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The polka died out to be replaced by a popular track. Zhi swept Spin into his arms and to the back of the stage. He was there with her. Parker was nowhere in sight. She had his full attention. But hadn’t she always?
“I would’ve done that a few nights ago,” he said. “But the organizers made me audition and then wait for an opening. In the end, I had to put in a call to Omar.”
“You absolutely passed my test.”
His grin spread. He pulled her closer. More than anything Spin wanted his lips on hers. But there were things to be said.
"I need you to know that I came after you,” he said.
"I can see that," said Spin. “It was some grand gesture, playing in public like that.”
Zhi shook his head. "No, before. That night. I went back and sat with Parker at first. But I couldn’t …”
He shook his head again, not completing that sentence. There was no need. She understood what he meant.
“It was only a second before I came after you. By the time I got home, you were already gone.”
Spin swallowed. “There was something I had to take care of."
Zhi brushed a tendril of hair from her temple, and she closed her eyes at the slight touch. "I'm sorry about your father.”
Zhi cradled the side of her face in his palm. With his other hand, he brought them closer together. The gem at her neck between their hearts.
“But, my darling, you can’t use your father’s penance to pay for my father’s mistakes.”
“That’s not what I was doing. I was trying to save your family."
"You're my family now. Or, at least, I'd like you to be."
Her lips parted. The desire she had for this man growing more urgent with each passing second. Once more, she knew what it was to belong to someone. Not because of blood, not because of money, because of their hearts.
Still, she couldn’t let him throw his legacy away. Zhi was one of the good ones. He was a truly noble man, someone who should be a peer of the land.
"But your home,” Spin protested.
"It's just brick and glass. I’m selling the estate.”
“Zhi, no.”
“Let me finish. It’s being turned into a music school. My mother will teach piano. There will be classes on every instrument and every category of music, including polka and DJing.”
Spin laughed. She lifted her hands to rest on the side of his face, mirroring his own motions. They stood like that gazing down at each other for long seconds.
“What about your dad?” asked Spin.
“My mother has agreed to put him in hospice nearby. She visits him every day, but she’s no longer his full time caretaker. I can see some of the life coming back into her eyes. Maybe one day, she’ll remember that her life is her own, and she’ll start living for herself again.”
It was what her own mother had attempted. But Angelica had only tasted such freedom for a short time before she’d passed away.
“We need to write a new chapter,” he said. “Score a new song. You and me.”
“I’d like that.”
“Good, because there’s space for you. In my home. And in my heart."
“I’ve been looking to put down roots somewhere. I’ll start with your heart.”
“It’s all yours.”
