Read Online Heart Strings (Music of the Heart Book 1) by Donna Hatch - Free Book Online Page A

flamed at having been caught and she pretended to be absorbed in tuning.
    He picked his way back to her. She considered whether she could truly sink into the floor but didn’t know how to go about it.
    When Kit reached her side, he said, “Alex said to tell you that the principal harpist is not expected to be healed enough to return for another few days, so if your performance is as good tonight, you have the job—temporarily.”
    “I do? Oh!” She clasped her hands together so she wouldn’t embarrass herself by throwing her arms around him and hugging him. As it was, she barely managed to refrain from hopping up and down. “I’m ever so glad to hear it. I hope I will prove myself to Alex’s satisfaction, then. And yours.”
    “You have nothing to fear.”
    “Thank you,” she gushed. “Thank you again.”
    He nodded and returned to his seat. How wonderful! She had a position for the present time.
    The performance went even better that night than the first, and Susanna immersed herself in the music. When the score called for rests for the harp, she watched Alex’s animated gestures as he conducted. Once or twice—oh, very well, much more than that—she let her gaze stray to Kit. He swayed slightly as he played, and much of the time he closed his eyes as he poured his soul into his craft. Near the end of the first act, he played a solo. Susanna had never heard such beauty as Kit playing his violin. Such power and passion. The candlelit chandelier hanging from the domed ceiling shone on his dark hair, and the far chandelier backlit him, giving the illusion that he was some kind of heavenly being. Her father used to say angels played harps in heaven, and even called her ‘his little angel.’ Susanna was pretty sure they also played violins.
    Pity no one in the audience could have the pleasure of watching Kit perform. The male singers on stage couldn’t hold a candle to his masculine beauty.
    When the score called for the harp, she joined in, blending her notes with the orchestra, and at the right moments, playing her glissandi. Then it was time for the harp and violin duet. She let her heart guide her, soaring with him as he soared, slowing and softening with him as if they performed an intricate dance with music instead of feet. A heavy weight lifted from her heart and dissipated like so much mist, carried away by the hauntingly beautiful pleasure of playing with Kit. A glorious sensation of being connected to him filled her, giving further emotion to her music.
    By the time the last note faded away, a hush had fallen over the audience before thunderous applause nearly shook the theatre. He glanced back at her. She smiled and wiped tears from her cheeks.
    With admiration shining in his eyes, he inclined his head in an abbreviated bow. If only she could always be so connected.
    Alex broke the spell, cueing the prima donna who sang from stage and bringing in the orchestra. Still, a version of that wondrous sense of belonging lingered in Susanna’s heart until after the performance.
    As the final curtain fell and the orchestra packed up to leave, Susanna deliberated. Could she dawdle and then slip into the shadows so she could sleep in the orchestra pit, or did she dare ask Nora and Jane for their advice? She couldn’t bring herself to face another night sleeping in an alley. The danger alone declared that a foolhardy plan.
    Kit approached her, grinning. “I hope you will forgive me for saying so, but I’m glad the principal harpist was unable to perform. I never would have had the pleasure of playing with you. Don’t get me wrong—he is a very skilled musician, but you play with more feeling than I’ve ever heard from a harpist. That duet we played…” he trailed off and shook his head.
    She shrugged, warming all over that he’d felt that same connection she had. “I merely followed your lead.”
    He smiled and a soft light entered his eyes. “Please allow me to buy you dinner at my favorite tavern.