Page 4 of All The Wrong Notes

“Thanks for coming. Welcome to my new home. It’s so great to have people here, to bring it to life. A place isn’t a home until it’s full of laughter. You’re looking lovely this evening. Help yourself to something to eat and a drink, and I’ll introduce you to some people. Janet knows everyone, but I don’t think you’ve met some of my friends.”

Carlos led them to the tables with the food and poured each woman a glass of wine. “We’ll be seeing a lot more of each other this fall,” he added. “Janet has been telling me about your choir, and she encouraged me to audition. I met the choir director this morning and sang for him, and he’s invited me to join. I used to sing years ago, and I’m so excited to get back into music. It will be great to have an activity we can do together.” He beamed at Janet, whose smile lit up the room.

Carlos was as sweet as dulce de leche, and as overwhelming in his enthusiasm at times, but it was clear he made Janet happy, and that was good enough for Elise.

“I’m thrilled to hear that!” She echoed his smile. “What’s your voice? Tenor?” He looked like a tenor, with his broad chest and ready grin. Baritones tended to be taller and lankier. Like EFF William Snootypants.

His smile answered her question. “I can’t wait till rehearsals start. I’ll have to start singing in the shower to get ready. Come, I want you to meet people.”

With that invitation, he led the two women around the room. After two months of being inseparable, Janet already knew Carlos’ friends, and by their warm smiles, they seemed to approve of her. All were polite, some very friendly, and Elise decided that if you can tell a man by the company he keeps, Carlos was okay.

At last they arrived at the wall that EFF William was holding up. Janet gave the tall man her usual bright smile, to which he responded with a twitch to his lips and a microscopic dip of his head.

Carlos made the introductions. “Elise, this is Will. Sometimes he talks. Will, Janet’s best friend, Elise. I—” He was interrupted by a crash. “Uh oh… someone dropped a bottle of something. Excuse me!” He dashed off in the direction of the crash, with Janet on his heels, leaving Elise and EFF William alone.

Elise took a deep breath. This was Carlos’ friend. She could be polite. “Nice to meet you again,” she started.

“Again?” The deep and cultured voice reverberated through her. Handsome, beautiful voice, and still a jerk. Then came a glimmer of awareness. “Oh. Yes, that dreadful event Carlos made me attend. I don’t know what possessed me to agree. You were there. In the yellow shirt.”

He remembered? Well, that was something. Elise almost felt a moment of warming towards him, until he continued.

“I see you’ve decided to dress more appropriately tonight.”

She glanced down at the elegant ankle-length chocolate skirt that swirled above the tops of the cute blingy sandals Janet had made her buy, and caught a glimpse of her ivory silk shirt in a mirror. With her dark wavy hair loose about her shoulders, and a bit of makeup accentuating her brown eyes, she did look presentable.

“Uh, thank you? It is rather strange, though, to give a compliment that is really a veiled insult. Tonight, I dressed for a party. For the speed-dating evening, I had come straight from work.”

One perfectly arched eyebrow rose. “You dress like that at the office? It was… rather a casual ensemble. I thought Jennings promised a curated crowd. Not just anybody was invited.”

Prickles danced up Elise’s spine, and they were not pleasant ones. “Are you implying I should not have attended? That I’m not good enough, somehow?” How was she ever supposed to be nice to this miserable person? Rude, arrogant… She swallowed the words, and a few more that she wouldn’t utter at Carlos’ party.

He cleared his throat. “I... that is... I didn't mean to imply that. I don’t know you, and can’t speak to your character. But all the others were professionals. Lawyers, consultants, doctors, upper-level management, that sort. You didn’t exactly look the part. What do you do, anyway? Did she know you? Is that why she let you attend?”

Her laugh was not a cheerful one. “What I do is enjoy life. I sing, I walk through nature, I lose myself at art galleries. I read a lot, and I travel when I can. That’s what I do. A person’s employment shouldn’t define them.” The eyebrow rose again. “But if you must know, I love my job. I run an arts centre. We provide programs and classes for underprivileged kids, and offer space for community organisations as well. We have rehearsal rooms and performance space, and a couple of studios for visual art, too. So, yes, I was dressed for work. I’m the boss, after all, so I choose the dress code.”

She matched his gaze. Dare to oppose me.

His storm-grey eyes locked onto hers for a moment before he narrowed them. “Interesting.” Like Mr. Spock, cold and dispassionate. Unlike Mr. Spock, he was not, in fact, interested.

Elise should have asked him something about himself now. Did he like music? Where did he grow up? How sour was the pickle up his backside? But that cold-fish demeanour was irritating her, and all she wanted to do was get away before she really said something she shouldn’t.

“I should see if Janet needs help with whatever spilled.”

She turned away, only to hear, “Nice to meet you, Elise,” from the cold fish’s lips.

* * *

Will stood against the wall, watching Elise’s back as she disappeared to the kitchen, where Carlos and his redhead were cleaning up whatever it was that had spilled.

Elise. He tested the name in his mind, and then, quietly so no one could hear him, on his lips. She looked like an Elise, and it was good to have a name for the face that had insinuated itself into his dreams since that horrific sham that Carlos had dragged him to. It had, he conceded, worked out rather well for Carlos. Janet was well-suited to his friend. And even he was ready to admit she was stunning. She was also very sweet, even though she giggled.

But the brunette. Elise. He had hoped never to see her again, for all that he couldn’t forget her. Dressed like a kindergarten teacher at an event for top professionals! Her eyes, deep brown and exquisitely shaped, fringed with lashes that could hardly be real, had glared at him every night in his dreams—angry, flashing, and so very beautiful.

His eyes lingered on the bottom of her skirt, watching as it floated and swayed above shapely ankles, dancing as she walked. Upward his eyes moved, to her generous hips, her trim waist, and to the silk curtain of thick brown hair that rippled down past her shoulders. What would it feel like were he to run his hand through it? What would her flashing eyes do if she knew his thoughts? He straightened up and pressed himself further against the wall, hoping it would engulf him so he didn’t need to stand here like an idiot all night.

Elise of the beautiful eyes. And the snappy comebacks. He wondered if she knew who he was, really. Most people heard his name and dropped to the floor to lick his shoes, but she had responded to his admittedly rude comment with spunk. He really needed to learn some social skills, but when confronted with the reality of small talk, his brain often stopped working.

Think before you speak, he reminded himself. If Carlos and Janet ended up together, as it seemed likely they would, he would be in company with Elise often. Don’t be so rude. Or, at least, try.