Billionaire Bachelors 8 : Unexpected Treasure(57)

The girl had also decided to sing, and Brielle didn't know which was worse, the piano playing, or her singing. She wouldn't be winning a Grammy anytime soon, though she certainly was enthusiastic.

Now it was time to get to the bottom of what was going on between her and Crew. From the steam flying between Haley and her brother, Brielle strongly suspected she was more than just a girlfriend. Was this woman worthy of her brother? A feeling deep in her gut told her yes.

"I hope I'm not interrupting you," Brielle said as she came out of the shadows. Haley hit the keys with a jolt, thus ending her "song" with an impressive array of discordant notes. Brielle could see Haley had been hoping her hiding spot would hold, but when Brielle wanted something, nothing would stop her, and right now she wanted to find out who Haley was and exactly what she stood for.

"No. Of course not. I'm not really supposed to be in here, but the bar's closed right now. Marlin lets me sneak in because I enjoy playing around on the piano, though I'm obviously terrible at it. I took a class in college on music appreciation and picked up the basics. The instructor, who played beautifully, taught me a few simple songs." Haley neglected to mention the impressive piano in her grandparents' house - after all, she'd been forbidden to touch it while they were alive.

"I know 'Frosty the Snowman,' and 'Silent Night.' My father always insists on Christmas carols around the piano, so each of us were required to learn a couple of songs," Brielle said with a hopeful grin. She sat down on the bench beside Haley and started plunking out "Frosty" since Haley was too shocked to play right then.

"What are the songs Crew knows?" Haley asked, her eyes wide and mouth agape.

"'The Drummer Boy' and 'Friendly Beasts.'"

"I love both of those songs. I'll have to see if he'll play them for me," she said with excitement and delight.

"Well, if you're planning on coming for Christmas, you'll hear him," Brielle said slyly and watched Haley's reaction.

There was hope in the girl's face, true hope that she would still be with Crew at Christmas. The worry in Brielle's chest evaporated when she saw how smitten this woman was.

"That's several months away," Haley said, gathering herself together quickly and looking down at the keys.

"Well, I wanted to seek you out to make sure you'll be there for dinner tonight. I want you to know that I thought you were great not letting Crew get away with anything. If I had been some floozy instead of his sister, you probably would have clawed my eyes out."

Reddening, Haley glanced over at Brielle, then plunked a few keys with Brielle in a terrible rendition of "Silent Night."

"I don't know why I got so upset," she murmured. "It's not like we've ever said this is something official. We've only been together a couple of months now … "

"I think you got so upset because you like my brother - as hard as that is to believe - and maybe even love him."

Haley now blanched, and Brielle knew without a doubt that she'd just met her future sister-in-law. She and Crew were crazy about each other. Now, they just had to admit it, and Brielle would have her first sister-in-law.

"I...uh … don't love him," Haley said. "It's complicated, but he's been helping me with some stuff. Men like Crew marry debutantes or Ivy League girls. They may date women like me, but they marry ladies."




 

 

"What do you mean?"

Haley's pain-filled words tore at Brielle's heart.

"I'm not exactly in the same class as Crew - as you. I'm not too stupid to realize that. I enjoy him, and he's been wonderful to me, but this is a summer thing, nothing more. We're just having fun," she trailed off.

Brielle studied her, wanting to know this woman's secrets, wanting to know what had happened in her life that had filled her with so much insecurity.

Guilt consumed her as she thought back to all those years she'd been nothing but a rotten little brat. She'd taken everything she'd been given for granted - the best education, the best clothes, a new car for her sixteenth birthday, everything she'd ever wanted. How shallow she'd been. What a waste of life.

Here was a woman who'd obviously had so much less, yet she was proud and strong and doing it on her own. Brielle had a feeling the two of them would be close friends, and she herself would be the one to gain by the friendship.

"Haley, you should know that love doesn't care about your rank in life. It doesn't care where you went to school, or if you can play the piano. Love is magical and honest and it will find you whether you want it to or not. Don't give up on yourself, because it's pretty obvious to me that my brother thinks you're about the classiest girl out there."