Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 124135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 621(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 621(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
I breathed easier.
Bonnie’s hands traced lazy lines up and down my bare back. Her body was warm beneath me. Her breath drifted past my ear. She was still breathing fast.
Finally, I lifted my head and met her gaze. Bonnie’s eyes shone, the tears still falling down her cheeks. I smoothed them away with my thumbs, then kissed her wet skin. Her finger ran down my face. Her bottom lip trembled as she whispered, “Thank you.”
I kissed her in response. Slowly. Softly.
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me. Bonnie held me back. I felt her tears on my shoulder. But I didn’t ask her why she was crying. She wasn’t sad.
She was moved.
I rolled us to the side, and she faced me on the pillow. “You have the prettiest eyes,” she said, circling my right eye with her fingertip. She smiled and just about blew apart my heart. “You’re handsome, Cromwell Dean. So handsome.”
I took hold of her hand and kissed each one of her fingers. Bonnie watched me do it. I could feel a sadness in her that I couldn’t explain. As another tear fell, I asked, “You okay?”
She smiled at me. It was a real smile. “More than.” She took my hand in hers and played with my fingers. “I never thought I’d ever have this moment.” She smiled sadly. “And with someone who understands.”
“Understands what?”
“What it’s like to have been born with a song in our hearts.” I swallowed, my stomach rolling at her words. Her grip tightened on my hand, and a nervous expression flashed across her face.
“What?”
Bonnie looked up at me, then said so quietly I almost didn’t hear her, “I saw you. When you were younger.”
I frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Bonnie kissed my finger. “My music teacher showed me a video of you in concert. Conducting music you composed. The BBC Proms Young Composer of the Year.” I swallowed, my chest hollowing out in shock. “I never forgot your name after that day. I listened out for you.” She lifted up onto her elbow. Her hand ran through my hair. “You went quiet. And I always wondered what happened to you. Until I heard of you again. Only this time the classical symphonies had gone, and in their place was electronic dance.”
I wanted to speak, but I couldn’t get my head around the fact that she’d seen me as a kid. Performing. “That’s why you saw me when you were in England.”
She nodded. “I wanted to see you in person.”
Something stabbed in my stomach. “That’s why you said my music had no soul.”
Bonnie lost her smile. “I believe that music should tell a story. I believe that in the notes and melodies there should be some kind of meaning. Music should take you on a journey, crafted by the creator’s heart.” She kissed my lips. “Your music that night…there was no story to me. No meaning.” My stomach fell, but it rose again when she said, “I don’t think that anymore. I’ve seen you play. Heard the music you can create. It’s all soul, Cromwell. The things I’ve heard you play on the piano, they were full of meaning. So much so that it made my heart cry.” Her eyes shimmered. “Never doubt your talent, Cromwell. I see it clearly now.”
“It’s you,” I admitted. Bonnie stilled. “You were right. I’d lost my way. My music…it didn’t have purpose. There was no story. They were just the colors that made me feel the least.” I wanted to tell her why. But even now, I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I rubbed a strand of her hair between my fingers. “Since you…it’s felt different. Music. It’s you, Farraday. You’ve made it different.” I laughed to myself. What I was going to say was cheesy as hell. But it was true. “I’m inspired.” She sucked in a breath. “You inspire me.”
“Cromwell.” She shook her head. “I can’t inspire you.”
“You have and you do.” I put her hand on my chest. “Since I met you, music I’d kept away has been filling my head. I’ve played, when for years, I hadn’t picked up any instrument but my laptop.”
Bonnie dropped her head to my chest, and I held her there. We didn’t speak after that. I heard Bonnie’s breathing even out and knew she’d fallen asleep.
I stayed awake until the sun started to rise. I stroked her hair and just held her to me. There was a pit in my stomach again. And my hands itched to create. They always did when something big happened in my life.
And having her with me like this, right now, I knew it was big. Bonnie Farraday had stormed into my life like a hurricane.
It was the first time in a long time that I fell asleep with a smile on my lips.