She threw her head back and sang from the inner depths of her soul.
“For the last time!” Melody huffed into the microphone as she got to the last line of the song.
The crowd went wild, the sound vibrating the floorboards of the stage.
“For the last time!” Harmony and Lyric repeated.
The cheers from the audience were deafening.
“I said for, oh for, oooh, for the last time,” Melody sang, tears streaming down her face. Her sisters harmonized beautifully alongside her.
Melody, Harmony, and Lyric held hands and raised their arms over their heads as they took their final bow. “We love you! Thank you!” Lyric screamed into her microphone before they exited the stage. They all seemed to feel the finality of the moment. It was the perfect ending to a perfect night.
The sisters raced back to their dressing rooms, their excitement palpable. They hugged each other excitedly.
“We killed it—slaughtered our first European stop. You ladies rocked it,” Melody said, squeezing her sisters tightly. If they only knew how much she loved them.
“Our performance was so boss. I swear I could’ve performed forever out there. This crowd showed up and showed out. We got so much love,” Lyric said, bouncing up and down as she held onto her big sisters.
“I must say. I am very proud of you ladies. This is what happens when we don’t have any bad vibes before a show,” Harmony added, tightening her grip on her sisters too. Not having their mother present at the show had made a world of difference in terms of how they performed, and also how they interacted with one another.
“I may not always be the best sister to have, and I probably irk y’all nerves more than y’all would like, but I just want both of you to know that I truly love you. I wouldn’t pick any other girls to be my sisters,” Melody said from the heart. She could see that her pronouncement shocked Harmony and Lyric. They looked at each other to make sure they weren’t imagining things.
“Well, Mel. You’re our sister, and we love you too. You’re spoiled rotten, and the most pretentious person we—”
“Look, Harm. This is supposed to be a happy moment,” Melody interrupted. They all laughed.
“I know. I was just kidding. We definitely love you too. You may not think so because Lyric and I kind of stick together at home, but that’s only because we have to stay clear of Ava’s wrath. There is nothing we wouldn’t do for you. We are sisters forever, and we will love you forever,” Harmony said.
“Don’t y’all start this crying and mushy stuff. I want to keep this pretty makeup on for a little while longer. Plus, crying is for punks,” Lyric joked. “I love y’all silly selves.”
“We love you too,” Melody and Harmony said in unison.
* * *
Melody’s tears dropped onto her cuffed hands. She couldn’t concentrate on the court hearing. Instead, she focused on her past mistakes. She promised herself that if she made it out of this ordeal, she would work on being a better human being. For starters, she would try to be at least half as forgiving and compassionate as her sisters. It had taken all of her life to realize that Sista Love was not just a name for their group, it defined who and what they were. That, alone, was worth fighting for.
Chapter 22
Harmony
“I thought I’d find you here,” Harmony said seductively, fighting the goofy smile that threatened to spoil her sultry face.
Blake startled. When he turned around, he flashed his signature toothy smile. “Hey, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Harmony walked toward his car, balancing on her heels, flowers in hand. She showed up unannounced at his work, like he did so many times with her. Blake wore his work T-shirt and a pair of grungy jeans. Damn, if he don’t look sexy.
“Peace offering,” Harmony said, holding the bouquet of roses out in front of her.
Blake laughed. “What’s this? Flowers from a lady? Isn’t it supposed to be flowers for the lady? You didn’t have to do that. You’re making me blush.”
Harmony blushed herself. He couldn’t be any sweeter.
“Well, when the lady in question has been the worst possible friend ever, I think there are exceptions to the rules. Please accept these flowers as a token of my sincerest apologies.” Harmony executed a perfect curtsy.
Blake chuckled and took the flowers. “Naw, flowers for the lady.” He handed them right back to her. Harmony rolled her eyes playfully and took them back. She lowered her eyes to the ground before she continued.
“On a serious note, Blake, I was an ass. I came by to tell you how sorry I am for my actions. Two tries at a simple dinner and I failed you both times. You’ve done so much for me and the girls at Dance and More. I didn’t want to come across as selfish or ungrateful. Frankly, I’m ashamed of how downright nasty I was toward you. I let my emotions get in the way. You didn’t deserve that sort of treatment.”
Blake waved and twisted his lips. “Aw, it was nothing. I didn’t take it personal. If anyone knows how fast life can come at you, it’s me. I figured I’d give you time to sort things out with your family. I would rather wait for the right moment than rush you into something that you aren’t ready for,” he said sincerely.
Harmony smiled. “Thank you. That’s more than I deserve. You are too kind.”
“You came back to find me, so that must count for something. What’s the saying? ‘When you want something, let it go . . .’”
“If it comes back to you, it’s yours; if it doesn’t, it never was,” she finished. Blake reached out and moved a stray strand of hair from her forehead.
“You came back, and that’s what counts.”
Harmony’s insides fluttered. She felt light-headed. She cleared her throat, trying not to become too emotional.
“Don’t you still owe me that ‘friend-dinner’?” she joked.
Blake laughed. “Why? You got a better excuse this time?”
* * *
“I can’t believe we are here at a table in a real restaurant. I think it’s safe to assume that we are officially on a date this time,” Blake joked.
Harmony slapped the top of his hand playfully. She would never hear the end of this. It was so good to laugh again.
“I thought you said you forgave me. It’s not forgiveness if you keep throwing it back in my face,” she chuckled.
“All right. I’ll stop. No more harassing you about our failed friend-dinners,” he said, picking up his drink and taking a sip. “This may seem abrupt, but I’ve been wondering about . . . about your situation.” He glanced down at her empty left ring finger for emphasis.
The elephant in the room needed to be addressed. She didn’t expect any less of a man with integrity.
“Oh, okay. Let’s get right down to the serious stuff, why don’t we?” she chuckled, not quite sure about what her answer would be. He deserved the truth, she just didn’t have much to offer.
His cheeks flushed, but he continued to hold her gaze. A relationship based on lies would go nowhere fast.
“Sorry. It’s just been weighing on my mind. The last time, when I asked you out as a friend, you seemed hesitant and unsure. I don’t want to get in over my head only to find . . . you know what I mean.” He rolled his shoulders, as if to release the tension in his body.
“Well, honestly, Blake, at the moment, there’s not much to tell. My husband has been gone from our home for a total of five months. I can’t really say anything other than his actions speak for themselves,” she replied without getting into the specifics.
“I have a hard time believing he just left a beautiful woman like you and your little girl behind. Was there someone else? Did something happen to trigger his departure?”
Harmony shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She needed a sip of her drink to answer that question. She paused for a few long seconds, contemplating how much she should share with him. She didn’t want to let her guard down too soon, but she also didn’t want to lie to him either. In the end, she th
ought it best to opt for the truth. If she scared him away, then so be it.
“He slept with my sister,” she confessed, barely above a whisper. “My husband slept with my sister,” Harmony repeated, this time slightly louder. Just uttering the words out loud was cathartic. She felt as if a lead weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Blake choked on his bread. She passed him a glass of water.
“Exactly,” Harmony replied to his stunned reaction.
“Which one? The famous one?” Blake asked, then caught himself. “Well, I know you are all famous . . . but I mean . . .”
“Yes, he slept with Melody. She’s the one everyone worships. Lyric and I, we were just the shiny accessories,” she said without malice.
“How could your sister do that to you?” Blake threw his hands up. “I mean, if you don’t mind me asking. I understand if you don’t want to talk about it.”
Harmony waved off his concerns. “I guess the simplest way for me to explain this is that my husband, Ron, is a recovering addict and during a relapse, he would go anywhere to find drugs. I’ve had a long time to think about all of this. In some ways, it was partially my fault. I put us in a situation, and he just wasn’t strong enough to deal with it. I knew he wasn’t on solid ground with his sobriety, but I pretended not to know. I wanted him to be perfect because it was what I had been longing for all of my life—a perfect partner and a perfect life. But he was flawed—tremendously flawed—and my desire for perfection drove him to his addiction, rather than away from it,” Harmony confessed.
Blake shook his head in understanding, urging her to continue. Confession was good for the soul.
“Ron and I never had time to really date. When I met him, he was a washed-up child star, and I was a washed-up former girl group member. We were both broken people trying to make each other feel whole. We spent most of our relationship trying to fix each other. He tried, and I tried. But two broken people can’t fix one another—they have to fix themselves. It was too late in our relationship before I realized that. When my mother died a few months ago, I dragged Ron back to the city—back to his old stomping grounds, where temptations abounded. I did this for my own selfish reasons, not thinking about if or how he would cope. I needed to be there with my sisters to deal with my mother’s death—this was more to alleviate my own guilt. Ron couldn’t handle all of the pressure of being back in New York. It broke him and, in return, it broke us.”
“I’m sorry,” Blake said, squeezing her hand.
She exhaled. If only she and Ron had made time for each other to work through their problems together, things may have turned out different. Life in the rearview mirror was always so much clearer.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not excusing his behavior, but I am certainly woman enough to own up to the role that I played in our failed marriage. He tried to tell me more than once that he was hurting—slipping—and I didn’t take heed. I was too focused on my own needs to listen. I was so selfish,” Harmony lamented, lowering her face into her hands.
* * *
“I’ve been listening to you,” Ron raised his voice. “All I hear out of your mouth is things that you’ve kept from me. All I hear is that you made a commitment to someone other than me and Aubrey.”
“I was going to tell you. I just have to make sure Lyric is going to be okay. She’s really not doing well,” Harmony said worriedly.
Ron palmed his head. “She’s a grown woman, not a little child! You don’t need to go running to the rescue every time she gets into trouble.”
“Ron, I have to save her. I feel responsible for the way things are with her right now. I feel responsible for her . . . especially now,” Harmony said, her voice trembling with emotion.
“So after everything that happened—turning their backs on you, leaving you broke and in the cold, cursing you out—you’re really considering going on Melody’s tour and being away from the life we’ve built because you think you can save Lyric?” he asked incredulously.
“It’s not that cut and dry. I made a promise,” Harmony swallowed. She felt like she was being ripped apart, like each of her arms were being pulled in opposite directions.
“You know damn well you can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved,” his eyes narrowed to a pinprick. “And what about that promise you made to me on our wedding day? Does that promise mean nothing to you?” Ron pointed to where Aubrey slept in their bed. “What about our life together? You want to abandon us for two sisters that didn’t give a fuck about you these past three years?”
Ron started putting his pants on in a fury.
Harmony stood up. She tried to grab him, to make him listen to reason. “Wait,” she cried. “Please, Ron. I can make this work.”
“Don’t touch me,” he gritted, moving out of her reach.
“Where are you going?” she called as he roughly yanked his T-shirt over his head. He snatched his jacket from the back of the chair and grabbed his car keys.
“You don’t care where I go. You only care about yourself, remember? Harmony’s needs come first. Always,” Ron accused, his chest heaving. “Well, I have a confession too, Harmony. I had a drink today. There. I said it. All of this bullshit made me want to run back to my old ways, Harm,” he spat.
Harmony felt like she’d been slapped in the face. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out.
“Don’t,” Ron growled, holding his hand up. “I had my first drink in three years. And you know what? It made me feel good. The house, the party, the music, all of the rich folks gathered at your sister’s place—I felt like my good old self again. That one glass of whiskey took my mind off of you and your so-called priorities. So now you know the ugly truth about me. I’m not hiding anymore,” he proclaimed.
Harmony shook her head. What had she done? How had they grown so far apart?
“I have you all figured out. You want to take care of other people so that you feel needed. You want me to be the old Ron again so that you can take care of me too? That’s what it takes to get your dedication, right? You were only happy when I was a project—a drug addict that needed saving. If I’m not broken, you have nothing to fix,” he spat cruelly.
Harmony doubled over in pain. Ron hit the nail on the head, but the truth was difficult for her to accept. She was losing everything that she fought so hard to keep. How could she have let this happen?
“Go ahead on tour with your sisters. You deserve it. You deserve the money and the fame. Go live that life again and let me know how happy it makes you,” Ron’s voice cracked. “Despite everything, I want you to be happy. Maybe we were just not meant to be.” He put his hand on the doorknob.
“Wait,” Harmony cried out. “Ron, wait!”
“I’ve waited long enough,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I’m tired of waiting.”
* * *
“Look, if this conversation is too much we can—”
“No, I’m a big girl,” Harmony blinked, trying to refocus her attention on her date. She forced a smile.
“Okay, so enough about me. Now, it’s your turn. What’s your situation?” she said, turning the tables for a change.
“Well, I’m not married, if that’s what you’re asking,” Blake replied.
Harmony palpably relaxed.
“At least, not anymore,” he added for clarification.
Harmony’s interest was piqued. She nodded for him to continue.
“My wife left me three years ago,” he said honestly. Harmony’s mouth sagged at the edges, but her heart leapt in her chest. He didn’t sound too upset about it.
“She left, but it wasn’t entirely her fault, either. I wasn’t exactly the Perfect Husband,” Blake said honestly. Harmony raised an eyebrow at that.
“I didn’t cheat or anything, but I didn’t give her what she needed, either. We were young when we got married—both in our early twenties. We weren’t ready. I guess you could say that we had conflicting priorities in life. I wanted a career, and s
he wanted a white picket fence and little ones running around. I became a firefighter two years after we got married, and that took a toll on our marriage. Those overnight shifts, leaving her to sleep alone at nights, made the early days of our marriage difficult. It didn’t bode well for family planning either. It was tough on her. She was always crying and complaining about my job. In turn, I was angry and downright passive-aggressive. I was glad that she had the courage to leave. I didn’t want to be pegged as the bad guy, so I had convinced myself to stick it out and wait for things to get better. One day, I came home to find the house empty. I was initially upset, but in a way, I was glad that she took the decision off my hands,” Blake confessed.
Harmony was hanging on to his every word. She drank in his features. She knew he was handsome, but at this moment of vulnerability, as she stared at his dark eyes and full lips, she was overcome with lust.
“So where is she now?” Harmony asked, balling up her toes in her shoes. “Did she ever come back? Did you ever try to reconcile?”
Blake released a breath he had obviously been holding.
“We saw each other a few more times during the divorce proceedings, but that was it. She moved on. She’s married with the most adorable twin boys, and I’m genuinely happy for her. We don’t speak regularly or anything, but there are no hard feelings there. She finally got the life that she wanted. We were both good people, just not good for each other,” he said.
“All’s well that ends well, right?” Harmony quoted the title of the Shakespearean play. “This is a lot of heavy stuff to discuss on a first date.”
Blake lifted his wineglass in salute and took a gulp. “Now that the heavy stuff is out of the way, we can focus on the light stuff.”
He grinned over the top of his glass, until she blushed a becoming pink.
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