“Just for being you.”
Theo drops the bag he’s holding to the floor, lifts me up into his arms, and carries me back into the bedroom. It isn’t until hours later that I get the chance to try on some of the stuff he bought for me, and I’m not even a tiny bit surprised that he did a great job guessing my sizes. He’s obviously become very familiar with my body.
Chapter Eight
Theo
I sit back in my chair and listen intently to the last bars of the main theme song for the movie score. Son of a bitch! It’s done. Well, mostly. I still have a lot of tweaking to do to clean it up and polish it. Then when that is done, I’ll go to work on the cues for the rest of the film. As the last strains of the violin slowly fade, bringing it to the end, something seems off. I feel like I’m not getting the full effect and it needs something else before I send a rough track to Hugo, the producer.
Then it hits me. My girl. I need my little muse.
With a giant smile on my face, I toss off the headphones and lean back in my chair. I look through the glass in front of me that separates this room from the sound studio. Shelby is facing me, sitting at my AvantGrand hybrid piano and is focused on whatever she is playing. Her eyes are sparkling, and she looks so beautiful I’m tempted to turn that $20,000 instrument into just another surface to fuck on.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been almost completely focused on this composition and making Shelby fall in love with me. I keep her near when I’m working so I can bounce ideas off of her and get her opinion of changes. But mostly, because I can’t stand being away from her. I gave her free rein over my studio, and she has kept herself busy with her own music.
However, I’ve also made sure we’ve had time to really get to know each other, and fuck if I don’t love her more every damn day. Not only can she sing, but she’s an accomplished pianist and plays a little guitar. I asked her about her goals for the future and she just shrugged.
“As long as I get to sing, even if it’s doing stupid singing telegrams, I’ll be happy.” Her mouth was tipped up in a smile, but it didn’t quite reach her beautiful green eyes. I wanted to reiterate that she would never go back to doing shitty jobs like that, but something told me that wasn’t really what her hesitancy was about.
“Is that all you want, Shelby?” I pressed. She shrugged again and looked away, a blush blooming on her cheeks. I grabbed her chin and forced her to look at me. “Tell me,” I commanded.
“Um, well. I was just…I’ve always wanted to be a wife and mom.” She dropped her gaze and the pink on her cheeks deepened. “I used to dream about being like the Partridge family when I was younger.”
A smile stole across my face and I raised an eyebrow before teasing, “Not the Von Trapps?”
Shelby laughed and shook her head. “I think I’ll start with five.”
“But you aren’t opposed to ten?” She laughed again and I decided not to make it clear that I was only partly joking.
I want a large family and I am more than happy to give her as many children as she wants. I’ll give her anything she wants.
Shelby’s face breaks into a wide smile as she scribbles something in a notebook then goes back to playing. I watch her for another minute, enjoying the pure innocence and joy on her face.
Curious, I put my headphones back on and switch them to the track connected to the piano. All of the instruments in my studio are wired to one system so that they record to the same program, making mixing easier, and it’s also helped the few times I’ve collaborated with someone.
I turn up the volume and I’m immediately swept away into her world. Holy shit. I haven’t actually heard her play before. She’s amazing, like a fucking angel. It’s the same melody that she sang for me on that first day, but she’s embellished it and given it more depth. It’s fucking gorgeous. Just like her.
After a few minutes, she stops playing and sits back on the bench. It seems like a good time to interrupt her, so I stand and lean over to knock gently on the glass. Her head flies up and her hand presses to her chest, but she laughs at being startled and waves.
I flip on the intercom. “Please bring your sexy little ass in here, my little muse.” She jumps up and salutes me before practically skipping over to the door.