Page 83 of Places I've Never Been

It wasn’t quite right, but there was something there. She scratched out words she thought were extra.

Those negative voices in your head

“Hmmm.”She chewed on the end of the pen, lost in that idea. That negative voice drummed along in her head all the time, especially if she was tired. But a new project usually made it fade to the background, at least for a little while. Everyone had that voice, didn’t they?

“I only have one voice in my head, and it sounds like my dad,” Adam murmured.

Mattie started and looked up from the notebook. Adam had joined her on the sofa at some point. Everyone else was gone, and they had the room to themselves. She hadn’t even heard them leave.

“Your dad?”

“Oh yeah. His voice is what drives me most of the time. ‘You can’t pay the bills living a dream, son.’ ‘Music don’t pay the rent.’ ‘Your hobby won’t get you nowhere.’” Adam spread his arms along the back of the sofa. “He was wrong. I’ve spent my life proving that. Still, he’s in my head.”

“You went after your dream, even though he was against it.” Mattie doodled squiggly ivy around the phrase she’d written. “What about your mom? Was she a fan of a steady paycheck too?”

Adam put a hand on her back and rubbed. It was so soothing she leaned into his touch, enjoying the way he felt through the thin fabric of her dress.

“My mom gave me my first guitarandmy first microphone. She’s much more of a free spirit.”

“So you get the love of music from your mother.”

“And my grandfather. He played every Saturday night at a small club in Memphis. Blues and rockabilly.” Adam’s hand traveled farther down her back, sending a little thrill up her spine. “He had a really cool vibe. Laid back, but not sleepy, you know?”

“You have some of that too. But with more edge. Maybe because you’re younger.”

He massaged her neck and her insides melted. “Oh that feels so good.”

“I can think of something else that would feel even better.”

Her smile deepened, and nerves tingled in all the most interesting places in anticipation. “Show me.”

Chapter Twenty

Several days later, Adam watched the most beautiful woman he’d ever met sleep beside him, happier than he could ever remember being.

Last night had been a glimpse into what their future would hold. They finished dinner with the guys, made love, then passed out in each other’s arms.

Mattie’s hair covered the pillow, the sheets were tangled around her body, not quite covering one of her bare breasts, and every other breath she let out a soft snore. It was mind numbingly captivating.

In between one breath and the next, he saw the future. He pictured their kids running into the room on Saturday morning to watch cartoons with them in bed. He saw her in the studio with him and the guys, working out new songs, or joining him on stage for a duet.

A new melody sparked in his thoughts, and he hummed it softly while he waited for her to wake up.

A bird call interrupted his song. It was the sound Mattie’s phone made when it received a text. He’d heard itoften enough it had imprinted on his brain like an ugly tattoo.

He stilled, hoping Mattie was too asleep to notice.

She stirred, groaned, and stretched. “What time is it?”

“Don’t know. It doesn’t matter, go back to sleep.” He stroked her hair.

“Mmm.” She wiggled toward the nightstand. “It might be Kat.”

“It’s late for her, isn’t it?” The world had to intrude at some point, but he wished she’d just turn off the damn phone while they were on the island.

Mattie opened the drawer. “Not if she had a show. She’s a night owl…” Her back stiffened.

“What?” Adam sat up, but he couldn’t quite see her phone.

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