Protecting Love (LarssonSiblingSeries #3)

CHAPTER NINETEEN*

Betty

I scribble down the lyrics on my notepad and sing the words back in my head. It's good to be back in the studio, mixing with people with a passion for making great music. After the interview with Jodo's Music YouTube channel and VT Fashion, I was craving some down time. It's intense with all the questions, and my brain feels frazzled, so I use writing as a way to free my mind.

"The intro sounds too long to me," Adam, the songwriter says.

"It's ten seconds," Emila, our other songwriter replies.

Adam taps his pencil on the table. "Try for five, and I want it in a C chord."

I glance around the room and spot Finn in the corner, listening to his iPod. There's only an hour left to jam, and then we are going to call it a day, heading down to Blue Bar in Mayfair for a few cocktails and catch up with my assistant, Jade.

My eyes can't seem to peel away from him as he gets lost in his own world, drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair. I didn't appreciate how safe I felt having him close before our time spent at home. It's quite strong when the thought of him not being here makes me fizzy legged.

"Betty sing what you got written down to me," Adam says, leaning back in his big leather chair.

I clear my throat. "Bear in mind that this is me free-writing."

Adam shrugs and lifts his hand. "I'm all ears."

"We starting with the guitar?" I respond.

"No, sing it without."

"Okay then," I let my eyes roam along the page, deciding which verse to start on as they're all mixed up. I sing the words. "Looking at you from across the room. Got caught up and I don't know what to do. You look at me with those big brown eyes, sippin' on your whisky and ice."

"Stop," Adam holds his hand up in the air. "Can you expand the ice at the end? I like what you have so far."

I belt it out again, dragging out the ice, singing it another time, just to be sure the words work together. Emila gives me a big thumbs up, and Adam nods his head, strumming his fingers along the cords of the guitar, coming up with some genius mixes.

"Bee, get on the keyboard and find a drum rhythm," Adam says, nodding his head across the studio.

I dash over and press the style key and program in the number, keeping it small at first with a few beats. Emila starts singing my lyrics back to us, having grabbed my song sheet when I left the desk.

"Finn, you any good at backing vocals?" Adam shouts across the room.

Finn's head snaps up. "Say again?"

Adam nods his head our way. "Come on, big guy. Quit looking so bored over there and show us what you made of."

My mouth pulls into a broad smile, and Finn frowns at me as if to say 'Don't You Dare'. "You know you want to give it a go."

"Nah," he shakes his head, giving a nervous laugh. "I don't. I can't sing to save my life."

"I don't know. You sound okay to me when you sing in the shower."

"Betty quit it," he almost bares his teeth as the words come out in a long hiss.

I'll very likely get some bad karma for this, but I want to hear him sing. My mind is imagining the rich baritone of his voice, curving around every word in a seductive way that will have me running for the bedroom in ten seconds flat. And, that confident husk Finn has to his voice...kill me now.