Hold Me

“What?”

“A girl band. Guys make everything complicated. We’ll play music and write songs, and it’s gonna be great.”

Destiny fought the beginnings of a headache. “I don’t know what to say,” she admitted.

Starr laughed. “You’ll get used to the idea. In the meantime, I need to start writing songs, and I don’t know how. How do you do it?”

Destiny was still caught up in the girl band comment, and it was hard to switch gears. She decided that her concerns, aka terrors, about Starr being in a band were probably best left for a family therapy session and instead told her sister, “Wait right here.”

She walked to her bedroom and collected her battered notebook from her nightstand, then returned to the living room.

“This is how I do it,” she told her sister as she sat next to her. “I’m old-school. If you want to try working on the keyboard directly, there are a lot of programs that can help you with that. I write the lyrics first, then find the melody. Sometimes they come together, but not often.”

She flipped through the pages until she found her favorite song in progress.

“This is what I’m working on. It’s close, but not right yet.”

Starr leaned over Destiny’s shoulder. “‘We can’t even trust, and we don’t know how to live,’” she read, then picked up her guitar and played a couple of chords. “What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know.” Destiny strummed with her then flipped the page. “Here’s the melody I’ve been playing with. Can you read the music?”

Starr looked at the notes then played them on her guitar. Destiny closed her eyes and listened. After a couple of seconds she realized what was missing.

“How about this?” she asked, changing one of the chords and flipping back to the lyrics. “From across the room, the distance is clear. I see you through the heartbreak, you see me through the fear.”

Starr nodded and joined in. “The time we spend together, the life that we could find. You could be my best regret, I could be your peace of mind.”

Her sister stopped. “Did you mean this as a romantic ballad? Because, in a way, it’s sort of about us.”

Destiny glanced at the page. “I didn’t see that before, but you’re right.”

Starr flushed, then glanced down at the page. “What if you change the end to this?”

Two hours later, they’d finished the song. Destiny ordered a pizza, then sat next to Starr while they waited for the delivery. She had her tablet set up with the external microphone for them to record their final version. When they were done, Destiny laughed.

“We have a hit.”

“You think? I didn’t help much. It’s your song.”

“It’s our song,” Destiny corrected. “You’re good at collaborating. We should do this again.”

“I’d like that.”

* * *

KIPLING TOOK THE STEAKS out of the fridge and set them on the counter. Destiny was due over any minute, and he wanted to give the steaks an hour or so to warm up before he put them on the grill.

He had the fixings for salad. She’d told him she would bring a potato dish, along with dessert.

He still wasn’t sure how the evening was going to go. While seduction was on his mind, he’d made a promise not to remove any clothing. He grinned as he walked toward the living room. Not that keeping her dressed would get in the way of seducing her. Despite his embarrassing first performance with her, he had skills.

But tonight was about more than that. Because the truth was, he liked being with her. Just talking. Or laughing. She was interesting and funny, and when he was around her, the world was a better place.

The doorbell chimed right on time. He opened the front door to find Destiny holding two glass dishes, both covered. One was a bowl and the other rectangular. Although he was a lot more interested in the woman carrying them than any contents.

“Hi,” she said, her smile just a little tentative.

“Come on in.”

He stepped back to let her enter, then took the large bowl from her. “What did you bring?”

“Roasted Potato Salad and S’mores Bars. Did you know there’s a Fool’s Gold Cookbook? I found it at Morgan’s Books the other day, and I’ve already made a couple of recipes. They’re really good.”

She was nervous. He sensed it in the speed of her words and the way she kept looking at him then glancing away. He liked that she was a little off guard. It evened things up. Because looking at her left him damned close to speechless.

She’d traded in her usual jeans or cargo pants and T-shirt for a strappy summer dress. It was fitted to the waist then flared out to just above her knees. The pale green color was pretty against her skin.

Her hair was loose and wavy, and she’d put on a little makeup for the evening. All good signs in his book. While the “d” word had never been used, Destiny was acting like this was a date.

They walked into the kitchen. She put down her dish. He slid the potato salad into the refrigerator then turned to face her. She’d set her dessert on the counter.

He moved close, took her hands in his, then leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips.

“You look beautiful,” he murmured against her mouth.

“Thank you.”

“Tonight is going to be fun.”

“I hope so.”

He flashed her a smile. “Trust me.”