Page 80 of Requiem for Love

“You are with family, okay?” He stepped back and stared into her eyes. “You don’t have to be afraid here.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

Zaid walked her over to the band, and she greeted them while simultaneously giving herself a mental pep talk. Once introductions were done, the band asked her what song she wanted to sing.

“You might not know this song,” she said.

“You might be surprised.” The drummer smiled. “What’s the song?”

“It’s called, ‘I Didn’t Mean to Fall In Love’ by Snoh Aalegra.”

His smile grew. “You mean one of our very own Swedish sisters? You sing, Ayesha, and let us handle the rest.”

She faced the audience.

Lights shined in her face, and anxiety stomped with both feet on her chest.

Joel had come closer to the stage, and she could see him watching her, the long fingers on his right hand tapping those on his left. All he’d worn was a simple navy blue shirt, a blazer, jeans, and leather boots, and he was the best-looking and best-dressed man in the room.

By far.

The piano came in first, followed by the drums.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let her voice do the rest.

“I tell you all my secrets…”

Behind her closed eyelids, she saw Joel’s smile and his eyes, his disheveled hair in the mornings. She saw him back in Maui, her walking in from a rough day to find him rocking her baby and singing to Theo in the kitchen.

She saw Josiah’s love for him.

She saw him sitting with her on the sofa, the boys doubled over laughing at something he said, teasing her as usual, and her rolling her eyes, trying not to smile. He’d looked up at her, looked through her, his head pressed against the back of the sofa. It had been yet another rough day, and he’d been there, as he always seemed to be.

She saw him in the middle of a dance party with the boys, one she’d been too tired to join in on until he twirled her into her arms, rocking with her until he’d coaxed her to dance.

She saw him and Josiah at the three-legged race and the look on Josiah’s face, the adoration and pride. She saw the ceiling in her bedroom in Maui as she listened to him and Theo talk through the baby monitor.

“I didn’t mean to fall in love…”

She saw Joel winking at her from the kitchen; him asleep in her living room as the sunset bathed him through the glass doors; him holding her hand in the car the night after the school fair; him in bed asleep with Theo on his chest; him on one knee, telling her that he loved her; and his hands linked with hers as he said, “I do.”

“Now that I need you, baby…”

Ayesha opened her eyes, tears on her cheeks, and looked directly at him.

“Tell me we’ll never, never part…”

She drew out the last note as the piano finished the outro.

The audience stood, whistled, and clapped. Joel stood, but he didn’t clap or whistle. In fact, he stood so still, it looked like he barely breathed. He didn’t look away from her, didn’t blink, and his pupils were so large, they’d turned his otherwise sapphire irises black.

Ayesha bowed and returned the microphone to Zaid.

“You were amazing,” Zaid whispered in her ear.

Heat pricked her face. “Thank you.”

No longer a statue, Joel stepped forward to help her down the steps, slipped their fingers together, and walked them straight out of the restaurant.

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