LITMIR.BIZ

      Auditions were being held in St Joseph’s church hall, in the very village where they lived, and Lia had encouraged her to go for it.

      ‘It must be clear to you that if you want to sing with this band you can’t work full-time in a shop as well?’

      Jake didn’t take his eyes off of her as he addressed Caitlin, and the blatant directness of his unsettling blue gaze made her feel as if someone had just curtailed her oxygen supply.

      ‘Rehearsals start tomorrow afternoon and will continue every day after that for the next three weeks before the band performs in public. After that we’ll be all over the country for an initial three-week tour. Are you ready to commit to such a schedule, Miss Ryan?’

      ‘I hadn’t really thought about much beyond the audition,’ she confessed honestly, ‘but I realise whoever gets the job will have to be prepared to do regular gigs and eventually tour. So, yes, I am ready to commit, Mr Sorenson. I’ve never wanted anything more.’

      ‘And you know that means giving up your present job to do so?’

      ‘Of course.’

      Although she hadn’t hesitated to answer in the affirmative Jake didn’t miss the slightly perturbed frown between her elegant brows, and once again he had the distinct impression that Caitlin was a relative innocent when it came to the type of worldly experience that the rest of them had.

      ‘Does that worry you?’ he asked.

      Lifting her chin, she was intent on holding his gaze and not shying away from it, he saw.

      ‘I’d be a liar if I said it wasn’t daunting to leave something I’m so familiar with for something much more challenging, but I want to rise to that challenge. Especially if it’s going to help me realise my dream of becoming a professional singer. Besides…change is inevitable, isn’t it? Nothing stays the same.’

      ‘You don’t have to make it sound like it’s something to fear. There’s many a singer who’d give their eye-teeth to have the opportunity I’m offering you. Blue Sky may have lost their lead vocalist but they’re still an established band. Just before Marcie left they were invited to play on one of the top music shows on television.’

       And the guys had been gutted when they’d had to cancel the engagement. It might have been the big break they’d been praying for…

      ‘Please don’t think that I’m ungrateful.’

      Shifting self-consciously in her seat, Caitlin snagged her stocking on a splinter from the orange box. As she picked at it to free herself she blushed scarlet, because Jake’s gaze was suddenly focused on her knee instead of on her face. The very air between them seemed to throb with heat and a disturbing prickle of perspiration slid worryingly down her spine.

      ‘I think I’m still in shock,’ she admitted, ‘I didn’t expect to get as far as this. I’m still trying to take it all in.’

      ‘Well…’ Reluctantly withdrawing his glance from her knee, Jake strove to remain businesslike. ‘I’m not asking you to sign on the dotted line tonight. But that doesn’t mean I’m giving you the chance to change your mind. When I’ve decided that I want something, Caitlin, I won’t rest until I get it. So be here tomorrow at five. We’ll be rehearsing until late in the evening. Do we have a deal?’

      She bit down on her lip. ‘Yes—yes, we do. But can I make it five-forty-five instead? I have to close the shop at five-thirty. I won’t be any later. I can be here in just ten minutes if I drive.’

      ‘Five-forty-five it is, then. And before you leave you’d better give me your address and mobile phone number, just in case.’

      Caitlin gave him the information and watched warily as Jake scribbled it down in his black notebook. Then he threw down his pen and got to his feet. She followed suit, her heart racing as he towered over her. She was five foot seven in her bare feet, but his physical domination of the tiny space seemed to make the already diminutive room even smaller.

      Her fingers shaking, she fastened a couple of her coat buttons and managed a tentative smile. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow then, Mr…?’ She had a moment of panic because she’d somehow forgotten his surname.

      ‘You can call me Jake.’

      To her utter surprise and secret delight a dimple appeared as if by magic at the corner of his very sexy mouth. Caitlin’s insides knotted painfully.

      ‘Right.’

      ‘There’s just one more thing before you go.’

      ‘What’s that?’

      ‘I’d better explain one of the most important house rules, and that is there’s to be no fraternising after hours with members of the band—and I’m not talking about a few drinks backstage after a gig. Am I making myself clear?’

      Now Caitlin’s face really did burn. She tried to look anywhere but straight at Jake. If he seriously thought she would—that she might— Of course he could have no idea that she’d sworn off men for good, she realised. But after what she’d been through with her ex-boyfriend Sean she’d rather trek through the Sahara Desert with a fur coat on than risk another soul-destroying relationship with a man…however brief.

      ‘All I want to do is sing. I’m not interested in anything else. I can positively assure you of that.’

      Jake couldn’t help wondering why. He’d glimpsed pain and fury in those pretty green eyes of hers just now, as if even the suggestion that she might find herself attracted to a member of the opposite sex was tantamount to contemplating suicide.

      He sighed. ‘Okay, then. There’s just one other thing.’

      ‘What’s that?’

      This time Caitlin’s wary gaze met his in pure defiance, as though she dared him to transgress one more inch into her private life.

      Jake ventured a teasing smile. ‘I’d seriously think about investing in a new pair of stockings, if I were you’

      ‘How did you know they were—?’

      ‘How did I know that they were stockings and not tights?’ He gave her a shameless grin. ‘Put it down to long experience…’ he drawled, pretty sure that if he told her he’d had a tantalising glimpse of her stocking-tops when she’d first sat down she’d exit so fast he wouldn’t see her for dust. ‘You can’t beat the genuine article.’

      ‘Is that so? Well, anyway…I didn’t know you could tell.’ With a disturbed frown Caitlin tried to remember to breathe. Sheer embarrassment made her babble. ‘The trouble is I seem to have an unhappy knack of snagging them whenever I wear them. They’re not really practical. I normally wear jeans.’

      ‘Take it from me…’ Jake’s voice dropped down a discernible notch or two, making his tone arrestingly smoky ‘…stockings are better…’