Page 61 of Embraced in Ink

Had he always been so condescending, or was she only now noticing it? She couldn’t quite believe that she had dated him for as long as she had. It didn’t matter now, though, she was done with that, and she was moving on.

“Hey,” a voice said from her side, and she turned, relief slamming into her.

“They let you back here,” she said, throwing her arms around Marcus’s waist. He held her close and then kissed the top of her head, careful of her hair and makeup. She was grateful for that because it had taken her forever to get ready for the show that morning since she was exhausted.

“Ah, the boyfriend’s here.”

“Fiancé, but it’s good to see you, Colin. Are you playing today?” Marcus asked, keeping his arm around her waist. He didn’t sound jealous at all, or even territorial. She liked that. Because she could take care of herself, and Marcus knew it.

“No, sadly, but maybe one day I’ll come down and do something for them.”

She knew for a fact that they hadn’t asked Colin to play. Maybe because he was an asshole the last time they had. Colin was making it sound like he wouldn’t lower himself to play. But there was nothing she could do about that, and now people were starting to watch. Great.

“Anyway, thanks for coming, Colin, I’m going to head home. I’m a little tired.”

“I see,” he said, looking into her eyes.

Asshole.

“Are you sure you’re not going to come and see your fans at the cocktail party? They’re going to miss you.”

“No, I already told them when I signed up that I wouldn’t be there for that. But I did do this at the last minute. I need to head home now, Colin, if that’s okay.”

“Of course, it’s okay, darling. I’ll go in your stead. Don’t you worry.”

She wanted to wrap her hands around his neck and squeeze just a little bit. She honestly didn’t hate him, even though she often said she did. When they worked together, they produced beautiful music. But he was starting to annoy her, and she had a feeling it had more to do with her being tired than anything else. At least, that’s what she hoped.

Others started to look at them even more, and whisper, so she rolled back her shoulders, leaned into Marcus’s side, and smiled.

“Have a great night, Colin. You ready to go, Marcus?”

He squeezed her hip and nodded. “Yes, let’s head home.”

She didn’t miss the way Colin’s eyes narrowed at that word. But her hearing it? It felt amazing.

This had been a start for them. An idea of who they could be in the future when they had promised to marry one another. Now, it felt real. This could be a future. Her playing, him being there, and her finding a way to make sure he knew that she appreciated him in every way possible.

She just wasn’t sure what would happen when she was gone for so long the next time.

It had all started with a promise that could have been a joke, but now it was real, and her mouth was going dry at the thought.

“Everybody’s heading to your parents’ house tonight. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but they wanted to give you some space here. I hope that was okay.”

She pulled herself out of her thoughts at the sound of Marcus’s voice. “That sounds great. I don’t have to be on at my parents’ house,” she whispered as they made their way out of the building and to his car.

“That’s what they figured. You can take off your shoes and fall asleep on the couch if you want.”

“That sounds amazing. I might fall asleep on the car ride home.”

“You’re welcome to do that, too.” He paused for a second, and she looked at him. “You’re amazing. I mean, I’ve watched you play for what seems like my entire life, but tonight? You were transcendent.”

She lost all thoughts, merely blinked at him. “Really?”

“Yes,really. God, Bristol. I can’t believe you can do that. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

She frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not saying this right. You were just so amazing, and watching you play, it felt like you were a whole other person. I’m glad I got to be here for it. I mean, I’m not the best at classical music, or even knowing everyone in your circles, but what I do know, I follow because I love watching you play, and because it’s part of your world. You know?”