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As she closed the book, she thought about Wyatt He seeood choice She liked hi with his daughter and a good friend to Nicole But she wasn’t sure he liked her veryher watch A her a little?

Too h answers

Claire stood and paced the length of the roo After a couple of seconds, she went out the door and down the stairs Ignoring Nicole, as still in the kitchen, she took the second flight to the basement and closed the door behind her

The studio was as it had always been, with the piano in the center of the room She’d had it tuned, maybe because she’d known it would come to this

The need to play swelled up inside of her She’dfor As It was as if a wall had broken down and let everything spill out

Life was ht, but music was calm and sure and beautiful

She sat in front of the piano and lightly touched the keys The sound was good It would take a few ht, but she wasn’t in a place where she could be picky

She closed her eyes and let the need grow inside of her She didn’t have to ask what she wanted to play That would coan

WYATT KNOCKED on Nicole’s back door and let himself in He’d braced hi at the counter

"Look at you," he said "You made it downstairs by yourself""I know I’m practically ready to run a marathon How are you?"

"Good I wanted to check on you"

"I’m fine"

She didn’t look at hi the contents of what looked like her dinner into the sink She put on the garbage disposal and ran water until the drain was clear

"Not hungry?" he asked

"I was I just…" She sighed "Claire and I had a fight Nothing like family discord to blow h school, I lost ten pounds using the little-known ‘I’m too sick to my stomach to eat because my personal life sucks’ diet If I wrote a how-to book about it, I couldso fast? This wasn’t what I wanted I came downstairs specifically to have dinner with Claire so we could talk Instead, we end up fighting I don’t get it"

Wyatt was careful not to say anything He loved Nicole like a sister, but she could be a handful From what he’d seen, Claire was a lot more even tempered Not that he would ad tis slow"

"I guess"

She turned to him, stepped into his arms and buried her head in his shoulder

"Do you think I’ood person?" she asked

"Of course! Why?" He rubbed her back

"It’s possible I’est bitch on the planet"

"No way"

"You weren’t here"

"I didn’t have to be I know you You’re not a bitch You’re difficult and stubborn, but not mean"

"Gee, thanks"

"You’re welcome

He put his arms around her and held her close She closed her eyes He paused, hoping to feel so A flicker A spark Even an e

The fire only happened with Claire, he thought grimly Just his luck

"My life sucks," she muttered as she pulled back and sank into the chair "And I just made it worse"

He took the seat across fro me I don’t deserve it I wastio that when a woman wanted to talk, it was best to stay out of the way and listen

"She made dinner," Nicole continued "She cooked a chicken It was really good We were getting along, but then she started talking about George Clooney She’s met hi about thereat She spends all her ti the piano Oooh, there’s a tough job She talked about the guys in the orchestra, how they like to party every night Of course she claimed she didn’t party Her life was just so hard I suppose fitting in that extraher money That has to take days and days"

Nicole stopped talking and looked at Wyatt "You want to change your opinion about me now?"

"No But I do want to knohy she pushes all your buttons"

Nicole hesitated "It justShe’s the one our parents talked about all the time They were so proud She was the star and I was stuck ho I hate her"

"No, you don’t"

Nicole narrowed her gaze "I don’t like it when you’re reasonable Have I mentioned that?"

"Once or twice You don’t hate your sister You don’t know her well enough to feelYou hate what happened to you because of her life and it’s easier to say you hate her than bla Oprah?"

"You’re saying a guy can’t be insightful?"

"Pretty much"

"I’ve known you a while now It’s a lot easier foron in your life than it is for you"

"I guess, but I like it better when I’ed "I feel guilty I hate that I feel guilty I know she’s fine" She looked at Wyatt "Tell o check on her?"

"Please She’s downstairs"

"In the baseot up and headed for the baseotten about the enclosed soundproof rooone ahen she’d been six or seven, which otten a whole lot of use As he stepped in the basement, he frowned as he realized Claire had been a couple of years younger than Arandmother She must have ht They were twins

He knew Nicole had a lot of issues and he didn’t bla after Jesse, working in the bakery She’d been the responsible one But what had Claire been?

He opened the door to the studio and was iht up in the beauty of the s or concertos or whatever it was she was playing--only that the piece was incredibly rich and almost…sad