I didn’t growl. At least, not very loudly.
Chagny. The second a star started to rise, people like him grasped the coattails and held on for dear life. The second she lost favor, he would drop her. But to play with her heart in addition to her career? That was obscene. I’d be having words with him. There were professional lines that shouldn’t be crossed.
Kim shut the door quietly behind her friends. My ears rang in the heavy silence. She turned around slowly.
“Okay. I want to warn you.” She lifted her head and met my eyes. She extended her arms out and took a tentative step toward me. “I’m going to hug you.”
I froze. “Why?”
“As a thank you. For bringing them here. Is that ok? Are you against hugs?”
I tried to relax my body.
“Hugs are fine,” I said.
She stepped closer.
“It’s the being accosted that I had an issue with,” I said lightly.
I worried that my teasing tone wouldn’t come through, but as her eyes narrowed, a small smile teased the edge of her mouth.
“You’re not going to let that go any time soon, are you?” she asked.
There was no need to answer, because as I was focused on the delicate shifts in her facial expressions, she removed any space between us.
“I’m going to hug you so hard.” She said it as a threat.
Awareness shot through me with that simple taunt. Like a music box wound up, I was suddenly filled with undeniable tension and had nowhere to release it. Then her arms wrapped around me. Her head rested on my chest. I wrapped my arms tightly around her back in return.
A small surprised gasp escaped her. “Oh.”
“I’m not against hugs.” My chest filled with sudden tension; the drum of my heart raced to an unheard tempo.
“Good to know,” she said.
How long was an acceptable time for a hug? I wasn’t sure. Probably a few seconds ago. I wasn’t about to let go. Nobody hugged the Devil of the Symphony. Not outside my family. This was nice. Unexpected. We should stay like this until the sun came up. She smelled a little like cider and camping. I breathed deeper. And maybe lightly of peonies. That scent, captured in a symphony, would make listeners feel the same warm comfort engulfing me now.
We broke apart slowly like the last note fading into the air.
“That was nice.” Her candidness was surprising, as she normally seemed so restrained.
I would try the same thing. “It was nice.”
She let out a long yawn. “That was a lovely evening. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. You’re not a prisoner here. We’re helping each other.”
But did she think that? As much as I wanted to use my power to strong-arm her into playing for me, it would never work that way. The choice had to be hers. The music had to come from her.
I’d given her the space earlier. Brought her friends over in hopes of cheering her up. Now, I faced the very real possibility that she might pass on the opportunity. But I had to let her be strong enough to let me down.
The air was heavy, thick like the bellowing notes of an oboe.
She took a deep steadying breath. “Okay. I want to help you.” She filled her diaphragm a second time. “I will do it.”
I didn’t need to ask for clarification. We’d been having the same internal dialogue. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Her eyes hardened with resolve.
