Chapter 42
The piano was white, in a corner of a beautiful courtyard area housing a large bar at its centre, glowing with mood lighting, chairs set all around and tumbling down over the rustic stone walls was bright red bougainvillea. The comfy sofas with contemporary cushions, olive wood tables and benches looked fit for a Michelin star restaurant. There were people enjoying beautiful-looking cocktails, light conversation in the air and already Cara was thinking this was such a bad idea.
‘You OK?’ Akis asked her.
‘No,’ she replied. ‘I’m having second thoughts.’
‘Ochi. No more thinking,’ Akis said. ‘Unless it is positive. Ela. Come.’
He strode towards the piano, sat down at the stool and tapped at the keys. Cara watched the customers; no one had really paid any attention to the piano being touched. They were all too caught up in their own relaxed holiday mood. Maybe it would be OK. She walked towards Akis and the piano.
‘You have an idea?’ he asked, fingers flitting over the keys making a beautiful melody. ‘Of what you would like to sing?’
‘Maybe one we practiced before?’ Cara suggested, her legs trembling slightly.
‘Which one?’
‘“Show Me Heaven”,’ Cara breathed. ‘Oh… I don’t know. I?—’
‘Look at me,’ Akis encouraged. ‘They can’t see you, remember?’
He started to play and before Cara knew it, they were at the beginning and she had to start singing.
He watched her, as he played the song and she sang. She was facing him, not the people in the bar. But he could see in his peripheral vision the customers had all already started to stop what they were doing and pay attention. As they should. Her voice was everything and he knew she didn’t really fully understand that. From the moment he had first heard her, it had touched him and he was in danger of wanting more of it, to the point that he didn’t want anything else.
He swallowed, losing focus for a second.
Her performance now was different to how she had sung in his apartment. It was still tentative but there was more strength, more intent, a desire to do this well, not born out of necessity to rehearse before a performance, but perhaps a need to get through it, to succeed.
She put a hand on top of the piano and closed her eyes, reaching for that strong, powerful note and hitting it hard. And then Akis got lost in the rest of the music, listening to her, playing for her until they brought it to its conclusion.
When she stopped holding the final note and he ended the song, she looked at him with unequivocal joy written all over her face. Seeing that moved him so deeply and he almost didn’t know what to do with himself. He stood up, went to step towards her…
But then the applause broke out.
He watched her shock at the sudden rise in volume and the expression on her face changed from elation to alarm. She had bravely faced enough fears tonight. Slipping an arm around her shoulder, he eased her body into his, giving a wave to the customers but all the while shielding her from the attention, shepherding her towards the exit.
‘It’s OK,’ he whispered, close to her ear. ‘You were amazing.’ He took a breath. ‘You are amazing.’
When they reached the street outside, he felt her tension ease just a little and she breathed audibly, like she had been holding it tight inside her. It wasn’t quite a desperate rush of release but it was enough to send her away from him, as if she needed her own space for a second. She backed up against a low wall, white cube houses glowing with lights, tumbling down below them to the sea.
‘I’m shaking,’ Cara said, holding her hand out to show him.
‘Adrenaline,’ Akis answered. ‘Do not think of it as anything else.’
‘I didn’t think,’ she continued. ‘I just felt it, you know.’
He was feeling it too. Her passion for the moment. Her achievement in being able to sing in a public space, in front of people. It was contagious and it was spreading, getting under his skin.
‘I know,’ he breathed. ‘I saw.’
‘I couldn’t have done that without you, Akis.’
‘You could have done it with or without me. I… just play the piano.’
‘No,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘That isn’t all it is for me.’
‘No?’ Lava had literally replaced the blood in his veins now.
‘No,’ she assured. ‘You… came all this way and, since we first met, you’ve listened to me and… you haven’t judged me and you haven’t asked me anything about that night and… you don’t know how much that means to me.’
He wanted to kiss her again. But, unlike before, when he had acted on impulse, he wanted her to know that this time he meant it with every part of him.
‘Cara,’ he whispered, reaching out and cupping her jawline.
‘Get away from me, you ridiculous man!’
Margot’s voice broke the night and out of the corner of his eye Akis saw her coming, pushing Horatio’s shoulder. The moment broke too and Akis dropped his hand, stepping back as Margot and Horatio arrived in the space.
‘Hey!’ Horatio said. ‘I have found us somewhere to stay. It even has a view. Mainly of an air-conditioning unit but, you know, that means it has air-conditioning!’
‘Come on,’ Margot said, linking arms with Cara. ‘We need our beauty sleep. The only bags we need to be turning up with at the party tomorrow are Carried Away samples.’
‘Oh, well…’ Cara began, her eyes still on Akis.
Horatio slapped a hand to his shoulder. ‘One last drink?’
‘Sure,’ he agreed, looking back at Cara.
‘Goodbye, Horror,’ Margot said to Horatio.
Akis looked at Cara being led away, looking back at him and he knew, for now, the moment was lost.