"t have the patience for. She"s just Talia, and I love the hell out of her.”

  Something inside Seth"s heart lurched at Erik"s matter-of-fact description. The man was right. Finding a woman they could just be with was worth it. If only he didn"t feel like their relationship with Leslie had been built on lies and subterfuge.

  He"d been less than honest when he"d convinced her she had no other choice than to move in with them. At what point was he just kidding himself that it would ever be more than a business relationship distorted by casual sex?

  “So.” Erik clapped his hands together. “I"ve been sent to retrieve you two for the concert.”

  Joshua glanced down at his casual slacks and then up at Erik"s nicer attire. “I think we"d better change clothes.”

  “Whatever you want, but you ladies need to get a move on, or my wife will string me up and beat me until I scream.”

  Josh laughed. “Is that a bad thing?”

  “Excuse me. I"m not as adventurous as the two of you.”

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  The image of Leslie bound in the middle of their bed while he and Joshua teased and tormented her naked body burned itself into Seth"s mind. He bit back a moan and retreated to the bedroom. Though his heart might be conflicted about Leslie, his body knew without a doubt she was the only one he would ever want again.

  * * *

  “I"m insane. Do you think Professor Williamson will be pissed if I call the whole thing off and change my mind?” Leslie pulled the curtain closed and tried to take slow deep breaths to quiet the rising sense of panic. Taking a peek at the massing audience had been a bad idea. “Oh, there"s Erik!” The satisfaction in Talia"s voice was enough to make Leslie cry.

  “How do you do it?” she asked. “How do you trust that he"ll still love you when you wake up every day, even when he goes to sleep mad as hell?” She put her face in her hands.

  “Love isn"t always pretty, Les. Sometimes it is mad as hell.” Talia smoothed a hand down the long skirt of her slinky black dress. “At some point you have to trust in what you feel and what they feel and quit trying to micromanage.”

  Leslie thought of the moment she"d opened her eyes that morning, of the three of them tangled naked in the center of the bed. Joshua"s body had been curled protectively around hers. In sleep, Seth"s subconscious had set his anger aside, and he"d draped his arm over her hip. With her head nestled into the hollow of his shoulder, she was soothed by his presence on one side and Joshua"s on the other. If she could wake like that every morning for the rest of her life, she"d consider herself the luckiest woman on earth.

  “It"s nearly time.” Professor Williamson appeared in a tux complete with tails.

  His conductor"s baton whipped through the air with each word. “Are you ready?”

  “It"s too late to say otherwise, isn"t it?” Leslie tried to be nonchalant.

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  “It"s never too late.” The professor cupped her cheek. “But your grandfather dreamed of you and that violin debuting together on this stage. Tonight is his moment as much as it is yours.”

  I will not cry. I will not cry.

  Of all the things he could have said, the professor had chosen the one thing that could take her back to childhood. She"d been hiding for so long. Hiding where she"d come from, what she could do, and most of all, hiding the violin her grandfather had given her. She"d let her fears keep her from everything, even from the two men who loved her.

  Sucking in a deep breath, she felt the years of training sweep her nervous system with an icy calm sense of purpose. No more hiding. Not for her, not for La Bella Ragazza. She could do this. Grandfather would"ve wanted her to do this. It was way overdue.

  “They will announce each of you individually. Wait for your cues.” The professor shook his shoulders and pasted a wide smile on his narrow face. He pushed through the curtain with more flair than Leslie could ever hope to match.

  Talia burst into a fit of giggles. “Was your grandfather like that?”

  “Less dramatic, but in some ways, yes. It"s the passion.”

  “Well, if you do the whole-body drama-queen shake, I"m going to kick your ass back to reality.”

  The clapping died down, and an announcer"s voice crackled to life. “Soloist Talia Davies-Aasen.”

  Talia took a deep breath and strode confidently out onto the stage. Leslie felt a rush of pride on behalf of her friend. Talia had changed so much since the night she"d met Erik. There was almost nothing left of the insecure foster child who"d spent years feeling inferior to everyone else in her life. She was talented, graceful, beautiful, and loved by a man who had moved heaven and earth to make her his.

  Lucky bitch.

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  Seth had never been inside the Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. He knew the New York Philharmonic played there, but a trip to watch them perform had never made it to the top of his priority list. Calling the facility dazzling was a massive understatement. It had been designed to inspire awe. Practically everything inside had been gilded. The central stage was bracketed on either side by boxes. He, Joshua, and Erik had seats near the right edge of the stage in a box with a magnificent view. Below them, floor seats stretched toward the back of the auditorium, and three balcony levels lined each side above.

  On the stage, Julliard"s orchestra was arranged into an impressive U shape on the smooth, wood stage. The house was full, even though the audience hadn"t come to see the celebrated Philharmonic. Instead, they waited patiently for the two musicians who would take their places in the empty chairs directly underneath him.

  “There she is,” Erik whispered when Talia appeared. She perched on the edge of her chair. Violin resting in her lap, she arranged her skirt around her legs. “God, I love that woman.”

  Neither Seth nor Joshua commented. They were both riveted to the scene below, waiting for Leslie to appear. A fierce wave of admiration took Seth by surprise. Despite the seemingly insurmountable issues that seemed to stand in the way of a relationship between him, Joshua, and Leslie, he"d never been so proud of another person in his life.

  “Concertmistress Leslie Angelique Hampstead Marquette and La Bella Ragazza.” The announcer"s voice was instantly drowned out by the mingled applause and whispered amazement rippling through the audience like a tidal wave.

  “What is La Bella Ragazza?” Josh"s urgent whisper recalled Seth to the moment.

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  Shrugging, Seth did what anyone else would"ve done. He took out his phone and Googled it. To his shock, thousands of entries popped up. Touching the screen, he skimmed the wiki definition and let it sink slowly into his consciousness.

  Josh poked him just as the orchestra was tuning their instruments. “Well?”

  Seth swallowed the lump that had lodged in his throat. “That violin she uses sold at Christie"s fifteen years ago for 3.6 million.”

  His partner"s face paled beneath his tan. “Fuck me.”

  Two boxes down, Seth glimpsed a vaguely familiar man with faded red hair shot with silver. He was dressed to the nines, his eyes glued to Leslie"s graceful form as the orchestra tuned their instruments.

  Seth had met Trevor Marquette only once. It had left an impression that didn"t readily fade away. Marquette was a hard, brutal man who valued his bottom line above all else. Watching the shrewd businessman evaluate Lesli
e like an investment waiting to be taken in hand, Seth began to get a clearer picture of the things she hadn"t shared with them.

  “Good God, listen to her,” Joshua murmured as he leaned forward to grip the edge of the box.

  The strains of her melody sent primal awareness zinging through every nerve in Seth"s body. He drank in the sight of her. Long, loose hair curled gently about her shoulders. It gleamed in the lights, shot with gold and copper highlights that invited his touch. The arch in her back grew more pronounced as the music intensified, and her bow stroked insistently across the strings. She moved to the edge of her chair, her body swaying with the music. Though he couldn"t see her face, he knew her eyes were closed. Each note resonated deeply within her, within him, within Joshua, until the three of them were bound into her song by unbreakable bonds.

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  The reception area reminded Leslie of a shark tank. But there was only one shark in the room that had already tasted her blood. She could feel him watching her, evaluating her every smile and movement for possible weak points.

  If only he"d just approach and get it over with.

  “There they are!” Talia grabbed her arm and dragged her through a knot of patrons toward Erik, Seth, and Joshua.

  The three men had commandeered a corner with a view of the exit. Not a bad decision, all things considered. Talia immediately melted into her husband"s arms, their whispered exchanges growing playfully heated in a matter of seconds.

  It felt like years had passed since she"d walked onstage. Leslie hazarded a look up at Seth"s and Joshua"s expressions, trying to gauge their reaction to her performance. There was so much that needed to be said. She was starting to realize that they"d all withheld more than they had confided. Everything felt unsettled, and she was uncertain how to proceed. Before she could try to begin making things right, she felt her father"s heavy hand on her shoulder.

  “Imagine my surprise to see your name heading the list of guest performers for this concert.” His voice dripped sarcasm. Beside him, a woman older than Leslie by only a handful of years offered a brittle smile. She was dripping diamonds and clutching his arm in an obvious statement of ownership.

  Leslie straightened. “So nice to see you again, Trevor.”

  He lifted his chin aggressively. “You told me you"d pawned that instrument.”

  “I never said that. You assumed that. And since you never listen, it"s what you believed.”

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  “It"s what you led me to believe, on purpose, in order to keep me from being able to reacquire a very expensive investment item.”

  “I"ll assume you mean the violin and not me, as you made no attempt to contact me again once you thought the instrument was lost to you.” The words burned even as Leslie spoke them. She hadn"t wanted him to find her. She"d wanted to remain anonymous in Boston for all these years. That didn"t make it hurt less that he cared more for the money than he did for her.

  “Fortunately that"s a nonissue now. La Bella Ragazza has reappeared, and you"ve been nice enough to advertise it for me.” His weathered face stretched into a leering grin. “It"ll make the bidders all the happier to up their maximums.”

  “La Bella isn"t for sale,” she said quietly. “Grandfather gave it to me, not you.”

  Any pretense of smile slid from his jowly face, and he cast a glance around at her companions. “Running with a fancier crowd these days, aren"t you? Didn"t think you enjoyed the company of rich men, and yet here you are with Erik Aasen. And although these two look familiar, I"m not certain we"ve been introduced.”

  Erik pulled Talia into his arms as Seth and Joshua flanked Leslie on both sides like immovable statues. She"d gone to them because she wanted the biggest bullies on the legal playground to be on Niles"s side. At the time, she hadn"t dreamed of needing their badass legal personas in her corner as well. Now everything had changed. All misunderstandings and disagreements aside, they were telling her that they were going to back her no matter what.

  Her heart skipped a beat, and her body sang with ecstasy.

  “I"m Seth Overton, and this is my partner, Joshua Breckenridge.” Seth"s smooth baritone slid like silk across her nerves, settling everything back into place where it belonged and bolstering her flagging confidence.

  “Overton and Breckenridge.” Her father"s tone went flat. “Lawyers from Boston.”

  Josh gave a curt nod. “And as a lawyer, I"d advise you not to make wild claims about items included in an estate you"ve already lost in probate.”

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  Leslie just managed to stifle a gasp. Her father had already lost La Bella in probate? How could Joshua possibly know that?

  “Are you friends or legal representation?” Trevor shifted uncomfortably, the woman on his arm beginning to look bored. She probably would"ve frowned if her Botoxed face would"ve allowed it.

  “Let"s say both,” Seth told him with a predatory grin.

  “She was still underage when her grandfather purchased that violin!” His righteous indignation indicated he was close to losing control. “It was locked inside my office for safekeeping. The night she left home, she broke in and took it without permission.”

  Joshua"s arrogance was on full display. “Was she of age when she left home?”

  “That"s beside the point.”

  “No,” Seth countered. “That is the point. If you were keeping her possessions from her after she"d come of age, she had every right to take them back.”

  Trevor clenched his hands, his face turning a frightening shade of red. “Her grandfather"s estate was in trust until she turned twenty-one.”

  Joshua fidgeted, shifting his stance in a tiny movement she would"ve never seen had she not been so aware of him. Understanding hit her like a ton of bricks.

  They were working her father. They didn"t know any of the details surrounding her family problems. They were working him with bits and pieces they"d gleaned from what little she"d told them and their knowledge of the system.

  “Since she"s several years past twenty-one now, don"t you think this conversation is a little out of line?” Seth"s hand sliced the air in a gesture of finality.

  “Or would you like to pursue it in a deposition format?”

  Leslie felt like the worst kind of idiot. Talia had been right. If she"d just come clean from the beginning, she would"ve saved herself hours of useless worrying. Not to mention these two fantastic men would"ve been much better prepared to handle this awkward conversation with her overbearing father. Not caring who noticed, she 170

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  reached out and took their hands, squeezing tightly until she got a squeeze in return.

  “Damn right I will.” Her father was already beginning to back off. “My legal team will be contacting you first thing Monday morning.”

  Joshua gave her father a cold smile. “We"ll be looking forward to it.”

  Trevor didn"t waste any time beating a path to the nearest exit. Once he was gone, Erik let loose a snort of laughter.

  “Shut up, Aasen.” Seth"s grin didn"t match his surly tone of voice. “We don"t need any comments from the „rich man."”

  Mortified by her father"s idiotic behavior, Leslie buried her face in her hands.

  “I wish we could go home.”

  Joshua perked up at the suggestion. “We can"t go home just yet, sweetheart, but we can blow this party and head back to the hotel.”

  Talia pulled away from Erik and folded her into a warm hug. “Call me before you leave. And thank you so much for giving me the chance to do this with you.”

  Leslie wrapped her arms around her friend"s shorter frame and wished life hadn"t placed them in two different cities. “I"ve missed you. Plan a trip back to Boston before long, won"t you?”

  Talia gave her an impish grin. “I think it"ll be just as easy for you to come visit me here.”

  Leslie puzzled over
the enigmatic statement. Erik and Talia owned houses in both New York and Boston. Surely it was easier for them to go back and forth between Talia"s performances? Erik swept his wife out the door before she could ask for an explanation.

  Seth pressed a kiss to the center of her palm. “I think we"ve got some lost time to make up for.” His whisky brown eyes were warmer than she"d seen them in days, and the sight made her pulse race.

  “What, exactly, would you be referring to?”

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  Joshua leaned down until he could murmur in her ear, “Maybe he"s talking about the night of hot sex he missed because he was passed out.”

  Seth used his other hand to smack Joshua on the back of his head. “Thanks for the reminder. Next time you do something stupid, I"ll be sure to bring it up over and over.” His expression grew serious. “We do have a lot of talking to do, Leslie. All three of us. This can never happen again.”

  Her father had blindsided them because she"d deliberately kept them in the dark. It didn"t take a genius to determine that she hadn"t picked the wisest path in this situation. The way Seth talked, there were things they"d been keeping from her too.

  Waiting for the other shoe to drop was getting awfully old.

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  Chapter Twenty-one

  “I owe you an apology.” Seth wished there was a fireplace in the Park View Suite. This was a conversation that would"ve been better if the three of them could snuggle up before a warm fire instead of lined up on a sofa before a cold bank of dark windows.