She looks back at me, reaching up to brush my hair from my face.
“But you said you didn’t know it. I thought maybe you just didn’t want to tell me who you really are.”
I look into her eyes, my mouth going dry. If she knew the truth… the consequences are far too damaging to even consider.
“Then you took me in your boat to see him play and I knew it couldn’t be you. It’s stupid but I felt a connection to him after hearing him play that song. And you know I suspected Vincent, too. He’s a great pianist, but…”
“But?”
“But when I had dinner with him, it was obvious he wasn’t the same man I’d felt that connection to that night. I can’t explain it, I just knew. And I started spending time with you and Molly and…”
She looks at the ceiling, like she can’t believe what she’s about to say but that whatever it is, it means something to her, and she believes it, deep in her soul.
“I thought for sure it had to be you. The way I felt when I first heard you play, the way you are with Molly, so different to what the outside world sees. You’re a beautiful man, Sullivan.”
She gazes at me, so open and trusting. So perfect.
My throat seizes up.
“I was disappointed. That split second when I saw him on the water and realized it wasn’t you. But this…” She places her hand over my thundering heart. “This is so much more than one beautiful song. This is real. This is?—”
“Living,” I breathe.
Her gaze softens. “Exactly.”
She sniffs and glances at the keys again. “It didn’t even sound like my song. They ruined it. The key was off.”
“I know. It should have been like this.”
I place my hands on the keys either side of her.
And play.
The opening chords surround us, sounding exactly the way they should have before the record label and her worthless piece of shit ex massacred them.
“How do you know that?” She clasps a hand over her mouth, her eyes filling with more tears.
“You’ve been singing it to Molly for weeks. I told you; Ilook. And I pay attention.”
I hold her eyes and add in the words, singing them softly. They’ve taken over my mind since I first heard them drift from her lips and I know every single one. I sing them the way they deserve… with depth. With feeling. With raw emotion.
“Whispers of the past, the future’s calling... Unleash your potential… let the world hear your sound.”
She bursts into fresh sobs, and I stop and cup her face.
“Baby,” I breathe.
Beautiful, dazzling irises gaze back at me. Tears cling to her lashes, but the sadness in her eyes clears, making way for something else. Something that has the power to bring me to my knees.
I swallow around the lump in my throat and bring my forehead to hers.
“You are more perfect than any song that’s ever been written or is yet to be written. I need you to understand that, Tate.”
The front of my shirt crumples as she fists it.
“Sullivan?” Her breath fans softly over my lips and I slide my hands from her cheeks to cradle her neck gently. Her beating pulse grounds me in a way nothing has ever been able to. I breathe in and out slowly, concentrating on its steady rhythm.
“Tell me what you need.”
