Entrapped
by his ex, life feels hopeless. Now, he has to teach a mechanic to play piano
like a pro. As he fights to save his father’s beloved Steinway, he never
dreamed he might also save his heart.
No one could expect Jonas to survive the humiliation of messing up his piano
solo, even if he was dumped right before his performance. Now, his need for
cash has ensnared him with a challenge to teach a mechanic how to play
classically. But, no matter how sexy the guy might be, or how much Jonas might
want to make it happen, there’s no way he can teach a man with grease under his
nails to compete against the world’s best piano players!
Orlando wants no part of the piano competition when the sexy musician storms
into his shop demanding he learn to play classical music. Unfortunately,
always a sucker for a man in distress, he finds saying no impossible.
As Jonas and Orlando become engrossed in new styles of music, their hearts soar
with the melodies they create together. The question is, will either of them
survive the loss when this relationship inevitably comes to an end?
In this opposites attract, hurt/comfort contemporary romance, Orlando and
Jonas must accomplish the impossible, before both lose everything they’ve ever
worked for.
Book
1
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“I’m sorry, sir, but she’s already decided. The conversation is over.”
I walked into the shop to see my six-foot-three broad-shouldered best friend, who was usually a teddy bear, directing a frustrated gaze at a much shorter, much-less built, blond man with wire-rimmed glasses. The guy was attractive, despite the agitated look on his increasingly red face that was angled up at my friend.
“Um, what’s going on?” I asked Ray.
“This man is from the contest we entered. He’s saying it’s too late to back out now that Ella’s been selected.”
“The ball is already in motion. We can’t change direction now,” the man said, and from the way he was wringing his hands together, he appeared to be on the verge of some sort of breakdown. I could sympathize, but this was ultimately Ella’s decision, and we had to support it.
“Sir, I’m sorry, but the girl isn’t interested. I’m her teacher, and I know she’s not going to pursue piano any further. You’re wasting your time.”
The man visibly deflated in front of me, and I fought an inexplicable urge to wrap a supportive arm around his shoulders. “You’re her teacher?” he asked.
I nodded and he hesitated a moment, like he was making mental calculations, then asked, “How well do you play?”
I was taken aback by his question, and the suddenly hopeful glint I saw in his beautiful eyes. “Me? How well do I play?” He nodded and waited for me to continue. “I’m fair, but not great. Why does that matter?”
“Because, the board has given me the option of enrolling you into the program if Miss Frankford doesn’t agree to the offer.” His expression was serious.
“You’re kidding. I’m a mechanic.” I laughed so hard I thought my sides would split. It had to be a joke, right?
Ray’s eyes lit up, and he came over to where I stood as my laughter gave way to shock. “This is totally your guy. He’s been a protoget since he was a kid.”
“Prodigy,” I corrected. “I’m not a prodigy. I’m barely literate in music. I know almost every blues song ever played, and do okay with “Stairway to Heaven” on the piano, but I’m certainly not an ideal student for your fancy lessons. I’m sorry.”
I turned to leave when I felt the man’s surprisingly strong grip clamp down on my elbow. “You don’t understand. I’ve invested everything into this. If it doesn’t work, I’m ruined.” He sounded slightly panicked.
I looked down at the man’s perfectly manicured hands as I pried his fingers from my elbow, but didn’t let go. “Look,” I said, holding my own hand next to his, palm up. “Take a nice long look. Your fingers are long, delicate, and soft. I’m sure you’ve never done a hard day’s work in your life. Mine… they’re scarred, and stained with oil that’ll likely never come off, even if I stopped working on cars today. I have calluses thicker than leather hide. Trust me, mister, I’m not your guy.”
I released his hand and walked away without looking back. I was sure as I closed the door to my office that this was all a farce Ray had drummed up to give me shit about later. Things were beginning to make a lot more sense, now I thought about it that way.
Ella, winning some elite contest when she barely played. I mean, she played well enough for an eight-year-old, but there were certainly a lot of kids her age who played better, and were more committed.
The clincher was me taking her place. What the holy hell? I wondered if maybe there’d been a hidden camera somewhere, especially considering how angry Ray had been. That had to be an act, right?
I opened my office door, ready for the camera reveal, but Ray was back under the hood of Mr. Johnson’s Chrysler, and the stranger was nowhere to be seen.
“So, what’s the gig? I mean, no cameras?”
Ray chuckled. “Hey, it’s all legit. Crazy, but legit.”
“I don’t buy it, Ray. There’s got to be some sort of angle here.”
“Nope, I checked the dude out before we entered the contest. He’s an award-winning pianoist from New York and everything.”
“It’s pianist, there’s no o in it. So, why would he make up shit about me being his student for a year?”
“Don’t know, but he was pretty adamant. Even after you left, he tried to get me to talk you into it. Said he was going to lose his pants if you didn’t.”
“He said he was gonna lose his pants?” I asked, quashing a highly inappropriate mental image of the attractive man not wearing pants.
Ray laughed. “Not in so many words, but that was the gist of it.”
“You don’t think this is some sort of scam?”
“Maybe, but his bags were with him, so if it is, the man is full-out committed.”
“Damn you, Ray, this is all your and Angela’s doing. Let me go find him, and see if I can’t get to the fucking bottom of it. God, I hate you sometimes.” Part of me wanted to just let it go, but I remembered the look on the man’s face, and the panic in his voice. I was drawn to him enough to want to put things right.
“You do not. You’ve a right to be pissed, but you adore me, and you know it. Besides, you owe me after…”
“Don’t go there. I know I do, but after this shit, we’re even, got it?”
Ray winked at me and gave me a thumbs-up as he disappeared back under the hood. Not that I’d ever really be even with Ray and Angela for all they’d done to literally keep my ass off the streets.
One main street ran through our town, and there weren’t many places he could go on foot, so it only took a few minutes for me to find him sitting in Libby’s Park, next to the river. He was looking out over the rapids. His glazed expression told me he was staring, but not really seeing them.
“So—” I said, startling him. “—what’s the real story, and don’t try to bullshit me? I know how to recognize bullshit a mile away.”
He shook his head and sighed deeply, the look on his face all but resigned to defeat. “It’s just what I said. The contest requires me to teach someone for a year. We selected Miss Frankford, and she’s declined, so it’s my neck on the line to get chopped.”
“And, tell me again, what that has to do with me?” I asked.
The man sighed again, this time almost making me laugh at how dramatic he was. “That’s more a dig at me. My former boss, well, he was my ex as well as my boss. He threw you into the mix as a way to embarrass me. I shouldn’t have brought it up, but I got a little desperate in there.”
“So, your former boss was also your lover?” I asked, intrigued, not only by the story, but by the admission, intended or not, that he was gay.
“Yeah. Oh wait, you aren’t a homophobe, are you? Because, that would be excellent. Getting my ass kicked would just be the cherry on top of this shit pie.” He sounded more resigned than apprehensive at the possibility I’d take issue with his sexuality. My smiling at him likely helped ease any uncertainty.
“No, I’m gay. But, isn’t that like sexual harassment, or something?”
His chuckle was bitter. “Yeah, and I’ve already talked to my attorney. I’ll probably win in court, but it’s going to destroy my fucking career. No one will ever hire me to perform again.”
“Yeah, that sucks, but you’ll win, that’s something.”
He shrugged. “Well, I might as well go face the music. I’m sorry for the insane morning, Mr…”
“You can call me Orli. Everyone around here does.”
“Well, Orli, I wish I could say it’s been a pleasure.”
He stood to go, and before I knew what I was doing, I asked, “So, what is it they want me to play?”
The man slowly turned around. “Have you ever heard of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major?
I shook my head.
“What about La Campanella by Liszt?”
I shook my head again.
“The Oriental fantasy Islamey by Mily Balakirev?”
“No, sorry, I don’t know much classical.”
He chuckled mirthlessly. “They’re some of the most difficult pieces ever written. They gave me one year to teach Ella—and in her absence, you—how to play these technically impossible pieces well enough to qualify to play in Salzburg, Austria.”
“So, it really is a vengeance quest against you then?”
He appeared shocked by my being so forthright, but slowly nodded. “There’s a lot to it, but yes, I suppose it is exactly that.”
“Can you really teach me?” I asked, fully regretting the decision I’d already made internally.
“Can you play?” he asked.
I laughed. “I was taught by my great-grandmother who played in honky-tonks, but I’m not horrible.”
The man looked torn between hope and resignation. “Do you have a piano, so I can hear you play?”
I nodded and remembered the three cars I’d agreed to have done by the weekend. Oh well, I thought, Ray might get to work some overtime, since this was his damned fault anyway.
“Where’s your car?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I’m from New York. I don’t have a car. I rode the train to Martinsburg, and had an Uber drop me off here.”
“Well, you’re going to need a car if you’re here for long, ’cause we only have one Uber, and Sally only works when she needs money to buy yarn to pay for her knitting obsession.”
“Let’s hear you play before we commit to anything,” he said, and followed me back to the shop.
Reviews by the Wicked
Reads Review Team
Angie
– ☆☆☆
This is a low-angst, second-chance romance set in a small town. Jonas and
Orlando have both gone through some stuff – they've been burned before and
finally. they both get their happy ending together. If you like small-town,
second-chance romances, this book is for you. I loved Jonas and Orlando; and
when everything is said and done, and Jonas's ex gets what's coming to him, you
can't help but smile. Sweet love story.
BLAKE ALLWOOD was born in west Tennessee,
then moved to Kansas City, MO after attending college in Iowa. He met his
husband, Shaun, in 1995 and they officially married in 2015, once the United
States legalized gay marriage.
In 2017, he and his husband sold their home, purchased an RV, and began
traveling the country with their two dogs. Their travels provide the
inspiration and settings for many of his novels.
Typically, Blake can be found writing in the RV or by the fire with his laptop
and their Jack Russell Terrier, Buddy, curled up between his legs or demanding
his attention. Denver, their Siberian Husky mix is often asleep at his feet or
playing tug of war with Shaun.
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Blake Allwood
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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided
a free copy of Melody of the Heart (Melody #1) by Blake Allwood to read and
review.
