Free Liron's Melody by Brieanna Robertson Page A

“That’s…interesting.”
    Melody smothered her laughter.
    “Anyway, I’m sorry to wake you up. I was just in the mall
shopping and I went to see you at work, but they told me you’d called in. I
wanted to make sure you were okay.”
    Melody smiled at her friend’s concern. “I’m fine, Nik. I just
played hooky like when I was in high school.”
    Nikki giggled. “All right, well, go back to vegetating. I
won’t bug ya.”
    “Talk to you later, Nik.” She hung up the phone and lay back
against her pillows with a grin. She felt different than usual, not quite as
depressed. Her heart didn’t feel as heavy. And every time her mind wandered, it
wandered right back to Liron; to his silky hair and luminous blue eyes. To his
patient understanding and compassion. To the way he had cared for her and
calmed her, held her. The way he had looked at her right before her alarm clock
had brought them screaming back to reality.
    She felt like a schoolgirl with a crush, and she didn’t care.
For the first time since her parents’ death, she didn’t feel like facing the
day would be the equivalent of walking through molasses with cement shoes on.
    She wondered what Liron was doing, if he was thinking of her,
and if she would have the ability to travel to his world again if she tried.
Deciding she had nothing better she wanted to do with her day, she swung her
legs out of bed and headed to her closet. First things first, she was going to
make sure she was not in her pajamas. If she managed to go through the gateway
again, she wanted to at least look presentable. She maybe even felt like
looking a little bit sexy.
    After selecting an outfit that was casual, but still had a
little bit of sass to it, she headed for the bathroom to take a nice, long
shower.
    * * * *
    It was around three o’clock when Melody was finally ready to
sit down at her piano and see what kind of magic she could weave. She’d showered
and made herself look decent in her good jeans and a black tank top with a sheer
black blouse over it that came off the shoulders. It had tiny, shiny black
beads interspersed throughout the fabric that sparkled in the right light. She’d
pulled her hair up in a clip and left her bangs and some loose tendrils framing
her face. She’d also put some makeup on, which was more than she usually did
unless she had to go to work. Even when she’d gone out with Rob, she had only
put on light foundation and some mascara. Today, she added a touch of smoky eye
shadow, a soft, peachy blush and some lip gloss.
    She felt jittery, but in a good way, charged with adrenaline
like when one was getting ready to go out on a date.
    She stared at the music score for awhile, wondering if the
gateway would open again, hoping it would, and then wondering if she’d lost her
mind. If she was any kind of practical, she would put the music away, be happy
she’d made it back home at all, and would never again dabble with things she
didn’t understand about the universe. Obviously, she wasn’t practical.
    Sure, traveling to a different dimension unexpectedly had
been horrifying. But when she’d gotten used to her surroundings, and learned
more about Liron, the idea became more intriguing than scary. She wondered what
other secrets the world had to offer.
    She smiled and started to sit down on the piano bench when
knocking sounded at her door. She instantly bristled. She did not want
to deal with Rob right now. The man did not know when to quit.
    Annoyed that he had interrupted her, and that she would
probably need to blow him off her step with dynamite, she strode to the door
and yanked it open.
    Rob stood there with his sleazy grin, but it morphed into a
look of shock when his gaze glanced over Melody. “Whoa,” he murmured. His smile
went from shocked, bypassed sleazy, and became demonic. “You got all dressed up
for me. How did you know I was coming?”
    She huffed and put her hand on her hip. A couple of silver
bangles she’d placed around