Page 16 of Moon Blind Hearts
Ul alta for lei troverá.
* * *
Si posó su un girasole
Poi di colpo esce il sole
Lo guardó, lo ammiró
Poi pian pian si addormentó.”
It sounds like a lullaby, and as she rocks her daughter to sleep, it strikes me deep in the chest. I reach up to touch it in case it’s somehow been ripped wide open and I hadn’t noticed, but it’s as whole as it was before, unmarred. Instead, my fingers find the single strand pearl necklace I never go without and latch in, holding it until Jules’ sweet voice fades away. As if she can sense me watching, her eyes flick over to me and she smiles. She lifts her finger to her lips in a shushing motion and points to where Genie is passed out in her arms.
I nod and smile, give a little wave, and turn to walk away so I don’t look like a creeper, but her lullaby filters into my head, morphs, until I hear my own voice singing something similar, one in English.
I walk a little faster, desperate to get away. My hand goes up to my chest again, as if convinced it’ll find that gaping hole in my chest this time.
It never does . . .
Chapter 10
Jules
The robe I’m wearing covers everything down to my knees, making me feel more comfortable in a room that feels made for anything but being so. The Velvet Rodeo is clearly a professional set up. I’d known that after watching some of their videos, but it’s still interesting to see how seamless they all seem to move around the room as they work together.
Cash works on the cameras getting set up, angling them toward the three chairs set up in the center of the room. The lighting has already been set up to showcase the three of them where they’ll be sitting. There are about ten different cameras set up from ten different angles so that all the footage will be captured before we can then edit.
“I think going with your aesthetic first will be a good test to see how we work together,” Oak explains as he checks the angles on the computer screens in front of us. “Plus, it’s your comfort zone, and we want you to be comfortable.”
He flashes his eyes at me, and I’m reminded of the way he’d looked at me and Genie the night before, the stricken look he’d worn as he’d stumbled away from my lullaby to Genie. He’s a big man. To see him stumble so obviously confuses me, but I don’t ask. Now isn’t the time.
“I appreciate that,” I tell him, moving around the room. “And my face will be edited out of any footage that may catch it, right?”
“Of course,” Oak nods. “Cash will be taking care of that after we finish.”
I nod and lift up the mask in my hand. “I’ll be wearing this, too, so we should be good.”
“Shooting this in black and white is clever,” Ivy nods, watching everything from behind the scenes. She’s the only one of us who is completely dressed. Once we’re ready to begin, she’ll leave, but she makes sure I have everything I need before she does, like the small mask she’d handed me a moment ago.
I can see the question in Oak’s eyes again, that he wants to ask why it is I want to remain so anonymous, but he must decide he knows the answer to that. These days, people are less likely to ask when they know I have a daughter. It just makes sense to them at this point. Before, I ran into plenty of collaboration partners who tried to remove my mask or pressure me to take it off altogether. I’ve also had my fair share of assholes who stormed out angry when I refused.
“Good,” Oak replies, returning to the computer screen before gesturing to Cash. “Turn camera three a little more down to make sure we get Saw’s lap.”
Sawyer sits in his chair already, his eyes flicking around the room as he listens to the activity. He’d taken off his shirt before he sat down, leaving his muscles on full display. They’re really good muscles, ones that obviously took time in the gym. As if he can sense me looking at him, his eyes flick to me, and I jerk my gaze away as if he can actually see me. I curse myself for the sudden movement he most definitely sees when I jerk my head away. He’s not completely blind, I’ve gathered, so he can see movements and fuzzy details, but past that, he can’t make out anything. His lips part in a soft chuckle.
“No need to look away,” he teases, and it’s a strange juxtaposition to the sweetness he’d shown me before. “You’re about to see much more than my chest.”
I clear my throat. “You’re not wrong.”
He holds out his hand for me, and I come over, curious. When his hand hovers palm up, I place mine in his and startle when he pulls it to his lips and presses a kiss to the back of my knuckles. His eyes look up to me, and though they’re cloudy, it still feels like he damn near looks through my soul.
“It’s a pleasure to work with you, Jules,” he murmurs, a slight curl to his lips.
Oh. Oh! So that’s how they’re so successful then. There isn’t anything sexier than a gentlemanly cowboy.
He’d removed his glasses for this, his soft blonde hair curling over his forehead making him look boyishly charming. As he looks up at me, shirtless and those chiseled abs on display, his expression goes straight to my pussy. Fuck. I’m not even getting naked for this bit, and it’s a good thing. I’m already embarrassingly wet.
“Alright, we’re ready,” Cash declares before clapping his hands together. It’s the cue Sawyer needs to drop my hand gently and settle with his back against his chair. “I’ll introduce everything first,” Cash tells me. “And once I introduce you, feel free to take control.” He winks. “Vanta.”
