It Hurts When It's True (Affaire de Coeur, #1)

Chapter 28: Piano

It is a common knowledge that an open communication is essential to have a healthy relationship, may it be friendly or romantic. Though there was no exact label to their relationship, Damian was certain that there was something going on between him and Maggie. After all, dictionaries state that a relationship is simply the state of being connected, right? Damian believed so. Profoundly so.

Everything had gone back to normal since the night Damian confronted Maggie. If there had been any changes, they were pretty small that he would not be able to name them if someone asked him. However, he somehow sensed that she was opening up to him little by little. Yet, he also knew that she hesitated about many things and giving her full trust to him was one of them. And with that, he promised to himself that he would persevere just so he would feel deserving by the time she realized that what he felt for her was genuine.

Damian's acting career was quite demanding, but he never failed to find time to spend with Maggie. Paying no heed to the strain it had on his body, but he would make it a point to pick her up from the hospital or her apartment. He was already sleep-deprived, but if it meant a few minutes of drive with her then he would give up sleep entirely. He already knew of the darkening around his eyes yet he did not mind so long as he could be with her, just her.

Having been given a respite from the taping of 'Back in Time,' Damian made plans for the two of them. Being a celebrity, he could not really been seen in public with anyone aside from Catherine Maybury. It was not particularly a general rule, but his manager Terry insisted that he avoid the public eye if he was not with Cath. Hence, he decided that the best place that he could spend time with Maggie was at his pad.

And just the thought of her in his safe haven had his heart pumping so hard.

Damian left Maggie in the living room while he prepared tea for the two of them. He knew she liked Earl Grey tea very much, but he only had English breakfast tea. This will do, he thought.

He almost dropped the tray he was balancing on his hand when he suddenly heard the sound of his piano. Even to his untrained ears, he noticed that some of the keys seemed to be out-of-tune. However, it seemed like the musical piece was still played in a fairly beautiful manner.

Reaching the end of the hall, Damian watched Maggie with her eyes closed and her body swaying to the gentle melody of the song she was playing. He was almost mesmerized by her playing until she pressed two wrong keys and stopped altogether.

Observing her from afar, he realized that she was laughing at her own mistakes. She scrunched up her nose at having failed to finish her piece, a laughable sight if someone were to ask him. Her shoulders bobbed up and down before she had gently pulled the lid back over the black and white piano keys.

Maggie lifted her head and saw Damian watching her silently from the other end of the room. She stuck her tongue at him which had brought out some laughter in him.

Putting the tray down on the coffee table, he immediately went to the grand piano and slid next to her. He noticed that she had finally put the lid down, giving him a feeling of disappointment. He wondered if he could make her play the same piece again — with or without the mistakes, of course.

"That was marvelous. Would you play more?" Damian asked.

"Thanks," she chuckled nervously in response. "But you heard it, didn't you? It was horrible!"

"It was lovely." He said earnestly.

Maggie giggled at that and slapped his arm playfully. But before she could even take her hand away, he caught it in his. And slowly did their eyes meet, though he had to tilt his head lower so as to heighten the intensity of his gaze. That was one of things he was good at, was it not?