Page 18 of Two Hearts' Ploy

He nodded. “Nice to meet you, Wren.”

“We actually met yesterday,” Wren told Eve.

“When I almost ran into her on my bike,” Jeff admitted, rolling his eyes.

Eve looked at Jeff accusingly before giving him a wink. “You’re the one that gave her the flat tire.”

“More or less,” he admitted, looking sheepish.

“You should have seen me riding on the back of his bike. I had to wrap a scarf around the wig I was wearing because I was afraid it would fly off when he drove me to the Inn.”

After laughing momentarily, Eve suddenly frowned. “You – on a bike?”

“I didn’t really have much choice at the time,” she admitted. Wren had forgotten that Eve knew about what had happened to her father, which had led to her aversion of riding on any vehicle with two or three wheels.

“Well, we should probably get started,” Eve said after studying her for a few more moments. “I have a few other techs available, but despite his Air Force career, Jeff is one of the best audio engineers I’ve ever worked with, so I thought we could see how well you two might work together.”

Wren pursed her lips. Despite Eve’s reassurances, Jeff Callahan was probably an amateur. Maybe this wasn’t going to work after all.

Looking irritable, Jeff suddenly spoke commandingly. “I can see right away that you have doubts. But as long as you’re here, let’s give it a go. I assure you that I do know what I’m doing.”

Wren blinked, glancing at Eve, who appeared to be just as surprised by Jeff’s tone of voice.

But it was exactly what Wren needed to hear. And geez, the man looked sexy as hell when he was domineering, with that indignant look on his face. It was probably why he was an officer, she realized.

Wren suddenly grinned. “Okay. You talked me into it.”

Punching Wren lightly in the shoulder, Eve couldn’t seem to stop laughing as she began showing Wren around the studio after handing over her music to Jeff, who proceeded to close himself off at the piano in the lounge to play through some of the tunes.

Eve told Wren that she had a couple of vocalists coming in at one to record, but Jeff didn’t want to take up any studio space until he had some ideas about what would pump up her music.

Pump up?What did that even mean, Wren wondered, shrugging it off.

Another fifteen minutes later, Jeff appeared at Eve’s office door, where she was chatting with Wren.

When he stared at her intently, she felt a shiver running up and down her spine. “I’ve got some thoughts about what would make one of your vocals a little more unique. Want to try some quick run-throughs before we get started in earnest tomorrow? I’d like to take away some different paced recordings of one particular song with me so I can work at the mixing this afternoon.”

“But there aren’t any musicians on hand,” Wren observed. Wren had a few regulars she liked to work with, none of them well known, but for security reasons, Marc had decided that it would be better for her not to use them for this album. Besides, until rehearsals began for the next tour, it wasn’t fair to hold them back if they had other opportunities to perform.

“I’ll send a demo over to the Inn later today using various instrumentals in the mix. If you like what I come up with, it’ll help me determine who to hire,” Jeff replied.

“I have a long list of musicians who’d love to have the opportunity,” Eve reassured her. “Don’t forget that we’ve got a big musical community here in Crystal Rock.”

“Alright.” Wren stood. “Why not?”

“How much time do we have before your other client arrives, Eve?” Jeff asked.

“Plenty,” Eve replied. “I rescheduled everyone for after lunch. I didn’t think it would be such a good idea for anyone to know about Wren being here. It might bring more trouble.” Evesighed. “Which reminds me. Jake wants to be the one to fill you in, Jeff, about how he wants to handle the situation.”

“Alright,” Jeff answered, glancing back and forth between the two of them. “I gather whatever trouble you’re talking about doesn’t just have something to do with Wren’s fame?”

“No,” Wren replied, glancing at Eve. “If we’re going to be working together, Eve and Jake are right. You need to be filled in. Maybe you could follow me back to the Inn when we’re finished so we can speak with Jake together?”

“That’s fine.” He seemed to be searching her eyes for clues. “All we need is about an hour in the studio for now.”

“Let’s get to it,” she replied. “What particular song did you have in mind to start with?”

“The one calledSearching,”he replied, gently steering her from Eve’s office through the hallway leading to one of the studios at the back of the building.

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