“It was a good romance.”
He swiveled to face her. “It was. They both made mistakes and they did stupid shit they needed to make up for, so there was a balance on both sides. Both of them were wrong.”
“That’s true. They each had to grow and learn about themselves before they ended up together at the end.”
He grinned. “Yeah. It was a good story. And I liked the fact that he brought her that puppy from the animal shelter.”
“Awww. A sucker for animals, are you?”
“Every time. But don’t give away my secret. It might ruin my macho killer image on the ice.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
“Good to know. Now tell me about your secret.”
She arched a brow. “What secret?”
He stood and held out his hand. Curious, she slid her hand in his and he hauled her to her feet and walked down the hall.
“I saw this the other day when you left me in your house.”
He stopped in front of the music room. She frowned, and then realized what he was referring to.
“Oh, the guitar?”
“Yeah. And the music. You write.”
She shrugged, determined to downplay the music thing. “Some.”
He leaned against the doorway. “Looks like a lot more than some. And you obviously play.”
“Again. Some.” She was surprised he’d even noticed.
“Do you sing, too?”
“A little.”
“Great. Play a song and sing for me.”
She shook her head. “Oh, no. I only do it for myself.”
“Why?”
“Because it relaxes me and it’s something I enjoy doing on my off time.”
“I mean, why do you only sing and play for yourself? Are you bad?”
She lifted her chin. “No, I’m not bad.”
“Then play for me.”
“I don’t think so.”
He took her hands in his. “I want to hear you, Jenna. Please play something for me.”
The sincerity in his voice, in his expression, pulled something inside her. She never played for other people. Not since Europe. And that had been a long time ago.
“I don’t know.”
“Just one song. You have all this music here. Let me hear one song.”
“Fine.” She sat on the floor and grabbed the guitar.
He grinned and came into the room, dropping onto the loveseat, looking as eager as if he’d just gotten front-row seats to see Nickelback or Beyoncé or someone famous.
“I hope you’re not expecting anything life changing here.”
“I’m not expecting anything, Jenna. I just want to hear you.”
She warmed up her fingers on the strings, then started to play. Just music at first, getting used to the idea of actually playing in front of someone again.
But as the song filled her head, she forgot Ty was there, and she did what came naturally to her—she sang, the words flowing out from her as she strummed the strings of the guitar.
It was one of the songs she’d written recently—about needing freedom, of feeling trapped and being chained. She worked into a bridge about her dreams, of all the places she’d go if she were free. It was a slow, melancholy song, but one filled with hope.
When she finished, she looked up, and Ty was leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees.
“Wow, Jenna. You’re amazing.”
She felt the heat from her neck to her cheeks. “You think so?”
“Yeah. I mean, a lot more amazing than I thought you’d be.”
Her lips curved. “So, you expected me to suck.”
“I expected this was just something you dabbled in. I didn’t expect you to be so damn good. You have an incredible voice. And that song. You wrote it?”
She nodded.
“How long have you been writing music?”
She shrugged.
“Jenna.”
“A long time.”
He dragged his fingers through his hair and stood, then sat on the floor across from her. “I’m no expert in music, but that was good. Really good.”
“Thanks.”
“How long have you been playing?”
“Again. A long time.”
“Tell me about it.”
“It’s not really a big deal.”
He looked around at the sheet music piled up and scattered throughout the room. “It’s obviously a big deal to you. You write, you play. Tell me.”
She sucked in a breath. “I took a couple music courses in college before I dropped out. I really enjoyed them a lot.”
“And?” he asked after she paused.
“Nothing. I just liked the courses and missed the whole music thing after I was done with school. So I started writing songs.”
“Sing something else.”
She couldn’t help the little thrill that zinged through her. “Okay.”
This time she chose a song more upbeat, a popular song familiar to anyone who ever listened to the radio. It was one of her favorites, and it was in her range. She sang it all the time and it always made her feel good. When she finished, Tyler clapped and she laughed.
“Thanks,” she said.
“So why aren’t you doing this…somewhere?”
“Somewhere?”
“Yeah. Like on a stage somewhere. In public.”