One Night with Sole Regret 05 Tie Me by Olivia Cunning Read Free Book Online Page A

it on the stand above the fall board. Reading the notes scattered along the staff, he played them slowly, but correctly. She fought the urge to play over him, to get the tempo up to where it belonged. She didn’t know why, but it bothered her beyond reason when anyone took liberties with her music and didn’t play it exactly as she envisioned it.
    When the song shifted to a lower register, his arm brushed hers and his fingers went still.
    She glanced at him to find him sitting with his eyes closed.
    “I should go,” he said.
    “Why? I don’t want you to go.”
    “Because I’m incredibly attracted to you, and I don’t think I’m quite ready to act on it.”
    Well, in that case, there was no way she was letting him leave.
     

 
     
    Chapter Five
    He wasn't sure why Dawn had him in knots. She hadn't been overly flirtatious. She looked nothing like Sara. Dawn had gorgeous, deep red hair, hazel eyes flecked with green, and adorable freckles on her long, straight nose. Her lips were thinner than Sara's had been. She was tall, long limbed and fine boned. She didn't smell like Sara or sound like her or say things that reminded him of phrases Sara used to say. Dawn was nothing like Sara. Kellen couldn't remember the last time he'd looked at any woman and not been reminded of Sara at all. He couldn’t remember, because it had never happened. He didn't know if he should feel relieved or guilty or sad. What he mostly felt was aroused.
    "You're attracted to me?" Dawn asked, her expressive hazel eyes wide. "Because you're doing a good job of hiding it. Why do you draw away when I touch you? You make me feel like I have cooties."
    "I don't want to be attracted to you."
    "Are you married? Engaged?"
    "I wish I were." He might as well just tell her what she was up against. "Are you attracted to me too?" He thought she was, but before he started saying things to scare her away and remind himself of the emptiness inside, he needed to make sure the revelation was worth the pain.
    "Yeah, I am definitely attracted to you," she said. "I can't imagine there's a woman on the planet who wouldn't be."
    He rolled his eyes. He didn't need her flattery. He just needed her to shoot straight with him.
    "The woman I planned to marry died, so technically I'm not attached. But spiritually and emotionally I'm in a relationship that doesn't exist."
    She stared at him, her eyes searching his until he had to look away. "Well, that sucks," she said. "Kind of hard for me to compete with someone who can do no wrong."
    Not the empathy and sympathy to which he was accustomed. Dawn’s eyes were dry and she wasn't doing that annoying pat his hand and avoid his gaze thing that so many people did when he told them about Sara.
    "Okay,” she said, turning back to her keyboard. “I'm going to start the song again and when I get to my stuck spot, I’d like you to play whatever occurs to you."
    That was it? She wasn't going to hound him with questions and overwhelm him with so many memories of Sara that he was forced to retreat inside himself again? She wasn’t going to give him a reason to push her away? He didn’t know how to respond.
    She started playing her unfinished composition and as before, the collection of notes lifted his spirit, made him yearn for the song to never end. With each successive note he felt happier, more alive, more connected to something than he had in years. When Dawn reached her final note, Kellen prepared to take over, but three additional notes poured from her fingers. She straightened on the bench beside him and played the three notes again. And again. Then she sang them in the most beautiful falsetto he had ever heard and played them yet again.
    She released a long breath, the tension draining from her body. "Three is better than none."
    "And better than crap."
    She beamed and gave him a hasty hug. "I think my muse is intimidated by your crap, Kellen."
    He fought the urge to wrap his arms around her and hold her close. He still