Flesh & Bone - a contemporary romance: The Minstrel Series #2 (14 page)

“Wait. You went to his flat? Alone? Are you crazy?”

“Yes, and yes, and apparently. He’s perfectly harmless.”

Gabriele frowned, but waved a hand for her to keep going.

“We started on a song, but got stuck. Sebastian thought we couldn’t finish it because we didn’t know each other very well, so he asked me to go to lunch with him today.”

“So you could get to know each other better?”

“Yes.”

“And you went to Königstein Fortress… for lunch?”

“Yes.”

Gabriele shook her head and smirked. “You’ve really surprised me, Eva. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Eva smiled wryly in return. “Well, neither did I.”

“But you’re not going to see him again, are you? I mean, Mama and Papa would freak. He’s not exactly the kind of guy they’d want you to date.”

“We’re not dating. We’re writing songs. It’s just business.”

“Just business? Eva, you’ve been crushing on this guy for a year, and you want me to believe it’s just business?”

“It is. He’s not interested in me that way.” She poked at her cane. “For obvious reasons. But this is a chance for me to do something. Think about it. I could have a song on the charts!”

Gabriele relaxed. “I suppose, if you look at it that way, it could be a good opportunity for you. Are you going to meet again to write?”

Eva nodded. “Tomorrow evening.”

“But just as friends?”

“Yes, Gabriele. Just as friends.”

A week of the band’s hiatus revealed one thing to Sebastian: he didn’t have any friends. His life had revolved around his band for years, and particularly the last one. The band, Dirk, the road crew: they were his friends.

And not very good ones, it turned out. After his fall out with Karl, everyone had dispersed. Sebastian wasn’t sorry about that. He needed a break from those guys. It was just that he discovered there wasn’t anyone left outside of that ring. He wandered around his flat, moving from guitar to guitar, fighting back loneliness.

He should take off. Go to Italy or Greece, but the thought of traveling by himself depressed him even more. At least here he had Eva. Okay, he had one friend outside of the band, and she was coming over later that day. Maybe they’d finish that song. He’d love to shove that in Dirk and Karl’s faces.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and for a moment he worried Eva was canceling, but it was worse than that. It was his sister Leah. She was in town and heading over.

Damn.

He scanned his flat. It was messy, and a pile of dishes filled the sink, but it wasn’t so bad for a bachelor—especially one Leah considered irresponsible. He almost got up from his spot on the couch to start cleaning, but decided against it. It was just his sister. He’d clean up after she left. For Eva.

When the chime rang, he pressed the button to release the lock on the building door and then opened the door of his flat. He went back to the couch and plopped a guitar on his lap. He heard her steps echo in the stairwell. She paused in the door frame before coming in.

“Hi, Sebastian,” she said. She wore Capris and a nice shirt and her brown hair was pulled off her face in a low ponytail.

“Looks like Spain’s been treating you well,” Sebastian said in greeting. “How are the fish?” Leah was a marine biologist and worked at an aquarium in Mallorca.

“Spain is great,” she replied in Spanish. “So are the fish.”

Sebastian knew a little Spanish, enough to make out what his sister said. He didn’t bother trying to respond. He’d stick to German, thank you very much.

“What brings you here?”

“Just visiting. I have three weeks off, so I thought I’d drop in to see the family. You know how gleeful that is.”

Sarcasm was a family trait they shared. “We’re the happiest.”

Leah made herself comfortable in one of the chairs and pointedly stared at the surrounding mess. “I’ve heard you’re doing well.”

“It’s been a wild year.”

“Yvonne must be ecstatic. Finally, all those years of putting up with your craziness is paying off.”

“We broke up.”

Leah snapped to attention. “Really? Now that you have a taste of fame, you let her go?”

Sebastian stiffened, and the phony smile he’d been flashing his sister’s way disappeared. “You know, Leah, that’s the thing about you and Mom and Dad. Always believing the best of me.”

“What?” Leah’s dark brows jumped. “She dumped you?”

“She cheated on me. With Karl. Then I dumped her.”

“Oh,
Scheisse
, Sebastian. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well.”

“So anyone else on the horizon? A brunette perhaps?”

“Great. You follow the tabloids. All that feigned interest in Yvonne, was just you digging?”

“Okay.” Leah pulled her ponytail over her shoulder and played with the tip. “I admit I’m curious. Who’s the new girl?”

None of this was any of his sister’s business. Sebastian blew out in frustration and answered anyway. “She’s just a friend. Someone I write songs with.”

“She looked like more than a friend in the pictures. You were smiling, Sebi. I haven’t seen you smile like that in years.”

Sebastian blinked. Leah was right. Of course, he smiled when he was joking around, but mostly that was an attempt to hide the fact that he actually wasn’t happy. Yesterday with Eva he felt genuine happiness.

“She’s a great girl and I like her. But we only just met a little while ago.”

“Yeah, how’d you meet?”

Sebastian chuckled. His sister was a diehard romantic. “I saw her play at the Blue Note. She’s good. I asked her if she wanted to write with me. She said yes. The end.”

Leah pouted. “That’s all I’m going to get?”

“Yes, so stop probing. What about you? You still with that lug?”

Leah’s expression fell. “No. I’m single. Otherwise, I’d be vacationing on the beach in Mallorca instead of coming back here to visit my brother who’s still not talking to our parents.”

“They’re not talking to me.”

“Someone has to make the first move.”

“They kicked me out. Told me not to come back until I was ready to go back to school. I’m not going back to school, Leah, so I guess we’re at a stalemate.”

“He’s not well, you know.”

“Who?”

“Papa.”

“I’m assuming his fingers and hands still work well enough to pick up a phone.”

Leah sighed. “Fine. No one can say I didn’t try.” She stood and slung her purse strap over her shoulder. “I gotta run. Give me a hug, okay?”

Sebastian gave into her request begrudgingly, though if he were being honest, his sister’s embrace felt good. Leah had sided with her parents when the ultimatum had been thrown down, but had since softened her stance. She hadn’t exactly apologized, but she’d held out an olive branch on more than one occasion. Like she had by coming by today.

Now Sebastian cleaned up the flat in anticipation of Eva’s arrival. He left briefly to pick up Indian takeaway and sat on his balcony to eat it. When he finished, he tossed the containers into the paper receptacle, and then went to brush his teeth. He put on a fresh T-shirt for good measure. Then he returned to his chair on the patio where he had a view of the street Eva would travel down to get to his place.

He sat up straighter when he spotted her turn the corner. She wore a red floral skirt and a white blouse. Her hair hung straight and shiny, like it usually did and a pair of sunglasses rested on her cute nose. She walked unevenly, gripping her black cane, but honestly, it was the last thing he noticed. It was like he’d stopped seeing the cane and the limp at all.

He stood and called out when she was close enough to hear. “Eva!”

The smile that crossed her face when she looked up and saw him made his legs feel shaky. He watched her slow ascent to the front door and then rushed inside to release the lock of the main door. Listening to her uneven, slow climb up the steps, it was the first time Sebastian wished his building had an elevator.

“Hey,” he said when she reached the top.

“Hey,” she answered.

He had water and sodas sitting out on the coffee table knowing she’d be thirsty from her trek.

They stood staring at each other for an awkward moment. Sebastian was surprised by the emotion he felt at seeing her again. Excitement. Anticipation. Joy?

“Here, have a seat,” he said, waving at a chair. He had to look away for fear that his face would give away his feelings in an embarrassing fashion.

Eva gracefully sat in the chair Sebastian had indicated and helped herself to a glass of water. Sebastian had placed a guitar stand with Eva’s choice of guitar in it within reach.

“I wanted to thank you again for yesterday,” she said. “It was fun.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian said, staying cool. “Not a bad way to blow an afternoon.”

“We made the news,” she added. “But you must be used to that kind of thing.”

Sebastian settled into the chair adjacent to Eva, about an arm’s length away, and placed his guitar on his lap. “I don’t think it’s something you ever get used to. It’s just there. Sorry, you had to go through that, though.” He studied her. “You didn’t get in trouble, did you?”

Eva shook her head. “My parents haven’t put the pieces together. But my sister recognized my dress.”

“And…”

“She’s cool.”

“Good. Well, let’s see if our outing helped the muse.”

They strummed and picked out the tune, reviewing the lyrics they’d come up with before.

“Do you have anything else?” Sebastian asked.

Eva pulled a folded piece of paper out of her small shoulder bag. “I wrote this down yesterday.”

Sebastian read Eva’s cursive scribble.

“It’s to go along with our theme from before,” Eva added quickly. “About the person looking for something outside of themself and thinking they might’ve found it. Except they’re not sure. Her memory… or his… isn’t very good.”

“Sing it for me.”

Eva brushed her fingers across the strings and closed her eyes.

You were the reason I had awakened

I had placed you imperfectly

Like an unremembered memory

Oohhhh

I can’t say what lies beyond my flesh and bone,

But for the pull here beneath

I reach to the sky

“And he… or she… finally realizes that being alone, hiding inside oneself isn’t the answer.”

Sebastian wondered if she was referring to herself, or to him. Maybe both. He jazzed up the beat and had her sing it again. She came to the end, but Sebastian felt something was lacking. It needed more. He leaned forward to mention it, but stopped when he noticed the way Eva watched him, her eyes wide with curiosity and inspiration. She radiated pure joy and anticipation as they created together. His heart warmed and longed for her. He wanted more than flesh and bone. The space between them sizzled and his gaze moved to her lips once again.

He bravely sang out the only thing on his mind:

All I wanna do is find love

All I wanna do is find love

All I wanna do is find love

Forever now

Eva’s lips parted slightly, and Sebastian imagined she was as surprised by his declaration as he was. He reached over and tucked the hair that stubbornly wanted to cover her pretty face behind her ear. She shivered at his touch, and heat exploded in his chest. His fingers moved to the back of her head, and he gently pulled her forward. She didn’t resist. He closed his eyes as his lips found hers.

Eva was experiencing her first kiss, and her first kiss was with Sebastian Weiss! Was she doing it right? Sebastian was experienced. Oh, God (sorry, Mama), what if she was doing it wrong?

Another part of her brain told her to relax. Kissing was an instinct for humans. It wasn’t something you had to study and learn. It was just lips… and tongues.

Oh my God
, (sorry Mama!) the tip of his tongue brushed against hers. She moved her lips in rhythm with his. See? Kissing was easy. It was just another type of music, their mouths another kind of instrument.