Page 34 of Beach House Beauty

The crowd quiets, the dull roar fading.

I take a breath…and sing.

I said I could live without you

That I didn’t need to breathe

Until I found myself in your arms

Illusion shatters quickly when truth settles in

Because I’ve been lying to myself

Crying to myself

Pretending you aren’t all I need

But, baby, I’m broken for you

Hoping you’ve been needing me too

Unmasked and stripped of all pretenses

Not whole without you, but bound to you

Begging you, begging you

Choose me too

Because I’ve been lying to myself

Crying to myself

Pretending you aren’t all I need

But, baby, I’m broken for you

Hoping you’ve been needing me too

Please, love me too.

A heavy silence permeates the bar. The only sound is the blood rushing in a thick hum through my veins and the final, mournful strains of my song as it fades to a whisper. My chest barely rises, my breaths shallow. I keep my eyes closed, waiting for the final note of the song to fade.

I feel Rhys watching me from the shadows, his gaze heavy. It sets me on fire, making me ache for him. Always, I ache for him.

I take another shallow breath and release it. It seems unnaturally loud in the deafening silence around me.

No one moves.

Five seconds tick by.

Ten.

Fifteen.

Thunderous applause erupts from every corner of the room, as deafening as the silence that preceded it. Triumph blooms in my chest, relief. I poured my whole soul into that song, and they loved it.

I rise to my feet. Tawnie hops up on stage, beaming at me. I don’t hear what she says. My mind is focused entirely on Rhys. As soon as the buckets come out, I spin and rush off the stage, eager to get to him, to share this moment with him.