Nashville by Heart: A Novel Read Online Free Page B

penciled-in brows. “You told him maybe ?”
    “I
know. I’m an idiot.”
    “Well,
that’s an idiotic answer even if you don’t like sushi, girl! Will Adams could
make or break your career.”
    Gillian’s
heart dropped to the linoleum floor as the ridiculousness of it sank in. He
didn’t seem like the type to break someone’s career, she thought, remembering
how he’d gently steadied her in the lobby, but he was probably just being nice.
    “I
agreed to meet with him,” she said. “But not for sushi.”
    “So
you’re going on a date?”
    “To
talk about music.”
    “Lucky
you,” Tasha said. “I’d go out with him even if he didn’t want to talk about
music. He is easy on the eyes, don’t you think?” She waggled her
eyebrows.
    “Totally
hot.” Gillian, in fact, hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him towering
over her—even next to her height—with those strong shoulders and piercing, but
kind, eyes. The ridiculous swirl of excitement in her chest hadn’t gone away
after leaving Adams Music, and it wasn’t only about the chance to sign as a
client with him either. He was sexy, intensely attractive, and wildly
confident. In fact, he was exactly the kind of man her momma had warned her
about. And after her last relationship, she wanted to avoid anyone likely to
break her heart.
    “He’s
hot,” she reiterated. “But you know my rule.”
    “Oh
sure.” Tasha rolled her eyes. “No time for men until you’ve got a record deal,
but at the rate music deals are being handed out, you might be deal-less and man-less forever if you don’t at least use what your momma gave you.”
    Gillian
knew Tasha meant well, but she’d used what her momma gave her to get noticed at
her cancelled meeting today, and while Tasha might’ve been able to pull it off
with her playful personality, it’d made her feel cheap when Josie looked her up
and down.
    “You
aren’t me,” Gillian said, reaching for the coffee pot. “Your mom has been
married for thirty years. You don’t know how bad men can be. I’d probably be
wise to avoid him any other way except as an agent.”
    “Well,
your momma got to have you out of whatever happened in her relationship, so I
don’t see how it was all that bad.”
    Gillian
sighed. She didn’t know where her dad was right now. He might even be in
Nashville, but he’d given her up completely when he’d left her mother and her
own musical dreams in Gold Creek Gap. And then there was Robert, whom she’d met
in Nashville her first year. He’d turned out to be just like her dad. Momma had
been right about him too.
    “Momma
knows how Nashville is.”
    “Was,”
Tasha corrected. “No disrespect to your sweet momma, honey, but she was here trying
to make it more than twenty-five years ago, right?”
    “Some
things don’t change,” Gillian said. “Like men.” Last she’d heard, her ex was
still making his rounds among the Nashville starlets, like her dad had done.
And to think she’d entertained the idea of marrying Robert.
    Tasha
shook her head. “Oh yeah. Men are so evil, since the beginning of time. They
might tempt you to do something wild, like fall in love, get married and…” She
gasped, mockingly. “Heaven forbid—have a posse of kids and distract you from
pursuing the elusive music contract.”
    “You
make it sound like a crazy dream, but yeah, something like that.” Gillian gave
a little laugh.
    Tasha
shook her head. “Loretta Lynn didn’t let all those kids stop her. Nobody says
you have to fall in love, but it’d be OK to let a man take you out to a real
dinner, especially a rich one like Will Adams—just maybe not for sushi.”
    “I’d
even have sushi if it meant a free meal,” commented another waitress as she
breezed past them.
    “I
rest my case,” Tasha said. “And don’t worry if it’s a date or business.”
    Gillian
said nothing, but shuddered remembering the few dates she’d gone on when she
first got to Nashville, before she met