Read Online Affairs of the Heart by Maxine Douglas - Free Book Online

hanging on
Utah’s every word. She’d arrived in Nashville six months earlier on
a one-way ticket with the clothes on her back and a guitar case
slung over her shoulder.
    Who’d have thought I’d be in the
running for Rising Star much less watching hunky Utah Sheridan sing
his song. Grandfather’s old guitar sure has brought me
luck.
    She smiled thinking how he’d love that. All
her hopes and dreams were housed in her granddad’s ragged guitar
case. Every piece of music she’d ever written was tucked safely
between his old guitar and the worn red felt lining.
    She smiled over at her boss and cheerleader
Frank Whitman. He’d kick the butt of anyone who called him a
cheerleader, but she didn’t care. He’d offered her a job as a
waitress in his bar a few days after she interviewed with him.
During the day, she’d write and practice her music; at night, she
served drinks.
    Now the club owner and sometime talent scout
stood in the background giving her his silent encouragement. He
knew how nervous she was and also that singing wasn’t her favorite
thing. Songwriting was her true love.
    She remembered when Frank had encouraged her
to try out for Rising Star. She’d told him he was crazy. He had
convinced her she had nothing to lose by showing up and singing a
song or two, and now she stood here as one of the
finalists.
    Frank’s gaze flicked to Utah, and he smiled
and then looked away. She knew they had a past friendship but she
didn’t know what went wrong.
    And you don’t care, she scolded herself. You need to
focus, girl, and stop mooning after Utah. He has more notches on
his bedpost than ten men.
    She looked away from him and focused. Tonight,
after weeks of singing cover songs on national television, she’d
finally be able to perform one of her own in the last leg of the
talent competition. This was where her true talent lay, and she
couldn’t afford to be distracted; the prize in the end would be a
recording contract with Shadow Records.
    Not that she cared for the recording contract
or really expected to win. That was the least of her concerns. This
competition was the best way to showcase her lyrics, have them
noticed by someone who sang far better than she did, and she would
make the most of it.
    Emerald absently wiped her hands down the side
of her jeans, enthralled by the bright lights and backstage
activities of the auditorium. Frank took her hand and gave it a
squeeze, and, as he had since the start, led her to a place where
she’d experience the heat and hustle firsthand.
    “ I still can’t get over the
chaos,” she mused, soaking up the atmosphere. It was like
breathing, and she loved it. This is where she’d hoped her journey
started several weeks earlier.
    “ I know. Doesn’t matter if it’s
the first or the tenth performance of the day. Everything runs on
high energy. The fact that this is a different concept for finding
quality talent brings a new element to country music, darlin’. I
really don’t think anything’s been done like this before on the
Ryman stage since it closed to nightly performances years ago. Now
it’s only used for special events. I guess they thought ‘Rising
Star’ qualified.”
    A body swept
past her, knocking her toward Frank, and she didn’t have to look to
know it was Utah. She’d sense him anywhere. Then his big hands
grabbed her waist, stopping the momentum, and she tingled.
Electricity sprang through her as her gaze travelled up and met his
hot green eyes, burning her to the core, and she couldn’t catch her
breath.
    How am I supposed to sing around
him, of all people?
    And it was all one-sided, which
sucked.
    You don’t even like him. He’s a
spoiled snob, even if he is hot as heck.
    She knew his family background. Could it be
his born-with-a-silver-spoon-in-his-mouth attitude that bugged her?
She prayed she wasn’t that shallow. He had no control over who his
parents were, but still...
    “ Sorry, Emerald.” The words came
quickly as Utah