Page 69 of Hope & Harmony

“Gunnar, hi.” Sarah rises. “Please meet Mary Louise Wilson. She’s the songwriter I was telling you about.”

Mary Louise Wilson looks more like a Victoria’s Secret model than a songwriter. Long curly blond hair and a killer body. She’s wearing a leopard-print blazer and a tight black pencil skirt. She rises and holds out her hand. “Call me Ariana.”

I lift my eyebrows as I take her hand. No sparks at all, despite how hot she is. “O…kay.”

“Ariana Waverly. Sounds way better than Mary Louise Wilson.” She sticks out her tongue.

Sarah laughs. “I have to agree. From now on, Ariana Waverly will get credit as the songwriter.”

“I wish I could sing these songs myself.” Ariana riffles through a folio, pulls out some sheet music, and hands it to me. “Unfortunately, my voice sounds like a frog with a sore throat.” She laughs and then turns her focus to me. “I just watched the video Sarah took on her phone of your performance last night. I agree that you and Blaire may be the perfect duo to bring my creations to life.”

“You recorded us?” I ask.

“I did,” Sarah admits. “I had to show Mary Louise—er…Ariana—that I was serious.”

“The two of you together are something else.” Ariana gestures to the sheet music in my hand. “Tell me what you think of this.”

I look down at the looseleaf paper. Ariana handwrites her songs on staff paper instead of using notation software. Impressive.

The song is called “Catch My Heart,” and it’s written for a man and woman.

It’s a slow pop ballad, and already I can tell the key is perfect for both Blaire and me. I absently sing a few bars. “Listen to me, babe. You’re a world away from me, but in your eyes a spark I see. You’re the sunshine in my rain. The calm in my hurricane. Catch my heart, I’m falling for you. Two worlds collide into something brand new…”

Ariana somehow managed to put into words the feelings I’ve had since I shared the stage with Blaire. Blaire, a woman who, in terms of her chosen genre,isa world away from me. Her angelic voice piercing my brooding rock music is just like golden sunshine peering through the rain. The calm in my hurricane…

And she certainlyhascaught my heart.

“Wow,” is all I can say.

“You like it?” Ariana asks.

I put the sheet music down. “It’s not exactly rock and roll.”

“No, it’s not.” Sarah smiles. “Not classical either. But I’ll be damned if it isn’t perfect for you and Blaire Cavileri.”

Ariana turns to Sarah. “You said something about Blaire being contracted to sing with Opera Livingston.”

“Yeah. She’s available for the next two weeks, and then we’ll have to work around her schedule.”

Ariana twists her lips. “That’s a lot of pressure.”

“Wait until you hear them sing together, though. In real life, I mean.” Sarah glances at her watch. “Where is Blaire, anyway?”

I shrug. “Don’t look at me. I don’t even know her number.”

“I have her number,” Sarah says. “I already programmed it into my phone last night. Let me give her a quick call.”

Sarah pulls out her phone, puts it on speaker, and taps in a number.

It rings once, twice, three times, and then?—

“Help me! Please?—”

My heart thuds. Blaire’s voice, normally so beautiful and serene, is now quivering in a high pitch, almost screaming.

The call goes dead.

Every hair on my body stands on end as my stomach twists into knots.

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