“Did she go down okay?”Tate questions, looking up with glassy eyes from the piano stool.
She’s been sitting there ever since I took Molly to bed. Usually the faint notes of whatever she’s playing drift through to the bedroom.
Tonight there’s silence.
“She was asleep before her head hit the pillow, didn’t even have a story.”
“I’m so sorry. It’s my fault. Seeing me sick upset her.”
“She’s just tired, Tate. It’s been a long day.”
She nods, her gaze returning to the untouched keys in front of her.
“I can’t believe Brandon would do this,” she whispers.
The hopelessness in her voice is like a knife to my heart.
“It can be fixed.”
“It can’t. It’s out there now. It can’t be unheard. That song will never be mine again. It’s gone.”
Her shoulders heave and the first sob breaks free. I knew she’d been holding it together in front of Molly.
But now it’s just me.
Me and her.
“Come here.”
I lift her gently, sliding onto the stool beneath her and cradling her sideways across my lap.
“I’m sorry,” she chokes.
“Shh. Never apologize for sharing your feelings with me. I’m here for you. I’ll do whatever you need, okay?”
I thumb away her tears but more fall.
“He stole my future. I was going to send that song to record labels. Ashley helped me write the query letters. I might not have gotten anywhere, but I would have done it myself, on my terms.”
“And you still will. I promise you.”
She squeezes her eyes shut. “It’s too late.”
Plans are already forming in my mind as she opens her eyes and blinks in an attempt to clear the tears.
“Do you want to hear something silly?”
I raise my brows at her. “Am I not ‘Silly Sully’?”
She snorts, wiping at her eyes as the first hint of emotion that isn’t despair passes over her face.
“I swore you were The Masked Maestro. I even had a bet going with Ashley.”
“Really?”
“Yeah… Stupid, huh?” She glances at the piano, shaking her head softly. “When I saw him in Grand Central Station, he played a song I’ve never heard him perform before. It wasn’t as technical as all the classical pieces he’s known for. But there was something about the way he played it. It washeartbreaking.”
“That’s the song you asked me to play?Unstoppable?”
