The Low Notes (35 page)

A few songs later after light applause from the diminutive crowd in the lounge, the piano continued on without Nina’s voice over top of it. Kevin watched with more anxiety as Nina made her way back to him. She perched on a barstool next to him, her ankles crossing and sliding to one side. The bartender seemed to know her and asked her what she wanted. She took water with lemon. No words had been exchanged since her last song ended.

Abruptly she faced him, a look in her eyes he couldn’t name. “How are you here?”

It wasn’t the first question he was expecting but he found the answer anyway.

“
I'm getting the book published.”

Nina’s face lit up and she took her first sip of water. “That's fantastic,”

“
You look beautiful,” he uttered the words hastily but with sheer conviction.

Her smile stayed but it softened and her eyes lowered. Kevin watched her black lashes brush the tops of her rosy cheeks and nearly stopped breathing. She was a vision.

“
It’s so weird. I was just thinking about you today,” Nina replied.

Kevin’s brow had risen at her confession and he waited for her to go on. The soft lights of the lounge bounced off the bit of sparkle in her lipstick and the strands of amber in her hair looked more like gold thread as she ran an absent hand through the ends. He watched her sigh and advert her eyes.
Here it comes
, he thought.

“
Where did you go?”she whispered.

“
The cabin. Just for those two weeks.”

Nina laughed a bit. “I knew it. I just didn’t know how to get there. My own damn fault for sleeping in the car.”

Kevin tried to smile but his heart felt gripped tight.

“
I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“
I know.”

She’d kept her word.
Without judgment or anger.

He felt her hand reach out and rest on his arm. He could have keeled over from the oddity of it all. His hands were trembling, his breath quaking, as he waited for her to punish him. Scold him and curse him.

Instead, he looked into her stunning gray eyes and saw a smile lighting her up from the inside. “Would you believe me if I told you Greta and I are more like best friends than sisters right now?”

“
Nina, that’s great. What changed?” he asked, shifting on his seat, leaning closer to her. It felt so natural, her talking to him again, like nothing had changed, like no time had been lost between them. She breathed a minute and continued to gaze at him almost lovingly.

“
I guess I finally needed her,” she said, her eyes flitting away from him for an instant. “She and Blake are getting married on Saturday. I’m actually headed back to Wexley tomorrow to start the festivities. It’ll be my first time back since I left.”

Kevin sighed slowly.
Is she still waiting
, he wondered.

****

“
I’m going back to Wexley tomorrow, too,” he replied softly, his voice trailing.

She lowered her gaze to the ground and mumbled bashfully. “We should go together.”

“
To Wexley or the wedding?”

Nina snapped her head up and saw a smirk making its way onto his lips. She could feel the blush in her cheeks and the heat radiating off of her skin. Looking at his handsome, unchanged face gave her goose bumps. The ease with which they spoke, the magnetic force she felt pulling her closer to him, it was all making sense. She’d wanted this chance for so long, maybe longer than she realized, and now it was hers for the taking. Screw the small talk, apologies and explanations. There was only one thing that needed to be clarified.

“
So you came all the way here to sign some paperwork?”

Nina sipped her water through a straw and peered at Kevin with doe eyes, trying to melt his heart. She prayed for him to touch her.

Boldly, gracefully and just as Nina had imagined he would when he came around eventually, Kevin reached out and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, cupping her cheek in his palm.

“
I guess I just had a feeling I'd like it here.”

A shudder rolled through her. Kevin smiled and gave her a look she was sure was telling her it wasn’t over. With his hand still against her face, Nina felt one last urge to be convinced he was there for her and her alone.

“
And do you...like it?” she asked and waited with bated breath for his reply.

“
I
love
it,” he said.

A smile as bright as the sun spread on Nina's lips and she gave in once again.

Not caring who saw, knowing there were no repercussions, Kevin and Nina each leaned closer to each other and shared a tender kiss much like their first, back when they were just two people who’d found each other. After all of the months of fighting and yearning, hiding and denying, loving then leaving, they were just two people in the end. Two people--at the beginning.

The End

About the Author

Kate Roth has been writing everything from short stories to poetry since her days in junior high. Today she finds the most pleasure in writing love stories. She has a passion for a number of artistic endeavors including music, theater, fine art photography, as well as her day job as a professional cosmetologist. Kate is a small business owner living in Indiana with her husband Adam and their rescue dog Sampson. This is her first novel. Readers can visit Kate at
www.katerothwrites.blogspot.com