My heart stalled as he paused.
“We were even more blown away by the finished product. You, dear, have a natural gift and a talent that I’m not sure you’ve even fully tapped into. I, for one, can’t wait to see what you create next.” His eyes crinkled when he grinned at me.
A breath of relief whooshed out when he finished talking.
Mr. Rockford cleared his throat. “The response to the show by our guests has been such great advertising that the remaining five months have sold out. We’ve decided to actually extend the show to a year. So, considering that and with the success of what you’ve accomplished so far, we decided to modify what we’d planned to offer you for the five-month extension to be for eleven more months. We’ve also decided to give you a bonus for training two assistant lead choreographers, which wasn’t part of the expectations we had for you. This is your bonus check for that.” He slid a rectangular piece of paper toward me.
“Wow. That’s so generous,” I exclaimed when I caught sight of the zeros. My head was spinning at the prospect of solid employment for the rest of the year. Could I do it? Live on a boat for a year? Be away from Brooks for that long?
“You’re worth it. Now for the formalities … This is the paperwork to extend your contract. You’ll see that we raised your salary by thirty percent for the remaining eleven months,” Mr. Rockford explained, pointing to the new figure.
Tears filled my eyes. The offer was more than I could’ve ever hoped for. I picked up a pen, ready to read and sign.
“Before you agree, I have to be honest with you,” Mr. Rockford said, leaning forward.
“OK,” I said, drawing the word out in question.
“Since you don’t have an agent, a Will Hayes reached out to us on your behalf,” he explained.
I frowned, wondering why Will would be calling the cruise line since I didn’t find the job through Dub or his company. And I had no lingering commitments with them at the moment.
“As much as it pains me to pass along this information to you, I wouldn’t be the man I pride myself on being if I didn’t. I know there’s a chance you’re going to reject our offer once I give you this other information.”
Now, I was intrigued.
“Mr. Hayes delivered another contract to me so I could give it to you for consideration.” Mr. Rockford removed another stack of paperwork from his folder.
Nothing was printed on the cover sheet except my name.
“This offer is longer term than ours, but the weekly payment is less than our offer.”
“What?” I hadn’t applied or auditioned for any long-term placements.
He finally lifted his hand off the crisp sheets of paper, so I could look them over.
I flipped open to the second page. Quickly, I scanned to find that Lilac was going to be doing a collaborative show with several rotating artists. First up was Quik Fuze. The job would involve me choreographing and dancing an entire show for Lilac. Plus, I’d be creating dance numbers for the collaborative songs between Lilac and whoever the other artist was at the time.
I flipped the page to take in the entire calendar. The artists who would be collaborating with Lilac were pretty impressive. Halfway through the list was Lyrical Odyssey. I couldn’t help the smile that twitched at my lips at the prospect of choreographing for Brooks’s music.
My fingers eagerly turned to the next page. The offer included a suite at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. My heart thundered. I was being offered a job in Vegas. Brooks would be in Vegas.
The last page gave the details of my health insurance, vacation and personal leave days, as well as my salary. It was more than triple what I’d made teaching dance in a year. I didn’t know what to say. But Mr. Rockford was right; the cruise line job would net me more money in a year than working for Lilac.
“If you were my daughter, I’d tell you to take the evening and think it over.” Mr. Rockford patted my hand. “But Lilac needs your answer tonight. Please don’t let concern over the show here weigh in your decision. This show will be in good hands thanks to your foresight. And don’t worry that it might affect future opportunities you’d have with us. Matter of fact, I’d like start drawing up paperwork to have you create the routines for our next show, setting sail next year. You wouldn’t have to sail more than the first week or two, unless you wanted to,” Mr. Rockford said.
“How am I going to be able to get my answer to Lilac tonight? We’re in the middle of the ocean. I won’t have cell service until midday tomorrow.” I frowned.
“You’re going to give me your answer in person,” a melodious voice said from behind me.
I glanced up and caught the reflection of two people descending the stairs. My gaze briefly alighted on Lilac, with hair the color of her namesake. But she didn’t hold my attention long at all. My stare was immediately tugged upward to the vision of masculine virility sauntering down the stairs behind her.
My feet pushed against the floor, shoving my chair backward so fast that it would’ve toppled over if Mr. Rockford hadn’t reacted quickly. I took off running in my sandaled feet.
“Hi, Lilac,” I huffed as I flew past her at the foot of the stairs. She chuckled as I darted up the steps.
Without thought as to the wisdom of my action, I leaped into Brooks’s arms. Thankfully, he was on the landing and braced himself against the railing so he could catch me. I gripped his face between my hands. His arms wound tightly around my waist, holding me up as I fused our mouths. I was greedy in my kiss. It had been so long since I’d felt the pressure of his lips against mine, tasted his cinnamon flavor on my tongue, breathed him in.
A chuckle from below finally penetrated the haze I was in. I pulled back, but Brooks kept a firm hold on me, not letting me put space between our bodies.
“You’re here,” I whispered in awe.
“I am. I booked a ticket before your first voyage. I wanted to be here with you no matter what news you’d get tonight. Plus, I figured we’d both be in withdrawal after four weeks apart,” he said with a wink.
“You’ve got that right.” I rubbed myself against him subtly.
“Angel,” he growled in my ear so only I could hear.
Another chuckle floated up the stairs to me. I peeked over my shoulder at the people looking up at us inconspicuously. Shyly, I dropped my face to the crook of his neck in embarrassment.
“Sorry,” I whispered to them as I turned around and started down the stairs, dragging Brooks by the hand with me.
“Nonsense. I love when my wife is that happy to see me,” Jack teased from the foot of the stairs.
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” Mr. Rockford laughed heartily. “I’m hoping Mrs. Rockford’s heart is growing fonder right now. Ms. Miller, how about we meet for lunch tomorrow, and you can let me know what you decided. Bring your boyfriend.” He winked at me, then headed for the door. “And Brittany,” he said, calling me by my first name, “it’s OK for you to decide with your heart. I would in your shoes.” With that, he was gone.
Jack gave me a squeeze when I reached the bottom. “I’m going to find my wife and see if I can get her to cut a rug with me. Good luck, dear.”
“Thanks,” I whispered.
Lilac beamed at me when I turned to her. “I actually had this plan in the works when you did the first video choreography for me. But the logistics hadn’t been ironed out with the casino, so I couldn’t mention it to you. When I found out you’d accepted a job with Rockin’ Royal, I was upset. Dub worked on finding out the exact length of your contract here to see if I could still make it work. And I hate that I’m not able to give you much time to consider the offer, but I have to finalize everything in the next couple of days.”
I sidestepped so that Brooks was beside me rather than behind me. “What do you say, boyfriend?” I stressed the last word, loving calling him that, though we’d never officially defined our relationship. “Would you mind me living in Sin City while you’re there living it up?”
/> He gripped my waist and yanked me to him. “Well, girlfriend, I hadn’t planned on living it up in Vegas without you. You’re the only one I want to spend my time with. So, I say hell yeah, come live with me in Vegas, angel.” Gently, he tilted my chin up so he could peer deeply into my eyes. “But, if you want to finish out the cruise job since it pays more and you’re killing it here, we’ll make that work. I just want you to soar. And wherever you are, I’ll figure out how to be there with you as much as humanly possible.”
“Really?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
His eyes sparkled. “Really. I already have tentative reservations on four more of these cruises and can book more. Plus, I checked into the logistics of flying you to Vegas during a couple of breaks allowed for in the cruise line contract.” He ran his hands up and down my sides as I took in everything he said.
I never imagined I’d have two amazing opportunities doing what I loved. In the grand scheme of things, money wasn’t a factor in my decision. Only love was.
“Where do I sign?” I asked with a laugh.
Lilac wasted no time handing me the contract and a pen. After I scrawled my name on the dotted line, she said her goodbyes.
Stacia moved in my periphery. I’d forgotten she was there. “We’ll miss you around here. But I don’t blame you one bit. I kind of figured you’d pick love. I’ll give your regrets to the cast when I get to the party in a few minutes.”
“Thanks,” I said, blushing. I was mentally counting the minutes until I could get Brooks naked. We’d have to get creative in my little cabin because the bed was a single. But we’d figure it out.
“Oh, while you were having your pre-show cast meeting, I packed up your room and brought your belongings to Brooks’s,” Stacia informed me, giving me a little wiggle of her fingers as she moved through the entryway and out of the suite.
“What deck is your cabin on?” I asked, spinning in his hold.
“This one.”
“What, you booked one of the luxury suites on this deck?” I exclaimed.
“I reserved this suite,” he said, brandishing his arm about to indicate the opulence we stood in would be our home away from home for the next week.
“You did?” I whispered.
“Yep. And wanna know how we’re going to spend the next week?”
I nodded. I knew the excursions available for the guests were pretty awesome, but I hadn’t even disembarked at any of our stops.
“I’m going to feast on your pussy on that dining room table,” he said, pointing to the table. “And I’m going to bend you over that couch over there. Of course, we’ll make love on that bed on the balcony under the stars.” I glanced at each thing he pointed out, my blood racing at each image he painted.
“We’re going to salsa dance in the empty space over there, naked,” he said, pointing to the open area.
“You don’t know how to salsa dance,” I replied, dumbfounded.
“I do now. I took lessons while you were gone. I didn’t want you to ever need another dance partner besides me again.”
Tears filled my eyes at the lengths he was willing to go to in order to make me happy, make me feel loved.
“You’re the only one I want to dance with for fun.”
He tugged my hand. I followed, heading up the stairs with him. “Back to the important stuff. I figure we’ll take advantage of the stairs in some way since we should exploit every flat surface in this place.”
When we reached the upper floor, he led me to the right. Brooks turned on the light in the nicest bedroom I’d ever seen. The mattress looked like a cloud. The room was decorated in light blue and sandy brown.
“I’m going to take you in every position imaginable on that bed. And when we think we’ve run out of options, we’re going to invent our own.” He gripped my chin and turned my face to the balcony beyond the bed, equipped with a bubbling hot tub.
“Of course, we’ll heat up the hot tub,” I offered.
“No brainer.” With his hands on my hips, he steered me into the enormous bathroom. He continued to urge me forward until I stepped over the lip of a glass-encased shower.
We moved to the back wall. That’s when I realized that the shower was actually cantilevered off the deck of the ship. I gasped. The shower had nearly 280 degrees of ocean view.
Brooks pressed up against my back. I relished his leather and cinnamon scent filling my nostrils. I’d missed it so much. His heat engulfed me from where his cheek rested against mine all the way down to where his knee was wedged between my legs.
“And of course, angel, I plan to mash your wet, naked body against this glass, hanging over the ocean, and pound into you from behind until your legs turn to jelly. Then we’ll move to a reclining position somewhere,” he rasped in my ear. His hand sneaked beneath the edge of my neckline, dragging along my breast until his fingers tweaked my nipple. “Where do you want to start?”
“All of the above,” I said breathlessly, arching my back to push my breast further into his talented fingers.
“God, I love you,” he said, whirling me around.
“I love you. So much,” I whispered. Leaning up slightly, I touched my lips to his, gently at first. But in moments, I was devouring his mouth. His lips parted beneath my initial onslaught, opening so his tongue could tangle with mine. Eagerly, I reacquainted myself with everything Brooks—the taste of his kiss, the sound of his needy groan, the comfort of his embrace, the dexterity of his fingers, the heat of his body pressed to mine, the weight of his cock in my hand, and the feel of his love surrounding me.
And I knew he was relearning all the little nuances of me. Our love story may have been the last thing either of us was looking for, but our happily ever after was just beginning. And it was going to be heavenly.
♪ Heaven by Warrant
THE END
Thank you
I cannot believe I’ve reached this point again, for the seventh time—the end of another book. It amazes me that people actually give me the gift of their time to read my words. If this is your first time experiencing my brand of storytelling, I sincerely hope you enjoyed it and that you reach out to chat. I adore talking with readers. If you enjoyed Brooks and Brittany, please consider leaving a review.
Sneak Peek
So, I have so many characters in my head clamoring for their stories to be told. Here are two blurbs for what I’m planning to try to write this year. The blurbs are subject to change based on the demands of the voices.
Sonnets in the Sky
Book 5 Lyrical Odyssey Rock Star Series
MADDOX
My whole life, I’ve been looking for love. I find it and lose it often. I’ve accepted that love will be fleeting whenever I have. So, I fall fast and hard every single time. I finally found someone who agreed to stick around. Ever since our trip to Vegas, she’s been wearing my ring. But that wasn’t the only thing that happened in Vegas. And when they say, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas? They lie. It doesn’t. And I don’t know how to tell her. Either of them. Telling one of them could ruin what I have and telling the other could ruin everything for her.
SKY
In the blink of an eye, life as I know it ends. My best friend is hiding something. His fiancée hates me. My fiancé is being weird. Then tragedy strikes, and I’m left floundering. So much is changing, and I can’t keep up. The solution is simple, or so I think. But Maddox thinks my plan is foolish. And I think he’s probably right. But I have no choice. It’s what I have to do in order to protect her. She’s innocent and needs me.
Memory of a Melody
Nothing brings back a memory like a melody.
Willa
Something’s wrong. I don’t know what, but I can feel it. My best friend, my fiancée, even the hunky stranger who saved me are all hiding things from me. Which isn’t all that difficult considering I can’t remember the last six months of my life. Apparently, my purse wasn’t the only casualty of the random mugging I fell victim
too. Those thugs stole pieces of my memory. Important ones. My heart is battered and bruised and … broken, and I have no clue why. How can I get married when I’m surrounded by secrets?
Trystan
My big break is finally within my grasp, but my inspiration has dried up. For months, I haven’t been able to write any new music. Then I meet her, and the floodgates open wide. Lyrics and melodies flow faster than I can jot them down. I never believed in things like muses, love at first sight or soulmates until Willa. But she doesn’t remember me except as her savior. If I tell her the truth about how we met and who I am, I’ll lose my one chance to make my dreams come true. If I don’t tell her, I might lose my chance at true love.
Other books by Charli:
Lyrical Odyssey Rock Star Series
Beats of the Heart (book 1) Dawson & Izzy
Notes of the Heart (book 2) Dawson & Izzy
Songs of the Heart (book 3) Dawson & Izzy
Melody of the Heart (book 3.5 currently available to newsletter subscribers) Dawson & Izzy
Turn up the Tempo (book 4) Brooks & Brittany
Sonnets in the Sky (book 5) – coming 2020 Maddox & Sky
Stand Alone
Memory of a Melody – coming 2020
Blood Song Series
Blood Song: Prelude (book 1) Toven & Celesta
Blood Song: Refrain (book 2) Toven & Celesta
Blood Song: Coda (book 3) Toven & Celesta
About the Author
Turn up the Tempo (Lyrical Odyssey Rock Star Series Book 4) Page 29
