Page 119 of The Pinkie Pact

Sighing like he was the dreamiest man she'd ever seen, she repeated, "Kieran Emerson. Okay. Please settle in, you two." And then she addressed the room, telling them that Kieran would be replacing Brie today, sounding like the professional she was.

Still in complete and total shock, I followed a confident-looking Kieran up the platform to sit down on the bench next to him. I had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

"Just trust me, beautiful," he whispered, sending a whole other kind of nerves shooting through my body. "And picture me in my underwear."

I stifled a giggle at that image. He didn't give me any time to think about the whole thing as he started counting quietly just like I had last time, and we began to play.

And holy crap! Kieran was actually pretty decent, keeping time with me perfectly. How the hell had he learned this song so quickly? And by memory? I couldn't really give it much thought at the moment because I needed to focus.

Somehow, we managed to play really well together, hitting those crescendos almost in unison. Yeah, he definitely hit the occasional wrong note, and he was no Brie. I mean, who was? But he kept his cool and kept on going like it was nothing, just like you were supposed to do.

His confidence seeped into me. And miraculously, I felt myself calming down and not quite enjoying the experience but not quite hating it as much either. Part of me knew it was just Kieran, having him beside me, blocking me from view with his large body, finding a way to help me through this.

As we approached the final measures, I felt a swell of relief along with something else that blew my fucking mind. Because I realized what the big project was that Kieran had been working on that he didn't want to tell me.

He'd been learning this song.

I bit back the tears as we played the final notes together. The emotions pouring through me were crazy intense and overwhelming, especially when people started clapping like they had actually enjoyed it.

Kieran grabbed my hand, pulling me to the front of the stage where he led us in a showy, dramatic bow, grinning and laughing at me the whole time. The audience ate it up, especially the professor, whose face was so bright I thought she might burst like a supernova.

Oh, my God, who knew Kieran loved the spotlight so much? Giggling, I jerked his arm to make him follow me off the stage. I needed to get out of this room before my heart exploded.

As the professor thanked everyone, I led Kieran out into the hallway. Without a word and not letting up on my grip, I found a small alcove with a vending machine and pulled him in there.

Ignoring the obvious confusion all over his face, I shoved him against the wall and stood on my tiptoes, smashing my lips to his in a desperate kiss that I felt all the way down to my soul.

He was so shocked, it took him a second to respond. And when he did, I melted like butter in the hot California sun because he gripped the sides of my face and held onto me like he never wanted to let me go.

His hands tightening on me, he slanted my head and took the kiss deeper, passion sizzling between us, making me feel like I'd ignite from the heat.

God, I had missed him so fucking much. I couldn't even believe it. As our mouths explored each other, the feelings pounded through me, even stronger than before. I ground my body up against him, wanting to feel every inch of him.

"Whoa," someone said, and we broke apart to see a dude stepping into the alcove, a dollar bill in his hand for the soda machine. "Excuse me, bros."

"No worries," I mumbled as the guy got his drink, making a loud noise as it clunked to the bottom of the machine.

I looked at Kieran, but he was so out of breath, he didn't speak. "Sorry about that," I said when we were alone again.

He was still silent, searching my eyes, and I knew he had a million questions. I could see that incredible brain of his processing everything, and he was probably wondering what on earth all this meant.

But he stopped himself from asking, thank God, because I didn't know either. I didn't want to stop and question it all. I just wanted to go with it, go with the feeling I had, and not think about the future.

I stepped back, putting a little space between us as Kara popped her head in.

"God, you two. What are you even doing in here?" she asked.

Our little thing, whatever it had been, was officially over now. Sighing, I walked out of the alcove and back into the hallway, people spilling out of the recital room, Kieran slowly following me in a daze.

"That was amazing," she continued as we stood in a little circle. She punched her brother in the arm. "How the hell did you do that?"

That seemed to do the trick, and Kieran snapped out of his stupor. "Um, right, yeah. I practiced a lot." He grinned, rubbing his bicep. "Just like Mom always said I should do."

Kara shook her head, narrowing her eyes at him. "But how? Did you go to Mom and Dad's condo?"

"No. Well, once. But the rest of the time, I just used my roommate's keyboard and—" He glanced around the hallway which was slowly thinning out as people left. "I may have used the piano practice rooms here a few times."

I seriously could not take my eyes off him, that he had done that for me. With that amazing gesture, more of those tiny pieces of my fractured heart healed themselves again.

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