When the piece ended, she sat with the cello between her legs for a long time, relishing the feel of it, until she remembered the complexities it brought into her life, and her joy was stolen piece by piece.
Part of her wondered if it was the intense hours or the pressure and scrutiny that bothered her most. She knew it was the scrutiny and pressure to be the best that drove her to practice as hard as she did, and that scrutiny was what kept her nerves strung so tightly twenty-four seven. All she wanted was a normal life. To let go of the need to be perfect and to please her mother. She even wondered if it was her position with the orchestra that was causing the stress, or if it was the underlying pressure from her mother. She hoped to figure that out during her hiatus.
She gently packed the cello away again.
A normal life. Time to get back into it.
She forced herself to focus on tracking down the seller of the baseball. That was the distraction she’d chosen for herself—although Jamie was proving to be an even better distraction. As if she’d flicked a switch in her brain, she put the focus she’d once put into practicing her cello back into finding the baseball.
Only a laptop wasn’t a beautiful cello. It was a stupid, technical hunk of metal that she didn’t get along with. She opened the laptop and took a deep breath. If she could master the cello and graduate top of her class at Juilliard, then she could do this.
Maybe.
After twenty frustrating minutes of trying to figure out how to get back to the page on eBay where she’d bid on the baseball, she was ready to heave the darn thing over the deck. She’d used the Internet so little over the years that it was just one more thing she had to get used to. She narrowed her eyes at the evil thing, wondering how it could possibly be more difficult than anything else she’d ever tried. With a loud breath she tried one more time to figure it out. Finally, she found the Contact Seller link and sent a note to the seller of the baseball.
She pushed her chair back from the table. At least she was making a little headway in the normalcy department. She’d made new friends. In reality, that was anything but a little headway. It was huge, and wonderful, and uplifting. She’d been a little nervous when Jenna, Amy, Leanna, and Bella had invited her to join them for coffee earlier, but they were easy to be with, and after the first blatant question from Bella—So, did Jamie make a move?—to which she’d responded, No, actually, I did, she’d had fun and conversation had come easily. She didn’t know where her answer had come from, and she still wasn’t sure if it was true or not. Technically, she’d fondled his magnificent chest before he’d kissed her neck, so maybe it was true.
“Hi, beautiful.”
She startled at the sound of Jamie’s voice. Her legs once again turned to jelly, as they had earlier that morning when he was wearing nothing but a pair of running shorts. Jamie opened the screen door and, thankfully, he bent down to kiss her cheek. She needed a moment to get her legs to work.
“You startled me. I’m so used to being alone, and I forgot the door was open.” She closed her laptop. He was wearing a pair of shorts and a black tank top that did nothing for her jelly legs.
“Sorry. What are you working on?” He reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet.
“I’m trying to track down the person who won that baseball.” Her hands were drawn to his chest like magnet to metal. She didn’t bother trying to fight the urge to touch him. She knew she’d lose. She’d lain in bed half the night thinking about all those muscles she’d been lucky enough to touch last night. And the kiss. She couldn’t think about it without wanting to kiss him again.
“I’ll help you do that when we get back, if you’d like.”
Before she could say anything, he pressed his clean-shaven jaw to her cheek and hugged her. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach again, and her lips were jealous of her cheek.
“I really want to kiss you hello,” he said. “But if you have second thoughts about last night, just—”
She clung to the straps on his tank top and pulled him down close enough to press her lips to his. He wrapped an arm around her waist and deepened the kiss with slow, sensual strokes of his tongue until she had no brain cells left.
“I guess you don’t have second thoughts,” he said against her lips.
“Mm-mm.” She circled his neck with her arms and pressed her lips to his again. This was bad, bad, bad. She really shouldn’t be so aggressive, and she wasn’t even sure how to channel her urges. It had to be him, something about him, or something he was doing…
Jamie Reed, kisser extraordinaire.
She forced herself to flatten her palms against his chest and push away from him. Her breath rushed from her lungs.
“I’m sorry.” She covered her heart with her hand, as if she could stop it from racing. “I’m pawing at you and attaching myself to your incredible lips, and…” She looked up. He had the sweetest look in his eyes. She nearly kissed him again.
“My incredible lips?” The side of his mouth quirked up.
“Oh…” She felt her cheeks flush again. She hadn’t blushed so much since she first began playing the cello—when she was six. But the words gushed from her still-numb lips. “You’re irresistible. How did you make it this long without some woman snatching you up?”
He pressed his hand to the back of her neck and kissed her forehead. “I could ask the same of you.”
He glanced at her cello case. “I heard you playing earlier. It was magnificent.”
“You heard me? I hope I didn’t bother anyone.” She hadn’t even considered the noise. She hoped Theresa didn’t mind. She’d have to be more aware the next time.
“I’d love to watch you play sometime.”
“You would? Maybe sometime.” She tried to sound casual even though her mind was raging a silent battle. Normal. I want normal. My life has never been normal.
When they arrived at his cottage, Vera was waiting on the front deck with her purse on her lap and an open paperback in her hands. Her hair was nicely done, and she wore a pair of cotton pants and a white, button-down, short-sleeved blouse. Her shoes were stable and efficient, and she wore a wide-brimmed straw hat. She set the book on the table and smiled at them.
“Good morning, dear.”
“Good morning,” Jessica said. “Thank you for allowing me to tag along with you today. I haven’t been to the flea market yet.”
Vera glanced at Jamie. “I had nothing to do with it, but I’m pleased you’re joining us. Was that you I heard playing the ‘Sarabande’?”
“Yes. I didn’t realize the sound would carry so far. I hope I didn’t disturb you.”
“Goodness, no. It was beautiful, one of my favorites. We should play together sometime.”