Page 43 of Hope & Harmony

“Stop worrying. You look lovely, Andi. There’s no dress code. Trust me when I say you’ll be the most beautiful woman in there.”

“Are you a mind reader?” she joked.

He shook his head. “Not usually, but with you…” He shrugged. “Would it sound strange to say it feels like I’ve known you for years, not just a day?”

“It wouldn’t. Because I feel the same way.”

He kept his arm around her waist as they entered the restaurant, the hostess guiding them to a cozy, private corner booth. While Andi knew of this restaurant—one of the classiest in the city—she’d never stepped foot in it. Taking a peek at the menu drove home exactly why.

“This is…” She stopped herself from remarking on the prices, uncertain if that would be rude. Joel rode around in a limo and selected this place, so obviously he could afford it. Regardless, she wasn’t comfortable spending so much on a meal.

Once again, Joel seemed to read her thoughts. “Don’t look at the prices, Andi. Just the descriptions of the food. Pick what you want based on what sounds good, not what it costs.”

There was no way she could do that. “I’m not super hungry,” she lied.

Joel got that look on his face—the one that seemed dangerous but not threatening—as he took the menu away from her. “Do you eat red meat?”

She nodded.

“Is there anything you don’t like?”

She shook her head. “I’m not picky.”

“Good. Then I’m ordering for you.”

Her feminist inside wanted to protest his heavy-handedness, but the girl who’d been taking care of herself since birth loved the idea of handing control over to someone else for one night. It was exhausting to constantly make all the decisions for her family. It fell to Andi not only to pay for the groceries but also to buy them. She’d become very adept at meal prepping so that Mom and Dylan always had dinners prepared on nights when she had to work.

The idea of letting Joel decide what she ate tonight felt strangely freeing.

“I’d like that,” she whispered.

Joel’s features softened, and she sensed that she’d given him the correct response.

When the waiter arrived, Joel ordered a bottle of wine for them and their meals, which sounded mouth-wateringly delicious.

Once they were alone again, he placed his arm along the back of the booth behind her, turning so that they were sitting close.

“I have a confession to make,” he murmured.

Shit. She should have known this was too good to be true. Things like this didn’t happen to her. God…he was probably married or engaged or facing indictment for something horrible. Her mind went wild, imagining all the bad things.

“What is it?” she finally forced herself to ask.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about your performance last night. Andi. You’re wasting your talent in that little pub.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, even as her heart swelled. “That’s nice of you to say.”

Joel picked up a lock of her hair, toying with it in a way that had her nipples budding and her panties going damp. “I’m not blowing smoke up your ass. I mean it. Your voice is incredible, and the songs you’ve written deserve to be shared with theworld. Tell me about ‘Bigger Dreams’ because that song has been playing on repeat in my head all day.”

Andi never ceased to be amazed when someone said they liked a song she’d written, but for some reason, coming from Joel, it felt like an even bigger deal.

Usually, she brushed off the question of where the inspiration for that song came from because the story was too personal. Her typical response was something generic like “the words just came to her,” but tonight, she wanted to share the story with Joel. “The chorus of the song is the last words my dad said to me before he split.”

He frowned, and she could practically hear him replaying the words in her head. “Andi,” he started.

She cut him off, repeating the lines from the song. “My dreams are bigger than this place. Wake up every morning. Don’t recognize my face. I don’t mean to hurt you, but I gotta go. Gotta go.”

She sang the song at the pub a couple of times a week, so the repetition had allowed her to distance herself from the emotions they evoked. Tonight, however, the feelings were crashing around her, the pain causing her chest to tighten.

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