Page 65 of Blown

EPILOGUE

Nally wasin the rehearsal studio at the back of the first-floor corridor, tickling the ivories and working on his latest composition when he heard the news.

The news was not actually the first thing he heard. He’d been working on that particular composition for weeks, ever since Rafe and Jake’s beautiful engagement. He’d had an idea for a song that he thought embodied the emotion of the proposal, and then he’d got the idea into his head that he could write something for their wedding, whenever they decided to have it. From there, all it needed was a third movement and voila, it was an entire piano concerto in the key of romance.

The adagio had been giving him a hard time for the last few days, so he’d gone up to the remote rehearsal studio to play around with a few motifs to see if he could make anything of them. He’d nearly cracked it when a thump from the ceiling above him shook him out of his groove.

It wasn’t the first time there had been a thump upstairs. He pounded on the keys in frustration and sent a dirty look to the cracked ceiling above him.

“I know you’re up there,” he called out to the ghost who lived in the attic. “I’m going to find you out one of these days,” he added.

He wasn’t completely certain the sounds that kept interrupting him while he was trying to compose were ghosts, but with a house as old as Hawthorne House, and with the storied history of his family, it was more likely than not that one of his ancestors was trying to tell him how to write his music.

He was about to dive back into the adagio when his phone, which he’d placed on top of the piano, started to buzz. Usually he would have ignored it, but something told him to see what it was all about.

He was expecting a text message, but instead, a notification he’d set for any mention of Hélène Rénard showed up on his screen.

Holding his breath, Nally tapped to open the news story. All he really needed to see was the headline and first paragraph.

“Glass World Great Shattered. After whispers of intellectual property theft and stealing work and ideas from younger, less well-known artists, Hélène Rénard has finally been proven guilty of poaching off of her vulnerable peers. Glass artist Todd Renfield has come forward with unassailable proof of Rénard’s duplicity, shocking the art world to its core.”

Nally shouted in triumph and stood so fast he nearly knocked the piano bench over. He wondered if Rafe and Jake had heard the news yet.

“See you later, ghost,” he called out, rushing for the door.

At the other end of the corridor, he spotted Robbie and Toby, leaning against the wall, making out. There was no telling why Robbie had Toby’s back pressed against the wall as the two of them engaged in a round of tongue-wrestling. They’d been together for about a year now, and it was ridiculous the way the two of them still carried on.

At least, that’s what Nally told himself. In reality, he was so jealous of them he could have screamed.

“Did you hear the news?” he asked, pausing as he reached them.

Robbie growled low in his throat, then turned to stare at Nally as if he’d interrupted something important. “What news?” he asked.

“Hélène Rénard has been called out for her intellectual property theft,” Nally said.

Toby stood up straight. “It’s about time,” he said. “I couldn’t believe Rafe and Jake were going to let her get away with all that scot-free.”

“She’s in trouble now,” Nally said, waving his phone before leaving the two of them to their hallway snogging and heading downstairs.

He headed straight for the office to see who else he could tell. Rebecca was there on the phone with someone, so he’d have to wait to tell her. He headed into the back office, where Ryan, who was visiting from Milan, was chatting with Rhys and Early, who was sitting on Rhys’s lap in their office chair.

“—going to try to keep it a secret for at least a little while longer,” Rhys was saying as he snuggled Early and kissed their neck.

“Keep what a secret?” Nally asked, his gut tightening at the adorable sight of the two lovebirds cuddling.

“See?” Ryan laughed. “You can’t keep anything a secret in this family.”

“Rafe and Jake won’t be the only ones having a wedding next year,” Rhys said, beaming at Early.

“Really?” Nally asked, overjoyed for a moment before another wave of jealous longing swept through him. “That’s amazing! That’s fantastic, really. I’ll pretend I don’t know if you want to make a big announcement to the whole family later.”

“Thanks,” Early said, brushing their hand over Rhys’s face. “We haven’t decided anything yet.”

“Well, while you’re deciding, did you hear that Hélène Rénard got her just deserts just now?” Nally asked.

They all glanced to him. “Really?” Rhys asked, sitting straighter, his arms still wrapped around Early. “That’s great.”

“There’s an article about it that just came over the wire now,” Nally said. “I’m going to go find Rafe and Jake and tell them.”

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