On Thursday evening, I went to practice prepared. As I already knew every note of the piece, I left the crutch of my sheet music in my bag and placed it near the door, next to Jude's backpack. Was he planning to run for it as well?

It appeared the answer was yes. After an hour of Jansen's mutterings, he stood up.

"Gotta go, man."

"You can't. It's the recital tomorrow, and you haven't played the last twelve bars properly once yet."

"I'll get up early and play it through in the morning. People are waiting for me in town." He turned and gave me a wink. "Karaoke night at Club Lagonda, if you fancy coming?"

I hurriedly shook my head, unable to think of anything worse than getting drunk and attempting to sing in front of hundreds of strangers. But I used the interruption to edge towards the door myself.

"I need to go too." Before Jansen could reply, I added, "I've played the last part perfectly, so no need to worry."

With two of us dissenting, Jansen didn't know which way to turn. I took advantage of his confusion to make a break for it, grabbing my bag as I got near the door and jogging along the hallway.

Footsteps sounded behind me, but I didn't stop to see whose they were. Fearing Jansen had decided to follow, I passed the elevator and ran into the stairwell. At the first floor, I hesitated. As I hadn't been sure I'd escape, my driver wasn't waiting, so I needed a place to hide until he arrived. The sound of the door above opening spurred my feet into action, and I ran down the next flight of stairs to the basement.

The place was bigger than I remembered, and without Linc to guide me, my chest tightened as my breathing threatened to get out of control.

"Just breathe," I whispered, placing my hand on my chest to calm myself. My footsteps clicked on the tile floor as I hurried along the corridor, trying to recall which of the closed doors led to Linc's palace, as he called it.

Finally, I recognised the torn poster of last year's graduation concert and pushed inside, seeing Linc's bag next to the chair. I sank onto the seat, letting out a breath I didn't realise I'd been holding.

"Didn't need my help tonight, then?"

I jumped so violently the chair shot out from under me, and the only thing that kept me from hitting the floor was Linc's arm under my back. I grabbed his other hand with both of mine to steady myself.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he said, retrieving the seat and lowering me back into it. "I called out to you in the stairwell. Didn't you hear me?"

I shook my head. At that point, I'd only been thinking of getting away.

"Hardly surprising with the amount of noise you were making." He broke into a grin as he crouched beside me. "You wouldn't make a very good ninja."

The idea of me creeping around in black, Emmy-style, was enough to make me burst into laughter. In fact, it wasn't until I looked down that I realised my hands were still gripping his, and that his hand was resting on my thigh. Even a week ago, I'd have panicked, but today I willed myself to stay steady. Apart from a wobbly intake of breath, I managed it.

"I thought Jansen was behind me."

"Nope, just yours truly. I came to check on you, and you shot past like you had a rocket up your ass." Linc's cheeks reddened. "Sorry, uh, I meant you were running pretty fast. Il Duce was too busy arguing with the slacker to come after you, but I figured that dude could look after himself."

My shoulders slumped forward with relief. "Thank goodness."

"So why did you come down here? I thought you weren't keen on basements."

This was one of those times when my inability to lie had me at a disadvantage. My voice dropped to a whisper as I told him the truth.

"I thought you might be here, and you make me feel safe."

He stiffened, and for a second I thought I'd scared him off. Men don't like emotional women, right? But then he covered my two hands with his free one and squeezed gently.

"I'm glad to hear it. You come here anytime you need to, okay?"

I nodded, words of thanks stuck behind the lump in my throat. Why did his kindness make me choke up?

"Do you need to call your driver?" he asked.

Again, I nodded. "Yes, please."

Linc let go of me, leaving my hands cold in my lap, and pushed the clunky old phone in my direction.

"Here you go."

The driver said he'd be with me in five minutes, and I almost told him to circle around the block a few times. But it wouldn't be fair of me to take up Linc's evening—he needed to get home as well. Did he have a family waiting for him? A wife? A girlfriend? My eyes darted towards his hand, checking for a ring. Nothing, thank goodness, but surely he must have a girlfriend? Someone as sweet as him couldn't be alone.

"My driver won't be long."

I replaced the receiver, anxiety building in my gut as a strange army of feelings marched their way through my belly. Sickness, then fear, then the flutters I used to get whenever I saw Hisashi's father. Oh hell, this wasn't good. Panic slammed into me as I realised what they meant. I liked Linc. Really liked him. And that thought had me pushing the chair back as I tried to get the space to breathe. I needed oxygen, but my lungs weren't cooperating.

"What's wrong?" Linc reached for my hand again, and I let him take it, limp in his grasp.

"Nothing."

"You're shaking. Did I do something to upset you?"

"No. I, uh, I think I'm just nervous about the recital tomorrow. What if Jansen's right and we didn't practise enough?"

"You've done plenty of practice. Go home, make sure you get some sleep, and eat a good breakfast. You'll knock their socks off when you play."

Sleep. It was all very well Linc telling me to sleep, but how could I when his face haunted my dreams? Not Hisashi's father but this newcomer, and the guilt that I was tarnishing the memory of the man who saved my life and showed me love kept me awake half the night. By the time the sun rose, I was a wreck.

"Nervous?" Sofia asked over breakfast.

I grabbed onto the excuse. "Very much. I've never played in front of such a large audience before."

"With the amount of practice you've done, you'll get top marks."

"I hope so."

Or Jansen really would fire a rocket up my ass.

In morning classes, I blocked everything from my mind but the teachers speaking at the front, concentrating on taking notes in my literature seminar and then on putting together harmonies in the theory class that followed. That strategy worked until lunchtime when my phone buzzed with a text, and I knew it was from Linc before I even looked at the screen. Emmy and her husband already sent a good luck video, my parents and brother called me last night, and Bradley sent enough flowers to start my own store. There was nobody else it could be.

Linc: Smile and be strong. As soon as people hear you play, they'll all smile too.

I didn't share his confidence, but as I made my way to the stage in the auditorium, carrying my sheet music in front of me like a shield, I forced the corners of my mouth upwards. I couldn't fool myself, but I could try to persuade the others I was happy. Linc said I wasn't a ninja, but the butterflies in my stomach had armed themselves with throwing stars and they loved to practise almost as much as Jansen did.

It wasn't until I raised my hands and started to play that I began to breathe again, and when I flipped over to the second page where I'd stuck Linc's note reminding me to smile, I relaxed for the first time that day. I'd go so far as to say I was enjoying myself, at least until I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.

A man slipped into the back of the room, wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, and without his grey coveralls, it took me a few seconds to realise it was Linc. He'd come to watch!

"Akari! What are you doing?" Jansen's furious hiss brought me to my senses, and I realised the others had played on without me.

By the time I worked out where they'd got to, I'd missed nearly a whole line of music and mutterings in the audience told me that mistake hadn't gone unnoticed. Cheeks heating, I fought back tears as we finished the piece and I took my place in the second row beside Jude. I nudged him to sit between Jansen and me, although that only prolonged the inevitable.

"What the fuck was wrong with you?" Jansen asked as soon as the last group had played and the dean finished his speech.

"I just lost my place. I'm sorry."

"It was him, wasn't it? The janitor? I saw him walk in right when you screwed up. What the hell are you doing with him?"

"Nothing, I swear."

But I knew my blush said otherwise.

"Akari, you're stupid. You've got real talent, and you're wasting it gallivanting with the hired help. You need to get your act together before you screw up all our grades."

"I will, I promise. I'll practise more next time," I said, but I was left speaking to Jansen's back as he stormed out.

Jude stood beside me, watching him leave. "Ignore that idiot. Everybody's allowed to make mistakes. And you're not stupid either."

"I shouldn't have got distracted."

"Hey, if a hot babe walked in, I'd have stopped playing as well." He picked up his cello and grinned. "It's over now, so at least we can enjoy our weekend without little Hitler breathing down our necks."

I followed him out, head bowed. Despite his lack of practice and love of the Boston nightlife, he'd played the piece perfectly. He passed every test in the other classes we shared too. Yes, Jude performed when it mattered, whereas I screwed up with astonishing regularity.

I'd got halfway along the hallway, still berating myself, when I felt a presence beside me.

"Sorry," Linc said. "I didn't mean to put you off."

"It was all my fault. I've been struggling to concentrate."

His raised eyebrow told me he didn't quite believe what I said, but he nodded, accepting it. "Anything I can do to help?"

A vision of him standing shirtless in front of me popped into my mind, and my eyes widened. Oh no, I was not allowing myself to go there.

"Apart from turning back the clock so I can start again, no."

"I'm all out of time machines, but how about a coffee?" He glanced at his watch. "If you don't have anywhere to be, that is."

"I'm done for the day." I studied my shoes, unable to meet his gaze. "Yes, I'd like a coffee."

I thought Lincoln meant a mug of instant in his palace, but it turned out he'd finished work as well.

"Management swaps our shifts around each week. They like to keep us on our toes," he said as he led me out of the building to a café three blocks away.

That explained his attire. In well-worn denim and a soft flannel shirt, he looked quite different to the man I'd grown used to seeing at Holborn. Only the scruffy beard gave him away, and I couldn't help wondering what he'd look like without it.

He held the door open for me, and I ducked under his arm and headed inside, spotting a table on the far side where a couple had just got up to leave. Linc saw it too and nodded towards it.

"You grab the table, I'll get drinks. What do you want?"

"Cappuccino with caramel syrup, please."

He nodded then headed for the counter, muttering something about "too sweet." Well, I couldn't help my sugar addiction. Sometimes it was the only thing that got me through the day. When he came back, he must have relented because the tray also held two plates, one with a chocolate brownie and the other with a banana muffin. I kept my fingers crossed the healthier option was for him, and I needn't have worried because he slid the gooey delight in my direction.

"Thought you might be hungry as well."

"Thanks. I didn't eat lunch." The ninja butterflies hadn't allowed me to, but now the horror was over, I broke a piece off the brownie and shoved it into my mouth.

An awkward silence followed, and Linc took a mouthful of coffee then leaned his chin on his hands, watching me.

Finally, he spoke. "I wanted to check you were okay. You know, because with the weekend I won't see you for a couple of days now. I've noticed that you fret about things."

"I'll be all right."

"You have somebody you can talk to at home?"

"I live with, uh, a...my son's nanny."

He did a double take and put down his cup. "Your son?"

"Hisashi. He's sixteen months old."

"And what about...? Forget it, it's none of my business."

"His father?"

Linc nodded.

"His father isn't around."

If I'd thought the first silence was awkward, the second seemed to last forever. I turned to the brownie for moral support. Chocolate didn't judge. Chocolate understood.

When I could stand it no longer, I asked the question that had plagued me for days. "How about you? Do you have someone to talk to?"

"Like a priest?"

"Not exactly."

"An old high school buddy?"

"That wasn't what I was thinking of."

He cocked his head to one side. "I don't understand."

"I meant a girlfriend," I blurted. "Do you have a girlfriend?" Too late, I caught the twinkle in his eye. "You were messing with me."

I didn't know whether to sink into the floor or run out the door.

He chuckled, then melted my insides with his smile. "I'm single. The army isn't kind to relationships, and since I got out, I haven't found anyone who'll put up with me."

"You were in the army?"

"Yeah, for ten years."

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why were you in the army?" I'd seen too many men seduced by guns. They thought there was glory in carrying a weapon, and by the time they realised the death and destruction those things caused, it was too late. They'd crossed to the dark side or lost their lives to some misguided cause.

Except when I asked that question, Linc's eyes took on a depth I'd never seen before. Pain leached out of them, and this time it was me who reached out to take his hand.

"What is it?" I whispered. "What's wrong?"

His voice dropped as he spoke, his gaze fixed not on me but on a random spot over my shoulder. "When I was eight years old, my daddy killed my momma while me and my two brothers slept in the next room. I swore that when I grew up I'd do what I could to keep people safe, and I did that by serving my country."

Oh, hell. Why did I have to be so nosey? I stroked his fingers and found them rigid, cold under my touch. A matching chill ran through my veins.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

He let out a long sigh, then dragged his gaze back to my face. "It was a long time ago now. I've learned to live with it."

"What about your brothers?" Why couldn't I shut up?

"Joel never got over it. He died of an overdose at eighteen while I was serving overseas." Linc inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, and I wished I could do something to ease his pain. "He hid his addiction until the day I got the call telling me he was in a coma, but the stupid bastard never did wake up. Drew's a doctor in Vancouver. Paediatrics."

"I'm sorry." A tear leaked down my cheek, and Linc reached out and brushed it away. "Don't cry. My past isn't a part of your future."

Wasn't it? Because that past made him who he was, and whatever future I had, I saw Linc in it. "I wish those things hadn't happened to your family."

"Me too, sweetheart. Me too." He stroked my cheek then pushed his chair back. "I've lost my appetite, I'm afraid. You want me to walk you back to school?"

"I can call my driver to pick me up here." I fumbled for my phone, anxious to avoid going back to Holborn in case Jansen was still lurking somewhere.

"I'd offer you a ride, but I've only got a bike."

"You cycle everywhere?"

"A motorbike. Not much to hold onto on the back except me, and if you don't like being touched, it's not a great way to travel."

"I can get my driver to drop you back to your bike?"

"Thanks, but I need the walk. It'll help to clear my head."

I wished that worked for me. I could go twice around the equator on foot and my mind would never be empty. Instead, I watched from the back seat of the car as Linc set off along the sidewalk with long, easy strides, and all I could do was hope he found the peace he sought.