Chapter 11
Charlie
All eyes in the room are fixed on the beauty strumming her emotions out on the stage. I slip into a booth by the window and let the soulful lyrics wash over me. Nova’s voice pours out in a mournful, scratchy cadence as her fingers dance across the guitar.
The bliss on her face is orgasmic. I’ve never seen a woman more beautiful, more raw. I get lost in her song, drumming my fingers along with the melody.
As she approaches the song’s climax, her voice rolls out like thunder. Lost in her own world, with that wild hair and those mesmerizing eyes, her lips pressed against the microphone. I could listen to her forever, get lost right along with her.
Giselle, that waitress I slept with, she shows up over my shoulder, trying to get my attention, offering herself up. But Nova is all I see. All I hear. Nobody else matters. It’s like I’m right there in the song with her. I can’t tear my gaze from her. Not until the song is ending, the melody is fading, she’s floating back to earth.
Applause rings out as she climbs off the stage, her smiling emerald eyes on me. I lose my damn breath looking at her as she darts around tables and chairs, making her way over. My heart does something strange at the reminder that I’ll be going to that wedding soon. With her on my arm. Shit, I’m a lucky guy.
“Hey…” Nova is grinning from ear-to-ear as she hovers near my table, her guitar clutched under her arm. She looks euphoric, sailing on the high she got from performing for this little crowd. She’s such a woman. Not just her gorgeous smile and her tempting curves. I see her strength, her determination, her grit. It’s inspiring. I want to see her like this all the time.
“That was damn amazing, Butterfly,” I tell her. “Your voice is out of this world.”
She beams. “Thanks, Charlie.” Her tone is soft and genuine. Her eyes fall on the sketchpad on the table. “Oh, you brought it. Thank you.” She bends across the table to pick it up and her sweet scent fills my lungs.
“Of course I brought it,” I say as she straightens up. “It seemed urgent when you asked for it on the phone.”
Leaning a hip against the booth, she clutches the book to her chest. “Yeah, I don’t want to jinx things by going into detail but yeah, it’s important.”
I won’t push her to talk about something she obviously isn’t ready to talk about. She’ll tell me what she’s comfortable sharing when she’s comfortable sharing it.
“What are you doing later?" she asks. Then she cringes. ”Do I even want to know?” Her laugh tells me she thinks I'll be in some random woman's bed.
I chuckle even though it kind of hurts that she sees me as nothing more than a player. I wish she had a higher estimate of me but I can’t blame her for seeing the worst in me. I haven’t always been a great guy. Today, at least, I can prove her assumptions wrong.
“I do have plans actually,” I tell her. “I’m going to pick up my tux for your grandmother’s wedding.”
An eyebrow hikes up her forehead. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
She observes me, chewing her lip. “Wow, you’re actually taking this thing seriously.”
I huff. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I?”
She continues to stare at me hard, looking straight into me. “Y’know—I don’t want you to feel obligated. You don’t have to do this…”
“Do what?”
“Take me to the wedding.”
“Why would you think I don’t want to take you to the wedding?”
She shrugs. “It’s just that I know you, Charlie. You think it’s your duty to have my back all the time. But you don’t have to. I’ll be fine.”
I angle my chin and watch her. “Of course it’s my duty to have your back. Especially since you’re my best friend now.”
“Oh, I’m your best friend now?” She looks surprised.
“By default,” I say, lifting a shoulder. “I mean, your best friend just snatched mine away so, by default, you and I are best friends.”
She laughs. “I guess you’re sort of right. But in all seriousness, I’m not that vulnerable little girl I was back in high school. You don’t have to keep coming to my rescue.”
“Nova, has it ever occurred to you that I’m just going to that wedding for the cake? Or the party favors that come in those little white mesh bags?”
She laughs. “The little chocolate almonds covered in that white powdery crap?”
“Yes, exactly. I’m going for the chocolate almonds…So relax. It’ll be fun. Stop trying to uninvite me.”
She’s laughing more now. “Okay. I’ll stop trying to uninvite you.”
“Good. I’m going to show you the time of your life, Nova Chester. I guarantee it.” I wink at her and she rolls her eyes.
"I'll go with you to pick out the tux," she offers. “After my shift.”
Right then, a big voice booms into the dining room, yelling something obscene in Italian. Nova’s eyes widen. “Shit…he’s back already?” That face she’s making right now is pretty damn adorable.
Gianni Gallo is a tyrant. That’s no secret.
I snicker and she can’t help it—she does, too.
“He left me a list of stuff to get done while he was gone and I haven’t even started yet.” Her laughter fades. “I'd better get on it." She gestures at her sketchpad. "Anyway…Thanks again. And tux shopping later?”
I nod. “Tux shopping later.”
As she spins to walk away, I grab her by the wrist. I really don’t want her to go. “Nova?”
She looks at me over her shoulder. “Yeah?”
“It’ll happen,” I say confidently. “Just give it time.”
And I’m not bullshitting her. She’s way too talented to stay stuck in this rut forever. There are big things for her on the horizon. I can feel it.
She flashes that smile that takes my breath away. “I’ll see you later, ‘kay?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
My eyes devour the dizzying sway of her hips as she walks away.