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“In a million different ways,” Brandon said. “When I’m with you, I feel whole. I feel like I’m enough for the first time in my life. Do you love me, Skylar?”
I didn’t have to think about that. He’d said it several times tonight, but I had been too caught up to respond.
“Of course,” I said immediately. “Idolove you, Brandon. I love you so, so much.”
“Then stop making it a contest between us, Red. You give me so much more than any of this shit. You are irreplaceable to me. You’reit.”
His words, though simple, overflowed my heart. And yet, there was still one question lingering in my mind. One question left to answer.
“Why?” I asked softly. He could have anyone; anyone in the world would fall over themselves to have everything Brandon Sterling had to offer. “Why me?”
“Because you’re real. And honest. And kind. And smart. And talented. And, and, and…” he trailed off, waving a hand as if there were too many amazing qualities to list.
I giggled, earning a shy smile that only made me laugh more.
“But even more than all of that,” Brandon continued, “I feel like more than anyone else in my life, you really see me. You see who I am in a way no one else does, and you made me feel something again. You are my heart, Skylar.”
He gazed at me, his large blue eyes twin mirrors in the firelight.
“I see you, Brandon Sterling,” I confirmed softly, touching his lips with my finger.
He bit it gently, then released.
I smiled. “I see you, and I do love you.”
I kissed him lightly, but he pulled me even closer, begging my mouth to open, which it did willingly. His hands roved, grasping at my shirt, pressing me into his chest. He groaned painfully as if he couldn’t get close enough.
Finally, he stood up, his mouth fused to mine, and keeping me straddled around his waist with his big arms. His kiss was sensual, but it wasn’t until he broke it that I realized he wasn’t carrying me toward the stairs, but instead to the piano. He set me on the bench.
I looked at the piano. “You know, this is really too much instrument for a house. The sound is designed for concert halls. It will break your eardrums if you ever open the top.”
“Well, you’ll have to help me choose something more appropriate, then.”
I gave a small smile. “Maybe.”
“Definitely,” Brandon corrected me. “But before we do, will you play something on it?”
He stepped away, sank back onto the couch, and looked at me expectantly. I opened my mouth to argue with him again, but I couldn’t quite do it.
I stared down at the piano, lost for a moment in the way the warm light of the room blinked off its sleek, polished lines. I’d probably never get another chance to play on something of this caliber. I closed my eyes, hearing the notes already.
I gave in.
“All right,” I said. “You win.”
“Do you know any love songs?” Brandon asked as I turned up the fallboard to reveal the row of untouched black and white keys beneath it.
I pressed a finger lightly on upper C to hear the sweet, clear tone expel throughout the room. I grinned.
“I play classical music,” I said. “They’re all love songs, in a way.”
“Then play one that reminds you of us.”
I didn’t have to consider the request long; the brooding, angsty melody of Chopin’s “Waltz in C Minor” came immediately. Given the emotions I’d been feeling nonstop for the past week and a half—for the past several months, really—it was easy to pour myself into music that seemed to reflect the polarities of Brandon’s and my relationship. At times my feelings felt as natural as could be, no harder than a walk in the park. He was so easy to love. But at other times, I felt like I was swept away, lost like one of Chopin’s furious arpeggios or the multi-octave scales that spilled up the keys like a wave.
Falling in love with him was simple, but we still fought, still clashed as only two people as strong-willed as we were bound to do.
The piece was short, but it did my feelings justice—better than I could ever do with words. It wasn’t until the end that I realized I’d played the entire thing with my eyes closed. When I opened them, I found Brandon standing next to me, staring at my hands in awe. I took them off the keys and released the pedal; he blinked and sat down next to me on the bench.
