Rachel interrupted him, amused and touched. “It’s going to be fine. And I think it was inspired of you to use beer nuts to get him out of the way.”

“He was steaming.” With a grin, Zack dropped down on the couch. “Argued with me for ten minutes about why the hell he had to go check on a missing delivery of beer nuts when he was getting paid to wash dishes.”

“I think he’ll forgive you when he gets back.”

“Hey up there.” Rio’s musical voice echoed up the stairway. “We got us one fine piano coming in. Best you come down and take a look.”

Rachel tried to stay out of the way—though several times, as they muscled and maneuvered the piano up those steep stairs, she wanted to offer advice. The best part was watching Zack, which she did the entire time the instrument was hauled, set into place and tuned. He worried over the piano like a mother hen, wiping smudges from the surface, opening and closing the lid on the bench.

“That looks real fine.” Rio folded his massive arms over his chest. “Be good to have music when I cook. You do right by that boy, Zack. He’s going to make himself somebody. You’ll see. Now I’m going to fix us something special.” He grinned at Rachel. “When you going to bring that mama of yours by here so we can talk food?”

“Soon,” Rachel promised. “She’s going to bring you an old Ukrainian recipe.”

“Good. Then I give her my secret barbecue sauce. I think she must be a fine woman.” He started out just as Nick came clattering up the steps. “What’s your hurry, boy? Got a fire in your pocket?”

“Damn beer nuts” was all Nick said as he pushed by. He swung into the apartment, ready for a fight. “Listen, bro, the next time you want somebody to—” Everything went out of his mind when he spotted the piano standing new and shiny under the window.

“Sorry about the wild-goose chase.” Nervous, Zack jammed his hands in his pockets. “I wanted to get you out so we could get this in.” He shifted back on his heels when Nick remained silent. “So, what do you think?”

Nick swallowed hard. “What did you do, rent it or something?”

“I bought it.”

Because his fingers itched to feel the keys, he, too, stuck them in his pockets. Rachel nearly sighed. They looked like two stray dogs that didn’t know whether to fight or make friends.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” The strain in Nick’s voice made it come out curt and sharp.

“Why the hell not?” Zack shot back. His hands were now balled into fists and straining against denim. “It’s my money. I thought it would be nice to have some music around here. So, do you want to try it out or not?”

There was an ache spreading, twisting in his gut and burning the back of his throat. He had to get out. “I forgot something,” he muttered, and strode stiffly out the door.

“What the hell was that?” Zack exploded. He snatched up his beer, then set it down again before he gave in to the temptation to hurl the bottle against the wall. “If that little son of a—”

“Hold it.” Rachel’s order snapped out as she thumped a fist against Zack’s chest. “Oh, the pair of you are a real prize. He doesn’t know how to say thank you, and you’re too stupid to see he was so overwhelmed he was practically on the verge of tears.”

“That’s bull. He all but tossed it back in my face.”

“Idiot. You gave him a dream. It’s very possibly the first time anyone ever understood what he wanted, deep down, and gave him a shot at it. He didn’t know how to handle it, Zack, any more than you would.”

“Listen, I—” He broke off and swore, because it made sense. “What am I supposed to do now?”

“Nothing.” Cupping his face in her hands, she pulled it toward hers to kiss him. “Nothing at all. I’m going to go talk to him, okay?” She pulled back and started for the door.

“Rachel.” He took a deep breath before crossing to her. “I need you.” He watched surprise come into her eyes as he took her hands and brought them to his lips. “Maybe I don’t know how to handle that, either.”

Something fluttered around her heart. “You’re doing all right, Muldoon.”

“I don’t think you understand.” He didn’t, either. “I really need you.”

“I’m right here.”

“But are you going to stay here, once your obligation to Nick is over?”

The fluttering increased. “We’ve got a couple of weeks before we have to think about that. It’s…” Steady, Rachel, she warned herself. Think it through. “It’s not just Nick I care about.” She tightened her fingers on his briefly before drawing away. “Let me go find him. We’ll talk about the rest of this later.”

“Okay.” He stepped back from her, and from what he was feeling. “But I think we are going to have to talk about it. Soon.”

With a quick nod, she hurried down the steps. Rio merely gestured toward the front of the bar, and, grateful she didn’t have to talk for a moment, she went out to look.

She found him standing on the sidewalk with his hands balled in his pockets, staring at the late-afternoon traffic. Oh, she knew a portion of what he was feeling. How Zackary Muldoon could get inside you and pull your emotions apart before you had a chance to defend yourself.

Later, she promised herself, she would think about what he’d done to her emotions. For now, she would concentrate on Nick.

She stepped up beside him and brushed at the hair on his shoulders. “You doing okay?”

He didn’t look at her, just continued to watch the fits and starts of traffic. “Why did he do that?”

“Why do you think?”

“I didn’t ask him for anything.”

“The best gifts are the ones we don’t ask for.”

He shifted, meeting her eyes for the barest of moments. “Did you talk him into it?”

“No.” Trying to be patient, she took him by the arms so that he had to face her. “Open your eyes, Nick. You saw the way he reacted when he heard you play. He was so proud of you he could barely talk. He wanted to give you something that would matter to you. He didn’t do it so you’d be obligated to him, but because he loves you. That’s what families do.”