Page 17 of Two Hearts' Ploy

Jeff slowed his bike as he approached the small parking lot ahead, staring with astonishment at the woman stepping out of the familiar SUV.

“Don’t tell me that she’s Eve’s client,” he muttered. “Who in the hell is she?”

But as Jeff continued to approach, he was even more puzzled. The woman who was getting ready to head toward the entrance didn’t look like the same person who’d ridden on the back of his bike yesterday.

Obviously hearing the sound of his bike, she turned, suddenly arrested. She definitely recognized his bike because she stood there waiting.

Shocked, Jeff suddenly realized who she was.

“Of all the women in the world…,” he muttered, grinning. No wonder he’d been so turned on.

But now he was glad that Eve hadn’t told him who he’d be meeting today. Because, yes, he was nervous and would probably be tongue tied too during their consult.

Pulling up beside her on his bike, he shut down the engine, stepping from his seat.

“Good morning,” she said, grinning. “You’re not following me, are you?”

“Not intentionally,” he muttered, not being able to resist looking her over from head to toe before taking off his helmet, balancing it over the handle. Besides a simple sterling locket and some earrings which almost looked antique, she was wearing ashort black leather skirt, with high-heeled sandals along with a creamy ruffled V-neck blouse.

If she was feeling any spark of attraction after the first time they’d met, she sure didn’t show it, he decided, turning back to her with the added protection of sunglasses covering his eyes.

With that flawless complexion of hers and those beautiful big jade green eyes, which stood out in her heart-shaped face, she was more beautiful than ever, he decided, her raven black hair cropped a little shorter than she usually wore it onstage. He was pretty sure that he’d never seen her with bangs before either. In fact, he might not have recognized her if he hadn’t spent so much time during the last four or five years just thinking about her. Reading about her too.

She ran through men like a steamroller.

“Shall we go inside?” she asked with definite humor in her voice. “We seem to be doing an awful lot of staring.”

Tugging off his sunglasses as he held open the door for her, he tucked them over the v of his t-shirt collar as he followed her inside.

Chapter Eight

She finally got a good look at him when he pulled off his helmet. Hmm – dark blond hair that held a little bit of curl – sexy too, since it touched his collar.

And when he tugged off his sunglasses before she walked into the recording studio lobby ahead of him, she got a glimpse of intense blue eyes that seemed to stare straight into her soul.

It was definitely him. She’d been drawn to him immediately, noticing him standing in the audience at one of her concerts in Germany. She couldn’t believe it. It was the military man with the face of an angel that she’d been unable to forget since she’d danced with him all those years ago.

In the back of her mind, the town of Crystal Rock must have registered when she’d been staring at the recording studio list.

“I’m from Crystal Rock, Wisconsin, Ma’am,” he’d said softly. “And I’m sure a big fan.”

Wren wouldn’t let him know that she remembered who he was. It was a vulnerability that she couldn’t expose to anyone.

She had a terrible history with men, and even when the break ups weren’t something that she’d initiated, somehow the story got twisted on social media as well as in the tabloids, and the blame was always put on Wren.

“Everyone’s here early,” Eve observed, wearing a wide smile as she walked into the lobby.

She tugged Wren into her arms.

“It’s great to see you again, Eve,” Wren said gently, patting her on the back. “I miss you on tour. We used to perform at a lot of the same venues. Most of the performers I work with are so much younger than me.”

Eve pulled back, looking Wren over from head to toe. “God you look great. I love that hair. It reminds me of Cleopatra.”

Wren patted her hair with satisfaction. “This is actually all your mother’s doing. I love it. It’s a heck of a lot easier to take care of than what I had.” Wren frowned. “You’ve heard about the trouble?”

Eve heaved a sigh. “I have.” She turned to the man who stood silent behind Wren, thumbing through a schedule in a folder on the desk. “Speaking of which, I’m being rude since the two of you probably haven’t met. Captain Jeff Callahan, meet Wren Matthews.”

Had he thought twice about their meeting in the past? She couldn’t tell.

---