🎶In you my heart has found a home ~ Ella Eyre

●Tara Afua Henrie●

Two days later

"Ok. That's a wrap on rehearsal for today," Luca announced. "Tomorrow, we need to tighten everything up cuz we only have about three days before the fair and we need to be well-prepared."

"Mm! How's the publicity going?" Carlos asked while stretching his body.

"Through the roof." Luca pulled out his tablet, checking out the stats. "Refugio was super impressed. Thanks to that interview you guys had with Cree Gonzalo, online searches for the fair and the band have skyrocketed... along with Eden's name and who she has a crush on, but it's still a win."

We all turned to her, trying to gage her reaction. The moment she put her bass down, she noticed our stares and frowned. "What? Stop looking at me like that."

"So Eden..." A mischievous grin touched Jax's lips. "Mind telling us who the lucky guy, or girl is?"

"No!" She snapped, clearly annoyed. "It's no one ok! I don't have a crush on anyone. Cree put me on the spot and I had to say something!"

"You could have just avoided the question," Carlos remarked.

"Yeah, I realise that now, interview genius!" Eden sniped then pivoted on her heel. "I need a break." She headed towards the door, slamming it so hard that the sound sent a jolt of fright through my heart.

"Well done, Jax." I turned to him. "You just pissed her off."

He put his up in surrender. "Hey, we all wanted to know."

"I didn't," Carlos said, pulling a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Are you sure?" Jax titled his head to the side. "Cuz I have a fair idea on who it is."

"Really?" Luca lifted his head, curiosity piqued. "Who is it?"

The room grew silent as we all waited for Jax to drop a name. With the smug smile curling on his lips, I was convinced he was about to mention his own name. Instead, he looked at us and said, "Carlos."

Carlos nearly choked on his water, sputtering it all out in a spray. "Wha-why the fuck would you think it's me?"

"C'mon dude, don't tell me you haven't noticed." Jax sat up. "She's always mean to you. Sometimes when a girl likes a guy, she picks on him."

"He does have a point." Luca admitted, tapping his chin.

But Carlos seemed so stunned by the idea that he fumbled with his words. "Yo-wh-you all are crazy. I'm hundred percent sure Eden does not like me that way!"

"You can't be so sure." Jax's smug smile broadened.

"I am! A hundred percent." Abandoning his half-emptied water bottle, Carlos moved towards the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" I asked.

"Somewhere I don't have to hear the crap spilling out of Jax's mouth." With that, he shut the door firmly behind him.

My head shifted in Jax's direction only to find him giggling gleefully. "You know, what you're doing isn't nice. First, Eden. Now, Carlos?"

"Hey, it's not my fault that neither of them want to admit their feelings."

"Well, admit it or not. What they are going through is about to change the dynamics of your group. Better get them to accept it." Luca picked up his bag. "See you tomorrow guys."

"Yeah bye."

Luca stepped out, leaving just Jax and me in the room. I proceeded to pack up my guitar.

"So!" Jax clasped his hands. "What do you think we can do to bring our two lovebirds together?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" He asked incredulously. "Why?"

I shrugged. "I just don't want to play matchmaker." The truth was, I didn't want to get involved. With all the budding complications, it was the best choice. Carlos believes Eden has feelings for Jax, while Jax thinks she is in love with Carlos. With Eden stuck in the middle, refusing to admit her feelings, it makes a perfect recipe for drama, and I wanted no part of in it.

"I don't think you have a choice." Jax crossed his arms. "It's like Luca said, they having feelings for each other can change the dynamics of the band."

"How do you know they have feelings for each other?" I quizzed, standing up. "How are you even so sure that Carlos is the one Eden likes? You've all known each other for so long. It could be you she's interested in."

Jax let out a loud scoff. "Yeah, right. She's not interested in me."

Now I was the one crossing my arms. "Oh yeah, what makes you think that?"

His expression changed to a pensive one. "Cuz I've got my eye on someone else."

The moment he said it, his eyes landed on me and it sent a jolt of surprise up my spine. Oh God, I hope he's not referring to me.

Before I could process or ask him anything, my phone buzzed in my jean pocket and I pulled it out to find Shaun's name on the screen.

"Sorry, I've gotta take this." Turning my back to Jax, I brought the phone to my ear. "Hello."

"Fancy hearing from me huh?" Shaun voice came through with an amuse tone.

"During work hours? Definitely." I couldn't help but smile. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. Are you busy?"

"Not really," I replied, glancing back at Jax who quickly averted his gaze, busying himself with his keyboard. "We just finished rehearsals a few minutes ago."

"Great. Come downstairs."

My eyebrows flew up. "Wait, you're here?"

"Yeah, in the lobby. The receptionist has been giving me googly eyes for the past five minutes."

I chuckled. "Alright, I'll be there in a sec." Hanging up, I turned back to Jax. "Hey, I've gotta go. I'm meeting someone downstairs." I really didn't want to tell him who it was. And thankfully he didn't ask.

"Yeah sure. You go ahead, we'll catch up later." He nodded.

As I headed out, I couldn't help but feel a mix of anticipation and nervousness. Though I tried convincing myself that it was related to Shaun's sudden appearance, deep down I knew it had a lot more to do with what Jax had said.

¤¤¤¤¤

The elevator pinged open, granting me access to the ground floor.

It didn't take long finding him in the lobby. He stood next to one of those metal benches, wearing a long black coat over a grey suit and was busily typing on his phone. Not far off, two bodyguards stood at attention, watching everyone that passed by.

Trying my best to suppress the butterflies, I walked over. "If you're taking me to a secret agent convention, you definitely look the part."

Shaun lifted his head and laughed, sending a flutter of warmth through me. "At least a secret agent convention will be a lot more interesting than the boring seven-hour meeting I have scheduled this afternoon. Maybe we should change plans and head there."

"Oh no, you don't. You're not using me as an excuse to ditch your job," I chuckled in return. "So what's up? Why the surprise call?"

"I brought you something." He pulled out a white crisp envelope from his coat pocket and held it out.

I quirked up a curious eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Why don't you find out." His face lit up with a cunning grin.

I stared at the envelope in his hand. It was so flat, you'd think there was nothing in it, not even paper. But there had to be something in it. He wouldn't come all the way here to hand me an empty envelope.

Out of curiosity, I took it. One side of the envelope felt empty, the other side felt like hard plastic. I ripped that side open, pulling out a black and ash card.

"A penthouse key card?" My eyes glazed over yhe inscription and I held it up with two fingers. "What am supposed to do with this?"

His smile broadened. "Follow me."

Curiosity piqued, I shoved the card and envelope into my back pocket and followed him outside where a sleek black car awaited us. We got in with ease. I was hoping Shaun would say more about our destination when the wheels began moving, but after five minutes of absolute silence, I heaved out a frustrated breath.

"Ok, the silence is killing." I turned to Shaun. "Where are we going?"

His gray eyes lit up in mischief. "The secret agent convention."

I immediately swatted his arm, earning a yelp from him. "Ow! You hit me."

"And I'll do it again if you don't tell me where we're going." I lifted my hand.

"I'd like to see you try." He smirked.

Surprised by the daring remark, I swung my hand playfully, but Shaun was quick to dodge and grabbed my wrist.

"Nice try," he teased.

"Oh, you think you're so clever," I retorted, attempting to jab him with my other hand.

He blocked it easily, laughing. "Come on, Tara, you can do better than that."

We continued our playful sparring, both of us laughing and dodging each other’s half-hearted attempts at landing a playful hit. But just as I was about to land a light punch on his shoulder, the driver’s voice cut through our laughter.

"Señor, we're here."

Shaun released my wrist and gave me a triumphant grin. "Saved by the bell," he quipped.

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help smiling. "Yeah, next time you might not be so lucky."

He laughed as we stepped out of the car.

"Whoa." The beige coloured building stretched out with bright green topiaries and colourful flowers on both sides. As we walked past a massive water fountain, my eyes landed on the calligraphic letters on top of the canopy shielding the glass rotating doors. I stared at it in surprise.

"Hotel Perez." I turned to Shaun. "This is your hotel?"

"Sort of." He shrugged. "It's part of the family business."

We moved smoothly past the rotating doors. Everything was just sleek, stylish, modern and looked pretty expensive. I bet it costs a million dollars booking a room here.

Shaun led the way to an elevator. I was too busy looking around to see which button he pushed, all I heard was the 'ping' of the elevator's arrival. We moved in, Shaun and I first, before the bodyguards. The doors closed and the machine began its ascend with a light whirring sound.

"So. How many hotels does your family own?" I asked.

"A dozen," he replied flatly. "My father started the business a few decades ago, and it's grown quite a bit since then."

"Wow." I crossed my arms. "He must've invested a lot in this, huh?"

"Yeah. He has." Shaun's face held a very blank expression.

I waited for him to say more, but nothing came. There was a vast difference between his facial expression now and the one he had a minute ago. Pointing out that difference made me realise that he and his dad weren't exactly the best of friends.

The elevator dinged softly as we reached the top floor. Shaun guided us down a quiet, elegantly decorated hallway until we stopped in front of a set of double doors.

"Well?" I asked Shaun.

"You have the key card. Open the door."

Digging my hand into my back pocket, I pulled out the card and vertically swiped it in the card detector. The machine beeped and a click followed.

Wide-eyed, I turned to Shaun.

"Go ahead," he urged.

With a mix of anticipation, I pushed open the doors. My jaw dropped at the sight of the sprawling penthouse before me. On my right was the most luxurious living room I'd ever seen, complete with a wide plasma screen fixed on the wall and a wicked sound system underneath it. The adjoining kitchen had three fancy lamps hanging above the granite coloured island. The floor-to-ceiling windows were huge, not only offering a breathtaking view of the city, but also serving as the doorway to a spacious balcony, complete with a hammock on one side and a pretty dining set on the otherside.

"Shaun," I cautiously began, still drowning in astonishment. "Wh-what is this?"

"You still haven't figured it out."

I followed his voice to the kitchen where he now stood, munching from a complimentary fruit basket.

"Figured what out?" I drew closer.

He plucked a single grape and popped it into his mouth. "This is your place now."

My brain just stopped functioning. "Wait... what?"

He chuckled then continued, "The day you guys had the tour of the orphanage, you mentioned that the paparazzi has been stalking you, remember? You said there wasn't a day you'd step out of your sister's house without finding a camera man hiding in the shrubs. So, I thought you could use a place where you can have some peace and privacy."

I stared at him in shock. "You kept all that in your head?"

"Well yeah," he laughed, as if the question was ridiculous. "You might find it hard to believe, but I do listen to you most of the time."

My eyes scanned the room one more time. The sheer comfort and luxurious was just... unbelievable. Yes, it was a thoughtful gesture and I really appreciated it, but it was a lot more than what I was used to. "I'm sorry, Shaun but... I-I can't accept this."

The smile dropped from his face. "What? Why not?"

"I know it's rude to reject a gift, and I'm sorry about that. It's just...it's too much," I countered. "And I don't want it to look like I'm taking advantage of you or your wealth."

"You're not taking advantage of me or my wealth, Tara." Abandoning the fruit basket, he approached me with a dead serious expression. "You didn't ask me for this. I'm willingly giving it to you because I want you to have it. I want to help you. You're a great singer and guitarist, Tara, and I really care about you and your career. I want to see you prosper and have the peace you need to create and grow. No one deserves a gift like this more than you do."

Overwhelmed by the avalanche of emotions he'd evoked inside me, I stepped forward and wrapped him in a tight hug. His words of support and encouragement really touched my heart and I couldn't believe how lucky I was to have someone like Shaun in my life. "Thank you," I murmured into his shoulder. "Thank you so much."

"You're always welcome, Tara." Shaun hugged me back with the same intensity. "Always."

When I pulled back, I scanned his face briefly, eyes dropping to the bow of his lips, wondering what it would feel like to have them against mine. The same thoughts must've been running through his head because his head dipped low, and the space between us began to shrink, slowly until...

"Señor?"

Crap.

I quickly stepped back, as one of his bodyguard's walked in. "Señor Perez, the manager of the hotel is here and she wants to have a word."

"Oh uh sure." He turned to me. "I'll-I'll be back soon. Why don't you check the place out?"

"Cool," I smiled, then he stepped out with the bodyguard.

Left alone, I let out sigh, running a hand through my braids before heading towards the bedrooms.

******