Page 56 of Hard Rock Tease

"Do you want your song to sound fine? Or do you want your song to sound like Noah Fucking Hart?"

"That song sounds nothing like my style."

"It sounds more like your style than you know."

"Because you know me so well," he snarked.

"Are we really going to get back into this? As far as I've been able to tell, I'm the only person who's gotten this close to you in a long time. If I can't tell what's a Noah Hart song and what isn't by now, then I should be fired."

"Fine. You're fired."

"You're hilarious." I took a seat next to him on the bench. "You said the song was old. Was it something you composed a long time ago? Before you were with the band?"

"Why do you care?"

"Humor me."

He grunted. "I've been working on it off and on for years," he said grudgingly.

"So it's not something you wrote because you knew it would sell?"

"Lily liked it when I played. I came up with stuff I thought she'd enjoy."

"My mom liked it when I played, too," I said quietly. "I used to wonder if it was the only thing that kept her from—" I cut myself off sharply.

Noah stared at me with sharp eyes.

I avoided his gaze. "Anyway. If it's something you composed for your sister, I think your fans would like it, too."

"I don't know."

"You don't know if you want to expose that much of yourself to the world?" I guessed.

Noah shot me a dark look. "Always think you know everything," he muttered.

"You said you only wrote your songs because they were marketable, but I don't think that's true. You wouldn't have been able to touch so many people's hearts if you hadn't put something of yourself into them."

"And did I touch your heart?" he mocked. "Did my words speak to you?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You know, at first, I couldn't reconcile the Noah Hart I knew from those lyrics with the Noah Hart I'd met in person. But those two men aren't so very different."

He snorted. "Right. Now that we've been fucking for weeks, you're starting to think I really am that passionate, romantic poet you crushed on as a teenager?"

"I've gotten to know you, Noah," I said, exasperated. "You act like an ass sometimes, but you can also be sweet. Thoughtful. And I think if you used that song, your fans would get to know the Noah Hart I've gotten to know."

"And what makes you think I care about my fans getting to know me?"

"You don't have to be scared of showing people the real you."

Noah stood from the bench with a growl. "You don't know anything."

"I know you had a bad childhood. I know that your sister got hurt and you feel like it's your fault."

Noah's face was dark and clouded over. He looked like he was biting his tongue. I pressed on.

"I know that you were betrayed once by people you trusted. I know that's why you don't let people in. But you don't have to be afraid. You can open up to people. You can open up to me."

He clenched his fists. "You have no idea what you're talking about."