Love Songs Read Free

in there now. Great!
    Warner reached for his sunglasses and tried to pull them from his hair without leaving a huge hole from the number of strands he could feel himself pull out.
    Finally, he was free of his captor and the torture device—his sunglasses—which looked only slightly bent out of shape.
    Now he had to make eye contact with this beautiful woman across from him and hope she wasn’t laughing.
    Her gaze was out the window. She hadn’t seen him at all.
    Thank God!
    She turned her head back toward him. “So, show me your work.”
    “Right.” He tucked the bent glasses into the front of his shirt and reached for his bag. He unzipped it carefully, hoping the contents wouldn’t spill out all over the floor, as that seemed to be how things in his life were going.
    The sheets of music he’d brought with him had taken the form of the folder, which had curled up in the bag. Well, it was just paper.
    He slid them across the table to her.
    Clara picked them up as she tucked her leg under her. She liked things casual, this came across loud and clear. There was no diva mentality built into her. She was very comfortable in her skin and he wished he was equally as comfortable in his.
    She tapped her fingers on the table as she looked over the music. It was playing in her head, he knew what that looked like. No one had to tell him she was musically inclined. It radiated from her like the confidence she exuded.
    Her lips twitched as she read, as if she were singing the song. The mangled CDs might be worthless—she didn’t need them.
    Clara flipped to the next page and went through the same motions, but then she tilted her head as if something didn’t make sense. But she kept going, her head bobbing to the beat she obviously heard in her head.
    Warner had his hands clasped tightly under the table as he watched her. It had been almost five minutes and she hadn’t said a word.
    Again she flipped to the next song and this time she smiled.
    “Someone jade you? This one screams revenge.”
    He gritted his teeth. “Ex-stepmother. She’s wicked.”
    The smile on her lips grew and then she bit down on her lip and nodded. “These are amazing,” she said as she lay down the papers.
    “You really think so?”
    “Yeah. The melodies are great. The music is fluid. I like them.”
    “Will you record them—for demo?”
    Clara tilted her head and gave him a long look of consideration. Then she picked up her drink and took a small sip before setting it back down. “You really haven’t heard me perform.”
    “I listened to your entire rehearsal.”
    “That is totally different.” She picked up the music again and sorted through it. She pulled out one piece and looked it over before laying it atop the rest. “I like this one the best.”
    “ Love Song ? Why?”
    She laughed. “Because it isn’t your normal love song. The guy is a bumbling idiot, but all because he’s in love with a girl. I like that.”
    He felt the blood drain from his face. She just might be the most perfect woman in the world. The girl he’d written the song about didn’t care for his bumbling idiot ways.
    “Do you have plans tomorrow night?” she asked.
    Warner shook his head.
    “I’m playing at The Stage with a friend. Come see me really sing.”
    He hadn’t actually thought she was a performer, not like that. He’d been so mesmerized by her voice in the truck he’d forgotten that she might actually be someone who was just like everyone else and wanted fame and fortune in Nashville. Why would she want to help him?
    He nodded his acceptance to the invitation.
    A man came up to the window behind her and tapped on it. She turned, smiled, and gave him a wave.
    He gave Warner a nod and though he tried to smile, Warner was sure he smirked at the man. There was a case at the man’s feet. It looked like a banjo.
    Wow, he could pick them. Beautiful woman with an amazing voice, who was already a performer with some boyfriend who wore his hair long and