“What on earth are you talking—” She inhaled sharply as she looked down at the black rectangular object lying across the two seats in front of her. “A keyboard? You got me a keyboard?” She was looking dazedly down at the keys. She gingerly reached out and touched one of the keys. The sound, the beautiful sound…The feel of the key beneath her finger. The music waiting…

“It’s a Yamaha,” Tanner said. “I talked to a musician at a club in Stockholm and asked him to buy me the best quality he could find. He managed to get me the same kind of instrument that Samer Bou Khazaa uses. I thought that might be okay until I can replace your own piano. Since there’s a good chance we might be on the run, it had to be portable and battery-driven and yet be as close in quality to your full-size piano as I could make it.” He grimaced. “I’ll worry about getting you the real thing later. My chances of getting back to Russia anytime soon aren’t the greatest.” He was trying to read her expression. “You’re disappointed?” He shrugged. “I know it’s probably going to fall short of what you’re accustomed to, but you’ll have to make do until—”

“Be quiet.” She whirled on him and could feel the heat flushing her cheeks as excitement zinged through her. “It’s wonderful. How could it not be wonderful? I’ll have the music.” She frowned; her gaze drawn irresistibly back to those keys. “Though I don’t know much about keyboards. I’ve only played one once in my life, when they let me try out some of the other instruments at the Moscow competition. It felt strange, but sort of…exotic. Lots of bells and whistles that sometimes got in the way of the purity of the melody.” Her fingers reached out once more to stroke those magical keys that were beckoning, waiting. “But it will be fine once we get to know each other.” Her heart was pounding, the exhilaration was building, the eagerness becoming sharper. Her gaze flew back to Tanner. “When can I play it?”

“Let’s see, I’ll have to consider it.” He was staring in bemusement at her luminous expression. “Another five minutes?” He pointed to the two seats he’d arranged facing opposite the keyboard. “I tried to make the setup as comfortable as possible for you. I had the musician who sold me the keyboard set it up when he delivered it last night, but I’m at your service if you want me to try to adjust it.”

“No, I’ll want to do it myself.” Then something he said hit home. “Deliver? This was your very special delivery last night?”

“I assure you it was very special for him,” he said dryly. “For a musician, he became quite the entrepreneur when he found out I needed it fast and wasn’t going to argue price.”

“It’s very special for me, too,” she said. “Thank you.”

He shrugged. “It was a promise. And it’s really only half done, but I’m glad it pleased you.”