Once More With Feeling by Nora Roberts Page B

effort Raven shifted her eyes from his. “No.” She smiled and looked at the woman at his side.
    Lauren Chase was a slender wisp of a woman with a thick mane of dark, chestnut hair and sea-green eyes. There was something ethereal about her. Perhaps, Raven thought, it was that pale, almost translucent skin or the way she had of walking as though her feet barely touched the ground. She had a strong mouth that folded itself in at the corners and a long, slender neck that she adorned with gold chains. Raven knew she was well into her thirties and decided she looked it. This was a woman who needn’t rely on dewy youth for her beauty.
    She had been married twice. The first divorce had become an explosive affair that had received a great deal of ugly press. Her second marriage was now seven years old and had produced two children. Raven recalled there was little written about Lauren Chase’s current personal life. Obviously, she had learned to guard her privacy.
    â€œBrand tells me you’re going to put the heart in the music.” Lauren’s voice was full and rich.
    â€œThat’s quite a responsibility.” Raven shot Brand a glance. “Generally Brand considers my lyrics on the sentimental side; often I consider him a cynic.”
    â€œGood.” Lauren smiled. “Then we should have a score with some meat in it. Steve’s given me final word on my own numbers.”
    Raven lifted a brow. She wasn’t altogether certain if this had been a warning or a passing remark. “Then I suppose we should keep you up to date on our progress,” she said agreeably.
    â€œBy mail and phone,” Lauren said, slanting a glance at Brand, “since you’re traipsing off halfway around the world to write.”
    â€œArtistic temperament,” Brand said easily.
    â€œNo question, he has it,” Raven assured her.
    â€œYou should know, I suppose.” Lauren lifted a shoulder. Abruptly she fixed Raven with a sharp, straight look. “I want a lot out of this score. This is the one I’ve been waiting for.” It was both a challenge and a demand.
    Raven met the look with a slow nod. Lauren Chase was, she decided, the perfect Tessa. “You’ll get it.”
    Lauren touched her upper lip with the tip of her tongue and smiled again. “Yes, I do believe I will at that. Well,” she said, turning to Wayne and linking her arm through his, “why don’t you get me a drink and tell me about the fabulous costumes you’re going to design for me?”
    Raven watched them move away. “That,” she murmured, toying with the stem of her glass, “is a woman who knows what she wants.”
    â€œAnd she wants an Oscar,” Brand remarked. Raven’s eyes came back to his. “You’ll remember she’s been nominated three times and edged out three times. She’s determined it isn’t going to happen again.” He smiled then, fingering the dangling amethyst Raven wore at her ear. “Wouldn’t you like to bag one yourself?”
    â€œThat’s funny, I’d forgotten we could.” She let the thought play in her mind. “It sounds good, but we’d better get the thing written before we dream up an acceptance speech.”
    â€œHow’re rehearsals going?”
    â€œGood. Very good.” She sipped absently at her champagne. “The band’s tight. You leave for Vegas soon, don’t you?”
    â€œYes. Did you come alone?”
    She glanced back at him, confused for a moment. “Here? Why, yes. I was late because I’d forgotten about it altogether, but Julie left me a note. Did she introduce you to Lorenzo?”
    â€œNo, we haven’t crossed paths tonight.” As she had begun to search the crowd for Julie, Brand took her chin to bring her eyes back to his. “Will you let me take you home?”
    Her expression shifted from startled to wary. “I have my car,