In the Heat of the Spotlight by Kate Hewitt

let out a little huff of laughter, glad he’d jolted her out of her ridiculous stage fright. ‘Patience.’ And taking a deep breath, she began. The first few melancholy chords seemed to flow through her, out into the room. And then she began to sing, not one of the belt-it-out numbers of her pop star days, but something low and intimate and tender. ‘Winter came so early, it caught me by surprise. I stand alone till the cold wind blows the tears into my eyes.’ She hesitated for a tiny second, trying to gauge Luke’s reaction, but the song seemed to take up all the space. ‘I turn my face into the wind and listen to the sound. Never give your heart away. It will only bring you down.’ And then she forgot about Luke, and just sang. The song took over everything.
    Yet when the last chord died away and the room seemed to bristle with silence, she felt her heart thud again and she couldn’t look at him. Staring down at her guitar, she idly picked a few strings. ‘It’s kind of a downer of a song, isn’t it?’ she said with an unsteady little laugh. ‘Probably not the best number to open a store with.’
    ‘That doesn’t matter.’ She couldn’t tell a thing from his tone, and she still couldn’t look at him. ‘Of course, if you had another one, maybe a bit more hopeful, you could sing that one too.’
    Something leapt inside her, a mongrel beast of hope and fear. A dangerous animal. She looked up, saw him gazing at her steadily, yet without any expression she could define. ‘I could?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘So...’ She swallowed. ‘What did you think? Of the song?’
    ‘I thought,’ Luke said quietly, with obvious and utter sincerity, ‘it was amazing.’
    ‘Oh.’ She looked back down at her guitar, felt tears sting her eyes and blinked hard to keep them back. Damn it, she was not going to cry in front of this man. Not now. Not ever. ‘Well...good.’ She kept her head lowered, and then she felt Luke shift. He’d been sitting across from her, but now he leaned forward, his knee almost nudging hers.
    ‘I can understand why you’re scared.’
    Instinct kicked in. ‘I never actually said I was scared.’ And then she sniffed, loudly, which basically blew her cover.
    ‘You didn’t have to.’ He placed one hand on her knee, and she gazed down at it, large, brown, strong. Comforting. ‘That song is very personal.’
    Which was why she felt so... naked right now, every protective layer peeled away. She swallowed, stared at his hand, mesmerised by the long, lean fingers curled unconsciously around her knee. ‘It’s just a song.’
    ‘Is it?’
    And then she looked up at him, and knew she was in trouble. He was gazing at her with such gentle understanding, such tender compassion, that she felt completely exposed and accepted at the same time. It was such a weird feeling, such an overwhelming feeling, that it was almost painful. She swallowed. ‘Luke...’ Her voice came out husky, and she saw his pupils flare. Felt the very air tauten. This tender moment was turning into something else, something Aurelie knew and understood.
    This was about sex. It was always about sex. And while part of her felt disappointed, another part flared to life.
    Luke straightened, taking his hand from her knee. ‘I should go. It’s late.’
    ‘You can’t drive all the way back to New York tonight.’
    ‘I’ll find a place to stay.’ He made to rise from his chair, and Aurelie felt panic flutter like a trapped, desperate bird inside her.
    ‘You could stay here.’
    He stared at her, expressionless, and Aurelie put away her guitar, her face averted from his narrowed gaze. Her heart was pounding again. She didn’t know what she was telling him. What she wanted. All she knew was she didn’t want him to go.
    ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ Luke said after a moment and Aurelie turned to face him.
    ‘Why not?’
    He smiled wryly, but she saw how dark and shadowed his eyes looked. ‘Because we’re going to have