A Love Song for Lucifer: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance (Leading Ladies) Read online

  When I finally come back to earth, I open my eyes and Mel is right there with me. The joy in her eyes might be the only thing in the world that could match the ecstasy that I feel. It hits me that this is my life now, and it’s already better than it could have ever been without her.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Melody

  3 MONTHS LATER

  “Hm,” Lumi squints her eyes at the dress I’m holding up. “Do you have anything fancier?”

  She flew in two days ago and has been crashing on my couch, where she is sprawled out right now ‘yaying’ or ‘naying’ as I try to help her find something to wear. We’ve fallen quickly into a pattern similar to the one we had in Finland, but this time she’s actually my roommate. At least for a week. Of course, I miss sharing Luc’s warm bed, but for Lumi I am more than willing to make the sacrifice.

  “Fancier than this?” I’m helping her get dressed for the official opening tonight of Devil’s Melody Media. The dress I’m holding up is the fanciest dress I own, but it’s still apparently not bold enough for her.

  “No, of course she doesn’t,” Julia chimes in from the floor where she is going through the invite list on my computer to see who is coming tonight. I might have invited a few TikTok stars that she follows and may or may not have crushes on. Oh, and the neighborhood boy that she blushes around every time we run into him.

  “I might!” Brooke strides in from my bedroom where she was getting changed. “I brought extras so you guys could help me choose what looks best.” She turns around, showing us her silk champagne strap dress. She looks effortlessly stunning, as always. “What do you think?”

  “Brooke, it’s perfect.” I say.

  “Gorgeous!” Lumi chimes in.

  “Woah,” Julia says in awe.

  Eventually, after some wardrobe shuffling, I settle on a white wrap dress that belongs to Brooke. Lumi ends up wearing my blue dress that Julia stitched stars on that I wore on New Year’s Eve. And Julia is wearing her own creation- a pink peasant dress that matches her pink converse sneakers. The weather is showing hints of the impending summer and it’s finally warm enough to not wear tights or big coats, so not much time passes before we are finally ready to walk the few short blocks to my future.

  Just as I finish double-checking that I have everything, a knock comes at the door. I look at the girls, confused, before I open it up.

  On the other side is Luc, staring at me with his devilish grin. He looks absolutely dapper in his grey-blue suit and a white shirt unbuttoned one button at the top. Standing behind him are my parents with big smiles on their face. Especially my mom, who literally glows anytime Luc is around.

  “You look absolutely stunning,” he says while pulling me into his arms. “I’m here to pick you up for our date.”

  I laugh, remembering when he came to my hotel room on New Year’s Eve in Finland, just to walk me to my performance. His charm has only grown since those early days and here I am, in his arms, utterly succumbed by it.

  Apparently, Luc picked my parents up for our “date” as well. He explains he thought it would be nice if we all walked over together.

  He is right. We all chatter happily on the short walk to our new headquarters. The spring air and the sun peaking over the buildings create this a sensation of euphoria all around us, promising us a fresh start. It couldn’t be a more perfect day for it.

  The party is better than I could ever have expected. Everyone seems to have brought that excited energy of spring. The entire room is buzzing with positivity and celebration and when I look around, I see so many people from our worlds brought together. My parents are chatting with Brooke. Lumi and my sister are as thick as thieves, scouring the event for celebrities. And even Cole and Ryan have reunited, not making out this time, but laughing at something near the bar.

  We hired a band that I’ve heard performing in the subway to play for the evening. They’re elevating the energy of the room with their brass instruments, covering an impressive variety of songs.

  I’m chatting with a musician who Luc cut at De la Roche Records, but I insisted we bring to DM Media. He’s a young man who is the first generation living in the U.S., with his parents from El Salvador. He mixes the traditional music of his heritage with R&B sounds. I have been absolutely addicted to his songs, listening to them all week. While I’m talking to him, I think to myself how I can’t believe this is my reality now. I get to just spend my life absorbed in music, both my own and others’.

  Suddenly, I notice the band is taking quite a long time starting their next song, so I look to the stage. To my surprise, it’s no longer the band standing there, but Luc. He’s plugging in an electric bass guitar and a man who looks familiar, but I can’t quite place, is standing in front of the other microphone with his own electric guitar.

  Finally, Luc straightens up and scans the crowd until he finds me and smiles. We have already given our welcoming speeches to the guests, so I don’t know what this is about.

  “I want to dedicate this song to 11-year old Melody,” Luc starts in his microphone, “and to my friend Ted here, who planted a seed in Melody that blossomed into the beautiful gift she has today.” Luc smiles ear to ear while he looks at me before turning his head down to his guitar. My heart races. It’s Ted, my first ever music teacher. I’ve constantly wondered how he is doing and if I would ever be able to thank him. And here he is. Luc must have tracked him down.

  I’m trying to hold my tears back when I feel a tap on my shoulder. It’s a beautiful redhead woman, maybe in her 40s, with a tween looking boy and slightly younger girl, each tucked under one of her arms. I don’t recognize any of them.

  “Hi, I’m Elle,” she says with a broad smile while outstretching her hand. “I’m Ted’s wife and these are our kids.”

  I squeal in delight and introduce myself, making sure to tell them how much Ted changed my life when I was about the kids’ age. We quiet down to listen to Luc and Ted’s rendition of “Aerials”, the same song I performed for my talent show.

  I watch in awe, seeing a part of my past thrown into the middle of my present and future. It helps me to see my life so much more clearly. I think how my hardest moments allowed for a beautiful light to become visible, like the auroras breaking through on the darkest and coldest days of winter in the arctic. I feel like that 11-year-old little girl suddenly, but this time I’m finally able to witness the beauty of my life unfolding before me. Tears finally break free, away from my eyes and down the crest of my smile.

  After Luc and Ted finish, they join Elle and I, giving me the chance to thank these two men profusely, over and over again. I offer for their kids to come in and do some recording sessions here for fun, because of course he is raising them as musicians.

  The night devolves into a big jam session. Lumi takes the stage at one point, transfixing every eye on her during her rendition of “Blank Space”. The girl is a natural star. A few of the artists we’ve already signed play their music. Even Ted gets up again to play some Metallica and the awe in his children’s eyes makes me smile.

  When there is a lull, I decide it’s finally my turn.

  I walk up there with my pink electric guitar, which I leave at my studio here. Even though I’ve begun recording a lot of my angry break-up songs, and ‘Angelica’ has continued in its popularity, none of these are the songs that feel right tonight. Instead, I take out my notebook and set up for one of the most precious songs I’ve ever written. It’s the first love song I ever wrote for the first and last true love I’ve ever experienced.

  I begin to sing the first verse while looking to Luc. To my surprise, he navigates through the crowd and comes up with me on stage, grabbing his bass guitar. He joins, strumming along, and when it gets to the chorus, he sings the lyrics that he wrote on the plane when I was sleeping.

  I smile at him, loving how every word comes dripping out of his mouth. When it’s time for the next verse, I sing my own lyrics that I’ve added only recently.

&nb
sp; Did they sound hollow?

  Every love song

  Sang before you

  Can you hear it now?

  My voice shakes

  In awe that you’re true

  The I finish with my version of the chorus I wrote on the place. But when I look to Luc and notice his face is no longer smiling. In fact, he seems to look a little scared? It could be because he hasn’t written another closing verse to the song. I try to look at him to signal that it’s okay, that I can sing something I wrote instead. Yet, when it comes time, he does start singing.

  Having you everyday

  Is my own

  Personal miracle

  My Melody,

  Will you say yes to,

  This for forever?

  Luc stops strumming and we lock eyes, but before I can process what is happening he is already down on one knee. He pulls out a deep blue velvet box. He flips it open to reveal a shining art-deco diamond ring. I look to him in utter shock. Am I dreaming right now?

  “Will you marry me, Melody Greco?” Luc’s voice shakes.

  I don’t know why, but the only thing my body can do is fall down onto my knees to embrace him in a hug before locking my lips with his. We separate to look at each other and we both begin laughing in delirious joy. I notice people in the background cheering and clapping.

  “Yes!” I say when I realize I should actually answer. “Of course!”

  Luc lifts me up to my feet along with him.

  “I had this whole thing planned for when everyone left, but when I was singing, it just felt right,” he whispers, using his thumb to brush away some of my tears.

  “It is right,” I pull him in for another kiss. “Luc, with or without a ring, I know your my eternity.”

  He pulls my body into his, embracing me in an all-encompassing hug. He bring his lips down to my ears. “See? I told you it was a happy ending,” he whispers, warming my heart even more.

  I look up at him and shake my head. “No, my love, this is only the happy beginning.”

  And it’s true. The song of us has only just begun.

  And I can’t wait to hear the rest.

  EPILOGUE

  LUCIEN

  2 Years Later

  “Oh!” One of our nurses exclaims as another nurse whispers to her through the door.

  I look from them back to Mel who is laying in the hospital bed. She looks ethereal with her flushed cheeks and sweat-lined skin. It’s the most beautiful sight I’ve ever witnessed- the love of my life on the brink of bringing another life into this world. I squeeze her hand, reminding her I’m right here.

  The nurse closes the door and looks to us. Excitement brims her face. “You won! You won Best Album of the Year!” She finally exclaims.

  “Oh, my…” Mel exclaims, her eyes go big before suddenly transforming into a grimace. “Argh!” She shouts instead of finishing that sentiment. Her body heaves, her eyes clasp shut, and her nails dig into my arm. Tears run down her face and I don’t know if they’re from joy or pain, but it’s safe to assume it’s probably both.

  “Something’s happening!” Mel exclaims. Both terror and excitement line her eyes as she looks up to me.

  “Something’s happening!” I repeat because I don’t know what else to do.

  The nurses swarm around her and I give them their space, reminding Mel a million times how much I love her as I do.

  Two hours later, Mel has brought our little girl into the world. I stand in amazement next to them, my two girls. Our daughter is wrapped up like a little bean and asleep on Mel’s chest. Mel has the most beautiful smile on her face, one I’ve never seen before. It radiates pure peace and joy and fills me with the same sensation.

  “What about Aurora?” Mel whispers. We hadn’t picked out a name because we were waiting to find out the gender. And a part of me wanted to meet our little one before choosing.

  I gaze at our daughter, her little hands and her perfect little eyelashes. She is a miracle of nature, like a sky full of glowing colors, and like the weekend Mel and I reunited in Finland.

  “It’s the perfect name,” I agree before bending down to give not one, but two, of my girls kisses. Aurora’s pink eyelids flutter slightly at my touch before shutting again.

  “Luc?” Mel’s eyes twist suddenly in confusion. “Did I hallucinate or did the nurse say we won Best Album at the Grammy’s?”

  I let out a roaring laugh and Aurora’s eyes flutter again at my disturbance. You’ll get used to it, I wish I could tell her, our house is full of all kinds of noises.

  “You won, my love,” I tell her. “In one night, you brought our daughter into this world and became a Grammy winner.”

  She brings her hand to mine and laces her fingers through it. “We did that.”

  Mel looks to me and back to Aurora, and then back to me. “How did we get so lucky?”

  “I wake up and wonder that every day,” I answer, squeezing her hand.

  “Oh yeah,” she cocks her eyebrow. “Any luck on finding an answer?”

  “Well, I do have one theory…”

  She adjusts herself, as if settling in to be told a long story. “Well, go ahead.”

  “Okay, hear me out… When we walked into that cafe in Finland, we didn’t know it then, but we were actually entering a witch’s home.”

  “Anja?!” Mel says, her face aghast.

  “Yep, Anja was a witch. But not an evil witch, or necessarily a good witch, just a woman with magical powers. And our fate was in her hands when we walked in, but…”

  “What? What happened?” Mel asks impatiently when I pause.

  “Then, you spoke your perfect Finnish when you ordered because you have a big heart and made sure to learn a language so you could connect with everyone. And this made her decide to curse us… or bless us? What’s the word for a good curse?”

  Mel shrugs.

  “Okay, well, she cast a spell over us, giving us everything we ever wanted. So, who can Aurora and I thank for all this, including us being together?”

  “Lumi for teaching me Finnish?”

  I shake my head. “You, Mel. This life is all because of you. Spell or no spell.”

  She eyes me, smiling at my version of events, albeit a bit skeptically.

  “Well, Aurora and I happen to think you might have had something to do with it.”

  My girls. Teaming up against me already. I give them both another round of kisses, unwilling to fight so early in my relationship with my daughter.

  We spend the rest of the evening on video calls with all the people who we want to celebrate this momentous day with. We introduce Aurora to her Aunt Brooke, Aunt Lumi, Aunt Julia, and Uncle Cole. She certainly has a lot of strong ladies as role models in her life. My mother and my sister call when they wake up to the news in France, and Mel’s parents promise to visit us tomorrow morning.

  The evening is so full of love, from both our friends and strangers who love the music that Mel is putting out into the world. It feels as though this tidal wave of affection has come on suddenly, but the truth is, we’ve gradually built up to this for the past two years.

  I think back to the cold and lonely month when I assumed my life was destined to be one big empty void out of my control. Changing my life seemed too reckless to even contemplate, but it turns out the only reckless thing would have been to continue on my path without change. I would have been a miserable man who would only make the lives of other’s miserable, too.

  Yet, Mel showed me there was something worth taking control for and, for that, I am grateful every single day.

  And now we get to let our daughter shape her own life. Well, for the most part, because let’s face it, she has no other choice but to be a musician.

  As if on cue, she lets out the smallest little squeak.

  “She’s learning to sing,” I say to Mel, who smiles at Aurora dreamily and then up at me.

  She takes my hand and whispers.

  “Our new favorite song.”

 
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