Page 11 of A Little Love Song in Seabury (Seabury #16)

WILLIAM

T he last few notes trickled to a halt, and Will smiled as his fingers came to rest on the keys. Every inch of him was tingling. It was like the feeling you got after a good storm, when the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun broke through.

Bouncing to his feet, Will gently closed the piano, and with a grateful pat, he practically skipped back through the house towards the gardens… and Leah.

Will couldn’t wait to tell her about what he’d just done…

or was in the middle of doing, to be more precise.

Because there was no doubt in his mind that this was just the first movement.

There was more to come. Right now, though, he was going to enjoy the intermission and tell Leah what she’d inspired in him.

‘Hey guys!’ he beamed, bounding through the door before pulling up short. ‘Damn, where’s Leah? I wanted to ask if she had some paper… any of you got a bit?’

Ewan held a piece out to him, and Will grabbed it.

‘Erm… a bit small,’ he laughed. ‘But hey, it’s a start.’

‘That’s not—’ started Ewan.

‘Leah’s gone home,’ said Connie, cutting across him.

‘Home?’ said Will, raising his eyebrows.

‘The flat,’ said Rosie. ‘Though I wouldn’t blame her if she just grabbed her stuff and headed straight back to London.’

Rosie’s tone was uncharacteristically cross, and Will looked at her in surprise.

‘I’m missing something,’ he said, fiddling with the paper in his hands. He scanned the table for a pencil or biro… anything just to jot a few notes down.

‘You’re always missing something,’ sighed Ewan. ‘William Pepper, you’re about to make a very big mistake.’

Will raised his eyebrows and turned his full attention to his brother. It was the use of his full name that had done the trick.

‘What mistake?’ he said.

‘With Leah!’ said Ewan.

‘But… she’s not even here,’ said Will.

‘Okay, I’m going to spell this out for you, you big idiot!’ said Matt. ‘Sit down and listen. Properly.’

Will sighed and sat. They were spoiling the moment. ‘What?’

‘Leah has gone home,’ said Matt.

‘You said that already.’

‘She’s gone because of you.’

‘But… what did I do?’ said Will, blinking in confusion. ‘I wasn’t even here.’

‘Precisely!’ huffed Connie, taking a sip of her drink.

‘Yeah,’ said Ewan. ‘You took one look at her… one long, grumpy, frowny look, and disappeared inside to play the piano. Just like you’ve been doing all day.’

‘But—’

‘No buts, Will,’ said Matt. ‘I don’t know what your problem is with her, but Leah’s been good to you. The least you can do is be civil and make her feel welcome while she’s here!’

‘I… wait… you think she thinks I don’t want her here?’ said Will as panic started to set in. ‘You think I’ve got a problem with her?’

‘This morning you practically ran out of the café after she arrived,’ said Rosie, still looking decidedly pissed. ‘And now this!’

‘But… that’s not what…’ Will looked around wildly. ‘That’s not what’s going on. At all!’

‘Then tell us what is,’ said Matt.

All three of them were staring at him now, and Will swallowed. This wasn’t how this was meant to go. She should be there!

‘I think I’m in love with Leah.’

The words tumbled from Will’s mouth without his say-so. They were met with identical squeals from the girls, a fist-pump from Ewan and a despairing shake of the head from Matt.

‘What?!’ demanded Will, doing his best to get over the shock. The realisation had only dawned on him as the words left his mouth. He glared at Matt. ‘Don’t you like Leah?’

‘Leah? I adore her. It’s you I’ve got a problem with!’ sighed Matt.

‘But… why?!’ said Will.

‘Setting aside the fact you’ve been acting like a complete lunatic all day, I’ve been worried sick about you for weeks,’ said Matt.

‘I’ve been trying to figure out a diagnosis, work out how to talk to you to get the bottom of it while you’re here…

and it turns out to be the one thing I can’t cure. Love. Unbelievable!’

‘Your lack of diagnostic skills is hardly my fault,’ said Will, a grin creeping back onto his face. ‘Besides, I didn’t even know myself.’

‘Until when?’ said Connie curiously.

‘Erm… now?’ said Will.

Rosie let out a snort.

‘Well… I’d say you’ve got some grovelling to do,’ said Ewan.

‘But I haven’t done anything!’ said Will.

‘If you really still think that,’ said Rosie, ‘then you don’t deserve a chance with our girl.’

‘Fine,’ said Will. ‘I guess I have been a bit distracted all day.’

‘Try all year, and you’d be nearer the mark,’ said Matt.

‘But what’s that got to do with Leah?’ said Will.

‘She thinks she’s done something wrong,’ said Connie.

‘She thinks you don’t want her here,’ said Ewan.

‘And she definitely doesn’t think you’re in love with her,’ said Rosie.

‘Though I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that she’s in love with you ,’ added Connie.

‘Really?!’ said Will, as a bubble of happiness and hope threatened to sweep him off his feet.

‘You know what they say,’ said Ewan. ‘Nowt so queer as folk!’

‘They also say there’s a very fine line between love and hate,’ said Rosie, ‘and I really wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve crossed it this evening.’

‘What should I do?!’ said Will, his little bubble of joy starting to shrink.

‘Maybe start by not screwing that up,’ said Ewan, nodding at the piece of paper still clutched in his hands. ‘It might be important.’

‘Why would an old envelope be important?’ said Will.

‘Because it belongs to Leah,’ said Matt, rolling his eyes. ‘She knocked her bag over in her hurry to get away from you, and Ewan found that after she’d gone.’

‘Perfect,’ said Will, starting to get to his feet. ‘I can use this as my excuse to follow her and return it.’

‘Wait,’ said Rosie, putting her hand on his arm.

‘But why?’

‘Maybe… have a look at it first?’

Will frowned, staring down at the piece of paper in his hands. It was just a plain white envelope. He turned it over, only to come face to face with his own name, printed in Leah’s neat handwriting.

‘It’s for me,’ he said in surprise.

‘Duh,’ said Connie.

‘What is it?’ said Will.

‘How should we know?!’ said Matt. ‘Does that envelope look open to you?’

Will shook his head. His heart was racing.

It wasn’t in the least bit unusual for Leah to have bits of his correspondence tucked away in her bag. She took care of everything like that. So why did this innocent-looking envelope have the hairs on the back of his neck prickling?

He started to slide a finger under the seal.

‘You’re not going to open it, are you?’ gasped Connie, her face a curious mix of horror and intrigue.

‘Of course I am!’ said Will. ‘It’s got my name on it.’

‘In Leah’s writing,’ said Rosie. ‘From her bag.’

‘It’s probably just tickets, or a booking slip or something,’ said Will. Though why would Leah put his name on something like that? Why put it in an envelope?

Whatever.

He quickly tore into it before the others could intervene and pulled out a single piece of folded paper.

Will opened it, read the short letter, then closed his eyes.

No. This couldn’t be happening!

‘What is it?’ said Connie.

‘It’s Leah’s resignation letter,’ said Will, his voice tight. ‘She’s leaving me.’

‘But… why?!’ said Rosie, her eyes wide.

‘She doesn’t really say,’ said Will.

‘May I read it?’ said Matt.

Will shrugged and handed the piece of paper over. What did it matter now? He’d lost her. By the time he was ready to head out on his next tour, Leah Martin would no longer be at his side.

‘I don’t buy it,’ said Matt, shaking his head. ‘She says she’s leaving to pursue other opportunities . Like what?’

‘That’s just what you say when you don’t know what’s next,’ said Rosie.

Connie nodded, stealing the letter from Matt and scanning it with wide eyes. ‘Yeah. Reading between the lines, I reckon she doesn’t want to leave. But, for some reason, she thinks she has to.’

‘Maybe because she’s in love with her boss?!’ said Rosie.

‘What should I do?!’ said Will, doing his best to ignore the fact that his heart was doing a good impression of an entire percussion section.

‘Make her not want to leave,’ said Ewan with a shrug.

‘Yeah,’ said Matt, nodding slowly. ‘I mean… she hasn’t actually handed you this letter yet, has she? She’s just “lost” it.’

Matt did air quotes around the last few words, and Will felt a twinge of guilt. His brother was right. If Leah hadn’t dropped her bag, he wouldn’t even be aware of this letter.

‘But if she’s already written this…’ said Will, taking the piece of paper back from Connie and only just resisting the urge to crumple it into a ball and toss it into a flower bed. ‘I mean, it looks like she’s already made up her mind, doesn’t it?!’

‘Hey, you can’t give up before you’ve even tried,’ said Rosie, slapping the table. ‘It’s not over until the fat chick sings.’

‘Or in this case, until the idiot sits down at the piano!’ smirked Connie.

‘Very helpful,’ sighed Will, raking his hands through his hair. ‘I’m serious, you guys, what should I do?!’

‘Here’s a suggestion,’ said Connie thoughtfully. ‘You know how Leah’s always making sure you’ve got everything you need before you even realise you need it?’

Will nodded.

‘I think it’s time for you to return the favour.’

‘I don’t get it,’ said Will, cocking his head.

Matt rolled his eyes. ‘Woo her, you idiot.’

‘Woo?’ laughed Will. ‘Isn’t that a bit old-school?’

‘Not if you want to keep Leah in your life, it’s not,’ said Rosie.

‘I agree,’ said Connie. ‘It’s time to prove you can show up for her.’

‘And what should I do about this?’ said Will, holding the letter between his thumb and forefinger as if it might bite him.

‘Well… she lost it, right?’ said Ewan. ‘I vote it goes back to being lost. Pretend you’ve never seen it.’

‘But…’

‘But nothing,’ said Connie. ‘Ewan’s right. Until you’ve made up for being a complete dinkus, don’t even mention it.’

‘Right, I’ll go down to the flat now,’ said Will, starting to stand up again.

‘Oh no you don’t!’ said Rosie, yanking him straight back down onto the bench. ‘This needs proper planning. Besides, you’re not going near her tonight. The poor girl was at bursting point. Let her cool off. Things might look brighter in the morning.’

‘Rosie’s got a point,’ said Matt.

‘You would say that,’ tutted Will. He knew when he was beaten, though. Grabbing a plate, he started to load it with food.

‘Now then, Will,’ said Connie. ‘What’s all this about you randomly sacking your agent?’

‘Is nothing sacred?!’ he sighed.

Connie grinned and shook her head.

‘If you must know, we weren’t seeing eye to eye about things. Important things.’ He took a bite of Ewan’s bread and let out a groan. ‘That’s so good!’

‘Thanks man,’ said Ewan with a grin.

‘What was important enough for you to part ways with the agent you’ve had for years?’ said Matt curiously.

‘Plenty of things,’ said Will.

‘Like?!’ demanded Matt.

‘Like she wanted me to get rid of Leah, okay?!’

‘ WHAT?!’

The indignation that ran around the table was weirdly satisfying.

‘Yep,’ said Will. ‘She seemed to think that Leah was becoming a distraction.’

‘Huh,’ said Ewan lightly. ‘Who’d have thought?’