Antonio
“Jesus.”
The moment my eyes rested on Chelsea, I realized she wasn’t the same woman I spoke to a few days ago. Not the wilted flower who threatened to dry up on the spot. Not today.
Today, she was the sun itself. Strolling up with a grin on her lips. Even her wardrobe choice was different. Purposely wearing neon colors so apparent that anyone in the building could spot her from afar. So bright that it hurt looking at her. Too bad I couldn’t look away. Chelsea looked absolutely breathtaking.
“Sorry for the wait, the traffic was terrible,” she apologized as soon she stopped a few feet away. Out of breath, I imagined she rushed to find me. The thought made the corners of my lips twitch.
“You’re fine,” I got out before remembering I wasn’t standing there alone. Clearing my throat, I ignored the tune my heart sang beneath my suit. Looking over at Travis, I noticed him on his phone. I swear the guy would be a goner without that device. “This is Travis, my manager. He’ll probably have even more questions for you once we board the plane.”
He finally looked up, noticing Chelsea for the first time. I knew the smile on his lips was a professional one, but watching him stretch out his hand to her, I felt something in the pit of my stomach. A weight I wasn’t used to.
Jealousy?
“It’s nice to meet you.” Chelsea shook his hand, a blush covering her cheeks. Smile slipping away, she tried to present herself less casually.
Yeah, definitely jealous.
“Don’t worry Chelsea, I’m more friendly than he is. I won’t bite.” Travis’ smile grew, exaggerating his youth. Damn him. Though, it wouldn’t be right to get annoyed at him because of his friendliness. Didn’t make it any easier when he made her laugh.
“We should get checked in,” I told them, turning to give my back. “Before we miss our flight.” Alright, I might’ve sounded a little harsher than I intended.
A man in his forties shouldn’t be getting jealous over a woman he hardly knew. Looking over my shoulder, I gave the two of them a glance.
Travis was much younger than I was, more her age. They looked good together. Seeing her smile at him, my frown grew.
Would she ever smile like that at me when it’s just the two of us?
Cursing under my breath, I started walking. Tried not to mind if they were following or not.
Chelsea agreed to be my partner. She expected to play in duets. I’d only complicate things more if I tried to squeeze in feelings. Hell, I wasn’t even confident about what those feelings were. I’d never reacted so strongly to a person before.
Travis had yet to warm up to the idea of taking her with us. When he got used to having her around and things felt a little more natural, I’d have to let things run how they should. If they hit it off, then whatever. I’d live.
Going through the tedious task of checking in, we finally boarded the plane. Taking the window seat, Chelsea claimed the seat next to me while Travis sat across from us.
“So this is first class, huh?” Looking around, she appeared amazed. “I don’t travel much.”
“You’ll get used to it.” Trying to get comfortable, I stared out of the window. The more I looked at her, spoke to her, the worse the reminder became of my feelings. Closing my eyes, I hoped I’d be able to sleep for the next few hours. Block out the other two as they spoke the business side of things.
I succeeded for only four hours.
When I woke up, I noticed Travis had fallen asleep himself. Next to me, Chelsea wore headphones. Her attention was on a tablet. Her fingers moved in small taps. On the small screen, sheet music.
I watched her silently for a few minutes. Took in the way she’d go through the whole song tapping away before swiping back on the screen, restarting the song over, and swapping hands.
Never caring for how people taught themselves how to play, Chelsea intrigued me. How long had she been at this, listening to the same songs over and over again? Also with such a serious expression.
I knew I picked the right person for the job.
We had two weeks to polish up her stage fright before our first performance together. Plenty of time. I was confident in her skill even if she didn’t feel the same. Even from the start of the trip, she worked hard to keep up. Shame I couldn’t get a piano for her to practice on now. Had to be better than what she was doing with her fingers.
Sighing softly, I took in the rest of her appearance. Unlike her colorful clothing, her dark hair had been twisted into a bun. What was holding her hair up, a scrunchie? Snorting, I bit back the urge to smile. I didn’t realize people still used those.
Compared to the woman I saw on the stage wearing a white pantsuit, this version of Chelsea was the complete opposite. Both versions left a burning trail in my chest.
As if feeling my stare, she looked my way. Her mouth opened in surprise before she came to an erupt stop. Pulling the headphones off, her cheeks flushed in color.
“I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No.” Resting my chin on my propped arm, I continued staring her way. “How are you doing?” Glancing down at her tablet, I quirked a brow. “Have it learned by now?”
“Oh, um.” She looked like she couldn’t find the words. “I have a light grasp. Once I get the chance to play, we’ll see if I maintain any of it. Luckily for me, you had some songs picked out of yours that I already know. It won’t be hard playing those.”
Good to hear some confidence hiding behind her words.
“I look forward to hearing it. You can continue where you left off, I won’t distract you.”
“Thank you.” Her words were soft and like a record playing over and over in my mind even after she’d put her headphones back on.
I needed to get my head on straight before my condition got worse. Ignore the fact that a sweet girl could blush because of me. Sighing under my breath, I forced myself not to watch her for the rest of the flight.
When we landed and got a taxi, the ride felt like a breath of fresh air. It had been years since I’d last been in California. I wasn’t the type to go sightseeing, but I’d admit I wouldn’t mind stopping at a place or two. Even with the time crunch, if one of the other two made the suggestion, I’d cave in.
“The reservations for the rooms are ready to be checked in. After we take care of that, I’ll need to call Sean to talk media. Then—” Travis went on and on, telling me the plans of the day. Hardly arrived and right back to work he went.
I picked Travis for a reason. Even at his young age, I trusted him to control my career because I saw how much of a hard worker he was.
“Travis.” Interrupting him, I noticed the lift of his brow. “Relax. We have the time.” Of course, he scoffed at the idea.
“You’re the one who is always wanting everything to be set up without mistakes.” He blew out a sigh. “I figured that mattered even more now that you have—” he momentarily looked at Chelsea, “—new talent at your side.” Right, business speaking Travis wasn’t as friendly as regular Travis.
“The moment you announce to everyone who my partner is, you know it’ll make things complicated. People are going to have questions.” Moving to pinch the bridge of my nose, I already dreaded the situation. “I need her to be able to concentrate on learning. Media is going to become distracting.”
“You haven’t told anyone about me yet?” Chelsea piped in, surprised.