After her father's tragic passing, Nora Davis is forced behind the scenes, nothing more than a stepping stone for others in their journey to stardom. When an opportunity presents itself, Nora, trapped under her stepmother's heel, takes it as her cha...
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The moment Nora Davis apologized to him in the middle of a grocery store aisle, Eli Leonger knew he liked her more than a friend. When she broke down his song and gave him feedback, he was doomed.
Nora was quirky yet smart, quiet yet mighty, and she kept her personal life locked tight behind a guarded metal door. She was a breath of fresh air, and if he let her get away, he'd regret it for a good chunk of his life, if not forever.
Showing her his music brought this intriguing light in her eye. As he played his song for her in his bedroom, she'd focused directly on the music, nodding her head slightly with the beat and frowning at certain moments. It was like he'd activated some deeply hidden part of her personality.
It was hot.
And he was in so much trouble. Because he'd never had this deep, churning hunger in his gut before. He'd had a crush in grade school, so he'd recognized the feeling, but he'd never expected it to be this...intense. It made him want to know Nora Davis. To know her life, her responses, what she liked, what she hated, her pet peeves—the list was endless.
He wanted to see how she viewed the world – but for now, he'd start with the palace gardens. He'd spotted the spark in her eyes when they'd walked through the Great hallway earlier. Now he wanted to see it again.
He led her to the gold-finished elevator doors at the end of the hallway, then down to the main floor. From there, it was two turns back to the long-windowed doors leading to the back patio.
He would give up many things to see her reaction to the palace gardens. Living in the palace, he'd become used to the show of riches. And while he liked the palace gardens, he wished he could experience them the way outsiders did.
They stepped out onto the back patio and down the steps to the cobblestone pathway. Salt dotted along the path to ensure no one slipped outside. The trail followed straight forward to the large white fountain that ran continuously in the summer. Right now, it was off, the water drained. The delicate marble angel decorating the top had snow along her wings and down her dress. The dark stoned path wrapped around the fountain and then went out in four directions.
The palace gardens were massive, perhaps the same acreage as the palace itself. The carefully constructed foliage was awash with color and life in the springtime. In the winter, though much of the plants had withered away, the bushes remained. He loved the way the snow traced along the edges of each carefully crafted bush and tree.
He led Nora off to the path on the right, and back towards where the bushes formed a waist-height wall. Their pace was slow. Easy enough to allow Nora to glance around and take everything in with her wide eyes.
"It's beautiful," she breathed. "It's like a whole other world."
"It is," he agreed. "You'll have to come back in the spring, right after they plant the bulbs and roses. It's a sight."
