IF YOU’RE A MUSICIAN AND YOU WALK INTO MY SHOP, YOU HAVE TO PLAY.
HOUSE RULE. NO EXCEPTIONS.
I smile at him as he holds it out for me to take.
I don’t let myself think. If I think, I’ll put it back. I drop my bags before I take the bow, tighten it, and run it across the strings once, twice, as the man waits patiently.
I bring the bow to the strings.
Then, there’s no more thinking. It’s just my hands and the memory in them, with the music rising up through twenty-three years as if it never left. My fingers find the positions with beautiful precision. The room fills with something I forgot I was carrying, so I close my eyes and play.
When I finish, the silence holds for a heartbeat.
Then, two pairs of hands start clapping.
My head snaps up. Griffin is leaning against the doorframe, watching me in that way that makes my stomach flip. Next tohim, a woman who must have wandered in from the street is beaming and clapping as well.
“My God,” the old man whispers, shaking his head. “It’s been a long time since I heard anyone play like that.”
“Thank you,” I breathe.
“Your lady plays beautifully,” the man says to Griffin.
Griffin doesn’t look away from me. “She always has. She’s something of a prodigy.” The corner of his mouth twitches. “Or so we’ve been told.”
I hand the violin back carefully. As I move toward the door, the man says quietly, “You’ve been away from it.”
He isn’t pitying me. It’s just the level recognition of one soul seeing another.
“Don’t leave it so long next time,” he says.
I look at him for a moment. “I won’t. Thank you.”
Outside, Griffin falls into step beside me. “I leave you alone for two hours, and you charm half the town.”
My face burns, so I nod toward the bags in his hands. “You did some shopping too. What did you get?”
“You’ll find out.”
I try to peer inside, but he shifts them away.
“All you need to know is that we have everything for the weekend.”
I don’t bother to argue. Instead, I hoist my bags higher. “I got something as well.”
“Did you buy something yellow?”
I freeze. “How did you know?”
“I didn’t, but now I do.” His mouth curves. “It’s your favorite color, and I haven’t seen you wear it since I came back.”
My entire body goes to mush.
Ah, shit.
He looks at me properly. “What else did you buy?”
“Can’t say.”
