Just a Few Fake Kisses...
Автор
Jayci Lee
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One
Chloe Han saw the folly of secrets, especially the ones you kept from your family...
Her eldest sister, Angie, and her now husband, Joshua Shin, had kept his alter ego as a composer—plus their love affair—a secret until it bit them both in the ass. Her second older sister, Megan, had kept the identity of her one-night stand turned baby daddy, Daniel Pak—plus their love affair—a secret until shit inevitably hit the fan.
Although everyone had gotten their heart’s desire in the end, her sisters’ road to happiness was a big old mess of secrets refusing to stay hidden. Thankfully, Chloe was an open book. She was the constant in her family and that was exactly how she wanted it. She would never do anything to rock the boat. Besides, she had nothing juicy enough in her life worth keeping a secret. A forlorn sigh slipped past her lips.
“What’s wrong?” Angie peered at her, a slight frown marring her forehead.
“Nothing.” Chloe brushed some imaginary dust off her jeans. “Why do you ask?”
“I ask because you just sighed like you were doing your best impersonation of Eeyore.”
“It wasn’t a sigh. It was a long exhale,” Chloe said. “Where is Megan anyway? And why is she keeping the substitute violinist’s identity a secret?”
She sighed again. Megan had yet another secret. Oh, joy. Chloe realized she was in a crummy mood due in large part to lack of sleep. And the fact that she’d gotten her ass handed to her on League of Legends last night by her archnemesis, SerialFiddler. It was infuriating. She refrained from kicking the music stand in front of her.
“She said it was a surprise. Not a secret,” Angie reminded her. “And whoever they may be, they’re only a candidate. You and I will have the final say in who temporarily joins our trio while Megan’s on her maternity leave. We’re the ones who need to play with them.”
Some of Chloe’s ire left her as she thought about the impending arrival of her new nephew. In less than two months, she was going to be an auntie and she planned on spoiling that baby rotten. Angie would no doubt do the same.
“Are you ready to get your socks blown off?” Chloe and Angie started when Megan and her huge stomach burst into the rehearsal room they rented from the community college.
Megan’s near maniacal grin faltered when a deep voice—so the candidate was a man—murmured through the crack in the door.
“Embarrassing?” Megan frowned. “How is this even remotely embarrassing? I just want to set things up for your grand entrance.”
The murmuring grew a bit more urgent. Chloe’s ears and curiosity perked up. She kind of liked the smooth tenor of the mystery man’s voice.
“Nonsense,” her sister retorted. “Of course you want to make a grand entrance. Just stay put for a second.”
“Megan, sweetie,” Angie intervened. “Stop embarrassing the poor man and let him come inside. We promise to be properly impressed.”
“Yeah, Unni,” Chloe said a tad impatiently. “Honestly, I don’t know why you’re making such a fuss. Who could it possibly be—”
Her words died a quiet death on her tongue when the door opened wide and Anthony Larsen walked into the room. She shot to her feet from her chair, her eyes frantically searching the room...for what? An exit. She was searching for an exit. Why? Because one of the most talented and best-looking violinists of their time—who also happened to be her teenage crush—had just walked through the door. It. Was. Too. Much.
“Wow. You’re Anthony Larsen.” Angie rose from her seat at a normal speed like a normal person and continued speaking in the most annoyingly normal voice. “I can see why Megan wanted to preen over your introduction. I’m Angie. It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you.”
Anthony smiled and Chloe might have squeaked. His quizzical gaze shot briefly to her before he turned back to Angie. “The pleasure is entirely mine.”
When Chloe stood like a statue—a blotchy red statue—Megan came to her side and wrapped her arm around her shoulders with a sly grin. “Chloe, aren’t you going to say hello to Anthony?”
God help her, she was going to kill her very pregnant sister. With her bare hands. As soon as she could move. Or breathe.
Anthony’s head cocked to the side but his tone was friendly when he said, “It’s nice to meet you, Chloe. Megan has told me so much about you.”
Her mouth decided to form words at that moment. “I’m Chloe.”
Megan snorted beside her, and her fury finally broke the shock paralyzing her. She gave her sister a look that would’ve shriveled a lesser woman and met Anthony Larsen’s eyes—the most beautiful hazel eyes she’d ever seen. Oh, how she used to dream of staring into them...like she was now. Snap out of it, Chloe. She gave herself a firm mental shake.
“I mean... It’s nice to meet you as well, Anthony.” Chloe was proud of how steady and casual her voice sounded. “My sister wasn’t kidding when she said she had a surprise for us.”
It was Anthony’s turn to blush and he looked almost boyish—which was kind of a weird thought since he was at least ten years older than her. But still, he looked endearingly bashful as he said, “I wish she hadn’t done that. I’m not some celebrity. If anything, I was probably more excited about meeting the rest of the Hana Trio.”
“Isn’t he the sweetest?” Megan said unrepentantly and grinned as Anthony cleared his throat.
“Megan, stop making him uncomfortable,” Angie chastised.
“Oh, all right. Ruin my fun, why don’t you.” Megan was still all smiles as she waddled to the side of the room and maneuvered herself onto a chair. “Okay, Anthony. Ready for your audition?”
“Not as much as I’d like to be,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Megan said Mozart’s Divertimento in E-flat Major is in your repertoire for this season. Should we play a movement from that piece?”
“Good choice.” Chloe took her seat and pulled out her viola. Having her instrument in her hands centered her and made her feel less starstruck. “Why don’t we try the second movement?”
“The Adagio?” Angie arched her eyebrow and settled her cello between her jean-clad legs. “I guess we’re not taking it easy on Anthony.”
“Of course not,” Megan said with a sly glance at the world-renowned violinist. “We wouldn’t want to insult him.”
“Goodness no.” Chloe shot him a cheeky smile as anticipation coursed through her. “Let’s see what you’re made of, Larsen.”
His eyes seemed to darken as they lingered on her lips, and she felt her hard-earned calm trip and stumble under his gaze. Before she could wonder what the hell was happening, he sat down beside her and grinned. “Bring it on.”
He brought his violin under his chin and took a deep breath. After meeting both Angie’s and Chloe’s eyes, he nodded as he played the first note. To anyone listening, it would’ve sounded like the three of them came in at the exact same time, but Chloe and her sisters knew that the start was slightly off. There was something tentative about the first few notes. By the grim set of Anthony’s lips, he probably sensed it, too.
They rallied until the music swelled and ebbed in melancholy waves around them. There were a couple of instances where Chloe sought to catch Anthony’s attention to anticipate the next phrase but his head was bowed, reading the music. Even so, she was impressed by how attuned he was to her and Angie. He didn’t play as though he was the solo performer while they provided the accompaniment. He faded back when necessary to highlight the cello and the viola, and remembered their harmonious interplay even during the violin-forward parts. They played the last notes in sync and lowered their instruments.
“That was a valiant first effort,” Angie said, smiling.
“Very promising,” Chloe added.
She couldn’t help being awed by how beautifully he played. He imbued such power and passion into his music that she felt a little out of breath. While they wouldn’t be able to play with the same unity and grace that the Hana Trio was known for, their temporary trio would bring an added edge and excitement to the pieces.
“Can we go again?” Anthony asked, running a hand through his hair. “I can do better.”
“That’s what practice is for.” Megan laughed as she got up from her seat. “Okay, Mr. Larsen. Please step outside so we can talk about you. My sisters might even decide to have a full practice session with you today, so tell your inner perfectionist to chill for a minute.”
“God, I can’t remember the last time I was this nervous.” Anthony chuckled, shaking his head. “Be gentle with me, ladies.”
“We will,” Chloe reassured him. She wanted to blurt out that he got the job to ease his anxiety, but her sisters had a say in this as well. “We won’t be long.”
He tilted his head and stared at her for two heartbeats before he nodded and walked out of the room. She had to be imagining these drawn-out looks. Not that she was unaccustomed to men looking at her. She wasn’t as beautiful as Angie and Megan, but she had her own appeal that garnered plenty of interest. She just couldn’t fathom the Anthony Larsen finding her attractive or whatever.
“Blah blah. Blah blah blah,” Megan said. When Angie frowned at her like she’d lost her marbles, Megan just shrugged. “We have to at least pretend to discuss his audition, don’t we? But let’s be realistic. What’s there to discuss? He’s in.”
“You’re not the one who has to play with him.” Angie rolled her eyes. “What do you think, Chloe?”
“Shouldn’t someone ultra-famous like him be a little more egotistical?” Chloe huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She still couldn’t believe how down-to-earth Anthony seemed. “I half expected him to hijack the piece and turn it into his solo performance, but he didn’t do that. Not once.”
“You almost sound like you’re disappointed.” Megan glanced sideways at her.
“Of course I’m not disappointed,” Chloe said.
Honestly, it would’ve been more convenient if he was a bit of an asshole. She didn’t want to relapse into her infatuation with him, which went on a lot longer than even her sisters suspected. Of course, she wouldn’t let that happen, especially if they were going to work together. But it would’ve helped if he was less appealing.
“His talent is unquestionable, but I’m really impressed with his willingness to work as a team,” Angie said. “We have over a month until Megan leaves on her maternity leave. That should give Anthony plenty of time to get acclimated to our style and for all of us to become attuned to one another.”
“See? He’s in.” Megan’s attempt to gloat lost some of its impact as she struggled to her feet with a groan. “Chloe, go get him so we can share the good news.”
“Why me?” Chloe asked.
“Because you’re the youngest and you have to do everything we tell you to,” Megan said. “Plus, I need to catch my breath. I don’t have the strength to get out of a chair and walk across the room.”
Ignoring the butterfly swarm in her stomach, Chloe strode to the door and flung it open before she lost her nerve. She took one step into the hallway and nearly slammed into Anthony. She stopped just in time to avoid the collision but couldn’t stop her squeal of alarm.
“Shit. Sorry,” Anthony said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“That’s okay.” She glanced up to meet his eyes and almost yelped again. He was very tall and very close. “I, um, rushed out without looking.”
“Still. I’m sorry.” He made no move to step back as his gaze roamed her face—his expression warred between confusion and fascination. She sucked in a quick breath and his nostrils flared ever so slightly. Tension built and charged the air around them.
“I... I was rushing because we have good news,” she said a tad too loudly. “Please come in.”
Chloe forgot to move aside as Anthony took a measured step forward, closing the bit of space that remained between them. Her body hummed like a plucked string at his proximity. She swayed toward him before she caught herself and cast a panicked glance up at his face. The dark heat in his eyes singed her. She took a stumbling step away from him and practically ran toward her sisters, counting on them to ground her before she climbed the man like a tree.
