Gus takes a sip of the beer he’s been nursing so he doesn’t laugh.
Henry stands up tall before me. He reaches a hand out for me and I reluctantly take it. I’m not really used to initiations. But clearly, this band of brothers needs me to pass whatever weird test they’ve designed for me. Henry tugs me upright, straight into his arms before he hugs me fiercely. “If you don’t marry the song, would you consider marrying me?”
I grin, laughing lightly. “I’m a lot of work.”
He pulls back with a shrug. “That doesn’t bother me the way it bothers Keith. I like work.”
“Hey,” Keith stands up, reaching out and grasping my arm. He jerks me away from Henry until I’m forced to face him, practically nose to nose. This guy is tall with a lot of muscles. “Don’t listen to him, honey. That’s total bullshit. I like work. I like the hell out of it. And believe me when I tell you, I’m by far the best at it.”
I roll my eyes at him and the blatant sexual undertone of his voice.
I shove both Keith and Henry away. “Tuck your dicks away, boys. I didn’t come for a cockfight.”
Gus points at me, but his eyes are on Jasper’s and Jasper nods his head as the two of them have some sort of conversation without words.
“I think I’m in love.” That’s Henry.
Keith growls something out in the back of his throat. “I already called dibs the second her car pulled in. You can’t call dibs after that. It’s against the rules.”
“This isn’t shotgun, dude. I can call dibs whenever the hell I want. And I seriously do not remember you saying shit when her car pulled in.”
“That’s because you were too busy drooling all over the window to listen.”
I pivot to Gus, looking for a little help or direction with this. He hitches up a shoulder, an arrogant, content grin on his handsome face. “Now you understand why I told you I’d have to kiss you if you came here.” Gus rubs at his jaw, appearing as casual and unaffected as Gus always appears unless he’s talking about the song. Then he’s a very different animal.
Gus may be smiling, thinking this little back and forth is funny, but I do not. Well, maybe I do a little. “Whatever happened to letting the lady choose?” All eyes turn on me. Why am I indulging in this? “You realize I can file a complaint with the record label and get all your sexist, sexually harassing asses in trouble, right?”
“You’re the one who first talked about sex. We just kept it going. And for the record, Keith and I are professing our love, not our lust.” I roll my eyes, but now I’m smiling. Henry reaches out and squeezes my shoulder before releasing me just as quickly. “Thanks for putting up with our little game. We’re really happy you’re here.”
Keith throws his hands up when I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m actually kinda serious about calling dibs.” I shake my head, jabbing a finger into his chest. He puffs out a laugh. “We’re a million times worse with Vi if that makes you feel better. You should hear the torture we’ve put that poor woman through over the years. But yeah, what Henry said. We’ve all been really excited you’re on board and doing this song for Gus.”
Finally, Jasper stands up. It’s crazy how different he and Gus look. They’re opposites in every way. Jasper is so very serious, quiet and broody, where Gus is all smiles and jokes and easy-going disposition. “I’d apologize for them, but since it wasn’t my idea and I actually had nothing to do with it, I won’t. But it’s nice to know you can hold your own. Gus is a handful.” Gus flips Jasper off, but he’s still smiling. “I’m a big fan, Naomi. Truly, I cannot wait to work with you. But you understand why I cannot sing this?”
I nod. “Of course. It’s Gus’ song.”
He hums out an affirmative. “It’s Gus’ song,” he parrots with a big smile. “And I think it’s going to be absolutely incredible. I cannot wait to hear what you’re bringing to it.”
I stare at Jasper Diamond and I think he might actually be one of the most amazing people I’ve ever encountered. I have to admit, I was nervous about today. About meeting him. About seeing how Gus, Jasper, and Viola are together. But there is no tension. No animosity or jealousy.
It’s just…love. Just pure love between these people. Even with Henry and Keith.
I wonder if they’re aware how rare that is. How special and beautiful. A pang of longing hits me square in the chest. What would that feel like to be a part of? I once thought I had that, but seeing this band, this family together…
“Gus said you wrote some tunes for it. I’d love to hear them.”
“Yeah. I wrote something.”
Taking a seat at the piano, I glance up at Gus, who gives me a slight nod, and then I launch into what I played for him last night. It’s not complete, obviously. My lyrics aren’t fully formed, and I haven’t gone over what I’ve worked on with Gus yet. Instead, I just play the melody that’s been floating in and out of my head, waking me up at night and begging for attention. That’s how it is with me. Once my mind gets going on something, it doesn’t stop until it’s satisfied it’s perfect, and this song is a long way off from that.
After I’m done playing, I spin around to face the guys. Jasper and Gus are looking at each other again. Henry and Keith are joining in, all with thoughtful expressions.
“Christ, you guys are worse than the judges on The Voice. If you hate it, just tell me. I’m a big girl, I can take it.”
“Honestly, I think it fits better than anything I’ve come up with,” Keith says, and Jasper nods.
“Yeah. I think that might actually be perfect,” he agrees. “But…” He trails, staring straight at Gus and something passes between them.
Gus turns on me, his eyes dancing around my face. His gaze drops to the ground for a beat as he swallows hard and then forces himself back up until he’s staring directly into my eyes with a determination I don’t think I’ve witnessed on him before.
“Right,” he murmurs. “I think it’s time we get going on those lyrics.”
My heart starts to pound in my chest. Shit. This is really happening. And it’s going to hurt like hell.
Chapter Fifteen
Gus
* * *
“Naomi, I think that sounds good, but it’s tough to really hear it over the phone,” I tell her, tugging off my sweat-soaked sports shirt and tossing it in the general direction of my closet. My body is sore. I punished the hell out of it with a run and then weights.
It was supposed to help center me a bit. Help keep my head on straight where Naomi is concerned. But then she called, wanting me to listen to some things she came up with and suddenly, it’s like all that hard, mind-numbing work went right out the window.
She huffs into the phone. “Gus Diamond, why the hell do you think I’ve been trying to get you to do this in person with me? We have a deadline, right? Why do I feel like you’re suddenly blowing me off after Jasper’s the other day?”
I pause, standing in the middle of my room and close my eyes.