The Piano Man

XXV. A Safe Place

"Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts." Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

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XXV. A Safe Place

Tally drove a white Range Rover, which was as nice inside as it was on the outside. Sophie prayed that Maddie hadn't touched anything sticky recently.

When she opened the door to the car, she was greeted by a child's car seat, and a coy smile from Noah confirmed that he had organised it.

They drove for about half an hour, and Sophie couldn't get over how the sky was blue in the middle of winter. When they left London, it had been raining, and washing away the snowy sludge on the roads.

Noah and Tally lived in Burbank in a private, gated group of condos. They all faced onto a shared, beautiful courtyard, which had a feature fountain in the centre.

"Our neighbours are mostly retired couples," Tally informed Sophie. "Which is good because they leave Vanessa alone."

Sophie frowned in confusion as they all crossed the pebbled courtyard towards the front door of one of the condos. Tally unlocked their front door and welcomed them all into entrance hall.

Their ambience of the house was very warm. Sophie was standing on an orange, terracotta floor, and right in front of her was a staircase that was decorated in a beautiful, floral talavera tile. They had immediately caught Maddie's eye, and she had gone over to inspect the patterns.

A large, ornate wooden mirror hung on the wall by the door, and a narrow hall table stood in front of it, holding a dish filled with keys. Tally tossed hers inside.

"Vanessa!" called out Tally. "We're back!"

A blue painted archway led into the main living area of the house. There was a cosy lounge room with a comfy sectional sofa and a television, an eclectic dining room with mismatching chairs around a green, circular table, and a modern kitchen with a large, midnight blue tiled island.

Sophie was really unsure of what she had expected, but she found that she adored what she had found. She loved the colours and the warmth of the furniture and the décor.

Sophie heard the sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs before they were promptly joined by another person, a woman who was wearing leggings and a grey singlet top.

She was about the same height as Sophie, with long, straight brown hair. She had an olive complexion, and brown eyes, and beautiful natural bone structure. She wasn't wearing a speck of makeup, but her skin was clear and radiant.

The type of skin a celebrity boasted.

Sophie knew exactly who she was, and with every fibre of her being, she willed herself not the freak out.

How many times had Noah mentioned Vanessa, Tally's girlfriend, Vanessa, whom he lived with? And yet Sophie now knew that Noah had never told her Vanessa's last name.

The famous, incredible singer Vanessa Marino was standing in front of Sophie in house clothes, arms extended to hug her in greeting.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you!" Vanessa cried.

"You, too!" coughed Sophie, utterly ungracefully.

"Noah tells me you're a singer?" she added excitedly. "Oh, I can't wait to hear you. I'm sure you're going to be so amazing on this track. Noah wrote my first song, too, did you know?"

Sing in front of Vanessa Marino? Sophie couldn't think of anything more daunting. "N – no," she stammered. "I mean, yes, but no."

"Might have left out a few minor details about one of my roommates," Noah told the room sheepishly.