I don’t pretend I’m not watching him go, standing in the middle of the stage and waiting for my heart rate to return tonormal.
Actions speaklouder.
When Norelli calls us back to order, I catch sight of Carly’s pale face, her slack mouth, and I understand whathappened.
In this power struggle between me and the assholes, I forced Oakwood’s prince to choose aside.
And he chosemine.
13
After rehearsal,I make a stop on the wayhome.
Then I collect my prize from the trunk of my car and head around the house toward thepatio.
I rest my package against the siding before knocking on the door of the poolhouse.
Tyler answers, deliciously disheveled. He looks as if he started changing but forgot, clad in faded jeans with his dress shirt half-unbuttoned. “What’sup?”
“What’s up?” I laugh. “You show up at rehearsal and go all Rodgers and Hammerstein, and you’re asking me what’sup?”
He pulls back the door, and I glance past him at the three guys in the main living area with their instruments, all staring atme.
“Give us a second,” he tells theguys.
“Right. We’ll just… water the plants.” Brandon offers a wink as he and the others trail pastme.
Tyler crosses the room, the muscles of his back tugging at the dress shirt in a way that makes my throat dry as I follow him inside and shut thedoor.
He picks up a remote, and a speaker in the corner starts to croon somethingbluesy.
I set the guitar case on the bed. “This is for you. Because you believed in me enough to help me. And I believe inyou.”
He opens the zipper with calm hands, pulling back the soft top to reveal the instrumentinside.
His long exhale has the hair standing up on my neck. “Annie, I can’t accept it.” Tyler tries to shut the case, and I grab the top at the sametime.
“You know,” I say, my voice rising, “most of the time, I let you be anidiot.”
His jaw tics, eyes flashing. “I’m anidiot?”
“Yes, because you won’t take the things you want. I had this guitar made for you because this way you can’t ignore it, can’t pretend it’s notyours.”
He doesn’t release my hand as I stare at him, my eyes burning as the weight of the last few days builds up onme.
“This guitar is made for a prince. Not a prince of assholes, but a prince who trusts himself enough to take what the world gives him and then some. You can break it or sell it or throw it in the pool, but if you’re going to throw it in the pool, at least wait until I’m gone.” My heart twists at that sickening thought. “It’s sobeautiful—”
“You’re so beautiful,” he interrupts. “Do you know that? How fucking beautiful youare?”
His voice is rawsilk.
My heart thuds as he steps closer, stops in front ofme.
Tyler fills my vision, his sculpted chest and shoulders making me feel small but notweak.
“You’re worth a thousand of every person in that school,” he states. “When they’re assholes, you fight back. When you almost get assaulted at your own party, you turn it into an excuse to work harder. You survive everything that gets thrown yourway.”
Tyler cups my face, that firm, perfect mouth descending toward my cheek. The first brush of his lips on my skin sends a jolt of awareness through me, electricity that has my lips buzzing and my breastsaching.