Page 41 of Exactly What I Needed
“Hold on,” Asher said, trying to cut me off.
“—was already exploding with Danny. I just thought that the notes were my expression of our relationship, which never truly ended in peace, but I so wanted it to, but it wasn’t even that. It was my entire life. Every day I had to fall into—”
“Princess,” Asher said once more, but I wasn’t listening as I began pacing back and forth.
“—this category of being perfect. Perfect for my parents because if the royalties stopped, they’d go completely broke. My music is their only source of income. My reputation, the secrecy of my identity, it all rides on me. If I lost control and Sydney found out, then that could potentially destroy the anonymity that Duvaldi needs to continue to compose the way that I need to in order—”
“Cosette,” Asher interjected, walking toward me.
“—to support my parents after they took me to Europe to start my career in classical music.” Stopping, I spun to face him. “And you. You happen to show up just as I was so entirely worn out by livingin this state of constant control and secrecy that I was finally able to let go. For once in my life, I could just… be. You took care of me. I also thought you’d up and leave after the first night, so that helped, but now. Now I just feel like I can let things—”
“Cosette Duval, shut your fucking mouth for a second,” he snapped.
I immediately clamped my lips together.
He stood directly in front of me, inhaling and exhaling like a predator hunting his prey. My heart raced, pumping adrenaline through me as I blinked rapidly, fighting the urge to continue dumping everything on him.
Someone else knew.
And relief filled my body so rapidly that I nearly collapsed to the floor as my gaze locked onto him.
His chest rose and fell aggressively as he continued to stare at me for a silent moment. Asher closed his eyes briefly and then turned around, walking toward the couch, opposite of the sound booth. Plopping down, he leaned forward, resting his elbows against his knees for a moment.
Then he stood up again and walked directly toward me.
Opening his mouth, he raised a finger, but nothing came out.
Spinning back around, he took a step away from me and then paused.
Then he whirled back around and faced me.
“Are you sayingyouare the one and only Duvaldi?” he gasped.
I bit back a sheepish smile. “Think about it. My last name is Duval,” I muttered, and he ran his hands through his hair.
“You, from this small podunk ass town, aretheDuvaldi. The greatest classical composer of the twenty-first century. Being such, that even myself,as an artist of a genre so clearly opposite, that I’m aware of who Duvaldi is,” he reiterated, and I nodded. “Why the hell do you keep that a secret?”
“It’s kind of complicated. Before I met Sydney, my parents pooled all of their savings and moved us to Europe, where I released my first few compositions. They were operas and didn’t do quite as well as the Sonata that I composed next. That blew up, and suddenly, I was offered interviews and people were playing my music everywhere. It was terrifying as an eleven-year-old to experience all of that. And then the fact that I was a girl started to shift the public’s perception of me. So, to protect the music, or more like the money that came from it, my parents moved us back to the States. That’s when Duvaldi was born. A pseudonym for my music, but something that allowed me to live a normal life. Sort of. I met Sydney on my twelfth birthday. I was awkward as hell because I hadn’t exactly had the most normal upbringing to that point. Anyway, she befriended me, her parents’ lack of knowing who I was confirmed to my parents that the identity of Duvaldi was safe, and the rest is history,” I explained.
“Which is why you feel like you owe your parents so much. And are so upset by this business deal with Danny because you are giving them money. Even if one composition a year isn’t that much, he still accused you of not helping take care of them,” Asher muttered.
I nodded while he stared at me, clearly bewildered. He seemed unable to move, his feet bound to the ground with thoughts of a huge revelation that muddied so much more than the simple issue of Sydney had already caused.
I, on the other hand, had never felt so light.
Someone else knew.
Someone else shared in my secret.
“Cosette Duval, you are surprising,” he whispered and grabbed my cheeks. Pulling me forward, he gently placed his lips against mine.
A simple kiss. But it meant something more. It was the “more” that I’d been craving. Emotional connection. A secret shared. I reached forward and wrapped my fingers around the bottom of his cut-off, pulling him closer to me.
I felt his lips curl up in a soft smile, but he didn’t break the kiss.
Chapter 15
“The hell, woman!” Asher exclaimed, exasperated. Though he chuckled and ran his fingers through my hair. The bun was long gone, pulled out by the man himself an hour ago after we’d finally started going through his setlist. However, I apparently did not hear the lyrics right on a few songs, and it was frustratingly cute to him.
