Falling Into Love with You (The Hate-Love Duet Book 2) by Rowe, Lauren (grave mercy .TXT) 📕

Laila’s jaw drops. “Nadine said that?”

“She did. Oh, and she also said she’s looking forward to our performance in the finale.”

Laila looks flabbergasted. “And I was so positive they were going to fire me during the break! I wasn’t going to tell you this, but when Colin and I were alone in my dressing room, he told me something confidential—something that made me all the more certain my days on the show were numbered.” She tells me her story, which makes my blood boil, and wraps up with, “See? I told you Colin is a good guy. He came straight to me with the information, rather than ambushing me for an easy hundred grand.”

“That was cool of him,” I admit. “I’m a little surprised you didn’t march outside with him, right then and there, and kiss the hell out of him for the cameras, just to get back at me for the Charlie thing. You were so pissed at me.”

She looks shocked. “Adrian, I would never do that to you, no matter how upset I was about the Charlie thing. That would have been way beyond the pale for me to do to you. Plus, why would I do that to myself? Forevermore, I’d have been The Girl Who Cheated on Adrian Savage. God help me if ever I ran into one of your diehard fans on the street after that.”

I pause for a long time, before saying, “I feel like I owe Colin a phone call. If I’m completely honest with myself, I think Colin and I were a bit more than acquaintances when I hooked up with his ex. I see Colin all the time. We have mutual friends. Colin isn’t like Kendrick or Kai to me, obviously. Not even close. But he was a friend, and I did betray him. But, despite that, when he had the chance to take that bonus, and use you to get back at me, he didn’t do it. He looked out for you, no matter what.”

“And for you, too, indirectly. Even if that wasn’t his motivation, he did save both of us from quite a bit of humiliation.”

“True.” I process everything for a moment, and then ask, “So, what did Mimi say to you? You two looked as thick as thieves.”

Laila smiles. “She just wanted to give me some advice about you. She’s so happy we’re ‘engaged’ and wants to make sure we have a long and happy marriage.” She squeezes my hand and smiles. “But guess what? I already knew pretty much everything Mimi told me about you, all on my own.”

“What’d she tell you?”

“She didn’t phrase it this way, of course. This is my own interpretation. But, basically, she told me you’re a prince who was sadly turned into an unruly beast a long time ago by a mean woman who held a grudge, for no good reason.”

My heart skips a beat.

“Again, that’s not how Mimi put it, but listening to her, I felt like everything she was saying was basically a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.”

“Well, aren’t you clever.”

“I’m a genius.” She grins. “So, did Nadine mention that bonus they’ve offered to you?”

“She did. I told her it’s a non-starter. I’m not going to propose on national TV. Making Mimi happy was the only thing that made me consider it. But now that we’ve told Mimi the deed is done, and Nadine is so happy with you on the show, there’s no reason for me to even think about that.”

“A quarter-million bucks is a lot of money. Especially when you’re giving half your salary to me, and you’ve bought houses for Sasha and Mimi.”

“Please, Laila, don’t feel guilty about the salary thing. You negotiated your share, fair and square.”

“I wish I’d said yes to ten percent, like you first offered. I think that was fair.”

“Stop, please. We’re going to make bank on the duet. And my album is releasing next week. Honestly, I don’t want to talk about the money again. We’ve pressed the ‘reset button,’ remember? The money is part of that.”

Laila sighs. “You promise you’re not secretly mad about the money?”

I kiss her cheek. “Baby, I’m not even capable of being mad at you.”

As I’m saying that last sentence, there’s a knock at the door.

“Adrian?” Sasha’s wobbly voice says. My cousin sniffles behind the door, making my breathing halt, before adding, “Honey, Mimi is ready to see you now.”

Twenty-Seven

Savage

As I enter Mimi’s bedroom, I nod at the caregiver, Felicia, in the corner, lay my laptop on a table, and slide into a chair next to the bed. “Hey, Mimi,” I whisper, taking her hand. She looks impossibly frail under her covers. Exhausted like I’ve never seen her before. “I’m here, Mimi. I’m right here.”

My grandmother opens her eyes and purses her lips, asking for a kiss, and I lean forward and give her one, before settling back into my chair and cupping her slender hand in both of mine.

“Would you like me to carry you around the house, so you can tell me stories from when you and Jasper were young?” I whisper.

Mimi shakes her head, turning me down. And I realize talking has become difficult for my sweet grandmother.

Swallowing hard, I gently squeeze Mimi’s frail hand. “Would you like me to sing to you?”

This time, Mimi nods. So, I launch into singing the lullaby that’s become part of our ritual, and when I reach the end of that simple song, and Mimi is still awake and attentive, I sing another. This time, one of my all-time favorites by one of my favorite singer-songwriters: “Grace” by Jeff Buckley. Buckley was a genius, if you ask me, who died way too young, well before he’d graced the world with the full extent of his gifts. And the song of his I’ve chosen is about accepting mortality in the face of true love—a song about letting go gracefully. Frankly, I can’t imagine a better song for this moment.

Grace.

It’s the