One Magic Moment(16)
Author: Lynn Kurland

 

Kenneth was nothing short of relentless upon his return. Tess watched as he nudged and pestered and badgered until John was sitting down again with one mic pointed at the lute and another staring him in the face.

 

“No need for perfection,” Kenneth said soothingly, backing out of the room carefully, as if he feared to break the spell he’d been weaving. “He knows what you can do.”

 

John shot him a murderous look, but said nothing. He took a deep breath. In fact, he might have taken a couple of them. He sat there for an excruciatingly long time, as if he wrestled with things he couldn’t bring himself to face.

 

Tess understood completely.

 

He finally sighed, then tuned the lute as if he’d been doing it for the better part of his life.

 

Tess would have closed her eyes, but she was afraid she might miss something. She felt time begin to layer itself over her, over John, over the whole place, as if his past was colliding with her future.

 

She suspected that if anyone had touched her at that moment, she would have jumped out of her skin.

 

Kenneth popped into the production room and almost tripped over her. “Sorry, love. Didn’t see you there. Guy, turn the tape on and leave it on. We’ll edit out the profanity later.”

 

“He’s going to kill you,” Guy said mildly.

 

“He won’t,” Kenneth said confidently. “Not today.”

 

Tess wouldn’t have been so sure of that, but maybe Kenneth was better at ignoring the rather pointed and vile warm-up of curses John indulged in than she was. Kenneth and Guy only watched, unintimidated.

 

John finally stopped, took another in that series of deep breaths, then was silent for a couple of minutes.

 

Then he began to play.

 

Tess lost her breath, then felt her eyes begin to burn when he began to sing. The love song, sung in flawless medieval French—and yes, she most definitely could pin down the accent—was absolutely breathtaking. It was no wonder the mysterious Dave wanted him on tape and Kenneth was willing to brave all kinds of abuse to get him there.

 

And whatever else he was, John was a professional.

 

Or at least he was until he had finished with his song and the final notes had died away. Then he stood up, shot Kenneth another look of promise and left the studio, no doubt to look for somewhere to stash the lute so he wouldn’t have to see it again. Kenneth killed the recording, flicked on the lights, then sat back in his chair and sighed in contentment. He looked at her.

 

“Like that, did you?”

 

Tess could only nod.

 

“Couldn’t understand a word of it,” he admitted, “but he’s good, wherever he learned it.”

 

She watched John return to the studio, retrieve his guitar, then look at her through the glass.

 

“Let’s go,” he said shortly.

 

Guy laughed wryly. “The kid has no manners, but a helluva voice.”

 

Tess had to agree on both counts. She rose, thanked the men for the chair, then let Kenneth open the door for her. She realized only as she was standing in the lobby watching John study the calendar on his phone while Kenneth was pestering him for more time that she was having a hard time catching her breath.

 

Who was he? And why in the hell was he in her time and not his family’s?

 

She excused herself and looked for a loo to have a bit of privacy and see if she couldn’t get ahold of herself. She realized immediately that there was no hope for her; she looked every bit as shell-shocked as she felt. She pinched her cheeks, put on lip gloss, then put her shoulders back. She just had to get home. Maybe she could sneak past John and bolt for the nearest Tube station. Even if it took her until midnight to get back to Sedgwick, she would be better off than riding home with him. Then she could get on with that stellar plan of avoiding him like the plague.

 

She never should have come to find him. It had been a colossal mistake. What had she been thinking?

 

Well, she hadn’t been thinking, that’s what she’d been doing. She should have ripped up his card and run the other way.

 

Which she would do the first chance she had.

 

She walked back out into the lobby and eyed the exit. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get herself there. That probably came from the renewed weakness in her knees she suffered when she realized John was watching for her while he was talking to Kenneth.

 

“Why don’t you just move to London?” Kenneth asked in exasperation. “I have more work than you could handle.”

 

“I don’t like London.”

 

Kenneth pursed his lips. “It’s no worse than that no-man’s-land you’re living in right now.”

 

John only grunted at him.

 

Kenneth threw up his hands in frustration. “There is no talking to you, is there?”

 

John shot him a look. “I’m two hours from London, not eight. It’s the best I can do. And yes, I’m bloody grateful for all you’ve done for me. Now, will you stop with the nagging?”

 

“Just don’t smash any fingers before Tuesday,” Kenneth warned. “Our little miss won’t do the day without you.”

 

“I’ll be here.”

 

“Her father’s very rich.”

 

“I’ll be here with fingers intact,” John said with a gusty sigh.

 

“Leave your girlfriend at home,” Kenneth suggested.

 

“I’m not—” Tess began, only to realize John had uttered the same protest.

 

Which was just as well. She pasted on her most polite smile, because she was nothing if not polite, and she certainly didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. She had every intention of getting as far away from John de Piaget as possible and it was obvious he felt the same way.

 

All good, to her mind.

 

She continued to be polite as he escorted her from the studio. She stopped on the sidewalk and smiled politely.

 

“That was beautiful,” she said. “Thank you for letting me listen.”

 

He shrugged. “It was nothing.”

 

“I’ll pay you tomorrow for the rescue this morning,” she said, taking a step backward. “Have a safe drive back.”

 

He looked at her in surprise. “What?”

 

“Gotta go,” she said, backing up another step.