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Yet instead of leaving as my good sense dictated, I closed the distance between us and skimmed my fingers over the piano’s ivory keys. They were still warm from her touch.
Isabella relaxed into her seat, but her eyes remained alert as they followed me to her side. “No offense, but I can’t picture you in a nightclub, much less a neon anything.”
“I don’t have to take part in something to understand it.” I pressed the minor key, allowing the note to signal a transition into my next topic. “You played well. Better than most pianists who attempt the ‘Hammerklavier.’ ”
“I sense a but at the end of that sentence.”
“But you were too aggressive at the start of the second theme. It’s supposed to be lighter, more understated.” It wasn’t an insult; it was an objective appraisal.
Isabella cocked an eyebrow. “You think you can do better?”
My pulse spiked, and a familiar flame kindled in my chest. Her tone straddled the line between playful and challenging, but that was enough to throw the gates of my competitiveness wide open.
“May I?” I nodded at the bench.
She slid off her seat. I took her vacated spot, adjusted the bench height and touched the keys again, thoughtfully this time. I only played the second movement, but I’d been practicing the “Hammerklavier” since I was a child, when I’d insisted my piano teacher skip the easy pieces and teach me the most difficult compositions instead. It was harder to get into it without the first movement as a prelude, but muscle memory carried me through.
The sonata finished with a grand flourish, and I smiled, satisfied.
“Hmm.” Isabella sounded unimpressed. “Mine was better.”
My head snapped up. “Pardon me?”
“Sorry.” She shrugged. “You’re a good piano player, but you’re lacking something.”
The sentiment was so unfamiliar and unexpected I could only stare, my reply lost somewhere between astonishment and indignation.
“I’m lacking something,” I echoed, too dumbfounded to dredge up an original response.
I’d graduated top of my class from Oxford and Cambridge, lettered in tennis and polo, and spoke seven languages fluently. I’d founded a charity for funding the arts in underserved areas when I was eighteen, and I was on the fast track to becoming one of the world’s youngest Fortune 500 CEOs.
In my thirty-two years on earth, no one had ever told me I waslackingsomething.
The worst part was, upon examination, she was right.
Yes, my technique surpassed hers. I’d hit every note with precision, but the piece had inspired…nothing. The ebbs and tides of emotion that’d characterized her rendition had vanished, leaving a sterile beauty in their wake.
I’d never noticed when playing by myself, but following her performance, the difference was obvious.
My jaw tightened. I was used to being the best, and the realization that Iwasn’t, at least not at this particular song, rankled.
“What, exactly, do you think I’m lacking?” I asked, my tone even despite the swarm of thoughts invading my brain.
Mental note: Substitute tennis with Dominic for piano practice until I fix this problem.I’d never done anything less than perfectly, and this would not be my exception.
Isabella’s cheeks dimpled. She appeared to take immense delight in my disgruntlement, which should’ve infuriated me more. Instead, her teasing grin almost pulled an answering smile out of me before I caught myself.
“The fact you don’t know is part of the problem.” She stepped toward the door. “You’ll figure it out.”
“Wait.” I stood and grabbed her arm without thinking.
We froze in unison, our eyes locked on where my hand encircled her wrist. Her skin was soft to the touch, and the flutter of her pulse matched the sudden escalation in my heartbeat.
A heavy, tension-laced silence mushroomed around us. I was a proponent of science; I didn’t believe in anything that defied the laws of physics, but I could’ve sworn time physically slowed, like each second was encased in molasses.
Isabella visibly swallowed. A tiny movement, but it was enough for the laws to snap back into place and for reason to intervene.
Time sped to its usual pace, and I dropped her arm as abruptly as I’d grasped it.
