Boston Avant-Garde 2 - Crescendo (21 page)

Neither Seth nor Joshua commented. They were both riveted to the scene below, waiting for Leslie to appear. A fierce wave of admiration took Seth by surprise. Despite the seemingly insurmountable issues that seemed to stand in the way of a relationship between him, Joshua, and Leslie, he’d never been so proud of another person in his life.

“Concertmistress Leslie Angelique Hampstead Marquette and
La Bella Ragazza
.” The announcer’s voice was instantly drowned out by the mingled applause and whispered amazement rippling through the audience like a tidal wave.

“What is
La Bella Ragazza
?” Josh’s urgent whisper recalled Seth to the moment.

Shrugging, Seth did what anyone else would’ve done. He took out his phone and Googled it. To his shock, thousands of entries popped up. Touching the screen, he skimmed the wiki definition and let it sink slowly into his consciousness.

Josh poked him just as the orchestra was tuning their instruments. “Well?”

Seth swallowed the lump that had lodged in his throat. “That violin she uses sold at Christie’s fifteen years ago for 3.6 million.”

His partner’s face paled beneath his tan. “Fuck me.”

Two boxes down, Seth glimpsed a vaguely familiar man with faded red hair shot with silver. He was dressed to the nines, his eyes glued to Leslie’s graceful form as the orchestra tuned their instruments.

Seth had met Trevor Marquette only once. It had left an impression that didn’t readily fade away. Marquette was a hard, brutal man who valued his bottom line above all else. Watching the shrewd businessman evaluate Leslie like an investment waiting to be taken in hand, Seth began to get a clearer picture of the things she hadn’t shared with them.

“Good God, listen to her,” Joshua murmured as he leaned forward to grip the edge of the box.

The strains of her melody sent primal awareness zinging through every nerve in Seth’s body. He drank in the sight of her. Long, loose hair curled gently about her shoulders. It gleamed in the lights, shot with gold and copper highlights that invited his touch. The arch in her back grew more pronounced as the music intensified, and her bow stroked insistently across the strings. She moved to the edge of her chair, her body swaying with the music. Though he couldn’t see her face, he knew her eyes were closed. Each note resonated deeply within her, within him, within Joshua, until the three of them were bound into her song by unbreakable bonds.

Chapter Twenty

The reception area reminded Leslie of a shark tank. But there was only one shark in the room that had already tasted her blood. She could feel him watching her, evaluating her every smile and movement for possible weak points.

If only he’d just approach and get it over with.

“There they are!” Talia grabbed her arm and dragged her through a knot of patrons toward Erik, Seth, and Joshua.

The three men had commandeered a corner with a view of the exit. Not a bad decision, all things considered. Talia immediately melted into her husband’s arms, their whispered exchanges growing playfully heated in a matter of seconds.

It felt like years had passed since she’d walked onstage. Leslie hazarded a look up at Seth’s and Joshua’s expressions, trying to gauge their reaction to her performance. There was so much that needed to be said. She was starting to realize that they’d all withheld more than they had confided. Everything felt unsettled, and she was uncertain how to proceed. Before she could try to begin making things right, she felt her father’s heavy hand on her shoulder.

“Imagine my surprise to see your name heading the list of guest performers for this concert.” His voice dripped sarcasm. Beside him, a woman older than Leslie by only a handful of years offered a brittle smile. She was dripping diamonds and clutching his arm in an obvious statement of ownership.

Leslie straightened. “So nice to see you again, Trevor.”

He lifted his chin aggressively. “You told me you’d pawned that instrument.”

“I never said that. You assumed that. And since you never listen, it’s what you believed.”

“It’s what you led me to believe, on purpose, in order to keep me from being able to reacquire a very expensive investment item.”

“I’ll assume you mean the violin and not me, as you made no attempt to contact me again once you thought the instrument was lost to you.” The words burned even as Leslie spoke them. She hadn’t wanted him to find her. She’d wanted to remain anonymous in Boston for all these years. That didn’t make it hurt less that he cared more for the money than he did for her.

“Fortunately that’s a nonissue now.
La Bella Ragazza
has reappeared, and you’ve been nice enough to advertise it for me.” His weathered face stretched into a leering grin. “It’ll make the bidders all the happier to up their maximums.”

“
La Bella
isn’t for sale,” she said quietly. “Grandfather gave it to me, not you.”

Any pretense of smile slid from his jowly face, and he cast a glance around at her companions. “Running with a fancier crowd these days, aren’t you? Didn’t think you enjoyed the company of rich men, and yet here you are with Erik Aasen. And although these two look familiar, I’m not certain we’ve been introduced.”

Erik pulled Talia into his arms as Seth and Joshua flanked Leslie on both sides like immovable statues. She’d gone to them because she wanted the biggest bullies on the legal playground to be on Niles’s side. At the time, she hadn’t dreamed of needing their badass legal personas in her corner as well. Now everything had changed. All misunderstandings and disagreements aside, they were telling her that they were going to back her no matter what.

Her heart skipped a beat, and her body sang with ecstasy.

“I’m Seth Overton, and this is my partner, Joshua Breckenridge.” Seth’s smooth baritone slid like silk across her nerves, settling everything back into place where it belonged and bolstering her flagging confidence.

“Overton and Breckenridge.” Her father’s tone went flat. “Lawyers from Boston.”

Josh gave a curt nod. “And as a lawyer, I’d advise you not to make wild claims about items included in an estate you’ve already lost in probate.”

Leslie just managed to stifle a gasp. Her father had already
lost La Bella
in probate? How could Joshua possibly know that?

“Are you friends or legal representation?” Trevor shifted uncomfortably, the woman on his arm beginning to look bored. She probably would’ve frowned if her Botoxed face would’ve allowed it.

“Let’s say both,” Seth told him with a predatory grin.

“She was still underage when her grandfather purchased that violin!” His righteous indignation indicated he was close to losing control. “It was locked inside my office for safekeeping. The night she left home, she broke in and took it without permission.”

Joshua’s arrogance was on full display. “Was she of age when she left home?”

“That’s beside the point.”

“No,” Seth countered. “That is the point. If you were keeping her possessions from her after she’d come of age, she had every right to take them back.”

Trevor clenched his hands, his face turning a frightening shade of red. “Her grandfather’s estate was in trust until she turned twenty-one.”

Joshua fidgeted, shifting his stance in a tiny movement she would’ve never seen had she not been so aware of him. Understanding hit her like a ton of bricks. They were working her father. They didn’t know any of the details surrounding her family problems. They were working him with bits and pieces they’d gleaned from what little she’d told them and their knowledge of the system.

“Since she’s several years past twenty-one now, don’t you think this conversation is a little out of line?” Seth’s hand sliced the air in a gesture of finality. “Or would you like to pursue it in a deposition format?”

Leslie felt like the worst kind of idiot. Talia had been right. If she’d just come clean from the beginning, she would’ve saved herself hours of useless worrying. Not to mention these two fantastic men would’ve been much better prepared to handle this awkward conversation with her overbearing father. Not caring who noticed, she reached out and took their hands, squeezing tightly until she got a squeeze in return.

“Damn right I will.” Her father was already beginning to back off. “My legal team will be contacting you first thing Monday morning.”

Joshua gave her father a cold smile. “We’ll be looking forward to it.”

Trevor didn’t waste any time beating a path to the nearest exit. Once he was gone, Erik let loose a snort of laughter.

“Shut up, Aasen.” Seth’s grin didn’t match his surly tone of voice. “We don’t need any comments from the ‘rich man.’”

Mortified by her father’s idiotic behavior, Leslie buried her face in her hands. “I wish we could go home.”

Joshua perked up at the suggestion. “We can’t go home just yet, sweetheart, but we can blow this party and head back to the hotel.”

Talia pulled away from Erik and folded her into a warm hug. “Call me before you leave. And thank you so much for giving me the chance to do this with you.”

Leslie wrapped her arms around her friend’s shorter frame and wished life hadn’t placed them in two different cities. “I’ve missed you. Plan a trip back to Boston before long, won’t you?”

Talia gave her an impish grin. “I think it’ll be just as easy for you to come visit me here.”

Leslie puzzled over the enigmatic statement. Erik and Talia owned houses in both New York and Boston. Surely it was easier for them to go back and forth between Talia’s performances? Erik swept his wife out the door before she could ask for an explanation.

Seth pressed a kiss to the center of her palm. “I think we’ve got some lost time to make up for.” His whisky brown eyes were warmer than she’d seen them in days, and the sight made her pulse race.

“What, exactly, would you be referring to?”

Joshua leaned down until he could murmur in her ear, “Maybe he’s talking about the night of hot sex he missed because he was passed out.”

Seth used his other hand to smack Joshua on the back of his head. “Thanks for the reminder. Next time you do something stupid, I’ll be sure to bring it up over and over.” His expression grew serious. “We do have a lot of talking to do, Leslie. All three of us. This can never happen again.”

Her father had blindsided them because she’d deliberately kept them in the dark. It didn’t take a genius to determine that she hadn’t picked the wisest path in this situation. The way Seth talked, there were things they’d been keeping from her too.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop was getting awfully old.

Chapter Twenty-one

“I owe you an apology.” Seth wished there was a fireplace in the Park View Suite. This was a conversation that would’ve been better if the three of them could snuggle up before a warm fire instead of lined up on a sofa before a cold bank of dark windows.

Leslie wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her chin on top. “I’ve had a few hangovers in my time. I don’t doubt you’re sorry.”

Joshua snorted. “He should be kissing your feet for how incredibly sensitive you were last night.”

“You certainly weren’t going to cut him much slack.”

Seth figured his best friend had done more than most guys would have. Joshua had rescued him from making an even bigger ass of himself in the hotel bar. Not to mention dragging him into the elevator, down the hall, and into the room without major incident. It was the feminine portion of the population that thought about choking on vomit, dehydration, and waking up on a cold, hard floor.

“I should have told you about
La Bella Ragazza
from the beginning.” Her words tumbled out. “I’ve been keeping the secret for almost fifteen years. I didn’t think of it as a lie, but it was. And you both stepped in to help me anyway. I was an idiot. If I’d told you sooner, we could’ve avoided that ridiculous scene with my father.”

Seth chucked her under the chin. “Yeah, it was a shock to find out we were dating a rich trust-fund baby.”

Leslie sat stiffly, as if she were trying to sit between them without touching. “More like clueless trust-fund baby. I was so afraid of losing the violin to my father that I never even looked into the possibility of Grandfather’s will protecting it and me.” She looked ready to face a firing squad. “I suppose you’re going to want your full legal fees for Niles’s case now that you know I can pay you.”

Was she serious? Did she believe for one moment Seth cared about the money they would’ve netted from representing Niles? If she did, it was his fault for making her think she had to promise him something precious in exchange for nothing more than his time. For making her think they wouldn’t have taken the case anyway just based on principle.

“Seth?” A frown creased the skin between her eyebrows.

He touched her hair, picking up the silky strands and bringing them to his lips. “Leslie, Joshua and I represented Niles pro bono. There was never any fee attached.”

She stilled. “I signed a contract with your firm. I’ve been paying you from the Trio’s earnings.”

Seth felt like the biggest liar on the planet. “You signed a basic representation contract. The wording made us able to promise you legal protection. And anyone who questioned your presence in our home could’ve viewed it as part of our agreement to cover necessary operating expenses.”

Her face paled several shades, though her expression was neutral.

“I was trying to protect your reputation.” Making excuses wasn’t helping Seth feel better about what he’d done.

“And keeping the both of you from being disbarred,” she said quietly.

“Although Seth couldn’t foresee it, that agreement you signed made everything that happened with your father aboveboard,” Joshua pointed out. “We really are your lawyers, in a manner of speaking.”

Seth cupped her cheek in his hand, trying to pull her out of the shell she’d retreated into. “And your lovers in everything else.”

“What did you do with the money I gave you?”

“I deposited it in an investment account under your name.”

“Oh my God. All this time I thought there was a business arrangement underlying everything. In reality there was nothing.” She rocked back and forth, her breath coming in ragged gasps.