Fool's Gold (Contemporary Romance) Read Free

That left only one thing that could give. Makeup.
    Maybe Granderson would let her sing in the dark.
    ***
    Mr. Grey Eyes was sitting in the middle chair of the half-dozen or so arranged before the little stage where the band was supposed to be. His jacket was open, and he had an arm slung over the back of the chair beside him. He looked like he owned the place. Victoria nodded to him as she adjusted her microphone. She tried to look calm and composed, but the sight of him sent her heart racing. Usually the audience wasn’t so damn handsome.
    “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Victoria Strauss.” She slid one leg forward, exposing a little skin. A black cocktail dress wasn’t the most original outfit in the world, but it fit her perfectly and gave her the confidence she needed to stand on the stage alone. “I hope you like jazz.”
    Diana Krall was a familiar starting point for most folks, and the patrons at Mario’s weren’t the most discerning. Sucking them in with something familiar helped to butter them up before she branched into things that were more interesting.
    “Popsicle Toes” led into “East of the Sun (West of the Moon).” The music slid through the air, languorous and easy.
    After “East of the Sun,” Victoria paused for a sip of water. Mr. Grey Eyes clapped politely, along with a few other patrons scattered around the restaurant. Most of the building kept eating or talking or playing footsie under the table.
    She tried to start “I Don’t Stand a Ghost of Chance with You,” but no sound came from the speaker, and her voice fell dully amid the clink of silverware in the dining room. She tapped the mic, but nothing echoed from the speaker.
    Granderson wandered over to see what why she’d stopped.
    Victoria gestured at the speaker. “It just stopped working.”
    Granderson frowned. He didn’t know anything about electronics, but he crouched in front of the speaker and fiddled the knobs, anyway. “Huh, I guess it’s on the fritz. Just sing without it.”
    “Without it?”
    “The restaurant isn’t that big. You’ll be fine.” He wandered off toward a table before Victoria could respond.
    “I guess we’re doing this a cappella tonight, folks.” Victoria flashed a smile at the restaurant. Other than Grey Eyes, only a handful of other people seemed to be paying attention.
    “You’ll do fine,” Grey Eyes said. “You have a lovely voice.”
    The butterflies in Victoria’s stomach took a detour through her heart. She didn’t dare respond, for fear her voice would shake. Instead, she launched back into “I Don’t Stand a Ghost of Chance with You.” Just as she swung into the last stanza, a familiar face appeared by Charlotte at the hostess stand.
    Beta.
    Victoria finished the song without any overt hesitations, but her heart sank as Beta sat two chairs over from Grey Eyes. She hadn’t wanted to lead him on, so she’d “forgotten” to let him know when she was performing.
    “I Get Along Without You Very Well” may have been a little too on-the-nose for Beta, but then he didn’t seem to realize she was directing it him. When she finished and reached for her water, he clapped a little too loudly and too enthusiastically. Grey Eyes gave him a quirked eyebrow that said worlds about what he thought.
    She was contemplating some Keiko Matsui when a middle-aged guy in a cowboy hat waved to her. His gut was big enough that it needed its own cowboy hat. “Hey honey, if you’re going to sing for us, how about you sing us some real music. Like country.”
    She wanted to snap back that he wouldn’t know real music if punched him in his fat gut, but Granderson caught her eye from two tables down. Do it , he mouthed.
    Victoria’s eyes narrowed. “Alright, sir. This one’s for you.”
    “Before He Cheats” wasn’t even a song she liked, but it had the right vibe. At the one minute mark he realized what she was singing and his face started to go red. At the two minute mark he was