“Geez…have you been doing anything else?” Nikki arched an eyebrow. “Eating? Sleeping?”
Melody laughed softly. “I’ve been eating when necessary, and sleeping.” Sleep was the only time she got to speak with Liron, however minute those meetings were. She missed him so much she ached inside.
Nikki looked over some of the pages again, then sighed and looked up at Melody. She seemed to study her for a minute before asking, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Melody nodded. “I’m just kind of…spent. This was a little more grueling than I had anticipated.”
“Why the rush?”
She couldn’t exactly explain that to Nikki, so she shrugged. “Just felt like it had to get done, you know?”
Nikki smiled and caught Melody in a hug. “I’m proud of you, Mel. Really. You’re finally finding yourself again. You’re getting back in touch with your life and what you love.”
No so much what she loved, but who she loved. She smiled. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
The expression on her friend’s face made Melody uneasy. Nikki almost looked as if she could sense something was a little askew. She frowned slightly. “How did things go with your boy-toy?” She opted for a lighthearted tone, but Melody knew Nikki better than that.
Her heart tumbled around in her chest like laundry in a dryer. “Uh…it went well.” She pushed back a few bedraggled pieces of hair.
Nikki cocked an eyebrow. “That’s kind of vague.”
“Well, he had some stuff he had to attend to, you know, and so did I. But he told me he would come to the performance if the Philharmonic approves my piece.” The words rambled out of her mouth faster than anticipated.
To Nikki’s credit, she didn’t push the subject, but she didn’t really look convinced either. “When are you going to take it to the conductor?”
“Tomorrow. After I go over it to make sure it’s satisfactory.” It had to be. She had practically poured her lifeblood into the thing. It couldn’t be substandard. If she failed to find a way to have it played, thus failing to bring Liron back to her, she didn’t know what she would do. She felt lost without him, so lonely it was suffocating.
* * * *
Liron watched Siegfried as he hopped around on the sand, pecking at bugs and tormenting the seagulls. He had come down here every evening since Melody had left. He felt closest to her here, like she wasn’t trapped a dimension away, alone and hurting. He knew she was hurting. He felt her distress even now. It was less intense than it had been. Instead of a violent storm of emotion, it was more of a dull, quiet, persistent ache. And exhaustion. He felt that from her above everything else.
The sunset had streaked the sky with crimson and gold, and the waves were calm and rhythmic. He sighed and glanced down at Siegfried as the bird hopped over, made a screeching noise, and peered up at him with intelligence in his golden eyes.
Liron smiled sadly. “I know, old friend. You haven’t seen me this disheartened in awhile. I’m sorry. I just miss her.”
The bird tilted its head as if he had actually understood what Liron said, then screeched again and took to the skies for a sunset flight.
“He’s beautiful.”
Liron looked over his shoulder at the sound of the feminine voice and was surprised to see Samantha standing there. She was dressed much more subdued than before, in a calf-length, flowy black skirt and a red blouse that hugged her elegant frame. Regardless, she still looked every bit the aristocrat. Sophisticated and regal like royalty.
“Samantha, hello. What brings you out here?”
She sighed and came to sit next to him. The sunlight glinted off of her shining ebony hair and highlighted the delicate planes of her lovely face. He saw Elizabeth in her, all the dark beauty he had been so enamored with. Strange how that all seemed like it had happened to another person. He didn’t feel the same any more.
“I haven’t been to this area in a long while. I wasn’t sure if I could remember where you lived.” She smiled and looked up at him. “Then I remembered to look for the dark castle.”
He chuckled. “Some things never change.”
She gave a gentle laugh. “Thank goodness for that.”
He frowned thoughtfully. “You came looking for me?”
She nodded and stretched her legs out in front of her. “When did you get a falcon?”
“Awhile ago.” He studied her out of the corner of his eye, not trying to seem rude, but wondering why she was there at all. They were no longer connected in a way that she would feel obligated to him. “He has been a companion when I had few others. My parents live elsewhere now. I rarely see them. We correspond, but….” He shrugged.
Samantha gave him a wry smile. “Your parents never really did understand you, Liron. You were all music and beauty while they were all stoic logic and argument.” She laughed again, a lovely, musical sound. “I have no idea how a logic muse and a science muse birthed a music muse.”
He chuckled. “Must have been way back in the lineage somewhere. I got that rogue gene from my great-great-great et cetera, et cetera grand-whatever.”
“Were you able to find your wife?” she asked, sobering.
Liron heaved a sigh and looked down to study the patterns in the sand. “I am able to speak with her when she dreams. She is working on a way to get me to her, but I feel so helpless. I know she is exhausted, that the score she is writing to bring me to her world is taking everything out of her.”
“It should make you feel loved to know she is going to such great lengths to be with you.”
“It does, but I don’t like knowing she is suffering and I am stuck here unable to do anything about it.”
She smiled and reached over to cover his hand with hers. “Everything will work out in the end, Liron. Don’t have such a dismal look on your face. You are too handsome to scowl so much.” He cocked an eyebrow at her and she giggled. “You were always brilliant, but such a pessimist. Not that I blame you after everything that happened. Have some faith in your Melody. From what you told me, she must possess a rare kind of power to do what she did. I know you worry about her, but she is stronger than you give her credit for.” A teasing sparkle came to life in her eyes. “As are most women.”
At his smile, she squeezed his hand and withdrew. “I was speaking to Raymond after you came to see me, and we’ve decided that once everything is said and done and back to normal, we would like you and your wife to come one night for dinner.”
Liron couldn’t pretend not to be shocked at the invitation. It had been so long since he had even associated with Samantha or anyone in her family. She was the sister of his ex-wife. It would have been an awkward situation any way a person looked at it.
Samantha seemed to sense his bewilderment and she smiled. “It’s been so long since everything that happened with Elizabeth. She is gone in both this realm and the other. It is silly to hold onto the past in such a way that prevents us from being friends. I always thought you were such a brilliant and gentle man, and it makes me happy to know that you have finally found your perfect mate. If it doesn’t make you uncomfortable, I would like it if we could be in one another’s lives again. It has been far too long since Raymond and I had dinner guests. We desperately desire some good food, some laughter, and a little bit of music.”
Liron found himself smiling at the invitation, and surprisingly, the idea didn’t make him uncomfortable at all. He found this slightly strange considering, at any other time, it probably would have. He wouldn’t have wanted to face the memories that being around Samantha would resurrect. Now, the memories that had been the cause of so much of his lonely sorrow over the years were only that—memories. Nothing more, nothing less. They no longer hurt. They just…were.
Melody had healed him in every single way.
A pang shot through his heart at the knowledge. He wanted to hold her, kiss her, make love to her all night long and then again in the morning until there was no space in her mind or her heart left to wonde
r how much he cherished her.
It disturbed him that that tiny spot of doubt still lingered within him. Way in the back, where he tried not to let his mind go, he heard the whispered, What if this doesn’t work? What if you don’t mean as much to her as she does to you? What if you never inspired her at all and are unable to get to her? What if all of this was just a tormenting but temporary dream?
Samantha’s sigh brought him out of his wandering thoughts, and he looked up to see her regarding him with a chastising expression. He arched an eyebrow in question.
“It may have been a long time since I’ve seen you, Liron Tabor, but I know what a man looks like when he’s feeling sorry for himself, and what a man looks like when he’s doubting everything he shouldn’t be doubting.” She stood, brushed the sand off of her skirt, and held her hand out to him. “Come on.”
He frowned. “Come on and what?” Even as he asked it, he slid his fingers in her hand and let her tug him up.
She slipped her arm through his and started to guide him back up the beach. “I’m taking you back to my house tonight so you can stop wallowing. Raymond’s been dying for someone to play chess with, and that is not my game of choice.”
“I’m terrible at chess,” Liron muttered.
“Oh, don’t worry. So is he. Feel free to cheat as much as you like.”
The laughter that bubbled up from Liron’s chest felt nice, and despite the less than ideal situation he currently found himself in, it was wonderful to feel like he had friends in his life again. He had been so isolated for so many years. There was a chance to have so much more with Melody.
Because of Melody.
All of the beauty he was experiencing in his life as of late was because of her.
And it would all crash into blackness if he could not be with her.
This plan had to work. There was no other option, and no other outcome he would settle for.
* * * *
If she chewed on her fingernails anymore, she was pretty sure she wasn’t going to have any left. She had never really been a gnaw-on-the-nails type of person, but this situation was different. If this blew up in her face, her whole world would come crashing down around her.
Two days ago, she’d gone to the music director—also the conductor—of the Philharmonic she had once been a part of. She’d shown him her score, which he had been insanely impressed with. He’d been optimistic about the possibility of it being performed at the fall concert that was being planned for two months from now, but Melody knew it would have to be run past the Board of Directors before any final decisions were made.
So, that was what she was currently awaiting. Their decision. It was like torture. How long did it take to deliberate on whether her music score was terrible or not?
After about forty-five minutes, the music director came out into the hall where she was waiting and beckoned her to go inside the small conference room.
A tingle of apprehension ran down Melody’s spine as she stood and followed him inside. All of her parents’ old friends and colleagues stared back at her as she entered, people she had once considered her friends as well. She had never imagined facing them could be so daunting.
The music director pulled a chair out for her at the foot of the table and she sat, grateful for that simple luxury as her knees were shaking so badly she was surprised no one could hear them knocking.
The music director resumed his seat at the head of the table and met Melody’s gaze with a smile. He raised his hands and indicated everyone else present. “Melody, please stop looking like you’re about to find out if you passed or failed the final exam. You are one of the finest musicians to come out of Juilliard in the last ten years, you are a remarkable pianist, and your parents were dear members of this orchestra, as well as all of our friends. Did you really think any of us would deny you?”
Melody fought back tears and averted her eyes to the table. She shook her head. “I don’t want you to play my score because you feel like you owe my family or me something. I don’t want your pity. I know it might not be that good. I’ve never composed anything before—”
The music director cut her off with a snort and a laugh. “Well, perhaps you should start.” She looked up at him in bewilderment, and he folded his hands in front of him on the table. There was a twinkle in his hazel eyes when he smiled at her. “This score is wonderful, Melody. From the dreary, haunting first movement to the sweeping finale. Reading the music is one thing. I cannot wait to hear it performed. This decision was unanimous.” He held up his index finger. “On one condition.”
She arched an eyebrow.
“You must agree to be the guest conductor for the piece.” She felt like someone had jolted her, and she started to protest, but he shushed her. “It is your music, Melody. It is only right that you lead the orchestra in playing it. Please, say you’ll do it.”
She stared, uncomprehending, for a few moments before she let out the air she had been holding in a slow breath of surrender. She nodded slowly.
The music director clapped his hands together with a grin. “Excellent. Rehearsals will begin two weeks from now. Although,”—he slid the music score across the table to Melody—“it needs a title.”
Melody stared at the empty space at the top of the first page, at a loss. She hadn’t even thought of what to call it.
“We all wondered what you were up to, holed away for all this time,” an elderly woman at her right said suddenly. “Have you been working on this all year?”
Melody shook her head absently. “Just the last two weeks.”
“Two weeks?” The woman’s voice went up to a shrill pitch. “That is remarkable! What inspired you?”
Melody swallowed hard as her mind filled with a hundred rapid-fire memories. Her parents’ deaths, the funeral, loneliness, so much aching loneliness, Liron’s music, Liron himself, the beauty and wonder he had shown her. The passion for music he had rekindled within her. All she had ever known and all she had ever loved flashed through her at high speed and a small smile lifted her lips. “My life,” she murmured. “The life I had, and the life I want.”
And, just like that, she knew what her score needed to be called.
She picked up a pen and scrawled across the top of the page, Liron’s Melody. Because the music was for him. It was about him. It was because of him.
And regardless of whatever may be, she was his.
Chapter Nineteen
Two months later
“Liron, seriously, stop fidgeting.”
He couldn’t. He’d never been more nervous in his entire life. He huffed out a breath and turned when Samantha’s hand on his shoulders forced him away from the mirror. “Do I look completely idiotic?” he muttered.
Her easy smile gleamed and she shook her head, sending her teardrop earrings swinging. “You look stunning.” She smoothed the lapels of his black suit jacket.
“I haven’t felt this ridiculous since I married your sister.” It was true in so many ways. While he was never slovenly in appearance, there was rarely a call for him to dress in formal attire, and doing so made him feel awkward. Not only that, but he had no idea if this was going to work, and if it didn’t, he would be spending the greater part of the evening sitting in his living room, which wouldn’t merit the suit and tie. Not to mention, if it did work, he’d suddenly find himself in the human realm, in a foreign location, looking for Melody amongst a bunch of foreign people. None of these options seemed to be a compelling reason for him to calm down.
“Liron, you married the girl already. The scary part is over.”
Liron glanced over at Raymond, Samantha’s husband, lounging on his bed like he owned the universe. In all his life, Liron had never met such a laid-back muse as Ray. But he was jovial, and fun, and caring, and he looked at Samantha like she walked on water. He had grown somewhat fond of the man over the course of the last two months.
In all reality, Liron had to be grateful for the small things. Even though it had come
about by a set of circumstances he would have preferred to avoid, Melody’s being stuck in her world had given him a reason to visit Samantha, something he never would have done without prompting. Because of this, he had been able to rekindle a friendship he’d thought long past its expiration date.
And if he was going to be honest with himself, he had no idea how he would have gotten through the past two months without Samantha and Ray’s friendship. They had stepped up to alleviate the crushing weight of emptiness that Melody’s absence had left, had kept him occupied and laughing, and had helped him remain sane.
Liron glanced down at Samantha, who continued to fuss over him, adjusting his clothing and whatnot. He then glanced over at Ray who, being a lyrical muse, was submersed in a book of poetry. Seeing this, and knowing that he would be granted a small moment of privacy, he grasped onto Samantha’s hand and gave a little tug.
She looked up at him in question.
He knew he looked pained. He had to. Because he felt pained. “Sam…what if this doesn’t work?”
Sympathy reflected in her eyes, and she pulled him over to stand in front of his stained glass bedroom window so that they had a semblance of their own space. “Liron, stop fretting. Of course it will work. She felt enough of your soul to become so captivated with your music that she came across the barrier between our worlds. That has never happened, at least not to my knowledge. You think she has that kind of power, but does not possess the talent to bring you into her world? Something that is readily more heard of than the former?”
He shook his head. “It’s not her talent that I doubt.”
“Only her love.” Samantha fixed him with a chastising expression.
He couldn’t even argue with her. It wasn’t so much her love he doubted. It was just….
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