‘You’re sure about that?’
Nadia recognised the teasing tone in Ethan’s words. She saw Bella did too. So this was part of a shared joke—a routine that had to be adhered to.
He started to play again, and Nadia was stunned into immobility. Despite the burden of a little person on his knee he played magnificently. Notes thundered as his fingers crashed over the keys. Bella glowed with excitement as her hands rode fast on his. A massive, loud passionate piece from Rachmaninov, huge and echoing and—hell, she’d had no idea Ethan could play so well.
‘Play it again?’ Bella asked, even though the last note hadn’t stopped vibrating round the room.
Ethan groaned and turned to spot Nadia. ‘Come and sit beside us. We can’t play again unless you do.’
Reading the look on the girl’s face, Nadia moved quickly.
Ethan laughed as she did and shuffled along the seat to make room. ‘Do you play?’
‘Not that good stuff. I was stuck with Mozart. My hands are too small to cope with any of the great romantics.’
‘Not so bad to be stuck with Mozart.’ He cuddled the little girl closer. ‘Play some now.’
His mood had been restored even more than the child’s. He was back to smiling and charming and gorgeous, and Nadia was floored. ‘I’m not as good as you, and I haven’t played in a really long time.’
‘I disagree with the former but am well aware of the latter.’
She looked balefully at him. ‘Do you think along those lines all the time?’
‘Around you? Absolutely.’
‘Play, play, play,’ Bella interrupted petulantly, completely missing the undertones.
‘Yeah, Nadia,’ Ethan said slyly. ‘Play.’
She sighed, hiding her smile, and put her hands in position. It really had been a while. But years and years of practice couldn’t be completely forgotten. After a few bars she began to enjoy it, giggling when she stumbled over the odd passage, but soon getting the feel for it again, losing track of time as she worked through her favourite piece. A quiet one—not the kind of rollercoaster ride of emotion up and down the stave that Ethan had crashed through.
‘Keep playing,’ he whispered in her ear.
She glanced sideways and saw Bella was fast asleep in his arms. Amusement warmed her. Oh, to be a kid again and fall asleep at the flick of a switch. He carefully edged off the stool. Nadia did as he’d asked and kept playing the soft sonata, turning her head a couple of times to see Ethan carefully putting his niece on the sofa near the big fireplace. He glanced at her and mouthed ‘keep playing’ again.
She nodded, glad to turn back so she wouldn’t have to go like goo inside, seeing him be so tender. She started the piece for a third time, even more gently, waiting for the word that it was okay to stop.
There wasn’t a word. There was touch. Hands—large hands—cupped her shoulders and then slid down the length of her arms to her hands. She bent her head and stopped playing.
‘I think you play beautifully,’ he whispered softly, his cheek brushing against hers.
She only had to turn a fraction to kiss him.
‘We’d better get back out there,’ he said, as if it was the last thing he wanted to do.
‘Of course.’ It was the last thing she wanted to do too.
They tiptoed out of the room, closing the door on the calm inside. She paused, not wanting to go back to the lawn. He stood still too, looking at her.
‘Nadia …’
She knew he wanted to kiss her. And she wanted to kiss him. No games this time—just because it would feel so good. So right. But something was stopping him, and Nadia didn’t know what.
‘Where is she?’ Jess appeared in the hall.
Ethan turned away and answered. The relief on Jess’s face revealed the stress she’d been feeling. Ethan put his arm along his sister’s shoulder and teased, ‘Soothing irritable girls is my speciality.’
Nadia didn’t know if that was a coded message to her or not. But the fact was she didn’t want to be soothed. She wanted to be stirred.
Ethan chatted to his sister for a few minutes more, but the second Jess wandered away to mingle, Ethan’s teasing façade dropped and he looked plain tired. No wonder. She’d just seen how hard he worked to be the charming guy who held it together for the women in his family even when he was at the very end of his own patience. But he’d masked it, protectively cared for Bella—and Jess—a gently wicked joker who’d made them feel better. But right now he looked like the one who needed help to feel better. She wished he’d talk to her. But why would he open up to his opponent in this stupid fight of theirs? She knew he was mortified by his mistake about his father, and she didn’t want to embarrass him more, but there was something there and she wanted to know.
‘I’d never have thought you’d play the piano like that,’ she said to lighten the atmosphere. ‘You look too rugby.’
He managed a grin. ‘The girls had to learn. I got sent along too. They never liked it enough to practise.’
‘But you did?’
He nodded briefly. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
People were departing, so it wasn’t as if they were the first to leave, but Nadia was glad they weren’t going to be the last.
‘You outdid yourself, Jess. Again.’ Ethan gave his sister another hug.
‘Thank you very much,’ Nadia said to Jess. ‘It was the most beautiful afternoon tea I’ve ever seen. Everything was so perfect.’ She wasn’t lying. The décor, the food, the style of it all had been amazing.
Jess smiled at her. So did Polly.
‘It would be really nice to see you again some time, Nadia,’ Polly called after them.
With an uncomfortable ache in her heart Nadia kept walking to his car and pretended she hadn’t heard. She couldn’t face another forty minutes of silence on the drive back so she went for light, safe conversation.
‘So tell me about your work. All those billable hours, huh? Are you prosecution or defence?’
Ethan gripped the steering wheel even tighter. Oh, hell, he really hadn’t told her anything—and he grimaced about telling her now. He didn’t do the save-the-innocent barrister act, and if she really was all about ‘making a difference’ then she was going to be disappointed. Still, he was used to that—right? His dad had never got over his decision to go corporate rather than chasing after the Queen’s Counsel dream, despite the fact Ethan earned more now than he’d ever have done in chambers. But for his father it was all about public prestige. For Nadia it was that higher purpose thing—which meant she was going to be even more sceptical than his dad.
‘I’m
