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“You look beautiful and you look amazing when you play,” Luke said. “You’re so into it that it’s hard to not watch you.”
“Really?” Hannah straightened up.
“Yeah. Keep doing your warmups for as long as you need. And we can do as many takes as you need.”
Hannah smiled, smoothing her hands down her pants. “If you ever decide to skip your career in tech repair, you’d be an amazing motivational speaker.”
They both laughed. Hannah started to play again, going through her scales and a few warmup songs. Luke’s encouragement had boosted her confidence, and the familiar scales made her even more comfortable.
“Okay,” Hannah said, squeezing her knees. “I’m ready to start.”
“All right.” Luke went behind the camera again. “I’ll press record on three.”
Luke counted down and hit record. Hannah froze for a beat, but started to play her piece. It was the one that Luke had heard when he ran into her at The Crab, though she had changed it. The beginning started off melancholy, soft and haunting, but eventually it grew into something hopeful.
Hannah slipped into the music, letting the notes she’d created and practiced again and again flow out of her. Her body moved as she played, emphasizing the notes that she wanted to bring out. She lost track of herself as the song shifted into its upbeat ending, a smile spreading across her face. She finished with a flourish and sat back, resting her hands on her knees.
Luke was grinning from ear to ear and stopped the recording, the red light above it turning off.
“That was incredible, Hannah,” Luke said. “I loved it.”
“Thank you. I think I nailed it.” She ran her finger down the keys from the lowest notes to the highest. “But can we record another take, just in case? Before we record the other songs?”
“Sure thing.”
They recorded another take, which was just as perfect as the first, and went on to the other songs that Hannah had to record for her audition. She ended with the song the school required everyone to play, a big smile on her face.
It all felt so real now, like she could actually imagine herself moving away and expanding on her skills. When Luke showed her the footage back, her dream became so vivid she could almost see it right in front of her.
“Thank you again for all of your help and encouragement, Luke,” Hannah said, closing the cover over the keys. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“It’s not a problem at all. This was great.” He tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Can I ask you something?”
Her stomach flip-flopped in her belly. This experience had made her feel so much closer to him. Did he feel the same way?
“Shoot.”
“Do you want to go to the luau with me?” His cheeks above his beard were flushed, which Hannah found almost unbearably endearing.
“Of course, I’d love to.” Hannah’s smile turned sheepish. “I thought you were going to ask me to date you.”
Luke’s eyes widened. “Oh.”
“Sorry!” Hannah held up her hands, waving them as if to clear the air. “I was being way too forward.”
“No, don’t apologize,” he said, resting a hand on her upper arm. “I’m just surprised because I was thinking the same thing but I didn’t want to be too pushy. Here I am, encouraging you to do this already.”
“You aren’t too pushy at all. I’m glad we’re on the same wavelength.” Hannah’s expression softened. “I’m not sure how things will work out between my audition and maybe moving away from here, but I do know I like you a lot. And there’s still time this summer to get to know each other more.”
Luke slid his hand down her arm until they were holding hands. “Yeah, we have plenty of time. I want to get to know you better too.”
They smiled at each other, and Luke leaned in to give her a soft kiss on the cheek. The simple gesture filled Hannah with excitement. She couldn’t wait for the luau or for the rest of the summer. It was going to be the best one yet.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Caitlin sighed, looking around the living room. She had been packing everything up in boxes in preparation for moving out. James had taken Pearl out to the zoo to give her time to do some packing, so the house felt emptier than it ever had.
They had started the paperwork for their separation, but they hadn’t figured out all the details of their divorce yet. And there were so many details. Lawyers. Pearl. The restaurant and all of the paperwork that went with owning it.
