Taming the Lone Wolff(86)

                Forcing herself to go through the motions, she freshened up and dressed. Her life was in ruins, but she wasn’t the only one. Her responsibilities had not disappeared. Esteban needed her. Life had to go on. But first, something called out to her. The one place where she could funnel her heartbreak and perhaps find a measure of peace.

                * * *

                Larkin found her in the salon where they’d first met. Sitting at the beautiful piano. Her head was bent, her hands never slowing down. From what he remembered of his music-appreciation class, she was playing an incredibly difficult Chopin étude.

                Her fingers flew over the keys. The notes rose and fell, filling the room, rich with beauty and sorrow and hope. He closed his eyes and let the music roll over him. How could a woman who had known so much tragedy in her life play with such joyous abandon?

                He leaned against the wall, out of sight, eyes damp as he listened to what she couldn’t or wouldn’t say to him. When it was over, she closed the folio of sheet music and began to sob.

                He couldn’t bear it. “Don’t, my love,” he said. “Don’t cry.”

                Her head snapped up, shock in every muscle as she wiped her face and composed herself. “You left.”

                “No,” he said simply. “I didn’t. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. I’ve been walking the perimeter of the property, waiting for you to wake up.”

                Quietly, he sat down on the bench, facing the opposite direction. Not touching her.

                She lifted her shoulders, her lips trembling, her spine straight. Wariness and disbelief filled her gaze. “Now I’ve played for you.” She was wearing faded jeans and a gold Vanderbilt T-shirt that matched the amber in her eyes. On Wolff Mountain she had dressed the part of wealthy heiress. Today she was simply…Winnie. He liked both personas. But this was the woman who’d first caught his eye.

                He put his arms around her, groaning when hers came around his waist and she rested her head on his shoulder. Sighing, he felt his world click into place. “How come you never told me you were a concert pianist?”

                “Thirteen years of private lessons and a music minor in college. I hated every minute of it. Then when my parents died, I played out of guilt for months. One day I suddenly realized I loved the music. I had to get past all my childish rebellion to see what they had given me. A legacy of all the magnificent composers in the world. I’m a very lucky woman.”

                He nibbled her neck. “You’re a very amazing woman. And I’m in love with you. Marry me, Winnie.”

                She jerked backward so fast they both nearly toppled off the bench. Hands clenched on his shoulders, she stared at him, eyes raw with grief. “That’s not funny.”

                He kissed her nose. “No. It’s damned serious. And while I’m at it, if Esteban has no other family members who can take him in, you and I might think about adopting him.”

                Tears leaked from her beautiful eyes, each one scoring him with regret for what he had done to her. His sins astounded him, but no more than his arrogance and insistence that he needed no one.

                She put a hand on his forehead. “You didn’t get any sleep last night. You’re delirious.”

                “Never been saner.”

                “You loathe responsibility. You like a life that’s footloose and fancy-free. You deserve that, Larkin. Really you do.”