Page 28 of Indescribable Love
“I can’t even imagine what that must feel like,” she said, tucking her feet back under her. “And I guess I didn’t realize how much of your own stuff you wrote. I’ve worked with rock stars and singers in the past, and someone else always wrote the songs. This is all brand-new territory for me and it’s fascinating.”
That seemed to please him. “It took me a long time before I let anyone know that I could write my own songs. In the beginning, I did whatever the music producers thought I should do. The first few times I tried slipping in a song I wrote, I got shot down quick. By my third album, I insisted on having some of my original stuff on it.”
“Didn’t that album go multi-platinum?”
“It did,” he told her. “After that, I started getting to write more of my own stuff.” Pausing, he took a sip of his water. “Of course, I still have songs written by other people on my albums—mainly because of time constraints and my touring schedule—but I think this next album is going to be all me. Especially if I can get more songs written before we leave here.”
“And you definitely need to leave by the end of next week?”
The slight hesitation was the first sign that maybe they didn’t have to pack up quite so fast.
“The rental agreement is up at the end of next week,” he began slowly, “but the tour doesn’t really start back up until the end of the month.”
“So…three weeks from now?”
He nodded.
She definitely had questions.
“Where are we going from here? I thought the tour was starting back up, so I’d be traveling with you for it. But if that’s not the case…”
“Nikki and Celia are going home for ten days. They need it. I was planning on going to see my brothers and then my mom. You’re more than welcome to come with me, but you can also head back to New York and then we’ll all meet up again when the tour starts up in Seattle.”
And while this should have been great news, the thought of going home for that time wasn’t really appealing, but she didn’t know why.
“You’re frowning, Juliette,” he said softly. “Why?”
I wish I knew…
It might have just been her imagination, but it seemed like Simon inched a bit closer to her.
Swallowing hard, she said, “I guess I’m enjoying the peacefulness of the mountains and the thought of going back to the city is just…” She shuddered.
He smiled and moved a little closer again. “Are you sure it’s that, or do you really still not want to drive down the mountain?”
She knew he was teasing, but it still made her feel a little silly. “That may have a little something to do with it,” she murmured, feeling herself blush. They both grew quiet and it seemed like there was something Simon wanted to say, but was holding back. There was a noticeable tension in the air as they exchanged glances, both hesitant but intrigued.
Simon cleared his throat, breaking the silence. “You know, Juliette, there's something I think I need to say.”
“Oh?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as her eyes locked onto Simon's.
Again, he seemed hesitant, and got to his feet. “How about that dessert?”
The next thing she knew, he was walking across the room, picking up the cake. He placed it and the plates and silverware on the small coffee table. “Coffee? Water?” Then he glanced around and walked over to the corner to turn on some music.
“Water is fine,” she said, and with nothing left to do, she served them each a slice. He sat back down beside her—much closer this time—and accepted the plate when she handed it to him. Juliette was super curious about what he was thinking, but was afraid to ask. There was no way the only thing he had to say was about dessert. But she was willing to wait him out for a little longer.
“Damn,” he said around a mouthful of cake. “I think this is the best one yet! That woman has a gift.”
Juliette had to agree.
“Between your dinner and Celia’s dessert, I’m feeling very spoiled.”
And yeah, she loved the compliment.
Then he put his plate down, his dessert only partially eaten. “That’s a lot of sugar, though. I need to take a break,” he laughed, and she had to agree, mimicking his move.
They both seemed to turn to face each other at the same time before leaning against the back cushions. “So…” she said.