Free Aileen's Song by Marianne Evans

Cole blinked free of Aileen’s pull, and Liam silently cursed himself for being so territorial.
    “Oh. I get it. Sorry.” Minutes later the song wound down. Cole moved behind one of the seated technicians, watching the girls gather up and chat inside the recording booth. “I didn’t know you guys were a thing, or I wouldn’t have—”
    “We’re not a thing.” The interruption came too fast, and tasted of a bitter lie, but he needed to hedge until he figured things out. Liam’s pulse beat thick and strong. “I’m protective. She’s been like a sister to me since we were kids. She’s special. That’s all.”
    The forthright and firm conclusion in place, Liam returned to work. Cole, meanwhile, tilted his head, watching him with narrowed eyes. “Yeah. OK. Like I said. I get it.”
    Liam wanted to groan. Bathed by the overhead lights of the studio, blithely unaware, Aileen bid her friends farewell as they stored headsets and prepared to take their leave. Doling out hugs, Aileen had no clue how powerful she was. She sent forth pureness, a passionate joy that was compelling.
    Cole watched as well, Liam noticed. The musician checked his watch, continuing to keep tabs on Aileen, who lingered in the booth, taking in her surroundings. Her happiness at being in a recording studio was unmistakable.
    “Hey, Liam, would you mind if I sing with her? Do we have enough time to do something quick and fun? I’ll bet she could find her way through ‘Picture Paradise’.”
    Cole referenced his number one hit on the Christian top one hundred. There was no graceful way for Liam to refuse. Artists pulled this type of improv all the time. Doing so fueled creative fires, and since the girls had performed so beautifully, they had a bit of extra time available. Liam didn’t answer, but consented with a single nod.
    “Super!” Cole hoisted a guitar from a nearby stand and made tracks for the inner studio. He pulled open the door, calling, “Hey, Aileen?”
    The door closed, insulating the control booth from the remainder of the conversation; Liam seethed. Step off, Cole. Step off.
    He switched on the interior sound so he could listen in on what was happening. Introductions were made and words of mutual admiration were exchanged. Once Cole proposed the duet, Aileen agreed with enthusiasm, visibly awestruck.
    She shook her hair and repositioned a headset, addressing the booth crew via her mic. “Guys, do you think it would be possible to lay down a track on this so I can have a souvenir of my first time singing with a best-selling recording artist?” Cole groaned, and Aileen gave him a playful shove.
    Liam’s blood simmered into a rolling boil, but he faced no civil option save one. Acceptance. He spoke into the mic. “Yes, we can do that.”
    Belatedly he came aware of an intense three-pronged scrutiny. Kassidy, Maeve, and Siobhan studied him long and hard before filing out, ready to take on the rest of their day. How in the name of all that was holy had he forgotten they were stationed nearby? Obviously, they had picked up on vibrations of hostility, because his little sister couldn’t resist leaning close before passing.
    “Your skin is such a lovely, lovely shade of green,” she sassed. “Makes me long for Ireland.”
    “Shut up.”
    “You wish.”
    “Constantly.”
    She giggled and pecked his cheek. “Make a move, brother mine, before she’s snapped up by someone else. You know, eventually she’s going to give her heart away. When she does, that lucky guy will have a treasure beyond imagining.” She tapped a fingertip against her pursed lips. “Of course, he’ll have to pass a three-fold inquisition from her best friends first. Question. Are you going to let that happen?”
    She glanced pointedly toward the view through the glass, where the recording was under way. Aileen and Cole played into the emotion of Cole’s hit song about finding your way, and finding God, by holding on to love.
    Liam wondered. When and