Page 60 of Betrothed
Just like he’d done when I’d been so terrified of flying.
There was genuineness to his reaction, heartfelt and in this case, amazement that struck me harder than anything else. His smile and the shimmer of enjoyment in his eyes weren’t something he could fake. Yet as he took a step closer, I bristled in the way I had with my father.
He stopped a few feet away, cocking his head. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong. I just don’t like it when…” I knew the answer wouldn’t be one he left alone.
“When what? When someone listens to you? Your music reminds of an angel singing.”
The comment coming from someone like Kirill couldn’t have shocked me any more than it did. “I’m no angel. But I guess you figured that out.” I hadn’t noticed that he now had two glasses of wine in his hands.
Why was it when I was at the point of being able to shut down my feelings about him that he did something so out of the norm?
“Angels come in many forms, Vivian. Have you played all your life?”
He wasn’t going to allow me to skirt around these answers. “Since I was four, although I’m certain you can tell by how terribly I played that I haven’t practiced in a very long time.”
“Because of your difficult schedule.”
How was I to tell him the truth? “Yes.”
“But.” He was too close, so much so that I knew I couldn’t dash away from him. When I stiffened as he placed a glass in front of me, his smile and slight laugh put me at ease. “I might be a barbarian, but my mother used to play piano a long time ago. She told me that if I ever damaged the surface while being a careless kid, she’d beat my ass.”
“She did?” Allowing me to see inside his world? Shocking.
“More than once.” His eyebrows knitted together.
“And did you heed her advice?”
His laugh was deeper. Huskier. Creating the same series of sensations that could push me to an out-of-control moment. “No.”
Why did his frankness surprise me? Laughing, I placed my hand over my mouth but couldn’t stop. “What did she do?”
“She beat my ass.”
“Oh, no. I bet you didn’t do that again.”
“Well,” he said, scratching his head before leaning over the piano. “Let’s just say I learned a little about woodworking when I was older.”
“Oh, my God. Did she know?”
“She knew. I didn’t realize that until later, but she realized that in trying to do the right thing, I was learning. What I wasn’t certain. I was a bad child when I was growing up. Always getting into things. Which I am certain you would know nothing about.”
“Now, why would you say that?” I opened the lid again simply because I felt more like myself than I had in a long time. Around him. A man with a gun.
“You’re that angel. Remember?”
“And I told you I wasn’t. I won’t tell you about the time I almost burned my parents’ house down.” I was thoroughly shocked at my admittance. Right here in the neighborhood. But I wasn’t interested in sharing that bit of news.
“You did not.” He was genuinely shocked.
As I nodded, we both laughed. Easily. Without reservation while staring at each other in the eyes. I forced the spell to be broken. “It was the first and last time my father allowed me to have friends over. We decided it would be perfectly cool to smoke pot in my room.”
When he didn’t say anything, I lifted my head, my eyes half closed. His expression was priceless. “Wait,” he finally said. “You smoked pot?”
“I told you I wasn’t a good girl. The one thing I don’t do is lie. We were teenagers and my friends decided to get me high so I’d tell a boy in school that I was crushing on him. I remember talking on the phone and sending him pictures. A very naughty girl.”
“Pictures?” Seeing the instant jealousy on his face shocked the hell out of me.
