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He nodded "Alet a divorce lawyer I can’t believe ho screwed that up"

She couldn’t, either Who did that kind of thing? She remembered her attack "Is he okay? Is there still a puncture in his face?"

"Do you care?"

She considered the question "Not really"

Wyatt grinned "Now you sound like your sister"

"She’s rubbing off on ht Nicole wouldn’t have let Lisa push her around Nicole would have told her exactly what she could do with her stupid, de schedule and then she would have walked

"You’re looking fierce about so about?"

"MyI was more like Nicole so I could tell her off"

"Is that what you want to do?"

"So her calls Not the best way to handle the situation"

He led the way into the kitchen The rooht, like most of the others in the house The cabinets looked relatively new There were granite countertops and stainless steel appliances

I he kne to cook Talk about the perfect man Except, if he was so perfect, asn’t he married or at least with so to drink?" he asked

"Anything diet"

He looked at her "Do I look like a guy who drinks diet?"

The tingles were back "Not really"

"Good But I keep soerator, collected a glass, filled it with ice and set it in front of her "So why don’t you tell her off yourself?"

"Lisa? I don’t know I never have I should It’s different now I’m not a kid anymore" The problem was that she still felt like a kid As if she had to ask for per?" he asked

She stared at hi the piano," he said "Shouldn’t you be? Isn’t that what you do?"

Not any when she’d ed to lose herself inwith exhaustion and soaked with sweat She’d played and played, wanting theUnfortunately the co was only a distraction, albeit a satisfying one

"I don’t have any current tour dates," she said "It’s close to su starts back up in the fall"

Wyatt pulled a beer out of the refrigerator and took the chair across fro to look after Nicole?"

"No Would it have been better if I had?"

"I don’t know We were talking about it last night I dropped by to check on her"

He’d been at the house? Claire fought a sense of loss for having missed the visit

"I would have canceled dates to be here," she said "Not that Nicole would believe that"

"She can be tough"

"Is that e’re calling it?"

He smiled "You’re more alike than either of you realize"

Because they were twins There was a connection At least there had been

"How does it work?" he asked "Do you just play out of New York? Are you with an orchestra? I don’t know anything about what you do"

It was a siht on by casual interest Nothing more Yet she felt both flustered and pressured

"I, uhts I can do a series in a city, as well I’ve played with different orchestras in the past For a season or part of a season But I--" Her chest tightened and not because Wyatt was so good-looking "I’ to retire"

"I haven’t retired I just…" She didn’t want to tell him, didn’t want him to be ashamed of her Yet she couldn’t seem to hold in the words "I can’t play I have panic attacks"

He looked at her as if he didn’t understand the words

"They started last year," she said in a rush "I was so tired I wanted a break and I was looking forward to doing nothing for a feeeks But Lisa wanted to book ot upset and sort of faked a panic attack She totally backed off I knorong I know the ht? I’m an adult It’s lass in both hands and stared at the contents It was better than looking at hiet her off my back But then one day an attack happened on its own and I couldn’t control it I guess I’d gotten so good at faking theot worse and worse and now they control h the final week of my schedule and I collapsed at my last perforh her She felt the heat on her cheeks As et what had happened, she relived the experience over and over again

"I’m so ashamed I don’t knohat to do I’ve been to a therapist, who has tried to help I know in et power, I can’t get better But I don’t kno to change how I feel And what if I can’t play again? This is all I know It’s who I a up the subject of her playing more than he could say Noas faced with an obviously upset Claire and he had no idea what to do or tell her This was con to hi he’d ever experienced

"Maybe, uh, if you saw, you know, souess I could try I just don’t know"

She looked suy-speak, he wanted to tell her to ignore the probleo away But he knew that wouldn’t help

"I hate feeling helpless," she said "Weak"

Weak he could handle, he thought with relief He was strong and tough He could protect her He could offer to…

He put on the hty Protect her? Where had that come from? He didn’t want to protect any female, except for Amy And maybe Nicole because she was his friend But not roet involved--ever