Aileen's Song (10 page)

“Liam…” Gentle in tone, Siobhan interrupted his thoughts. She left her seat behind and joined him, placing a hand on his arm. “I'm sorry, but…I have to ask you something. I have to butt in—”

“That's nothing new under the sun.” He made sure his tone was light and teasing. What was she getting at?

“This time I really do feel compelled, because…well…” She studied him for a moment. It struck Liam that his usually forthright and confident sister was for the moment uncertain. “It's about Aileen.”

His eyes narrowed. His gut clenched. “Yes?” He drew out the word just a bit. Just enough to warn her to proceed with caution.

“Have you ever…did you ever share with her the—”

He stepped back and pierced her with a look. “Stop. Please.” He hated to bark when she was obviously only trying to help, but no. His defenses lifted into place. “You never, ever should have seen that note.”

Now it was Siobhan who scowled. “That was ages ago, and I was simply a curious teenager—”

“More like a meddlesome snoop who came upon a letter that she shouldn't have.”

“I'm sorry I saw it.”

Her words were quiet and sincere, and Liam softened.

“You didn't put it in her graduation card, did you? The note, I mean.”

“No, I didn't.”

Stony silence passed. At last, Siobhan folded her arms against her chest and cocked her hip. The only thing missing from her challenging stance was the impatient rhythm of a tapping toe. “So you've kept quiet. You've kept yourself removed from her. Some friend you are, Liam Douglas.”

Oh, that tore it. He rounded on her, and punched an accusing finger near her chest. “That's exactly what I am. I've been a fantastic friend to her and you know it.” The muscles along his neck and arms went tight.

“Yes, you are. What a shame that neither one of you are satisfied with that any longer. Especially since she's come back home. You might want to rethink things with her, Liam. You might want to let her know the truth, because here's what I know. She needs you as much as you need her. The two of you are the fit of perfect puzzle pieces. Break free and share your heart before you both lose. You have the power to do so in one fell-swoop and you know it.”

Liam clenched his jaw, battling and struggling as he stared into Siobhan's faultless blue eyes.

She was right—and didn't that just figure?

 

 

 

 

9

 

Days of misery ensued, pressing against Aileen's chest with unwelcome weight. What was getting into her lately?

Every thought of Liam in New York with Drew the concert promoter guy and the alluring and gorgeous Roxy chased through her system like acid. What she had said to Siobhan still held true. She and Liam had no claims on one another outside of friendship. Granted, she probably shouldn't have been so forceful with Liam when he pushed her about Cole—but what right did he have to question her? The way Aileen saw it, she had every right to enjoy lunch with an interesting man like Cole Copeland. Why did she feel so wretched? Why couldn't she move past Liam?

Releasing a fierce, frustrated growl, Aileen paced the floor of her great room. Night fell so quickly these days. She fingered back the sheer and studied the street below. Car motion paved a path of intermittent light against Main Street. Light and dark—so much like her emotions and heart these days.

She wasn't happy. Picturing Liam with anyone else tore her heart to pieces. Still, she had to be pragmatic. Eventually he would enter into a serious, committed relationship. Then where would she be? Why not Cole Copeland? He wanted to meet for dinner this weekend. Maybe she should accept, and—

A knock echoed through the apartment. Aileen blanched. Granted, it was only eight thirty, but she had already changed into sweat pants and an oversized sweatshirt. Her plan was to snuggle up on the couch with a good book. She finger-combed her hair and trotted to the entryway.

She barely stifled a gasp when she opened the door and discovered Liam on the other side. “Hey.”

His gaze sealed to hers. “Hey.”

Puzzled, Aileen opened the door wide, wordlessly allowing him through.

Hands stuffed into the pockets of his coat, Liam crossed the threshold and cleared his throat. He took a brief survey of the room. “The place looks great. You've polished it off well. I like the end results.”

“Thanks.”

Aileen watched him unbutton his coat and slip his arms slowly free. She claimed the garment and realized fine water droplets from the surface of the leather chilled her fingertips. “It's starting to rain?”

Liam nodded as she hung his coat in the entryway closet. “Cold, too. Winter's coming fast.”

Was it just her imagination or did his posture seem a bit stilted, his tone a bit formal? “I know just the thing to chase away the chill. Would you like some tea?”

“Sure.” He smiled, as expected, but didn't fully engage. While Aileen heated water and pulled down mugs, she watched him cross into the great room and sit down.

Curiosity ate away her restraint, but she kept quiet until she had loaded a tray and carried their beverages. “Liam…are you OK? What's wrong?”

Leaning forward on his knees, he gave her a long, soft look that melted her resolve and her heart in an instant. “I owe you an apology, Aileen.”

She froze in place, breath suspended. Before her grip became too unsteady, she deposited the tray on a nearby table.

Liam laced his fingers together. “You didn't deserve my attitude. At all. Your life is yours, and I had no right to go off on you about Cole the way I did. I'm sorry.”

Aileen sat and gave him a shoulder bump. “I'm sorry, too. I don't know what got into me.” Oh, yes she did, but Aileen locked that fact away tight. This conversation hit way too close to home. She didn't know what else to do except make excuses. “It's the whole recording thing. I'm sorry for that.” Bracing herself as she reached for a mug and handed it to Liam, Aileen plunged forward. “How was New York?”

Liam shrugged and sipped. “Boring. Meetings and hotel rooms.”

“Oh?”
What about Roxy?
She wondered in silence.
Is there something between the two of you?
And she tried as best she could to be ready for whatever his answer might be.

“Drew Wintower and Roxy seemed to hit it off. They shared a couple of dinners and fed off the energy of planning for a tour. That happens a lot in this business.” A pause followed that pointed observation. It was brief but long enough to draw Aileen's attention. “It was business, and they hammered out details perfectly, but they also enjoyed hanging out. I think they're both searching for something.” Again he shrugged, then he chuckled gave her a quick glance. “I know the feeling.”

Once more with the double meanings. Aileen kept quiet and drank, glad for the fragrant diversion of chamomile and a soothing warmth against her throat. “I did some jogging through Central Park and caught up on some projects Zion's got going on in Manhattan.”

Aileen folded her legs and leaned against the side of the couch, facing him. When Liam's gaze tracked her movements, she was startled by the intensity she saw in his eyes. Something powerful rode the air, connecting them in warmth. That's when Aileen's pulse began to pound, her cheeks to flame.

“You and I? We've been nervous around each other lately. Unsettled. It's weird.”

His tone was rich and low, vibrating with something she couldn't quite define or refuse. Liam faced her directly and lifted her mug carefully away so he could set it aside. He curved his fingers around her hand, then light and gentle the pad of his thumb worked slow patterns against her skin.

Aileen's breath hitched just a bit, and she was awfully glad she didn't have to sing at the moment, because nothing would have worked its way free. All she could focus on was the hopeful longing in her soul.

“I need to ask a favor of you.”

Aileen nodded, staring into eyes as deep as an ocean, swept into a land of everything for which she most dreamed. At the same time, she tried not to let that glowing reaction sweep her straight onto a precipice where she had no chance for purchase, or safety…and no choice but to indulge a terrifying jump.

“If everything that's come to be is making you nervous, I want you to remember that this is me. This is us. Relax, Ailee. Don't doubt me, and don't doubt what God has planned.”

He paused and Aileen could sense a direct and powerful moment of awakening coming to life in the very air around them. Was he talking about Sisters in Spirit, or was he somehow talking about something deeper, and infinitely more personal—a coming to life of feelings between the two of them?

Liam released her hand to touch her cheek, and her lashes drifted closed just so she could simply absorb and savor. He kissed both her cheeks slowly and reverently. Aileen nearly melted straight into the cushions. Layers of love unfolded through her heart, velvety petals releasing into her spirit.

Once she opened her eyes, and their gazes met, the entire world shifted. Liam moved close once again, his gaze tracking the motion of his fingertips as he silently stroked back stray wisps of hair from her cheeks. Aileen's pulse pushed thick and hot, warming her skin as Liam continued to simply caress her cheek and look into her eyes.

He cupped her face gently, head bent low, his mouth a captivating temptation she focused on to the exclusion of everything else.

“Ailee…” He whispered her name, the sound tender and intimate. He inched ever closer, leaving her to tingle. His warm breath caressed her skin; the scents of sandalwood, of Liam, filled her universe. For the first time in memory, Aileen's voice failed her. She couldn't speak. Instead, she submitted, an enticing ache building. She felt weak yet impossibly strong.

His lips touched hers, light and warm. A feather dance that drew her to him. Aileen's world dissolved, and she sank against the hold of his arms. The moment of communion with Liam was as precious, as sacred and beautiful as any of her girlish imaginings. More so, for this was real.

Long, slow, intoxicating kisses drew tri-chord bonds tighter and tighter, their sighs mixing and mingling—until her lashes fluttered open, and she happed to catch the glimmer of her purity ring. Her fingers were curved against his neck and collar line. The vision stopped the moment from saturating her conscience.

Oh, but how close she had come to surrender—to simply pulling him down the nearby hallway that led to her room, and to the bed he had helped rebuild and install when she moved in to this place. The idea now left her skin to prickle.

Breathing hard, Aileen lowered her head. “Liam, you have to go.”

He reared back, visibly reclaiming his senses as well. But now she worried. Were her words too abrupt? Did he understand that she wasn't refusing him—not in the least—she simply needed to protect the most precious gift she could ever give a man—her innocence and purity.

Liam pulled away, and to her mounting horror, seemed embarrassed. “I know.” He lifted to his feet at once and he groaned. “I do need to leave.”

Silence stretched, taut and interminable. Liam moved from the couch where she still sat, but he turned to look into her eyes. Aileen wanted nothing more than to sink into his arms and be claimed by him—forever.

“Ailee, do I need to apologize?”

Her heart plummeted, then shattered. “Of course not. Extenuating circumstances, long-term affection and all that.”

Smile wobbling, she teased lightly to ease his reaction—but doing so proved to be as painful a thing as Aileen could ever imagine. They were moving apart—in more than a physical sense. She stood to walk him to the door.

He moved just close enough to touch her cheek. “You know, I really don't want to mess us up.”

“I don't either.”

He had given her the most breathtaking kiss of her life, and once again, he wanted friendship. Protection of the status quo. Aileen's world disintegrated. She led him to the apartment foyer. “Good night, Liam.”

“G'night, Ailee.”

Shoulders down, he never met her eyes, and his quietly spoken words drifted quickly to silence. After Aileen closed the door, she sank against it bowing her head and doing the only thing she knew she could do in order to survive the heartbreak.

She stayed put, breathed past the shaft of pain, and she prayed.

 

 

 

 

10

 

Concert plans were finalized with minimal fuss, thanks to the smooth intercession of Liam and the Zion's Peak record label. The Sisters in Spirit would perform an hour and a half show complete with professional lighting, stage set up, costume changes, and a full-blown tech crew that would assist in matters ranging from wardrobe to makeup to all matters having to do with the overall production—sound, choreography, and break down.

Rehearsals moved from Siobhan's dance studio to the facility itself, which featured a mirror lined practice room complete with a ballet barre.

That's where Aileen and the girls lined up, ready to be terrorized by their newly ordained choreographer Max Osterman. Feet planted, head high, the small-framed man clapped his hands, which caused the girls to jump, and exchange bewildered grins.

“Line up, face front, and let's take it from the top.” The words were more a barked command than anything else. “You have one hour to dedicate to the morning rehearsal before the media session, so let's get to it. Siobhan, front center, Aileen, stage left, Maeve, start off in the center just to the rear of Siobhan, and Kassidy, stage left. We're going to take “How Beautiful
”
from the top. No singing, just focus on the way you'll move across the stage. Remember, the key is communicating with each other and enhancing your rapport all the while playing to the audience, who will no doubt want to be included in that fabulous relationship you all share. Ready…?”