The Treble With Men (Scorned Women's Society #2) - Piper Sheldon Page 0,67

through me.

Devlin’s rich guttural voice broke through the air. He sat at the piano with his back to the bar. His mask was pulled off his face so he could sing into the microphone, he couldn’t be fully seen with his hat on. But I would know that profile anywhere.

I glanced to the other girls to see if they figured it all out. Their shocked expressions told me they did. That voice revealed all. He was a ragged mix of Eddie Vedder and Hozier. His rich voice burned like Tennessee honey whiskey showing his roots, but his range and technique came from years of practice combined with his own virtuoso talent. The man was captivating. It wasn’t just me who noticed. All the women and dang, most of the men, were just as entranced as I was. Pure, raw talent like that was hypnotic.

He had the skill of a classically trained musician with the cool casualness of a busker. The muscles of his neck, shoulders, and back were prominent under his thin shirt. They strained as he sang with every note. He poured everything into it.

My stomach flip-flopped. I hadn’t been prepared to see him. Been prepared to have this reaction.

A guitarist went up on stage and asked to join in. Devlin nodded to him with a smile in his voice. The guitar strummed along so perfectly it could have been staged. A tall woman with a shaved head joined on the steel guitar.

As the chorus built, people went to the dance floor. I couldn’t move. The things happening in my body were more than the music and more than the attraction. The things happening in my body were infinite. I had serious feelings for this man. Hearing him sing transported me back in time. Heat pooled deep inside me when he groaned out a particularly intense line.

A drummer got on stage and softly kept time. His grin spoke to the magic of the moment. It was magic. There was no other way to describe it. The lyrics were about holding a woman close, laying with her, softly, slowly—how she was always with him. My heart raced. I wouldn’t read into it.

As the famous chorus broke out, the whole bar sang along. Even busy Patty stopped to listen to the impromptu band on stage. Without talking, the five of us moved to the floor, rocking slowly at first, smiling and swaying.

Everything felt so perfectly coordinated that anything planned could never possibly top it.

This moment. Right here, with my closest friends, singing with unencumbered passion, I felt fully alive. It was more than I could ever ask for. I wanted to scream along at the top of my lungs. I wanted to cry. I was happy. I was loved. I wasn’t alone. I wished I could hold on to this feeling even when the doubt settled in.

Gretchen, Roxy, Suzie, and Blithe laughed and sang. But when Gretchen caught my eye, she shook her head with a laugh. “Oh, girl, you’re in big trouble,” she yelled over the music.

I shook my head looking to the ceiling. “I know.”

Blithe grabbed my hand and twirled me.

I wished I had my cello so I could run up on stage too. Then I allowed myself just for a moment, to imagine what it might be like playing with him without any expectations or a deadline. Just to play together. To hear him sing so beautifully, to play any instrument he wanted, while I joined on the cello. We would make beautiful music together.

The whole bar sang along loudly. Devlin’s hands danced happily up and down the keyboard, but he still kept his face from the crowd. The girls and I belted out the lyrics at the top of our lungs and yes, I had tears in my eyes. How could I not? This was the power of music.

There was no going back from here. I could no longer delude myself that my feelings for Devlin were anything less than epic.

Chapter 26

You already know who I am.

DEVLIN

It was Wes’s stupid idea to go out. I was perfectly fine staying at home, working on my current composition and brooding. Just another Thursday night for me.

We were at Genie’s, not because the SWS was having a meeting there, but because Kim had technically invited me. I’d finally caught her after rehearsal with the SOOK today, after her previous clear avoidance of me. I still hadn’t heard what she’d thought of the Ford’s Fosters rehearsal. She brushed me off quickly,