Author's Note: Another chapter! Not much happening in this one except one moment, but it helps lead to a significant chapter coming soon. I hope you enjoy and please review! Also, a shout out to imjustbetterfictionally for her support as we talk through our fanfics together!

Chapter V

The next day there was a morning meeting called for some key staff members of Highway 65. Deacon stood at the front of the table, examining the room, making sure that everything was set for the meeting. There were some breakfast items like coffee, bagels, and fruit offered on a table that was pushed to one side of the room. He couldn't believe that it was only yesterday when he witnessed Jedd kissing Ilse in the lobby directly behind him. Even the thought of this memory made his blood rage in anger due to his jealousy. He wondered if seeing her could cause even more emotion than what was already there. He turned his focus back to the room to make sure everything was correct one last time. Zach and Deacon placed themselves so they could see all the staff as they entered. Deacon was fixing the folders at the tables when he heard a couple of employees enter the room. Several conversations were going on when he looked up to see Ilse enter the office.

She wore this denim jumpsuit paired with tan sandal heels, but she wore this gorgeous smile as she greeted some employees in the hall. He quickly looked down before she could notice him staring. Deacon wanted to be angry with her, but once he set eyes on her, the anger somehow faded away. The raging fire in his heart had died down a burning ember. He was lost in thought because he wondered how Ilse could come into his life and have this effect on him so quickly.

"Hi, Zach!" Ilse greeted him with a hug then moved on to greeting other producers with a quick wave. They both laid their eyes on each other but hesitated before saying their hellos to each other.

"Hey, Deacon." Ilse weakly smiled

"Hey, Ils." Deacon returned with a faint smile.

The meeting began with Deacon sitting at one side, and Zach was across from him. When all the staff found their seat, Ilse was seated next to Zach. They were discussing what was happening within the label and updates that these staff members needed to know. Deacon's eyes flicked up from the meeting when Zach was talking, and their eyes quickly locked for a second sharing a small smile before darting back down to the documents of what the room was discussing.

"May I say something?" Ilse spoke up as she turned to Zach.

"Of course, Ilse." Zach turned to her, signaling that she could have the table.

"I don't know if this will work for you, but this is something we do over in Europe that works." Ilse continues as she talks about the music industry in the Netherlands. Deacon admired this moment because Ilse was commanding the presence of everyone in the room. The room was all interested in her unique experience and background working in the music industry of another country.

"Thanks for the input, Ilse. We will put that in mind when we are making decisions." Zach said since he was pleased with this information that he learned. "How about we take a break and reconvene in a half-hour." Many exited the office to take a quick smoke break while some headed off to the bathrooms. Deacon and Ilse found themselves with a couple of others at the coffee table who were talking about various projects they were working on.

Deacon reached for the cups at the same time she did, and their hands touched on the stack of cups. Her hand gently rested on his, and it lingered for only a second. The two shared this uncomfortable look as they pulled away before anyone else noticed.

"I'm sorry that you saw that kiss between Jedd and me." Ilse bit her lip as she looked down. "He JUST asked me out. It was embarrassing, and I feel terrible about it. I was so unprofessional for letting it happen in the office. Again so sorry. " Ilse rambled on about the kiss. As she made this hand gesture, Deacon grabbed the hand and squeezed it to relax her.

"You don't have to apologize for anything…" Deacon said as their hands were still linked, having his thumb brush over her knuckles. They shared a look before dropping the hands once again.

After the meeting, Ilse found herself crossing the street and entered a local coffee shop called Cafe Roze, finding Anna, who was already sitting at a table, enjoying her cup of coffee and baked goods. This was a little gem of a place in Nashville that she and Anna adored, frequently visiting for their occasional catch-ups.

"Anna. Hey. How are you?" Ilse hugged her friend and then sat down at the table in the chair across from her.

"I'm well, friend. But how is everything going on in your life." Anna arched her eyebrow, knowing some of the stuff going on in her friend's brain.

"Uh. heh." Ilse gave a short laugh that was followed by a smile. "Crazy, but overall I'm fine."

"Sooo...Jedd Mason asked you out to the Highway 65 charity event. But do you still have feelings for Deacon?" Anna asked, hands cupping her head that were perched on the table.

"Yes...and yes." Ilse sighed, covering her face. "Like Jedd is this nice guy, but whenever I'm with Jedd, and I see Deacon...this cloud of guilt hangs over my head. I also shared this small moment with Deacon today. It wasn't anything but holding hands again, but his thumb grazed my knuckles, and it felt...natural."

"You're in trouble, girl. I didn't think my friend would be making all the men in Nashville thirst." Anna teased Ilse.

"Stop it. I really don't know what to do about it." Ilse looked at her friend seriously.

"Alright. Just teasing. But seriously, let the relationship with Jedd play out because you don't want to cut it too short. You might realize that Deacon is just a flirtation, or it might help show you that you were meant to be with him." Anna reasoned. "But honey, whenever you talk or if I mention Deacon. Your face just lights up, so I truly believe there has to be something there."

"You're right." Ilse nodded. "It's just getting harder and harder being around him, Deacon, especially with him witnessing the kiss between Jedd and I." Ilse just leaned her head on the table in misery. After they finished their coffee, the two decided to walk around East Nashville and talk.

"Ugh. Why does love have to be like this." Ilse complained as they walked the streets past houses where many musicians lived.

"I honestly can't help you with that question." Anna just looked at her with a shrug. The two continued to walk the streets, discussing life and what else was going on in the world.

"So, I need to tell you something." Anna braced her friend. "I got a call to cover a news story over on the west coast. I will be gone for a couple of weeks, but you can always call me. Day or night."

"ANNA! That's terrific news. And maybe when you get back, I might have things figured out." Ilse laughed as she hugged her friend. "I'm so happy for you. It would have been nice if you started with your news instead of me blabbing about mine. You're going to be amazing!"

Deacon found himself at his house, waiting for Ilse to arrive for another songwriting session. It would be one of their last sessions together before heading off to the recording studio to start cutting the album.

"Hey, D." Ilse arrived at the kitchen door entrance hugging him.

"Hey. I'm so glad you found my place." Deacon smiled.

"No problem with finding it. But now, It is my turn to say that you have a beautiful home." Ilse squeezed his arm as her eyes explored the mansion.

"Well, it was all Rayna." Deacon shrugged as they walked to the home studio. "It was easier for me to move in because this is the girl's home."

"Well, she had great taste because this feels like home to raise a family," Ilse said as she set her guitar case on the floor. It only took a short moment before the two began piecing together their last song for the album. It was this simple love song that only featured very few instruments and vocal tracks. But it had this huge emotional impact, and it was extremely personal for Deacon.

The two were discussing something about the music when Deacon excitedly discovered a musical moment, so he naturally put a hand on her knee, and he gave it a tiny squeeze with a grin. They remained there for a moment until Ilse looked down to remove it and return it to his side of the couch.

They continue to ping pong ideas off each other as they built the song together.

"I'm going to refill my glass. Do you want a refill?" Deacon asked as he cleared his throat.

"That would be great." Ilse handed him her glass, and their hands only touched for just a second, but they quickly panicked at the touch, causing the glass to fall and break. "Shoot. I'm sorry."

"No, it was my fault."Deacon said as he reached for the broken glass, carefully picking it up and tossing it in the trash. "Let me go to the kitchen and get you a new glass."

When he came back, setting the new glass on the table, he noticed she wasn't sitting at the couch anymore but staring at all of Rayna's memorabilia from over the years. "Impressive, isn't it?" Deacon approached her on the other side of the room.

"It is." She ran her fingers over some of Rayna's platinum records but retracted quickly, feeling it was too sacred.

"I'm still so impressed by her career." Deacon chuckled. "It's okay to touch. It isn't a museum."

"You were a big part of it, and you kept inspiring her," Ilse spoke as they walked together, scanned more of Rayna's awards like her ACMs, CMAs, and Grammys before setting her eyes on Deacon, who was closely following her from behind. "The way you talk about her and the way you hear your stories in your songs just speaks to me as a songwriter..."

The moment became intimate very quickly as they stood side by side as their hands grazed each other as their pinky fingers interlocked with each other. Both didn't dare to move since they knew if either moved, something would happen.

"Oh my gosh, Rayna met Dolly. I'm so jealous. Dolly is a country music hero of mine..." Ilse tried to diffuse the uncomfortable situation.

Deacon couldn't handle it any longer, so he made the move that needed to happen, which was to instinctively wrap his arms around her waist and resting his hands on the small of her back. The two began closing the gap, beginning to feel each other's hot breath on their faces as their foreheads gently touched. But this moment quickly ended as they recoiled, realizing what their bodies were naturally doing.

"We can't." Ilse shook her head in shame.

"I know. We just got caught up in the moment." Deacon pinched his nose and sighed. " You're with Jedd… And I don't know why." Deacon muttered the last part so she couldn't hear.

"Exactly. Jedd's a great guy... This would be wrong to betray him like this." Ilse sat down on the couch. "We can't tell anyone that this happened, especially Jedd. He's the jealous type."

"I know." Deacon repeated realizing their mistake. "I messed this up."

"We both did. It wasn't just you who wanted it to happen." Ilse said as she returned to the couch to pack up her guitar. She could not be in the same room any longer with Deacon, or she was gonna make another mistake. "I also think we should be writing at the offices when we finish the song, and then we can get to recording at some point."

"We should." Deacon agreed as he felt a lump grow in his throat as she hurried out the door.

Ilse poked at her food as she sat across from Jedd on their weekly date. She wasn't really hungry because her mind kept flooding back to the steamy moment between her and Deacon…

Jedd snapped his fingers in front of her face, "You okay? You're daydreaming... If you are. I hope it's about me."

She watched him smirk and stroke his ego, which made her eyes roll.

"Oh, no. I was thinking about this singer who's been struggling." Ilse lied to him.

"Anything I can help with?" Jedd grasped her hand to steady her fidgeting.

"No. It's confidential between the client and me."Ilse looked at him as she removed her hand from his grasp. The dinner fell in silence as the couple continued to eat. As Jedd paid for the meal, she got a text from Deacon.

I feel terrible about what happened earlier today. I crossed a boundary line. I hope you are okay. I can't lose your friendship. -D

I'm Okay, D. You will never lose our friendship. -Ils

"Who are you texting?" Jedd came back from paying.

"Just Deacon. We had a mix up in schedules." Ilse got up and headed out of the restaurant with Jedd. The car ride was another quiet ride between her and Jedd as she stared out of the passenger window, watching things pass by.

"May I join you for a nightcap?" He smirked as they pulled in front of her house and onto her front porch.

"Not tonight. I'm not really in the mood." Ilse crossed her arms over her chest.

"You know what I'm meaning," Jedd spoke as he tried to make the situation sexy by making his voice all seductive as he nipped her neck.

"I know, and I'm not ready for that yet." Ilse looked at him with a frown.

"Come on." Jedd pleaded with a pouty lip and puppy dog eyes.

"No, Jedd. Goodnight." She said as she closed the door, locking it behind her. She could hear his annoyance as he began banging on her door.

She placed her hand over her mouth and cried. Ilse was filled with too many pent up emotions, so she just ran up the stairs to her room. She waited until she heard the banging stop from the door, and Jedd's car pulls away from her house.

Ilse took a long warm shower to help clear her thoughts. It didn't do much good because she ended up pacing as she got herself ready for bed. When she got into bed, her phone dinged twice. She had received two text messages.

Well, maybe next time, hot stuff- Jedd.

She decided not to respond to that message tonight, so she pulled up the next text.

I'm glad. I care too much about you to lose you. -D

Me too, D. Ils

TBC