Bad Nerd Falling (27 page)

“
I bought it a year ago.”
Beau stopped beside her and beheld his greatest
possession.

“
You don’t see many baby
grand pianos in apartments.”

“
No, and believe me, the
movers were not happy when they realized they had to figure out how
to get it up here.”

Molly’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“You trusted movers with this instrument?”

“
Piano
movers,” he tacked on.

Her visage cleared. “Oh, that’s okay.
My heart was in my throat there for a moment.”

He smiled at her and she
almost felt like a voyeur watching them dance around each other. On
the other hand, it was
quite
interesting.

From the time she hit puberty she had
known that Vlad was the man for her. That made her life both simple
and complicated. Simple because she knew who her mate was, but
complicated because her dating experience resulted in a big fat
goose egg.

“
May I play it?” Molly
asked hesitantly.

“
Of course.” Beau escorted
her to the piano bench.

Pink flared in Molly’s
cheeks.

“
She’s happy,” Vlad
observed beside her.

“
Yes. I think he is, too.
He’s just a lot better at concealing it.”

“
They look good
together.”

She turned to stare at the pair again.
“You know, they do. And they’re obviously content to be in each
other’s company.” Vlad ushered her to a small love seat near the
piano. When they sat, she somehow managed to be plastered tight
against him. She hadn’t initiated that but had no intention of
protesting either.

Molly ran her fingers over the keys,
her awe apparent as she played a chord, then another. Beau leaned
against the instrument. She played through a piece that Helena
didn’t recognize, and from the glance she sent Vlad’s way, he
didn’t either.

“
I recognize that song,”
Beau announced. “Your country singer has made a fortune on
it.”

“
She has.” Molly looked
smug. “So have I.”

“
You wrote it?” Beau
looked even more interested.

“
Not by myself, but I
helped.”

He stared at her like he
didn’t quite believe that. “You
helped
write it?”

Molly flushed and her eyes skittered
away from his knowing gaze. Who knew watching another couple’s
budding romance could be so entertaining?

“
The idea was mine and the
words are mostly mine. I’m not quite as good with the melody
though.”

Beau nodded slowly. “I’m decent with
melodies but not good with words.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t
write pop music if my life depended on it.”

“
You don’t need
to.”

“
I’m happy with what I
do.” He selected some sheet music. “Would you care to hear a new
composition?”

Molly nodded and eagerly traded places
with him. He seated himself, lowered the bench, and then shuffled
through the pages littering the music rack. After discarding
several, he set up a few and then ran his fingers over the keys as
a warm up.

When he finished, Beau looked up at
Molly. It was evident that this performance was for her. She must
have realized the same thing because she swallowed but looked
excited. Next he played the composition from her and Vlad’s first
evening together. It was romantic and utterly
appropriate.

His fingers stroked the keyboard and
instantly transported them from his rather nice flat into a totally
different world of light and hopes and dreams. That undefinable
quality to Beau’s music, that haunting, sweeping aspect of his
talent soared them from this plane to one that only existed through
music.

Molly’s hand crept to her throat as
she listened to each chord, each separate note. Beau played the
piece with skill and ease this time. Perhaps it mattered who your
audience was. When he reached that tricky bridge that tripped him
up, he played it like the professional he was. The notes streamed
from his fingers through the piano, perfect, enriching, and
uplifting.

No one spoke when the last note echoed
into the night and then died. There weren’t words to describe the
feelings that one of Beau’s perfectly played pieces evoked. The
silence lingered until Beau turned and stared them down.

“
Well?”

“
You figured out that
tricky bridge.” She spoke through a tight throat.

Vlad grinned a little at Beau. “So
that’s what it’s supposed to sound like?”

“
That’s what it’s supposed
to sound like.” Beau flexed his left hand. He looked at her. “Since
I think I’ve got it, get your butt over here and help.”

She stood reluctantly and trailed over
to the door where she left her guitar. She hoped she wouldn’t need
to play. But in light of his amazing rendition, running through the
piece another time or two made sense. At least until the motions
were familiar and became easier for him.

“
That was… glorious.”
Molly’s hand remained at her throat as she gazed at Beau in awe and
wonder.

For the first time since he finished
playing he glanced up at her. “Thank you.”

“
Your talent is
extraordinary.”

He shrugged. “I’m not special. I just
happen to be able to write music.”

“
That
was
special,” Molly argued. “It was
like nothing I’ve ever heard before. Extraordinary.”

She meandered over to save him. “I’m
here.”

Relief crossed his face. “Good,
play.”

They ran through it once then twice
and Beau played the composition beautifully. He didn’t appear to be
stretching his left hand at all.

“
Again,” he commanded
nearly as soon as they finished.

Obediently, she joined him as he
played the opening notes. She harmonized with him. He played
effortlessly. She marveled at his talent. It put her to shame, but
she was relieved to be able to keep up.

Once they were finished with the third
round, she was ready for a break. Molly still stood entranced
beside the piano. Like Beau, she was also a professional musician.
“Think you can play this piece if you use one of Beau’s
violins?”

Molly tore her gaze from Beau.
“What?”

With patience and a wry little twist
to her lips she repeated her question.

“
I’ve never played it, but
if there are notes I should be okay.”

She hadn’t heard Molly play recently,
but guessed that her talent equaled Beau’s.

Beau left the piano and opened his
instrument closet. He invited Molly to select the instrument of her
choice. It was equivalent to taking her to a chocolate store. Molly
exclaimed over all of the pieces and touched a few reverently. Her
eyes were wide as she took in the closet contents.

“
I can play any instrument
here?”

“
Yes. You’re a
professional.”

She pointed to a beautiful violin that
was obviously old. “That’s practically priceless.”

“
Any
instrument in this closet.”

Molly stroked the old violin but she
didn’t select it. Instead she took down a newer model that was
obviously of excellent quality. The bow hung next to it. She rested
her chin on the pad and played a few notes. While Beau could stop
people with his piano skill, Molly’s violin skills were every bit
as evident just in the few notes she played.

“
This one
then.”

“
That’s the one I play if
I need to hear a violin,” Beau said, his eyes approving.

“
Let’s tune it.”
Excitement laced Molly’s voice as Beau shut the closet door and
they returned to the piano. Since violin tuning could be tricky and
therefore lengthy, she hung her guitar on the wall and returned to
Vlad.

“
You’re quiet,” she
murmured when he wrapped an arm around her and tugged her
closer.

“
Just taking all this
in.”

“
And your
conclusion?”

He squinted his eyes for a moment.
“It’s nice.”

She smiled. “You like
music?”

“
From what I’ve
experienced tonight, yes, I do.”

“
You haven’t listened to
music before?”

“
No. There’s never been
time.” He watched Molly and Beau tune the violin.

That was almost beyond Helena’s
comprehension. “You just haven’t taken the time or you don’t care
to?”

“
I just haven’t done it
because there have been other priorities.”

“
Such as?”

Vlad didn’t speak for long moments.
“Staying alive.”

He watched Helena’s beautiful,
expressive face. “Staying alive?” Her eyes widened and her mouth
gaped.

Odd, that shock didn’t look terrible
on her. Nothing did, he guessed.

He shrugged in response to her
question. “I had more important things to do.”

Resolve shoved out her shock. “Well,
now that you’re home, you’re going to listen to music.” Her voice
resembled that of one the hardest nosed drill sergeants he’d ever
had the misfortune to train under. Old Beaknose, or Beaky as he was
unaffectionately called, was the toughest, most belligerent
military man Vlad had ever encountered. Not even officers gave him
trouble. That experience taught him not to argue with Helena
now.

“
So DuBois’s practice
sessions don’t count?”

“
No.”

He glanced at the other man in her
life. “That’s okay because he’s going to be busy now.”

She frowned. “Why?”

“
Take a look. He’ll be
asking my sister out for a date before this night is over.” He used
his chin to indicate the pair.

“
Oh, right.” Helena smiled
as she turned. “Hopefully he doesn’t mess this up.”

“
Why would he do
that?”

“
He has issues.” She
stared at DuBois with a troubled expression.

He cleared his throat.
“Issues?”

She appeared to shake off the troubled
expression, although there was a faint melancholy air as she stared
at the other man. “He’ll come to the conclusion that he’s not good
enough for her because of his injuries.”

“
That happened two years
ago.”

“
Yes, but it’s been a long
recovery and he still has bad days.”

He shook his head. “His injuries will
only make Molly love him more.”

Helena brightened. “You know, that’s
true. She’s always been extra sweet.”

“
Yes. He’d be stupid not
to hold on to her.”

“
Yeah, well I’ve never
accused him of intelligence,” she muttered with a dirty look at the
innocent man.

“
You shouldn’t say stuff
like that without him here to defend himself.”

“
He knows.”

At that very moment, as though he
actually did, DuBois tore his gaze from Molly and turned to stare
at Helena. His eyebrow quirked at her. She mouthed something he
missed but DuBois didn’t. The musician scowled at her, but didn’t
reply. Instead, he returned to Molly and it appeared like he got
sucked back into her orbit. He sympathized.

Molly pulled the bow across the
strings and even he could tell the instrument was in tune. “That’s
it,” Molly stated.

Both of them turned to stare at
Helena.

She shook her head. “You two play
through the piece so Molly has some practice. I’ll join you next
round.”

DuBois and Molly exchanged looks he
didn’t bother to interpret, before they smiled at each other. It
would take an idiot not to pick up the air of intimacy surrounding
the two musicians. DuBois shifted on the bench and with a final
glance at Molly, who nodded, positioned his fingers over the piano
keys.

When his fingers connected and the
music began, Molly was right there with him, in perfect
harmony.

“
You knew this,” he
whispered to Helena.

She smiled. He wanted to crawl into
that smile, to live there. “I suspected, but I wasn’t
certain.”

“
It’s beautiful.” He
stated the obvious.

“
I think they were born to
make music together.”

Her uncanny echo of his own thoughts struck a
chord within him he didn’t even know existed. That made him
uncomfortable. Since starting this relationship with Helena, he
realized he didn’t know much about her. But he was beginning to
realize he knew even less about himself.

Chapter 20

When she arrived at the lab the next
morning, Tia and Jorge were already there. Maria breezed in a few
moments behind her, without the cinnamon rolls she had brought
yesterday. Those had gone over extremely well and disappeared in
minutes.

Today, everyone crowded around the
coffee machine in Tia’s office, an appliance they used often. Now,
she filled her mug and sank onto the futon to drink it. Jorge
dropped on one side of her and Tia on the other. After she checked
some plates, Maria flitted in and took Tia’s office
chair.