“You want to do a four-hand?”
“Yes.”
Greg straightened his shoulders and started to play the rhythmic bass line of the piece. I let him go a couple of times through before I added in the treble line. As we got into it, I glanced over at him, and he nodded and started improvising on the tune. I followed his lead, and we built from there. As our improvisations became more elaborate, I felt a bubbling joy that I hadn’t in a long time. For the first time in ages, I was just having fun playing the piano. After a few more minutes, I glanced over at him, and he nodded, indicating we should finish. When we finally rested our fingers on the keys for the last time, the bar burst into applause.
Greg grasped my hands, and it looked like there were tears in his eyes. “Thank you,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “I haven’t played like that in years. It feels so good to know I can still do it.”
“It was my pleasure,” I replied. “I look forward to working with you this week.”
People were still applauding, so Greg and I stood and took a bow. I met Sean’s eyes, and he smiled broadly, clapping enthusiastically. Tony stood behind him with his arms crossed and a big grin. Once the applause died down, Tony cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Play us something, Piano Man!”
I smiled and shook my head. Greg leaned over and murmured, “I don’t mind if you’re okay with it.”
A tremor of anxiety rippled through me, but I shrugged it off. I’d already done it once. I could do it again. “You wouldn’t happen to have a harmonica, would you?”
Greg grinned. “Actually, I do.” He knelt, riffled through a bag under the piano, and pulled out the instrument in question.
“Excellent.” I sat back down on the bench, and Greg stood beside me. “Ready?”
He nodded, and I played the opening riff of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man.” A cheer went up when Greg joined in with the harmonica, and they all began to sing along. I was able to pick out Sean’s voice from the rest, and Ryan was right. My man had a really good singing voice.
Then it occurred to me that I was thinking of Sean asmyman, and I wondered if he was—if that was something he wanted. I met his gaze when I got to the end of the song, and he smiled at me—a full-on big grin that lit up his whole face. I returned his smile with one of my own and thought, maybe, just maybe, we could build something good together.
I pointed at Sean’s Queen T-shirt and played the opening notes of “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Ryan waved both hands in the air and said, “Wait, wait.”
He quickly gathered Sean and two other men around him and asked, “Would you give us the chord of the a cappella opening?”
I nodded, listened to the song in my head for a moment, and then played each of their starting notes individually. The four men began to sing. Their voices blended in perfect harmony, almost as good as the original. I followed with the piano part when it was my turn, and we were off.
Ryan did a passable impression of Freddie Mercury, and Sean’s strong voice was steady support. I could hear the crowd behind me singing along and saw, out of the corner of my eye, that Tony had moved so he was leaning against the wall not far from where I sat.
I shook my head slightly. He went into bodyguard mode whenever he was around me, even though it was unnecessary. Ah well, he was a good man, and I wasn’t going to fault him for it.
When the song ended, I sat back and took stock of myself. I was playing for a good-sized crowd and my nerves were still steady. It felt really good. Maybe it was because it was informal and certainly not what I normally played for an audience. Whatever it was, it most assuredly helped my confidence.
However, this wasn’t my gig, and I needed to give the keyboard back to Greg. I looked over at the man in question, and he mouthed, “One more.”
I nodded and glanced over at Sean. He looked at me with such affection in his expression that my heart stuttered. A blush rose to my cheeks, and I looked down so he wouldn’t see.
Without thinking, I started playing Elton John’s “Your Song.” Sean began to sing, still looking right at me. The noise around me faded, and it was just the two of us there, sharing music and a new beginning.
When the last notes faded away, I rested my fingers on the keys and let out a sigh of relief. I felt tears prick the backs of my eyes. I did it. I played for an audience, and I didn’t freeze or panic. I felt a little unsteady when I rose to shake Greg’s hand. “Thank you for letting me play.”
He looked astonished. “Are you kidding? I am so honored that you came tonight and played for us. And the fact that you invited me to play at your fundraiser…I’ve been pinching myself to make sure it’s real.”
I had to laugh. He had no idea. “Just a warning—I’m an exacting taskmaster.”
Greg shook his head. “Don’t care. I’ll learn so much working with you.”
A pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist, and Sean’s voice was low and sexy in my ear. “You were fantastic, baby.”
I leaned back against him and felt my body relax. “Thank you. It was a lot of fun.” I turned in his arms and kissed him. “Thank you for bringing me.”
“Hey, Piano Man!” Tony shouted from his spot against the wall. I twisted my neck to look back at him and saw he had his cell phone up. “Smile pretty.”
Sean turned me so my back was to his chest and rested his chin on my shoulder. The flash on Tony’s camera went off, and I blinked the spots out of my eyes. “Make sure you send me a copy,” I said.
