Evan, Greg, and Isaiah went to their seats while Ellie’s tech people took away the chairs Evan and Isaiah had used while playing. Jeremy remained standing, his eyes scanning the room. When he saw me sitting up front with my mother, he smiled and addressed the audience again. “I would be remiss if I didn’t also thank Sean O’Neil, the owner of Moonlight, for donating the use of this beautiful space for tonight’s fundraiser. He has been exceptionally supportive over the past week and I, for one, am truly grateful.”
Heat rose to my face when everyone turned to look at me. I wiggled my fingers in an approximation of a wave, and there was a soft chuckle from those assembled. To my surprise, Jeremy winked at me before returning to the piano. My mother leaned over and said quietly, “That boy’s got it bad for you, lad.”
The first notes ofMoonlight Sonatasounded in the nearly silent room, and I smiled as I remembered the night Jeremy and I first met.
“Do you really think so?” I whispered.
Mom squeezed my hand. “I do.” She took a sip of her wine. “He looks at you like you hung the moon just for him.”
I didn’t say anything else. I just listened to Jeremy play and thought about what my mother said. Jeremy and I knew we had something more than a casual fling. Way, way more than the quick fuck I thought it would be that first night.
Even then, I didn’t want to let him go. I only left his room after he fell asleep. It was weird. How could I feel so strongly about someone after so short a time?
Jeremy finished his piece and bowed in gratitude for the applause. Before he sat back down to begin his next piece, his eyes met mine, and I saw it then.
His gaze softened, and he smiled at me like I was the only person in the room. Wow. Mom was right. I wasn’t the only one who had feelings here. Something settled in me, and I felt…peaceful? Content, maybe? I couldn’t quite put a label on what I felt after that moment of epiphany.
I spent the rest of the concert watching Jeremy play. I mean, I listened too, of course, but I’d heard him practice all the pieces several times over the week, so I wasn’t missing anything if I sometimes zoned out thinking about what it would be like to have something more permanent with this beautiful man.
Jeremy played the last three notes of his final piece,Hungarian Rhapsody,with a flourish. We all rose to our feet in an ovation that went on for several minutes. Jeremy’s cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were alight with joy.
Someone in the audience shouted, “Encore!” The cry was taken up by more and more people until Jeremy raised his hands and nodded. We took our seats, and he took his. Before he began, he turned his head toward the audience and said, “Last one.” He then proceeded to light up the keyboard with Mozart’sRondo Alla Turca.
As the last note rang through the dining room, the audience, once again, leaped to their feet. Jeremy rose, bowed, and smiled, but I saw the stress lines around his eyes.
I took it upon myself to go up to the mic before they could try to push him to play again. “Thank you, everyone. Mr. Fitzgerald will be around to chat with you all in a few minutes. Right now, I’m going to steal him away and feed him.”
Jeremy leaned into me and kissed my cheek. “Thank you,” he whispered.
It took me a moment to process that Jeremy had just kissed me in front of God and everyone—on camera even. I saw a few raised brows and speculative glances aimed my way, so, of course, I had to double down.
I pulled him close to my side and kissed his temple. “You were wonderful,” I murmured in his ear. He leaned more of his weight on me and sighed softly.
Ellie came over, took the mic from me, and shooed us away.
“Honored guests, our servers are about to come around with some delicious desserts—which I sampled myself to make sure they were up to par.” There was light laughter from the assembly. “I can promise you won’t be disappointed. Mr. Fitzgerald will be back shortly after a much-deserved break.”
I took the opportunity to whisk him away toward my office before he could get mobbed. Tony magically appeared on Jeremy’s other side to ease our way through the small crowd. Jeremy looked at Tony in surprise. “I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
“Sean hired us for extra security since there were so many high rollers here tonight,” Tony replied. That was only part of the truth. I also wanted to make sure Jeremy’s asshole ex didn’t try to crash the event and cause him any problems. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to miss your comeback performance, Piano Man.”
Jeremy smiled. “Thanks. Who else is here?” he asked.
“Dante is at the front door, and Marco is walking the perimeter. Michael’s in our office keeping an eye on the security cameras.” Tony tapped his right ear. “We’re all wired up.”
Thank you,” Jeremy said. “Tell Marco I said hello. I don’t think I’ve met Dante.”
“He’s new,” Tony replied. “Started last month.”
We finally got to the back of the room by the bar. I stopped one of my servers and asked him to bring a mixed tray of food and some ice water to my office. Tony peeled off to take his place in the back of the dining room while Jeremy and I continued to my office.
Once through the door, I closed and locked it. I opened my arms, and Jeremy walked right into them. He rested his head against my shoulder and breathed a long sigh of relief. I tightened my arms around him. “You did it.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” he said.
I opened my mouth to protest, but he put his finger over my lips. “Yes. You got me out of my panic attack and didn’t treat me like I was going to break.” He took my face in his hands and kissed me sweetly. “Thank you.”
A knock on the door interrupted us. “Hang on,” I called out. I unlocked the door while Jeremy took a seat on the couch. The server brought in a cart filled with a sampling of the finger foods we had during the concert, along with a large pitcher of ice water, plates, napkins, silverware, and two glasses.
