took them a few bars to fall into sync, Henrik stepping forward to take the lead, gaze tracking to all of them as they got it down.
The general rumble of chatter in the room fell away as they played, the song popular enough to have people singing along on the chorus. It ended in a round of applause that Henrik didn’t even acknowledge. He moved smoothly into another song, and she transitioned with him, picking up the piano notes easily. It helped that he was selecting songs they’d already played together.
The other two joined in soon, and right after that Maureen stepped up and started belting out the lyrics. She had a deep voice for a female that easily rose above the music even without a microphone, her years of choir performances kicking in.
It all flowed into Jacqui, sinking into the core of who she was to push away the dark that lingered there. This was why she loved music, why she played. The bond it created without words. It was a single language understood by everyone. She embraced it now, spoke its words from her heart as she played with Henrik. For Henrik.
He loosened up with each song, his shoulders rocking to the beat, his confidence growing with his choice of increasingly harder guitar pieces. He rarely looked out at the room, instead focusing on the music.
It was a side of Henrik she’d only seen that one time. Open, loose, his soul shining a happiness he usually snuffed behind the gruff hockey guy. She recognized it. Understood it. Saw it in every musician she’d ever met. In anyone who was doing the thing they were put on this earth to do.
He morphed into a classic rock song that left her out of the show, the piano not included. She sat quietly, wishing she’d opened the keyboard so she could add in the missing percussion. A glance at the room showed an avid audience. Most of his teammates had managed to close their gaping mouths, and a lot of her relations were moving in time to the music.
She kept her eyes on the group of pro players when Henrik launched into the intricate guitar solo, the notes cutting and squealing through the room as he mastered it with seeming ease. Her appreciation of his skills rose even higher. For a man she never saw practice, he was really damn good. The stunned expressions on the faces of his teammates said they agreed. The look was pretty much mirrored by most of the room, which was now crowded with all of the party guests.
The last strains of the guitar ended in a soft fade after the heavier notes of before. There was a collective pause, the silence heavy before Henrik lifted his head, smile wide.
“I think I won.” His cheeky comment was backed by a flick of his brows.
A loud round of applause and accolades broke out, his teammates rushing forward to razz him more.
“What the hell?”
“Where’d that come from?”
Finn and Isaac ducked out of the way to set the guitars on their stands, and Maureen was absorbed into the well-deserved praise from their family. Jacqui received equal praise, but she shrugged it off. This wasn’t about her and that was never why she played.
Finn nudged her over when he slid onto the piano bench next to her. There wasn’t room for him, but she shifted to give him space.
“That was pretty damn amazing,” Finn said, nodding to Henrik.
The man was still fielding comments from his teammates, head bowed between smart comebacks.
“Yeah. He is.” He really, really is.
“So why are you ready to run?”
Her head snapped around, her glare hard from the edge of his cutting remark. He didn’t even flinch. Only arched a brow in a dare for her to deny it. Which she couldn’t, and the ass knew that.
I love you. Henrik’s declaration hammered at her heart and yanked on her longing.
She turned away, deliberately ignoring Finn. Her chest seethed with righteous anger that had no solid foundation. She vaulted up and wove through the crowd, stomach ablaze with pain. The door to Henrik’s master bathroom clicked closed with barely a sound to shut out the rest of the world. Quiet. Blissfully needed silence.
Her gaze was bleak when she caught her reflection. She bit her lip, hand pressing into her abdomen in an attempt to ease the burning ache. Tuesday loomed before her, the appointment a ticking clock until she shattered everyone’s happiness.
It wasn’t her damn imagination. Just like