Chapter Ten
JESSICA’S EYES WERE closed as her fingers danced along the fingerboard of the cello against the backdrop of the setting sun. The bow moved gracefully, then forcefully, then full of grace once again, across the strings. In the few days Jamie had known her, he’d never seen such a peaceful expression on her beautiful face. It was as if the music had seeped into her body and filled it with serenity. Surrounded by the people he loved most, she opened her eyes for a split second and immediately sought his, and in that second, she leveled him flat.
Her lips curved up and her dimples appeared, making his entire world spin on its axis. In the next moment her eyes closed, and the combination of the music and Jessica made his chest feel full.
“Dude, she’s amazing,” Tony whispered.
“Yeah,” was all he could manage. Jamie had listened to his grandmother play in enough orchestras to know expert cello playing when he heard it.
After they played, Vera lowered her violin and gazed at Jessica. Jamie had never seen his grandmother in awe of anyone. There was no mistaking the look in her eyes as she watched Jessica humbly look down at her cello with something akin to love in her eyes. Jamie looked over the others, as they clapped and smiled and told both Vera and Jessica how marvelously they’d played, and on their faces he saw the same admiration for the duo that swelled inside him. Jessica’s eyes found Vera’s and held. Jamie couldn’t read the silent message that passed between them, but he felt the power of a secret world, a secret love. A kinship. If there was one thing he understood, it was that his grandmother had recognized something in Jessica that none of them could see, and he wanted to be in the know.
While the others gathered around the table filling their plates with the potluck dinner everyone had pitched in to make and Jessica settled her cello in the case, Jamie went to Vera’s side.
“That was beautiful, Gram.”
“Yes. Magnificent,” she said as she tucked her violin into its case. Vera pulled her thick sweater around her shoulders and crossed her frail arms over her chest with a slow exhalation. “Magnificent,” she whispered, as she shifted her eyes to Jessica again. “Be a dear, would you, please? I’d love a plate of food. I’m famished.”
Jamie knew when he was being dismissed. He could see that she wanted to speak with Jessica alone, and again he wished he could swim in Vera’s brain long enough to understand what she’d seen.
He grabbed a plate and filled it with salad, steak, and a slice of Leanna’s homemade bread and layered it with her delicious Strawberry Spice jam.
“Didn’t Jessica say she played a little the other night?” Bella asked.
“Yeah, she sure did.” Jamie respected his grandmother’s privacy and purposely didn’t try to eavesdrop on her conversation with Jessica, but he couldn’t help glancing at the woman who continually proved to be so much more than he ever expected. In every way, from her kindness and generosity, to her sweet demeanor and sensual instincts. She was standing with her hands laced together, swaying just the slightest bit, like a blade of grass in the breeze. Her lips were pressed together in that I’m-embarrassed-but-happy way that he’d fallen head over heels for, but her beautiful blue eyes were serious as she spoke to Vera. She nodded, said something that caused Vera’s mouth to open wide and then ease into her own pleasant smile.
“Well, I think she more than plays a little.” Bella handed a plate to Caden, then turned to ask Evan if he wanted her to fill one for him.
“Man, Jamie. Gorgeous and talented.” Tony had a plate loaded with steak, potatoes, salad, and bread. “Lucky dude.”
Vera reached out and embraced Jessica, and they both headed his way.
“That I am. What’s up with you and Amy? Did you blow it altogether?” Jamie asked.
Tony clenched his jaw. “Nothing to blow.”
“Really? Could have fooled me, but what do I know?” Jamie patted him on the back. “You going to the beach party tonight?”
“Of course.” Tony tossed his chin to the side and his hair fell over his brows as he draped an arm around Jamie’s shoulder and lowered his voice. “Surfing only satisfies one type of desire in this hard bod.”
The ache of jealousy in his friend’s voice wasn’t lost on Jamie, and as Tony joined Kurt, Caden, and the others and Jessica came to his side, he couldn’t help but feel empathy for him. He knew that hookups would only lessen a fleeting desire. And now that he’d experienced what being with someone he cared about felt like, he knew that making love could be a deeper, more fulfilling experience, and he hoped his friend would find that one day, too.
“Thank you, dear.” Vera took the plate from Jamie, pulling his attention back to the group.
“Sure.” He turned his attention to Jessica and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You didn’t tell me that you played even better than Jacqueline du Pré.” He kissed her softly and noticed her eyes flash to Vera, who was settling in at the table.
“Please. I’m not that good, but thank you.” She dropped her eyes.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked quietly. “You should be beaming with pride, and you look a little worried.”
“I need to tell you something, and I’ve kind of been holding it back because I didn’t want it to make things weird between us, but I’ve told Vera, and now I feel bad for not telling you first.” She hooked her finger in the waist of his jeans. “Jamie, I’m on hiatus from the Boston Symphony Orchestra.”
The Boston Symphony Orchestra was one of the country’s five major symphony orchestras, and it was more than a big deal. It was a major deal, and taking a hiatus from such a prominent orchestra was not something the orchestra or, he imagined, Jessica would take lightly.
“That’s amazing, to play with such a prominent orchestra. Why would you keep that from anyone, especially me?”
She shrugged. “I just wanted to try to live a normal life and see what I was missing. People get weird when they hear you play for one of the Big Five, not to mention that I’m being considered for a seat with the Chamber Players, which is just another thing that would set me apart from other people my age.” The Big Five orchestras were designated based on musical excellence and caliber of musicianship, as well as a few other determining factors. In addition to the BSO, the Big Five included the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Cleveland Orchestra.
“The Chamber Players? That’s huge, isn’t it? Very prestigious.” Jamie knew how prestigious it was, and he wondered how Jessica wasn’t jumping with joy to tell everyone she knew.
“Yes, it is.” She sighed, and when she shifted her eyes away, he sensed her discomfort with the discussion.
Jamie had seen firsthand how people reacted differently to Vera once they knew of her pre-Jamie career, and he knew all about people acting differently when they learned he held a coveted status, which was why he chose to live a low-key lifestyle rather than that of the rich and famous. But he wasn’t sure their friends at Seaside would be clued in to the symphony industry, or that they’d care, given that they’d always treated him like he wasn’t a millionaire. He wished she’d give them the chance to show her how they would react, but he was beginning to realize just how central the orchestra had been to Jessica’s life, and how she really must have lived a life very far removed from anything outside of the orchestra and the music world. It was all beginning to make sense—her inexperience with men, her fear that she might not fit in. She was so beautiful that if she were out in bars at night, she’d have been swooped into the arms of any number of men quicker than she could have said the word cello.
He wondered if there was more to her hiatus than just wanting to live a normal life, especially knowing that, as Vera had mentioned, taking a break from one of the biggest symphonies around was frowned upon. Whatever the reason, he didn’t want to make her any more uncomfortable than she already was.
He kissed her and whispered, “Your secret is safe with me.”