Home Is Where You Are

by Melissa Grace

  “I should be thanking you.” She bit her lip, resting her head on the back of the couch.

  “You’re the one who did me the favor,” I reminded her.

  “Maybe it started out that way, but writing with you tonight was like finding a piece of myself that’s been missing.” She looked at me through her dark eyelashes. “It’s been so long since I played or even tried to write a song. Short of the occasional karaoke night with Ella, I stopped singing altogether.”

  “But why?”

  She stared at her hands for a moment. When she looked back at me, tears were shining in her eyes. “Because it hurt too much. I gave it all up for Ben, but it’s not his fault. I chose that path, and I chose wrong because the day I let go of my music, I let go of myself too. I let go of every dream I ever had.”

  Her voice broke, and my heart clenched in my chest. I reached out, carefully wiping away a tear that had spilled onto her cheek. “Liv,” I whispered. I leaned into her slowly, stopping halfway. I cupped her cheek, my hand trembling slightly. Her lips parted, and my pulse felt as though it might beat out of my fingertips. My entire body flooded with warmth as she erased the distance between us. Her lips brushed against mine, soft like cotton candy. She moved her hands behind my neck and gently tugged me closer, our kiss deepening. Waves of desire nipped at my heart, threatening to pull me under when she suddenly pulled away.

  Her face flushed, and she wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. “I think I’ve had too much wine.” She shook her head, laughing softly. “I’m really sorry.”

  I winced. “I’m not.” I wasn’t sorry at all. I wanted to kiss her again, and again, and again. It stung a little that she blamed our kiss on the wine, but I had a feeling that wasn’t entirely true. The wine may have lowered her defenses, but I’d felt this connection growing between us from the moment I met her.

  “I shouldn’t have done that.” She looked down at her hands, chewing her bottom lip.

  “You don’t need to apologize,” I murmured, pulling her into my arms. My fingers lightly stroked the silky strands of hair that spilled down her back. She relaxed in my embrace, and I held her quietly for a few moments, feeling the gentle rise and fall of her breath. “You don’t have to put up any fronts with me. I want you to open up to me. You don’t have to give up on your dreams, and you shouldn’t. You’re so fucking talented. I wish you could see what I see. Your voice is unlike anything I’ve heard before. People hire voice coaches and train for years and don’t ever come close to the voice you’ve got. You’ve got a way with words. You write from a place you can’t fake.” I paused, inhaling her sweet scent. “I’m a little in awe of you, to be honest. You’re real, you’re funny, and your heart is genuine. God, you’re so beautiful, and you don’t even realize it. I know you think we couldn’t work, and I know you’re scared, but Liv, I want this. I want you. You’re—”

  A soft snore escaped her, and I realized she’d fallen asleep. I suppressed a laugh as I leaned back into the sofa with her still folded in my arms. “You’re perfect,” I whispered. I couldn’t stop myself from placing a soft kiss on top of her head before settling in and drifting off to sleep.

  I was startled awake by the buzzing of the power being restored and the lights flickering back on. When I opened my eyes, I could see the morning sun already beginning to filter through the room. Liv raised her head from my chest, squinty-eyed and confused. The fact that she’d fallen asleep on me seemed to register, and her sleepiness was replaced with a look of sheepishness.

  “Sorry about that.” She sat back, rubbing her eyes. “I didn’t mean to use you as a human pillow.”

  “Don’t be sorry,” I replied. “I’m not.” Now that I knew what it felt like to hold her in my arms, I never wanted to stop. My lips still ached to touch hers again.

  “Please tell me I didn’t snore.”

  “Not at all,” I lied, a soft smile playing across my mouth.

  She grabbed her phone off the table, illuminating the screen to check the time. “It’s already after seven. I need to get ready for work.” She stretched and yawned, seeming reluctant to move yet. “I’m going to text Ella to let her know I’m running a little behind. You want some coffee?”

  “I’d love some.” I was determined to soak up every second I could with her.

  “Come on.” She motioned with her head as she gathered the empty wine glasses. I followed with the remnants of the charcuterie board and the empty wine bottle. The sound of birds chirping their morning song filtered through the screen door we’d left open the night before. She placed the glasses in the sink and fired up the Keurig, busying herself with cleaning the dishes. “How about a latte? I think I still have some muffins from the shop if you’re hungry.”

  “That sounds great.” She went to work brewing the espresso and steaming the milk for each of our drinks before finally handing me an oversized mug. She placed some blueberry muffins on a small plate, moving to sit at the kitchen table. I reclaimed my spot next to her, looking out beyond the patio and into the backyard, finally able to see it in the light of day. “Wow. Your patio is gorgeous. Is that a firepit back there?” I noticed the wrought iron table and chairs set, along with a large umbrella in the center on the distressed wood patio. A stone walkway led from the patio out into the yard where the firepit was surrounded by cozy outdoor couches. I could see the posts that surrounded the walkway and the entertaining area that held strings of globe lights. I imagined it looked stunning lit up at night.

  “That’s one of the reasons I bought this place,” she explained. “I told myself I was going to start having people over to the house more. So far, it’s just been Ella and Grace. Katie has been here a few times too and now you.”

  “I feel honored.” And I did. Knowing I was one of the few she’d let into her personal space made my heart do somersaults inside my chest. “Don’t let me forget to give you your shirt back before I leave, by the way.”

  “Keep it.” She waved me off. “It looks better on you than it ever did on me. That reminds me, I need to go get yours out of the dryer.”

  “You should keep it. In case you miss me.” I waggled my eyebrows, and she rolled her eyes, a smile creeping onto her face.

  “In order for me to miss you, you’ll have to leave first.” She cracked a smile. “Speaking of, do you need me to drive you back to the hotel?” She sipped her latte, closing her eyes for a second from the sheer bliss of that first sip.

  “I’m good.” I shook my head. “I’ll text Brady to come get me.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and tapped out a quick text.

  “What are your plans for the day?”

  I took a bite from my muffin. Naturally, it was heavenly. “That depends.”

  “On?”

  “If you’ll let me see you again.”

  She laughed softly, a blush rising to her cheeks. Her hair was still messy from sleeping, and I had truly never seen anyone more beautiful. “You’re not tired of hanging out with me yet, huh?”

  I grinned. “Not a chance.”

  She chewed her lip thoughtfully for a moment, and I glanced away to stop myself from thinking about what it would be like to kiss her again. “Last night, you said you’ve never made a cake before.” She took another sip of her coffee, her hands wrapped around her mug. “Come to the shop later, and I’ll teach you.”

  “I’d love to, but you have to let me take you out for that dinner tonight.” I knew asking was a risk, but something felt different this morning. Something about our energy had shifted since the night before, and it felt as though she might be slowly letting her guard down.

  She sat thoughtfully for a moment, gazing into the backyard. Finally, she turned her eyes back to mine. “Okay.”

  “It’s a date.” I smiled. This time, she didn’t try to deny it. Maybe she hadn’t quite caught up with me yet, but I was willing to wait.

  “
Wait.” Liv laughed, holding out her hand to stop me from dumping the cup of powdered sugar I held into the bowl of the electric mixer. “Remember, you have to sift it first.” I’d spent the afternoon at the bakery, and she’d been teaching me how to bake while Ella and Katie looked on in amusement. We’d managed to make a chocolate cake and some plain white cupcakes before Liv began teaching me how to make a simple vanilla buttercream.

  “Just dump it in there,” Ella said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “It’s fine.”

  Katie snickered, elbowing Ella playfully in the side. “Don’t listen to her. There’s a reason she’s our business manager.”

  “And it’s the same reason I make all of Grace’s birthday cakes.” Liv stuck her tongue out at Ella before turning her attention back to me. “Sift the sugar into the bowl with the butter.”

  “Like this?” I asked, slowly pouring the sugar through the sifter and into the bowl. The paddles on the mixer whipped in a slow circle.

  “Exactly.” Liv beamed at me, and I found my gaze falling to her soft lips. “We’re going to add some vanilla extract, and a little almond extract.” I watched intently as she measured out the ingredients, pouring them into the bowl. “Now, we turn up the speed and whip it into submission.”

  We both reached for the switch at the same time, and my hand covered hers for one blissful second.

  “Sorry.” Liv quickly withdrew her hand, the faintest hint of pink creeping onto her cheeks. “You do the honors.”

  I noticed Ella give Liv a pointed look, raising her brow. “Whip it into submission, honey.” Ella sassed. “Whip it good.”

  This time, Liv was the one narrowing her eyes in Ella’s direction.

  “You got it.” I laughed, sliding the switch so the paddles whirred inside the bowl.

  “You’re doing good, and you’ve got the best teacher,” Katie said, squeezing Liv’s shoulder as she walked past her. “I’m going to go clean the cases out front.”

  “Thanks, Katie Bug.” Ella hunched over the island in the center of the kitchen, resting her head on her elbows as Katie disappeared through the door. “So, what are you two doing tonight?”

  “I’m taking Liv to dinner.” I smiled at Liv, and the pink in her cheeks turned a rosy red. “In exchange for this baking lesson.”

  Ella tilted her head slightly, a dreamy smile spreading across her face. “You guys are so cute.” Liv exchanged another look with her in a seemingly wordless conversation I couldn’t decode. “What? You are.” She sighed heavily. “I guess I’ll go and start closing things down since Jax clearly isn’t setting the kitchen on fire today.”

  “You mean like you did when I tried to teach you how to make crème brûlée?” A mischievous grin spread across Liv’s face.

  Ella snorted. “Those torches should really come with a warning label.”

  “She set our old order notebook on fire and almost singed my eyebrows off,” Liv said with a laugh.

  “She’s over-exaggerating.” Ella grinned. “It was only one eyebrow.”

  “Get out of here.” Liv picked up a dish-towel off the counter and swatted her with it.

  Ella giggled and started toward the door. “I’m going,” she said, leaving Liv and I alone for the first time since we’d been there.

  Liv flicked the switch on the mixer, and it slowed to a stop. “Now, we’re going to load up a pastry bag with the buttercream and decorate the cupcakes with it.” I watched as she filled the pastry bag with the thick frosting before handing it to me. She placed two of the cupcakes in front of me. “You’re going to squeeze a small dollop in the center first, and then slowly swirl the icing over the cupcake.”

  “Swirl,” I repeated. “Is that a technical term?”

  “In fact, it is.” She laughed, placing her hands over mine. “Try to apply even pressure to the bag so the icing doesn’t go everywhere.” My fingers tingled as she gently guided my hands over one of the cupcakes, resulting in a beautiful mountain of frosting. “Awesome. Now, you try.”

  She removed her hands from mine, and I tried to emulate what we’d just done on the next cupcake. This time, the frosting leaned heavily to the right.

  I laughed. “That didn’t turn out so good.”

  “That’s not bad for your first one,” she said, placing another cupcake in front of me. “This time, use that little dollop in the middle as your guide. Imagine you’re placing circles around it, even as you build the icing up.”

  I nodded and tried again. This time, it looked damn near perfect.

  “See?” Her eyes sparkled up at me. “You did great.” She held her hand out. “Here, I’ll finish these up real quick so we can go to dinner.”

  I handed her the bag and leaned against the counter, watching her work. She quickly moved the bag over the remaining cupcakes, covering them with a perfect mound of white buttercream.

  “You really are good at this.” I watched as she leaned down so that she was eye level with the cupcakes, inspecting them. Once she was satisfied, she stood and wiped her hands on her apron. “And you seem to really enjoy it.”

  “I do enjoy it.” She untied her apron, hanging it on the hook beside the door. “It just isn’t really what I wanted to do for a living. I’m good at it, but it’s never been what I was passionate about. Baking was supposed to help afford me the ability to do what I loved. It was supposed to be more of a means to an end, but that’s the way it is sometimes, right? What we’re good at and what we’re passionate about aren’t always the same things.” Her tone was light, but her wistful smile betrayed her. She turned away from me, busying herself by putting a few bowls in the sink. “I’m thankful for the bakery. I don’t mean to sound like I’m not. It’s just not what I saw myself doing for the rest of my life.”

  I knew she thought her dream had passed her by, but I felt strongly she could still pursue a career in music. We wrote so well together. I knew she was doing it to help me, but what if it could be something much, much more? I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could she’d turned back toward me expectantly.

  She smiled. “You ready to go get that pie?”

  “Definitely,” I said.

  “We’re heading out,” she called to Ella and Katie.

  Ella peeked her head in the kitchen. “You two have fun.” Once again, Liv’s face appeared to have a silent conversation with Ella’s.

  “I drove the Jeep to work so we could leave straight from here.” Liv grabbed her purse off the hook and dug her keys out. “You get to play DJ.”

  I opened the door for her, following her out into the night. We weren’t even on the road yet, but my mind was already going ninety miles an hour.

  The night air enveloped us in a cool autumn blanket as we drove with the top off the Jeep, Liv’s hair blowing wildly around her. We passed houses and businesses with Halloween decorations out front, which meant I had to play “Thriller” as my first selection. I laughed as Liv danced in place at a red light, complete with ridiculous zombie faces. Then of course, I joined her.

  We sang “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith at the tops of our lungs, trading off vocals and harmonizing with each other. Our voices blended together smoother than the butter and sugar in the buttercream we’d just made. With each song I picked to play, it was as though we’d previously rehearsed them. There wasn’t one sour note between us, and we played off each other easily, the way you do when you’ve been in a band with someone for a long time.

  A band… I thought about how easy it had been to write with her, how comfortable it was to be with her. The songs we’d started were good, and I knew the band would love Liv’s style. I had no doubt we’d be able to write some material for Midnight in Dallas, but the more I thought about it, something felt off. Part of the reason the songs we’d started felt so right was because of her. Because of us, together.

  An idea started f
orming at the corners of my mind. Music was Liv’s dream. Sure, she could be a successful songwriter, but she belonged on the stage. Her presence radiated magic. What if we could do something together? We could have our own duo and...

  “Earth to Jax.” Liv laughed, nudging my arm. “I lost you somewhere around that last Lumineers song. You okay?”

  I turned to face her only to realize we’d already arrived at the pie shop. “Yeah, I’m good. Let’s go.”

  “Welcome to The Loving Pie Company. Oh, hey, Jaxon,” the owner of the pie shop greeted me with a wide smile. “It’s been a minute. Are you guys recording tonight?”

  “Not tonight,” I replied. “We’re in town on a break. This is my… this is Liv Sinclair.”

  “Suzanne Loving. Wait, you own Livvie Cakes, right?” Suzanne’s eyes lit up.

  “Yes, I do.” Liv blushed. “How did you know?”

  “My best friend lives over in 12 South, and we were at your bakery a couple of weeks ago. You were out front talking to a customer, and I heard you introduce yourself as the owner. You have the best cupcakes in town. Seriously. That Pumpkin Praline should have songs written about it.”

  “That’s high praise coming from the woman with the best mac-n-cheese in town.” Liv smiled. “Jax told me all about it, and I can’t wait to have some.”

  “Have a seat anywhere you like.” Suzanne gestured to the mostly empty dining room. “We’re kind of slow on weeknights. You guys are getting the works. You have to try our Red Velvet Hot Chocolate. It’ll change your life.”