My brother’s brows rose. “A rainbow wedding. You’re gonna piss off the old guard.”
I shrugged. “They’ll get over it, or they’ll go somewhere else. I’m not going to tiptoe around it anymore. Maybe they’ll stop trying to marry me off to their daughters finally.”
“Not likely,” he said with a snort. “Anything else interesting?”
“I don’t know about interesting.” I felt my lips twist in distaste. “The grooms are having some prima donna pianist playing for them, and he’s going to be staying here for a month before the wedding so he can get used to the piano.”
“A month?” Liam shook his head. “Why would it take him a month to get used to a piano? It’s just like any other piano.”
“No idea,” I said with a shrug. “I just hope he’s not a demanding asshole. I don’t have time to babysit Jeremy what’s-his-name. I have a hotel to run.”
Liam’s eyes went as big as saucers. “Did you say Jeremy? As in Jeremy Fitzgerald?”
“Yeah, that’s it,” I replied, puzzled by his enthusiasm. “You know him?”
“I wish,” he said with a sigh. He leaned toward the camera. “Jeremy Fitzgerald is, or at least was, one of the most sought-after concert pianists in the world. He’s amazing.”
“I didn’t know that,” I said a bit defensively. “You’re the musician, not me.” I picked up on something else he’d said. “What did you mean, ‘was’? Did something happen?”
Liam’s expressive face showed his sadness. “Jeremy and his boyfriend were in a bad car accident about a year and a half ago—sometime around Christmas. The car slid into a tree, and he was in the passenger seat. It took him months to recover full use of his right arm.”
“Holy shit,” I muttered, “That really sucks.” I thought about how horrible it must have been for someone so talented to lose the use of his arm.
“Yeah,” Liam said. “About a year ago, he was declared fully recovered. He decided to start his comeback with a benefit concert at Juilliard—his alma mater. In the middle of the concert, he collapsed and started seizing.”
“Holy shit,” I repeated.
My brother shook his head sadly. “He disappeared from the public eye, and no one’s heard anything from him except a single statement saying he was taking an extended hiatus from performing.”
“Wow, that’s rough.” I started to feel sorry for the guy.
“It is,” Liam agreed. “Imagine not being able to do the thing you love the most.” He was interrupted by someone who leaned in to ask him a question. When he returned, he said, “I’ll bet the groom is Evan Williams, Jeremy’s best friend. He’s a cellist. Up and coming last I heard.”
I snorted. “It sounds like I’m going to have my hands full with a couple of diva queens.”
Liam burst out laughing. “You’re the biggest diva queen I know, big brother.”
“Am not.” I pouted.
My brother laughed harder. “You can’t get away with that pout with those tattoos, Sean. No one’s gonna buy it.”
“Shut up, asshole,” I said with a grin. I touched the screen. “I really miss you, bro.”
The screen flickered and pixelated again. Liam put his fingers up to his screen. “I miss you too, Sean.” He sighed softly. “I have to go. Can’t use up all the bandwidth.”
I swallowed past the tightness in my throat. “Take care of yourself, Liam.”
“Always,” he replied. Then the screen went black.
I closed my laptop and squeezed my eyes shut against the tears that threatened to fall. God, I was so afraid for him. Mom and I watched the news every day, checking for violence in the region. A knock on my office door startled me. I quickly wiped my eyes. “Come in.”
Caitlin Barnes, the general manager of Moonlight, poked her head in. She took one look at my face and frowned in concern. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. “I was just talking to Liam.” I saw her worried look. “Everything’s fine. I just worry, you know?”
Caitlin sighed softly. “I know. Chris and I worry about him all the time. He’s such a good man and puts so much pressure on himself to help as many people as possible.”
I nodded. “Liam has always been that way, but he became…more dedicated after our dad passed.” My memory flashed back to the night my father died of a massive stroke. Liam was in his second year of his bachelor’s in nursing. He tried so hard to save my dad, but as they told us at the hospital later, there was nothing anyone could have done. I shook myself out of my morose thoughts and focused on Cait. “What’s up?”
