Page 20 of Two Hearts' Ploy

“What?” he asked.

She gave him a smirk. “You sound like my music teacher.”

He grinned. “I know that breathy soft voice made you popular, but everyone sings like that anymore. I’ve been listening to you for a while now, and you’re capable of a hell of a lot more.”

“Okay. I’ll try it your way,” she said, giving him a wry smile.

His jaw nearly dropped to the floor when she started singing in a deep throaty voice.

“You look surprised,” she said once she’d finished the first verse.

“Don’t let this go to your head,” he muttered. “But you’re a lot better than I thought you were.”

She blinked.

“Let’s start recording,” he said.

She nodded.

* * *

About an hour and a half later, they were making their way outside from the studio. Apparently, Eve had called Jake, who was expecting them at the Inn in another twenty minutes.

It had been a very productive session, and Jeff had transferred all the recordings to his home studio via internet so he could work on the mixing this afternoon. He actually had even more sophisticated equipment at his place than they had here at the studio, so he could work faster, which worked to his advantage since he could concentrate better when he was alone.

For some reason, Wren was standing there, studying his bike.

“After you dropped me off at the Inn yesterday, I was wondering how a guy with a prosthetic leg was allowed tooperate a motorcycle. It didn’t even occur to me until after you were gone.”

“A disability doesn’t mean that you have to quit doing what you love to do.” He showed her the controls on the handlebars. “These take the place of my leg. If I’d have lost my left leg instead, I might not have even needed all the adaptive features that I have.”

“But isn’t it dangerous?” she asked, biting her lip.

He shrugged. “What isn’t dangerous these days? I returned to active duty after losing my leg for nearly a year, until I was shot. That’s why I’m here in Crystal Rock. I’m not sure if I’ll be returning to active duty or not, but meanwhile, I’ll be teaching classes at the Crystal Rock Wounded Warrior Retraining Center.”

Jeff suddenly noticed that for some strange reason, she’d gone pale and looked like she was about to faint.

“Wren?” he muttered, quickly approaching.

Feeling concerned, he gathered her close to steady her. “Are you okay? For a moment you looked like you were going to pass out.”

He could barely hear her voice when she asked, “You were…shot?”

“Yeah. But I’m fine,” he replied, not being able to resist teasing her. “It’s nice to know you care.”

That comment put color back in her cheeks again. He was feeling surprisingly tender towards her when she pulled away, snorting.

“Are you okay to drive?” he asked gently.

“I’m fine,” she growled, marching to her SUV and tugging open the door.

Grinning, he got on his bike, revving up the engine to follow as she made her way along the road leading to the exit, going a little faster than she probably should.

Chapter Eleven

What the hell was he getting himself into, Jeff wondered? He couldn’t believe that he’d actually volunteered his home, so she’d have somewhere safe to stay. It’s like he couldn’t seem to help himself.

“Wait up,” she called out.

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