The melody in our hearts (30 page)

“And I always felt overprotective and jealous if someone else at the Club wanted to dance with you.”

She chuckled. “Aww come on now, the youngest man in there was probably sixty-five!”

“I know, but you were mine and I didn’t want to share you with anybody.” he said, defensively and instinctively squeezing her tighter to him.

“I was yours? Now, this one’s funny!” she said with a smirk on her face.

“Don’t get me wrong: Back then you were simply my friend, my dance partner, my little sister. I felt responsible for you and I didn’t want anyone else to be around you. Ever wondered why Kevin stopped teasing you after we spent Christmas with his family?”

“You were behind all that, weren’t you? I always suspected you were.”

Ryan nodded, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“I didn’t want Kevin to break your heart; he’s a good guy, but he wasn’t good enough for you. I wanted to protect you, and then I ended up pushing you in the arms of a bastard who broke your heart anyway.”

“Don’t blame yourself for that, Ryan,” she said, trying to reassure him. “They say you have to meet the wrong people first, so that when you finally meet The One you’re grateful for that. I never blamed you for what happened with Jake: It was just life, just a small brick in the yellow brick road that led me to my true love.”

“Woah, someone’s being romantic tonight! Is it the wine?” he teased, nuzzling her neck.

“No, it’s the nearness of you….” she whispered, before gently brushing his lips with hers.

Ryan kissed her back, then he suddenly stood up and offered his hand to her. “Dance with me.”

“Please, Ryan, I’m tired; I’ve had a long day,” she moaned and he grinned.

“Come on, Val, humor me,” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her up. “This is
our
song, so you’ve got to dance with me.”

She sighed and let him wrap his arms around her. It felt good, totally different from the times they had danced at the Club; he swayed slowly to the music, his warm breath on her neck, and she suddenly felt the physical need for him, in a way she had never felt in her life. It was so unexpected and so strong it almost hurt, and she knew it would be useless to ignore it.

They hadn’t made love yet, although they had had more than one occasion to since she had moved in with him. She had thought it would be better for him to take it easy the first few days after being released, and then she had always been too busy with her crazy shifts that they had never really had the chance to even make it happen.

But now, with his warm body against hers and their favorite artist playing in the background, she couldn’t think of anything else but the feel of his skin on hers. She had waited all of her life for the right person and he was holding her in his arms now.

She searched his lips and when she found them, she kissed him long and slow, wanting it to last forever; Ryan realized something was different from the way she had always kissed him so far, but he didn’t question it. He let his body take over, and he deepened his kiss, feeling her abandon herself completely in his arms.

He sat back on the couch, pulling her down with him and she sat on his lap, her lips still glued to his. They kissed for what felt like hours, and when he realized she wasn’t going to ask him to stop, he stood up and she held on to him with her legs wrapped around his waist. He took her to their bedroom and gently laid her down on the bed, feeling his heart speed up in anticipation.

He kissed her face all over and moved down to her neck, where he lingered a little longer. When his hands inched under her top, he felt her tremble and suddenly pulled back.

“Do you want me to stop, love?” he asked, looking at her, but she shook her head and smiled sweetly, with flushed cheeks.

“Don’t you dare!” she said and he chuckled, finally taking her top off and kissing her neck, moving down until he reached her belly and she started to laugh, saying he was tickling her.

He went up to her lips again and, little by little, every piece of clothing was thrown on the floor, until they were lying naked in each other’s arms, ready to share that precious moment with the person they loved.

Their lovemaking was sweet and slow, without any sense of urgency, knowing they didn’t have to worry too much about impressing the other, and when they were finished and he rolled on his side to check how she was feeling, he saw her smile the sweetest and loveliest smile he had ever seen on her face, and he knew he would never love anyone the way he loved her.

When her breathing slowed down, Valerie curled up in his arms, resting her head on his chest, and she started stroking his chest, her fingers gently trailing down the scar on his skin as they met it. It would always be a constant reminder of that awful night, the night when she had almost lost her best friend and true love, and she shook her head, not wanting to let it spoil that precious moment of intimacy.

“You know, I was thinking: All my first times involve you,” she said out of the blue, and he turned to stare at her with an amused expression. “My first kiss, my first drink, my first jazz club, my first time in a five-star hotel….”

“Your first time having sex….” he continued and she nodded, chuckling.

“They’ve all been special because you were with me. I know it wouldn’t have been the same with someone else, and I’m glad I’ve always been too busy for men, so you could be my first.”

“Sorry my first time wasn’t with you, love,” he apologized, and she realized how special she felt when he called her “
love
.” She felt butterflies in her stomach every time he did, and she knew he meant it every single time. “But if it helps, well, this was the best time ever.”

She chuckled. “Was it, really?”

He nodded, kissing her sweetly. “It was because I love the person I was making love to; it wasn’t just great sex, it was love. It’s never felt this good, trust me.”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to take your word on that.”

She shivered and he pulled the duvet over her head, making her laugh; then they remained silent for a while, Valerie stroking his chest and Ryan rubbing her arm.

“Our grandfathers were right, after all; they’ve always been. About us, I mean,” he said eventually and she nodded.

“My grandpa used to say we were a match made in Heaven.”

“And we are, aren’t we? It took us a while to realize it, but we did eventually.”

She nodded, snuggling up closer to him and feeling his arms instinctively tighten around her. She had come to love the way she always felt safe and warm in his arms, as if not even a hurricane could harm her as long as he held her close, and with his bare skin on hers it was even better.

“I’m glad we did. I can’t imagine being happier than I am right now.” She turned to look at him and brushed his cheek with her thumb, before kissing him softly. “I love you, Mr. Jazz Star.”

He chuckled, running a hand through her hair and pulling her face close to his, his hand on her neck.

“I’m not a jazz star anymore. I’m just Ryan now,” he whispered, inches away from her lips.

“
My
Ryan.”

He nodded, smiling. “Yeah, your Ryan.”

She closed her eyes and he kissed her, rolling over her as the kiss deepened and knowing he could never love anyone they way he loved her.

They made love again, but this time it was more passionate, and he suddenly wondered what had taken him so long to realize that the right woman for him had always been by his side.

~
Fifty-two
~

Valerie woke up with a start when she heard the deafening sound of something crashing, and she immediately looked around, trying to understand what was going on.

“Ryan?” she called, hoping it was him and not some burglars breaking in. He didn’t reply, so she quickly jumped out of bed, slipped on her pajamas, and carefully walked into the kitchen, only to find Ryan crouched on the floor, holding his right hand between his knees, his left hand pressing on it.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit!” he kept shouting through gritted teeth, and she immediately got closer, crouching down next to him.

“Oh my God, Ryan, what happened?”

He looked up and tried to put on a smile of reassurance, but she could see he was in pain.

“I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed, but I was a bit clumsy I guess.”

“What happened to your hand? Let me see it.”

He shrugged, still keeping it tightly between his knees, hoping if he pressed it hard enough, the pain would go away faster.

“Nothing. I’m okay.”

She looked down and saw the bottom of his pajamas was stained with blood, so she pulled his hand out of his grasp and immediately saw blood gushing out of a bad cut on his palm.

“This
isn’t
nothing, Ryan. Don’t play macho man with me: This will need stitches. I’ll get the first aid kit. I need to clean it before sewing it up. Just keep pressing on it, it’ll stop the blood.”

She stood up and quickly ran to the bathroom, shaking her head as she walked. She had the day off, but he had managed to make her work anyway; good thing she had everything she needed, so she wouldn’t have to take him to the hospital and see the place on her day off too.

When she went back into the kitchen, he was still cursing and she smiled, in spite of herself: At times he could still be the fifteen-year-old Irish lad she used to hang out with.

“Here, give me your hand. Let’s fix this first and then we’ll clean the mess,” she said, scolding him and taking his hand. The blood was still oozing, and she immediately pressed down on it with gauze soaked in disinfectant solution. He groaned through gritted teeth and she smiled, kissing the tip of his nose.

“Be a man, come on!” He grimaced and she laughed, feeling like a mother taking care of her five-year-old. “I’ll need to give you at least a couple of stitches here. Do you want me to knock you out or will you manage?”

“Just get it over with, will ya!” he said through gritted teeth again, clearly trying to prevent a moan from escaping.

She shrugged, taking out the needle and thread, and she noticed the look in his eyes, the same look she had seen many times on patients through the years; he tried to hide it by looking away as she caught it, so she pretended she hadn’t seen it, not wanting to pierce his ego any further.

“Don’t bite your tongue when I start, okay? It’ll be a bit more complicated to sew your tongue, and I don’t want to go to the hospital on my day off,” she teased and he groaned impatiently.

“Just do it!”

She removed the gauze and, as she stuck the needle through his skin, he flinched, biting on his bottom lip.

“Are you sure you don’t want anesthetics?”

He nodded, this time without saying a word. She hated seeing the pain on his face, although she was so used to seeing it from all the times she’d sewn cuts when she was working in the ER. But this was her Ryan she was inflicting pain on, although it was meant to make him feel better, and she just couldn’t bear hurting him.

She tried to be as fast as possible, so as to make it less painful, and when she was finished, she noticed he was close to tears. She put down the needle and took his face in her hands, kissing him gently.

“There, it’s all over now. We’ll put a bandage on it and you’ll be as good as new in a couple of days. No need to chop your hand off; you can still play the piano.”

He smiled weakly, with pain still showing all over his face, and she ruffled his hair, smiling back at him.

“Why don’t you get out of those blood-stained pajamas and lie down for a while? I can clean here, don’t worry.”

“No, I made this mess, so I’ll clean it.”

“I don’t need you to pass out while mopping the floor. You’re quite pale, you’ve lost blood, so you’d better rest for a minute. Go on, I’ll get this. Doctor’s orders.”

She kissed his forehead, which was beaded with sweat, and smiled reassuringly at him, so he nodded and stood up, steadying himself for a moment when the room started to spin.

“You okay?”

He nodded. “Thanks, love. You’re always rescuing me.”

“Perks of dating a surgeon!” She winked and he laughed weakly, walking out of the kitchen and leaving her to tidy up everything.

Ten minutes later, Ryan came back wearing his Boston Celtics gray tracksuit and looking a little less pale than before; when she turned and saw him, he smiled apologetically and hugged her as soon as she was within arm’s reach.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“I am, but I feel awful about it,” he whispered, his head buried in her hair. “I wanted to bring you breakfast in bed and cuddle you for a while, and you ended up working on your day off and cleaning all the mess instead. I’m so sorry, Val.”

“Aww, come on, stop making so much fuss about nothing! It was only a mug, it’s no big deal! Besides, I wouldn’t consider giving you a couple of stitches work.” She pulled back and looked at him, getting lost in his deep hazel eyes. “Listen: Why don’t I go back to bed now and you make breakfast again, and we pretend nothing ever happened? I was really looking forward to tea and cuddles on my day off. Especially after last night….” She trailed off and he grinned and nodded, planting a kiss on her forehead.