Chapter 13: Chapter 13

The breeze stirred her hair as Bree stood on the sidewalk outside of the fancy French restaurant Trent had treated her to, holding his hand and wondering what he had in store for her.

Then, she realized what they were doing. A large dappled horse, attached to an elaborately decorated carriage in a dark brown with scrolled carvings and a red velvet interior sat waiting for them, the driver, a smiling woman with short brown hair dressed in an official looking uniform, welcoming them over.

“You had this waiting for us?” Bree asked, going to the horse instead of the carriage.

“Yes, well, I thought you’d love this horse, so I asked Mariel to wait for us.”

The horse’s nose was so soft. He nuzzled against her as she stroked his handsome face. “You’re so pretty!” Bree cooed, as he whinnied. She could’ve stayed there and petted the horse all night, but she was also looking forward to snuggling with her man in the carriage as they took a tour of historic downtown Nashville.

With Trent’s arm around her and the comforting clip-clop of the horse’s hooves reverberating against the asphalt, Bree leaned her head on his shoulder and relaxed for the first time in a long time. She felt so comfortable with his arms around her, and even though she’d been under a lot of stress with the new band and the new songs recently, she was so happy to be with Trent.

The houses they went by were beautiful. So many of them had large porches, many with columns or balcony spaces. Beautiful large trees graced the yards, and there were so many flowers and even some fountains. She loved this part of the town she had grown so fond of.

Trent smelled wonderful. The scent of his spicy cologne wafted in the air with each breeze. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered in her ear. Bree couldn’t help but lean in and press her lips to his. He kissed her back, deepening it to a new level, and she forgot that anyone else in the world existed, let alone that there was a driver in front of them and cars passing them on the street. She lost all track of time, all track of the houses they were riding past, all track of everything but him.

Eventually, Trent pulled away. Looking into her eyes, he rubbed his thumb across her cheek. “I love you, Bree. I’m so glad you never gave up on me. I think about the huge mistake I almost made, how I almost ended up married to someone I didn’t love who didn’t really love me, and I’m so thankful you saved me before I lost myself in a relationship I could’ve never recovered from. If you don’t want to move in with me yet, I understand. It is a lot--really quickly. But I know I love you. When I go to sleep at night, I want you there. When I wake up in the morning, I want to see your face. You’re everything to me, Bree. You always have been. So take your time and think about it, but just know, even if it’s not now, when you’re ready for me, I’ll be waiting for you.”

Bree felt tears in her eyes. It was almost like her dream proposal, except he was just asking her to move into his apartment. There was no ring or anything like that. It was still a touching confession, and she knew exactly what she had to say. “Of course, I want that, too,” she said. “Yes, I’ll move in with you.”

With a wide smile on his face, Trent leaned down and kissed her again, and they may as well have been on a secluded beach or another planet. He was her whole world.

***

“All right, let’s run through that last song again,” Jordan was saying at practice the next day after Bree’s romantic carriage ride through the streets of historic downtown Nashville. She had been wearing a big smile on her face all day and didn’t even care that Jordan wasn’t happy with the way they were playing “Only Till Sunday.”

Trent was back at her place now, overseeing the people packing up her stuff. They’d decided that morning she may as well go ahead and move in with him. She’d seen pictures of the new place, but she hadn’t been there yet. She’d go look at it after rehearsal, but she wasn’t worried about it. If Trent liked it, she knew she would, too.

They played through the song again, and this time, the bass solo that hadn’t been on point the last time was much better, and Cat was all over the piano part as well, whereas she’d messed it up a little earlier. Jordan told them it was a nice job, and then he gave them a ten minute break.

In desperate need of coffee, Bree headed out the door toward the coffeemaker. Expecting everyone to be headed that way, she hurried a bit more than normal. She was happy, but she was also tired and needed some more caffeine.

After refilling her cup, she stepped aside, closed her eyes, and took a gulp of the warm liquid, letting it seep down her throat and coat her soul in delicious caffeinated heaven. She let out a little moan of satisfaction.

A chuckle interrupted her relishing, and she turned to see Zach also filling his cup but laughing at her while he did it. She raised an eyebrow at him. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. I just don’t think I’ve ever seen someone enjoy a drink of coffee quite that much.”

Bree shrugged. “It’s like liquid ecstasy, man.”

His laughing increased as he took a step over to her. She took another drink, relishing it. Bree was surprised no one else had come for coffee. Recently, being around Zach had become more comfortable for her, especially since she’d been so focused on Trent the last few days. But now that the two of them were alone in the hallway, and he was standing so close to her, she suddenly remembered just how attractive he was. A whiff of his aftershave caught her off guard, and she had to hold her coffee to her nose to focus on the rich aroma, rather than the woodsy scent of the sexy man next to her.

“Are you ready to go out on the road?” he asked nonchalantly, which made her think she definitely wasn’t having the same distracting effect on him. That was a good thing. The last thing she needed was a guy as hot as Zach flirting with her when she was already in a relationship with a man she adored.

“I am. I’ve been dreaming about it my whole life. It’ll be challenging, I’m sure, but I’m looking forward to it.”

He nodded and smiled. “It is challenging, but it can also be a lot of fun.”

“You went on tour with your last band?”

“Yeah, I did. That was a totally different vibe, though. We had some real jerks in that group, and there was a lot of spouting off between guys who wanted to prove they were cooler than one another.”

“That doesn’t sound like fun at all,” Bree noted.

“No, it really wasn’t. But it was nice to be on a different stage every night, to see all those different fans from all over the country. That part was really fun.”

She nodded. She was looking forward to that. Bree took another sip of her coffee, thinking they should head back to the studio soon.

“What does your boyfriend think about you going out on the road?” he asked.

“He’s very supportive,” she said quickly. “He’s going to go with me as much as he can.”

“Really? That’s interesting. What does he do?”

“He’s an accountant. He owns his own firm in Kentucky, and he’s opening another one here.”

Zach nodded. “Impressive. Country shows don’t sound like his scene, but it’s cool he wants to be with you. Have you been dating long?”

“No. We’ve been friends since high school, but we just started dating a few weeks ago.”

“Sounds like he’s very dedicated to you.” Zach smiled at her, and Bree returned the gesture, but there was something about the way that he said it that made Bree wonder if he meant it or if he was secretly saying he thought they were moving too fast or their relationship wouldn’t last.

“The band’s sounding great,” Bree said, changing the subject to something she was more comfortable talking to him about. “We should probably head back.”

Zach fell into step beside her, and Bree instantly regretted not topping off her coffee before she left, but she’d live. “I agree. The band is sounding stellar. By the time we hit our first live show, we’re going to be smoking.”

She smiled at the words he chose, and he raised an eyebrow. “I agree.”

“Are you making fun of me, Bree?”

“No! Not at all. I just sort of envisioned literal smoke coming off of your guitar or something”

“That could happen,” he insisted.

“I hope not! That sounds dangerous.” Bree couldn’t help but laugh at his expression, he looked so serious.

They reached the studio and Cat looked up at them, an eyebrow arched. “What are you two all giggly about?”

Suddenly, Bree felt bad, like she’d been having too much fun with a hot guy who wasn’t her boyfriend. “Oh, nothing. Just talking about whether or not Zach can catch his guitar on fire.”

“Not fire--just smoking, as in smoking hot.”

Something about the way he was looking at her when he said that had all hints of humor leaving Bree’s countenance. She gave him a small smile but was relieved when Jordan called for them to get back together so she could have something else to focus on. Because Zach was becoming more dangerous by the moment.