Page 54 of Two Hearts' Ploy

“Hanky-panky?”

Jeff barked out a laugh. “That sounds exactly like something my mother would say.”

Wren was laughing too as she rushed up the staircase.

* * *

Their time together at the recording studio was going by way too quickly, Wren realized. Jeff had already finished creating demos of two-thirds of her portfolio and had even produced two different versions of each song she’d recorded.

In fact, once the orchestra was put in place on Monday, Jeff had mentioned that they might try recording a few of her other songs at the same time, in preparation for the album.

He seemed to assume that once her single was released, it would be an instant hit.

Strangely, Jeff seemed to be right, because even before the single released, it was moving up the charts, according to Mike, Wren was surprised to discover when they spoke. Apparently, the earlier demo had been getting some promotional traction from some very important people.

After a busy Saturday at the studio, Jeff took her out to lunch again, this time at a drive-in in a nearby town.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a root beer float,” she admitted, grinning as they polished them off after eating some hamburgers and curly fries.

“I used to love coming here as a kid,” he said, smiling.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had so much fun,” she suddenly said out loud. “I didn’t have much of a childhood.”

“One day, you might feel comfortable telling me about it,” Jeff observed. “What would you like to do tomorrow since we’re taking the day off before you begin recording on Monday?”

“I’d like to get some paint and specialty rollers so that I can do that sponging technique on your walls while you’re workingin your studio after we’re done recording with the orchestra. It’ll give me something to do during the upcoming week. Otherwise, I’ll distract you too much.”

“I agree. Alright. I’m going to trust you on this. We’ll go over to my dad’s supply store tomorrow at the lumberyard and pick up what we need.”

“I promise what I’m planning will look perfect,” she said reassuringly.

“We might as well get groceries here instead of in Crystal Rock today. They’ve got a better selection of meat and vegetables anyway.”

“Sounds good,” she agreed.

* * *

The following day, Jeff introduced Wren to his dad, who was the only one there at the supply store, since they were closed on Sundays.

“My wife has told me a lot about you, Wren,” Dad admitted, much to Jeff’s surprise. “She was worried about you, you know, when you were young.”

“I know she was,” Wren answered, turning to Jeff. “Your mom was more like a mother to me than my own back then. To my mom, I was just a commodity.”

“There was quite a custody battle, I heard,” Jeff’s father said.

“Turns out neither one of them should have been parents,” she confessed, sounding surprisingly accepting, Jeff realized.

“You’ve done well on your own,” Dad said to Wren.

“Thank you,” she replied.

“Your mother was talking about having you two over for dinner, but Jake just warned me about the fact that there’s trouble, and that’s why you’re staying with my son.” Dad held hisgaze. “If anyone can take care of you, it’s Jeff. I’m pretty proud of him.”

“You should be,” Wren said softly, giving her father a grin.

At that moment, his sister Kate walked into the store from the backroom, nodding cooly at Jeff and ignoring Wren. Without saying a word, she reached for some items from the shelves, heading back into the storeroom.

“What was that about?” Jeff growled. “Why’s she being so rude?”

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