Aileen's Song (6 page)

She didn't speak—she stared. Aileen breathed deep, and he could have sworn she trembled.

“Have I hit home, perhaps?” Liam folded his hands neatly and waited in deliberate challenge. “Furthermore, have I managed the miracle of leaving you tongue-tied? If so, then my work here is done.”

“What work would that be?”

“The job I'm taking on to get you into a recording studio with the other Sisters in Spirit. Think of it—putting together a demo—cutting an album and making a name for a group built on the concept of God's power through music and dance. How's that for marketing? And that's just for starters.”

She gaped all over again.

“While you changed clothes after the reception, I went back to the theater. I sat in the empty hall and scribbled notes that'll become a formal pitch session to sign the group. I've already gotten handshake approval for you to cut a demo that we'll share with the executive board. I see it like this. You'll record ‘Panis Angelicus.' I can easily see that becoming your signature piece. The same holds true for Kassidy with ‘How Beautiful' or maybe ‘Rocket Town.' She'd light up the stage. Maeve is the story teller and has tremendous interpretive power. The way she could sing ‘Here I am to Worship' would be a knock out. Beyond that, ‘Amazing Grace' and ‘Friends' could become the anthem songs for Sisters in Spirit.”

Her back went straight. She shook her head fiercely. “But Siobhan…she doesn't sing. No way would I ever leave her out of—”

“Oh, how I love your loyalty, sweet lady.” Liam cut in promptly and took hold of her hand, hoping she could feel his affection. “I'd never leave her out. Siobhan is a huge component of my plan. She's the performance trump card. She's your unique hook and secret weapon. Recording music isn't just about the music anymore. It's about staging and presence. It's about outreach. Siobhan provides all of that. We can produce videos for inclusion in a DVD. We can stream those videos to every social media and publicity outlet available. Siobhan will knock ‘em flat—she's the type of graceful, fluid dancer every little girl dreams of becoming. To my mind, Sisters in Spirit is a two-pronged idea. Music and dance. Combining the two will fill concert halls. I realize the group may have been a lark for the four of you. I understand tonight's performance was about having fun with your friends, but this can be so much more. You bring a level of class to the stage that people miss—and enjoy. Couldn't you tell by the reaction you received?”

Aileen sank against the back of her chair and stared into his eyes. He could tell she was trying to ingest the full-steam-ahead vibration and process everything he said. “Wow. You've given this a great deal of thought.”

Time to come clean, he decided. Time to be open. Aileen had revealed herself. Now, it was his turn. She had confessed her insecurities and questions. He needed to return that openness and trust, but doing so wasn't easy because he tended to guard his emotions.

“Not to this degree. Not until tonight. Not until I watched you…all of you…perform.”

Liam toyed with his napkin, realizing his verbal stumble. He loved all four girls, certainly, but what he experienced with Aileen was amazing, and worlds away from the realm of simple friendship. After a fortifying breath, he lifted his coffee cup, downing a swig before taking a jump.

“I have a confession to make. For the past few months I've been toying with the idea of quitting the music industry.”

“What?” Aileen lifted her scone, but didn't follow through and take a bite. Her hand drifted slowly to the table top, the treat back to its paper plate.

“I've been considering some big changes—like maybe going into the seminary and becoming a pastoral associate.”

Aileen propped her elbow and rested her chin in the cup of her hand. She hung on his words. That left heat to rush through Liam's body.

“I want to do something of meaning and importance, and lately it seems every stride forward I make in the world of entertainment only leads to more steps back.”

“Don't quit!” Aileen was emphatic. “You can't give up on your dream of music. It's been your passion for as long as I've known you. Don't doubt God's plan or His purpose.”

He arched a brow. “I could say the same thing to you.”

She blushed.

“Aileen, I don't doubt God. I doubt me. I'm human, I'm fallible. I fear I'm missing or refusing all of his signs to move on and prosper elsewhere. I had grown tired of beating my fists against a brick wall. I've wondered if music wasn't the path God intended.” He hunched forward, closing the space between them. “But then tonight happened. I could see God laying it all out in front of me. I could feel His push. He's moving in this. For the first time in a long time, I felt inspired.”

“But my degree is in music education. I minored in performance only to satisfy my itch to be on stage and sing. It was never about recording an album or becoming a star.”

“Another reason you'll be a success. You're unassuming. Pure. At the same time, music reaches into your soul. Performance fills your spirit like the breath of God. How can you refuse that truth? I believe you can lead this group. You can translate your openness and your passion into any venue. All four of you are engaging and possess an energy and rapport that works magic. What I watched tonight was a blueprint for success.”

She studied him, overwhelmed, so Liam eased his eager intensity. He moved slightly away, but brushed the back of his fingertips against her cheek. Aileen didn't speak a word, but leaned into his touch. Her gaze latched to his, the moment stretching.

“You possess an onstage confidence that pours into the audience, but at the same time, you suffer from a distorted sense of self, and I wish you didn't. Self-esteem shouldn't come from what your parents think. It shouldn't come from some warped cultural view of what is or isn't appealing physically. Shore up your perspectives, Aileen. Move past negativity. For the sake of everything the future can bring, grab hold of what everyone around you knows without a second thought. You're amazing. You're beautiful and radiant. The sooner you realize it…and more importantly believe it…the better.”

 

 

 

 

5

 

That night, Aileen floated into her apartment and tried to settle, still basking in the glow of all that had transpired. She was too excited to rest. Hours had passed, but her mind continued to swirl. The entire evening had been akin to a living dream. First was the concert frenzy—completely unexpected and thrilling—then the opportunity with Liam that played directly to her deepest passion.

Hopes and dreams danced together each time she considered the ideas he had coaxed to life. Singing. Performance on stage. Proposals. Pitch meetings to record company executives. Plans to record a demo.

Aileen's stomach bounced all over again, and she knew precisely why. She was filled to overflowing. Overcome by joy and expectation. She dressed for bed then padded to the adjoining bathroom. She secured her hair in an elastic band and scrubbed her face. Warm water sloshed while she continued to think things over.

Never had she considered something of the scale Liam proposed. Nonetheless, the surety of his faith, his belief in her—in the four of them—was absolute. Absolute to a degree that he was tying them in to a huge meeting at Zion's Peak Records next week. This was insane, right? Impossible.

She slid her aching feet into a perfectly broken-in pair of slippers, pausing in front of the vanity in her bedroom. She peered into the oval mirror.

You're beautiful and radiant.

Liam Douglas had actually said those words.

Aileen chewed her lower lip. Her hair was still pulled back so she worked the long waves free and then fluffed them. Sliding her fingertips along her cheeks, beneath her jaw, she stared long and hard at her reflection. For a moment, she honestly tried to find a way to believe Liam's praise. She tilted her head left and right but came away with a sigh. She saw what she always saw. Ordinary. Nothing offensive, sure, but nothing as electric or wonderful as Liam had described.

Liam.

A shiver of want became a cascade of wishes she had held in her heart for so long when it came to the man. Tonight had been magic. She loved being able to perform and sass on stage with her best friends. The audience had responded to the music and their interplay—no dispute on that count. But Liam saw things so much more intensely than she did. So much deeper than she would have ever dreamed.

The venture would be a risk. Should she buy into a dream that might turn into nothing more than a heart-breaking illusion—not just professionally, but personally as well? Could she find the courage to reach out for the hand he offered?

The story of us, Ailee.

Liam's words played through her spirit. A memory bloomed of the way he had looked at her, the smile that had curved his full lips. Aileen's pulse hitched and her blood warmed. Words began to sing through her head, forming into a musical poem she knew she had to write down promptly or it would be lost.

Climbing into bed, she grabbed a thick leather journal from the headboard. Flipping it open, she nabbed a nearby pen. After propping a pillow behind her back, Aileen began to scrawl furiously, pouring the words and her heart onto the pages.

As the pen flew, a glow bloomed outward from the center of her chest, a richness that was foreign to her experience. Liam Douglas, the man she had treasured since her youth, had been captured by something in her performance and personality tonight. Plus, he savored their memories, the history they shared.

Everything he said was true and made perfect sense. She had been surprised by the enthusiasm of the crowd and humbled. Aileen's spirit moved on the curls of a goal she had ached to embrace since her childhood—performing on stage. Its pursuit was being handed to her by a man who had always held her heart. She formed a chorus, stanzas that put feelings into smoothly patterned lyrics. She pictured eyes as rich and dark as a velvety green mountain. Aileen breathed deep, and his spicy, evocative essence filled her senses and elicited a tender ache. There was a spot in her body and soul that received him alone and waited for him alone.

Aileen shifted her legs beneath the blanket and nipped at the tip of her pen, re-reading the lines she had written. What she had created was a love song. Words had spun into a perfect cadence with her emotions, flowing from her fingertips without forethought or interruption. With her eyes gritty and heavy with a need for sleep, Aileen extinguished the light and re-fluffed the pillow once she stretched flat.

Flutters of longing followed her into her dreams.

 

 

 

 

6

 

Following a short, strong knock, the door to Liam's office came open, and his assistant peeked inside. “They're ready for you in the conference room, and the ladies have gathered as well. They're in reception.”

His body temp ticked upward a few degrees. Liam nodded politely and gave her a smile. Once she closed the door, he dipped his head and blew out a quiet, steadying breath of air. He closed his eyes. For a few meaningful and necessary moments, he offered the upcoming meeting to God.

Still, Godly support or not, he couldn't help being nervous. He was only human. He really wanted to make this crazy dream happen. In the span of mere days, the idea of Sisters in Spirit had all but consumed him. Refuting anxiety as best he could, Liam stood and paced to burn off excess energy.

It didn't help much. He scrubbed a hand against the back of his neck. A stifled, edgy groan came out. He retrieved a dozen bound copies of the proposal from the corner of his desk and studied the bold-font title of the document that was now ready for distribution to the top brass at Zion's Peak. It read, simply, Sisters in Spirit.

The moniker captured Liam's imagination anew. The four women had been friends for decades, so close, so similar in belief and heart. At the same time, their personalities were as unique as could be and completely dissimilar from one another. Therein was the power of their connection.

That was a strong illustration. He needed to make use of it during the meeting. Something invigorating danced through his gut—something that had been missing for months on the job. Joy. Liam had always fed off the energy of spearheading the launch and discovery of talent. Now, doing so for Aileen Brewer and the girls was all the more reason why this pitch session meant so much. This venture deserved his label's full endorsement and effort. Aileen deserved it.

That particular caveat set his blood humming. Liam fingered a nearby water glass then lifted and chugged the contents absently, thinking. Aileen Brewer. Charismatic, transporting, unbelievably gifted. Totally unaware of how gorgeous she was—inside and out. What an appealing combination of textures.

Liam sucked in a breath. There it was again. That same unexpected push of…OK…he had to admit it, if only to himself…attraction. To Aileen.

Where was this coming from? Lifting from the chair, he prowled the length of his office, feeling caged and restless. What had crawled beneath his skin and stirred such an itch these days? Was it the idea of the group? Was it the history he shared with her? Was it something even deeper?

Oh, heaven help him if that was the case. Aileen Brewer. Romance. A childhood friend. The best friend of his sister.

No. Absolutely, positively not…

Nonetheless, the memory of her soft blue eyes slid along the pathway of his heart. Waves of honey colored hair formed a lush cascade around a face that was open, brimming with sweetness and playful fun. Her smile came alive in his mind and skimmed against the receptors of his skin. He chuckled lightly, picturing the shy dash she had made down the stairs of her apartment the other day when he had shown up to assemble her bedroom furniture. She had returned a short time later, looking quite smashing in her workout gear with skin aglow.