Outmatched in October (Spring River Valley Book 10) by Clarice Wynter Read Free Book Online

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    Grinning, Claudia reached over to help him untangle the microphone wires he’d been fumbling with for the last ten minutes. “Paging Dr. Croft. Hello? Are you in the building?”
    “Yeah, I’m just…tired. It’s been a long night.”
    “Uh-huh. I was saying, Dani is really good. I wouldn’t be surprised if Buck offers you a raise, especially if all her lawyer friends are going to be showing up every time she sings.”
    “Yeah…oh, well. I don’t know. You know those corporate types. They don’t get much free time.”
    “They know how to party, though. There must be thirty drinks on their tables. Buck has dollar signs in his eyes. But then again, you wouldn’t see Buck if he was standing on your nose right now would you.”
    “Yeah, I… What?”
    Claudia moved to stand in front of Taylor, temporarily blocking his view of Dani and her friends. “Dr. Croft, in my professional opinion, you’re lovesick.”
    “I am not.” He scoffed at her suggestion and seemed to make a concentrated effort to keep his gaze riveted on the task at hand. Owen had gone out back to load an amplifier in his car, and they wanted to have everything else packed before he returned so they could call it a night.
    “Come on. You think she’s hot, admit it.”
    “I won’t lie. She’s…attractive.”
    “She’s a firecracker. And I think she’s perfect for you.”
    Now he did laugh, loud enough to draw the attention of a few customers. He lowered his voice. “I don’t think I’m her speed at all.”
    “Please. I went through this with Lily a few weeks ago. She thought she was too low -key for Quinn, but everything turned out fine. Give it a shot and ask her out. What have you got to lose?”
    Taylor turned his most clinical gaze on her and raised a brow. “Look who’s talking.”
    Realizing she’d just entered dangerous territory, Claudia snatched up a coil of wires from the stage floor and set to work trying to look like she was doing something important. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “Do you think I don’t know how you and Owen feel about each other?”
    “What me and Owen? There’s no me and Owen. He wants me gone, as you can see by the replacement he found. I think if he’d met Dani sooner, I’d have been history months ago.”
    Taylor’s gaze softened , and he gently took the still tangled coil of wires out of her hands. “I don’t understand why you’re so shy. You’re gorgeous, and he knows it. If there’s anything you want him to know before you leave, you should just tell him.”
    “Ha. Have you seen the two of us together any time in the last year? All we do is fight. It’s pretty obvious we can’t get along. I’m tired of bickering all the time.”
    “So don’t fight with him, just talk to him. He hates that you’re leaving .”
    “He doesn’t act like it.”
    “Of course not. I hate it too, and I’m not too proud to beg you not to move to New York permanently. I can do that because I know I can’t stop you from doing what you want to do. He can.”
    Claudia rolled her eyes. “How could Owen stop me from doing anything?”
    Taylor shrugged. “By telling you the truth.”
    She was about to demand to know what truth he was talking about when the man in question appeared.
    He said nothing to either of them, just began packing up wires and microphone stands. Claudia had known him long enough to know he was tired and irritable even though he wore a neutral expression. His hair had spiked up in the front, a symptom of his habit of running his hands through it when he was annoyed. The muscles of his jaw looked rock hard, and his movements were stiff and abrupt.
    When he wasn’t looking, Taylor pantomimed to Claudia, Talk to him . She waved him off, and that subtle movement caught Owen’s attention.
    He turned a questioning stare at her. “What’s up?”
    “Nothing. I’m just…uh…Dani was great tonight. I think you made a perfect choice.”
    “We all agreed. It