WMIS 03 Play With Me (34 page)

He
offers the audience that killer smile of his, and I swear half the women in the
audience, including Samantha, look about ready to throw their panties at him.

I
can’t help but roll my eyes.

“I
kept Meg up here because Nash is that little local band she told you about
earlier. She and I go way back.” He smiles over at me. “And she’s agreed to
sing one more song with me before she joins you guys to get drunk and be stupid
while I work my ass off up here.”

The
audience laughs and I join them. I find Will in the audience, and he’s
watching, standing still. I can’t read his face.

Someone
hands me a mic, and Leo takes his mic off the stand and sets the stand aside.

“Don’t
we need a guitar?” I ask into the mic.

“Nope,
we have backup.” He winks and nods at one of the guys to join us on stage with
a guitar. He leans in and whispers the song in the guy’s ear. I don’t know him;
he must have joined the band after they got to L.A.

“This
song,” Leo says into the mic and looks up at me, his dark gray eyes happy. “is
called
Marry Me
and was originally done by a band who is also from
Seattle, Train.”

The
audience applauds again, and I can’t look away from Leo. We always nailed this
song. It wasn’t originally written as a duet, but we alternate the verses and
join together for the chorus.

I
start, while Leo watches, lip singing along with me, his eyes bright and happy
and encouraging, and I offer him a sassy smile as I start the song.

Forever
can never be long enough for me

Feel
like I've had long enough with you

Forget
the world now we won't let them see

But
there's one thing left to do

Now
that the weight has lifted

Love
has surely shifted my way

He
joins me for the chorus. This tall, tattooed rock star, singing a sweet love song.
It looks all wrong, but God, his voice is amazing. As his voice joins mine in
perfect harmony, goose bumps break out on my skin and I smile widely at him.

Marry
Me

Today
and every day

Marry
Me

If
I ever get the nerve to say

Hello
in this cafe

Say
you will

Mm-hmm

Say
you will

Mm-hmm

I
lower my mic to my side and watch Leo take over the next verse. I’ve always
loved to watch him sing, even when I was very young, in the first foster home
with him. He would sing to me all the time, and then let me play his guitar,
showing me so patiently where to put my fingers and make the sounds perfect. He
taught me how to control my voice.

He
taught me everything I know about music.

As
he sings these lyrics, I can’t help but wonder if he has a special woman in his
life now. I hope so. He deserves one, although I know his trust issues go
deeper than mine.

Together
can never be close enough for me

Feel
like I am close enough to you

You
wear white and I'll wear out the words I love you

And
you're beautiful

Now
that the wait is over

And
love and has finally shown her my way

For
the last half of the song, we sing it all in harmony. I hear Jack, our original
pianist, join the guitar and I’m just completely swept up in the moment. We
step closer together, passionately singing about this sweet love, just inches
apart.

Marry
me

Today
and every day

Marry
me

If
I ever get the nerve to say hello in this cafe

Say
you will

Mm-hmm

Say
you will

Mm-hmm

Promise
me

You'll
always be

Happy
by my side

I
promise to

Sing
to you

When
all the music dies

We
smile at each other after that last line, and then finish the song.

And
marry me

Today
and everyday

Marry
me

If
I ever get the nerve to say hello in this cafe

Say
you will

Mm-hmm

Say
you will

Marry
me

Mm-hmm

The
music fades and Leo smiles at me, offering me that secret smile he used to give
me when we were kids and we knew we might get into trouble for something we
planned to do.

But
he never got me into trouble. He always protected me.

He
pulls me into a tender hug, then pulls back and gazes down at me. I don’t hear
the applause around us, or the audience asking for more.

Leo
leans in and whispers in my ear, “I’ve really missed you, Meg-pie. I love you.”

He
kisses my cheek, right next to my lips, and backs away, and I grin at him. “I
love you too.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

~Will~

I
stand transfixed and watch the woman I adore sing my favorite love song with
another man. And even though I know she loves Leo as a brother, I want to punch
him.

Hard.

Her
sweet voice fills the air, and I am even more in love with her in this moment
than I was before she walked up on that stage, and I didn’t know that was
possible.

She’s
so fucking talented.

And
sexy as hell in that dress, with her hair up, showing off her slender back and
soft neck, and the diamond earrings I bought her a few weeks ago. I can’t wait
to get her out of it and make love to her. I just never get enough of her.

Forever
can never be long enough for me.

Damn
if that isn’t the truth.

The
song comes to an end, and Leo pulls Meg in for a hug, whispers something to
her, and because I’m standing straight ahead, I can’t tell if he kisses her on
the cheek or the edge of her lips.

My
hands tighten into fists.

Then
he pulls away from her and she mouths the words, “I love you too.”

Fuck
me.

Chapter Twenty-Six

~Meg~

I
wave at the crowd and carefully walk down the stairs in my heels. That felt
fantastic. I didn’t realize how much I missed playing in front of an audience,
especially with Leo. I hope I get to see him again while he’s in town.

I
cross the dance floor, and Jules and Nate meet me in the middle to hug me.

“Thank
you so much. That was so beautiful,” Jules murmurs in my ear as she hugs me.

“You’re
welcome.”

“Thank
you, beautiful girl,” Nate hugs me close too. Wow, holy muscles on this one. I
smile up at him shyly.

“My
pleasure. Congratulations, you guys.”

The
family all hugs me and tells me that they loved the songs, but my eyes are
searching for Will.

“You
didn’t tell me you knew Leo Nash, girl,” Samantha mutters with a grin. “I’m
going to want to hear this story.”

I
laugh. “We’ll get together soon and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Finally,
I find Will, standing back from the crowd. His face is sober, hands in his
pockets, and the light has gone out of his eyes, and my stomach falls into my
feet.

Something
is very wrong.

“Hey,”
I say as I approach him.

“Hey,”
he responds.

“What’s
wrong?” I ask, but he just shakes his head.

“Meg,
that was amazing,” Natalie and Luke are suddenly at our side.

“Seriously,
Meg, I know people,” Luke’s smiling, but his voice is all business mode. “I
could make some calls on Monday. You should be singing for a living, my
friend.”

I’m
shaking my head and holding my hands up for them to stop. “No, thank you.”

Will’s
eyes narrow on me, but he stays silent.

“But,
why? Meg, music has been your life for as long as I’ve known you,” Natalie
responds.

“It’s
not my life now.” I shake my head again and sigh. “I love music. I always will,
but I love my kids at the hospital.” I shrug. “I’m happy here. I don’t need to
be the center of attention.”

“If
you change your mind, just say the word.” Luke leans in and kisses my cheek. “I
could help make you a very rich woman.”

“I’m
already rich,” I respond with a smile. “I don’t need the money.”

Luke
tilts his head and a slow smile spreads across his incredibly gorgeous face.
“Fair enough.”

Nat
winks at me and they walk away, off to mingle with other guests.

“Talk
to me,” I whisper up to Will when he still says nothing, just gazes down at me
with sober eyes.

He
shakes his head. “Not here. We’ll enjoy the reception. But we will talk later.”

My
mouth gapes open and I just stare up at him.
What the hell did I do?

“Okay,”
I murmur. He nods once, sharply, and leads me back into the crowd to mingle and
chat. He smiles and plays the perfect brother for the rest of the evening, but
never puts a hand on me. Never looks at me. If I rest my hand on him, he steps
away from my touch.

It’s
fucking killing me.

“Will…”
I begin when we have a moment alone, but I see Leo approach from the corner of
my eye and I sigh as Will stiffens next to me.

This
is the issue.

“Hey,
Meg, we’re taking a break. Is this Will?” he asks and I raise a brow in
question. “Jules’ dad mentioned you’d snagged Will’s heart,” Leo answers my
unspoken questions and I grin.

“Yes,
this is Will. Will, this is Leo.”

Will
offers his hand to shake, but his face is anything but friendly. “Hello.”

“Hey,
I’m a big Seattle football fan,” Leo tells him with a smile.

“Cool,”
is all Will says, and Leo steps back, narrows his eyes and looks between Will
and I skeptically. Finally, his dark gaze finds mine.

“Problem?”

I
shake my head and force a smile. “No problem.”

I
search the room with my eyes, trying to find someone to come save me. As much
as I want to catch up with Leo, I need to talk to Will. His silence is killing
me.

Samantha
catches my gaze from a few feet away, and immediately steps into action, God
love her.

“Leo,
have you met Samantha?” I ask him as Sam joins us.

“Uh,
no.” He doesn’t look down at her, not really caring who she is.

“She’s
Luke’s sister,” I explain further, and he smiles in recognition. Sam is
drop-dead beautiful, and Leo grins down at her, nods, but then looks back at
me, in full protective brother mode, sensing the tension between Will and I. I
don’t need him to start something.

“Sam,”
I grin at her, “Leo hasn’t seen Jules in a long time. Would you take him over
to see her and meet Nate?”

Leo
continues to scowl at me, but then sighs and smiles down at Sam. “Hi,
Samantha.”

“It’s
just Sam,” she responds and tucks her arm in his. “Let’s do the obligatory walk
away thing where we don’t sense the tension over there and find somewhere else
to be.”

Leave
it to Sam to not beat around the bush.

“Will,
this is crazy. Talk to me. What did I do?”

But
he frowns stubbornly and shakes his head again. “Not here.”

“You’re
scaring me.” I whisper.

“This
is not the time or the place,” he mutters, still not meeting my gaze.

“Time
to toss the bouquet!” Jules announces. “Meg, get your sexy ass in here!”

I
keep my eyes on Will’s face, begging him to talk to me.

“Go,
Jules is calling for you,” he mutters and turns his back on me and walks away.

Fuck.

All
the single girls are gathered in a semi-circle before the stage. In this crowd,
there aren’t many single girls, maybe fifteen. Sam is nowhere to be found,
probably still chatting with Leo.

Traitor.

I
paste a smile on for Jules and wait patiently for her to make a big show of
tossing the bouquet. I try to step aside so Brynna can catch it, but wouldn’t
you know it falls right in my hands.