Page 94 of Bluebird

Luke’s eyes grew wide. “I mean the lyrics were just…I dunno…juvenile.”

“May I remind you of most of the songs from my first album?” I smirked.

He laughed softly, but shook his head. “But you wrote those songs when you were a teenager.”

“Same subject matter.” The words slipped out.

Luke scrunched up his face. “What?”

“Never mind,” I quickly responded, hoping he didn’t hear me properly.

His eyebrows pulled together as he tried to piece together my meaning.

“I get it, Luke. We’re both different people now. Some things have changed,” I continued, trying to distract him.

Luke’s eyes seared mine. “Some things haven’t.”

I fumbled my tea as I brought it to my mouth and burnt my lips.

“So, how do you want to do this? We haven’t written together in years.” I placed my cup onto the saucer with a nervous rattle.

“Just like we used to, but I want to do something differently with this one,” Luke said, watching me closely.

“What’s that?”

“I want it to be a duet,” he affirmed. “I know you haven’t done one in the past, but— “

My face lit up in anticipation. “You’ll sing with me?”

He laughed. “Well, yeah. Until you find someone a little more high-profile than me, that is.”

My face hardened. “No.”

Luke crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean ‘No’?”

“If we write this together, I’m only singing it with you,” I stated, stubbornly.

Luke considered me for a moment and shook his head. “Fair enough,” he chuckled with a shrug.

I grinned happily and my body tingled with excitement.

Luke’s eyes twinkled back. “Shall we?” he suggested, motioning to the music room.

“Let’s do it.”

* * *

“There is no denying you’re Dawn Easton’s grandchild,”I admired, after reading Luke’s verse that followed mine.

“Says Dawn Easton’s protégé.”

We both sat at the piano, about to test our lyrics with the music. I let Luke play, not only because he knew it better, but because I loved watching him. I was accustomed to seeing him on his guitar, but something felt more intimate about the way he played the piano.

I sang the first verse and he followed with the next. Luke’s hands paused over the keys and we smiled at each other in awe. We continued like that for hours as we worked tirelessly through the bridge, chorus, and the remaining verses with ease. Just before midnight, we finally pulled it all together and played it through one last time.

“That’s it!” I squealed, and unconsciously kissed him on the cheek in excitement.

“Yeah, it’s pretty good,” he agreed, as the corner of his mouth gradually turned up.