Page 61 of Forbidden Heart

"Did you skip breakfast again?" Charles asks him. "I could always get something delivered from—"

"Chez Caviar," Tate, JJ, and I all say at the same time. It almost sounds rehearsed, and the three of us burst out laughing. Charles rolls his eyes in response.

“I’ll pass.” The Dark Prince scowls at us... all four of us, not just me.

Hopefully, once he hears my song, he’ll be in a better mood. And even if he’s not, my song is still absolutely perfect. I just have to remember that.

"Roonie's going to lead the rehearsal," Tate says, and I tense as my eyes snap to Silas.

"Really, Princess?" He sneers at me. "You sure you can handle this?"

The old Roonie would let him get to her, but I'm the new, confident Roonie. I'm the girl who kissed all three of her roommates. I’m the one who wrote them the perfect competition song!

"Of course she can handle it," JJ tells Silas a split second before I can. I'm disappointed that he beat me to it, but warmed by the fact that my Knight in Shining Armor rushed to my defense.

"Right," Silas spits, his eyes narrowing on me. "So what exactly is your grand vision for our performance, oh mighty director?”

His words are dripping with sarcasm, but I vow to hold my own. I take a small step forward, ready to defend myself.

"Enough," Charles snaps, startling me into silence.

It takes me a second to recover, but the one thought I hold on to is that I do have a grand vision. I can picture what the guys should sing, and where they should stand, and if I can just describe it all to Silas, I know—

“You need to chill out, man,” Tate tells him. “I know after what happened with Vibrato Lap—”

“Do not fucking talk about Vibrato Lap.” Silas’s entire face turns red, and then his eyes zero in on me. “I’m going to find proof that you’re working for them, and then I’ll make your precious a cappella group pay.”

“I’m not—” I start to protest, but my voice barely comes out above a whisper, and the guys easily talk over me.

“Do you realize how absurd you sound?” JJ snaps.

“Think about this logically, Silas,” Charles adds.

“Why would Roo Roo write us a competition song if she was working for them?” Tate chimes in.

“To humiliate us?” Silas demands. “I bet that song is stolen, just like everything else those bastards—”

“Silas,” JJ snaps.

“Come on, man.” Tate wraps an arm around the Dark Prince’s shoulder and leads him across the room, away from me. “I know that after what they did to you...”

He lowers his voice and I strain my ears, trying to catch the rest. I want to know what Vibrato Lap did to Silas. I need to know why he’s like this.

“If we're going to win this competition, we need to work as a team," Tate adds, a little louder this time.

Silas grumbles and shrugs off his arm, but he nods in agreement. "Let's get this over with."

That is my cue to step forward and lead the rehearsal. I have to do this. I can do this. I have all three of my guys by my side. They’ve proven they’ll stand up for me. They’ve proven that they’ll keep me safe. The rest is up to me.

“Go ahead, Roonie,” Tate says.

Charles and JJ nod encouragingly. Silas scowls, but then, he’s Silas.

“We’ll start with the warm-ups,” I say, my voice a little shaky but strong. It echoes through the room, amplified by the amazing acoustics, and the guys line up and wait for me to take the lead..

Since I’ve watched them warm up before, the steps are super easy to replicate. We hum and sing the notes together and I allow myself to get lost in the sounds. I relax enough for my voice to flow just as cleanly as the guys’. Obviously, it’s still high pitched and whiny, but my job isn’t to join them on stage—it’s to choreograph their song, and that I can do.

“Let’s take it from the top,” I say once we’re done warming up.