Page 61 of Accepting Love

“And I thought we were going to have movie night.” The high-pitched voice comes from behind everyone at the bottom of the stairs. It’s Amy. “I was just coming down to let you know lunch would be ready at noon. I caught the tail end of things.” She smiles. “I guess the house will be filled with melodious sounds and a movie later will pale in comparison.”

The girls all giggle, and the mood is lightened.

Amy and Giana join the group hug.

I’m beyond relieved this part is over. I hope Hannah can relax and get in her element and practice for a while without worrying now.

Craig tugs Leah out of the pile of Littles first. “How about we all go upstairs and give Hannah some space. I’m sure she’s overwhelmed and would like to tickle the keys alone for a while.”

I’m grateful for Craig’s insight. He’s right. Hannah will do much better without an audience at first. I’d rather she be the one to invite them to watch when she’s ready.

Everyone makes their way to the stairs, and I turn to pull Hannah into my arms, facing her this time. “You okay, angel?”

“I think so,” she whispers against my chest.

“Do you want to play for a while?”

She nods. “My fingers are twitchy.”

I chuckle. “I suspected. Do you want Daddy to change you into other clothes first?”

She shakes her head and tips it back. “As long as I have on my tennis shoes, my clothes don’t matter when I play. Sometimes I play in the night wearing almost nothing. I go into my own world and don’t notice things like clothes.”

I’ve seen evidence of this. She has played in the middle of the night twice since I arrived in her life. I tiptoed down to watch from the doorway the first time because I couldn’t resist the urge. She was ethereal. There was no other word to describe her.

She’d been in a thin white nightgown and house slippers. Her hair had been loose down her back. The lighting from the window had caused her nightgown to be translucent. I could see the outline of her breasts while she’d played.

I’d held my breath and watched for a while before tiptoeing back upstairs. The next night, I’d forced myself to stay in my bed and listen.

“Would you like Daddy to stay for a bit? Or would you rather I went upstairs with the others?”

She chews on her bottom lip. “Will you stay for a few minutes in case I panic?”

“Of course, Little one. I’ll stay as long as you’d like.” I turn her toward the piano and pat her bottom. “Go make heavenly sounds, Little angel.”

Chapter13

Hannah

“I love the name Carolina,” Leah declares, smiling broadly. “It’s royal or something.”

The four of us Littles are sitting in the library around the coffee table. We’re playing dominos except we keep getting sidetracked by conversations. Right now we’re on me and my apparently glamorous life as a concert pianist.

“Thank you. I guess I might retire Hannah altogether someday,” I muse.

“Ooh, really.” Giana’s face scrunches up. “That would be so weird. We’ve been friends for two years. I’ve only ever thought of you as a Hannah.”

I shove her shoulder playfully. “You’ve known my name was Carolina for a while.”

She scrunches up her face. “You’re really not mad about that?”

“No. Why would I be mad?”

“Because I could have told you I saw you at the symphony hall. I just didn’t want to upset you or stress you out. I figured you didn’t want anyone at Surrender to know who you were or you would have told us.”

I shrug. “I just didn’t want it to be a big deal. I wanted to just be Hannah at the club. Just a Little. Not a pianist.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Amy states. “I bet you had a great time at the club because you could just be you.”

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