Tender Deception: A Novel of Romance by Patti Beckman Page A

thinks he knows a lot about music, and that’s where we get into some fights. I admire old Kirk in a lot of ways, but he has an infuriating way of ordering people around that sometimes burns me up.”
    “And you’re not really sure he’d approve of your hiring me for the band,” she concluded.
    Jimmy nodded. “Yes. It makes me sore, Lilly, but that’s the way it is.”
    She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “Don’t feel bad, Jimmy. I understand. I don’t want to cause trouble between you and your brother. We’ll just see how things work out. I’ll play the best I can and maybe he’ll like my style.”
    “Well, he’s bound to like your playing. It’s having a woman on the band that may not sit too well with Kirk. Right now he’s kind of soured on females. He just got his heart broken by one. Have you ever heard of Marie Algretto?”
    “The opera singer? Of course I have. She’s one of the world’s most beautiful women. To say nothing of her magnificent voice.” Suddenly Lilly’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me your brother was involved with her!”
    Jimmy nodded.
    “But she’s an international celebrity!” Lilly gasped.
    “That’s the kind of people old brother Kirk runs around with. When I said he’s rich, I meant jet-set rich. The kind of rich that plays roulette in Monte Carlo and has dates with movie stars and countesses. Kirk chased Marie Algretto around Europe for a year. They had a torrid romance going. Kirk was all set to marry her. Then she broke it off, and broke his heart. I really felt sorry for Kirk,” Jimmy admitted. “He took it hard. I don’t think he’s gotten over her yet.”
    “I can see why,” Lilly agreed. “I heard her sing Carmen once at a performance in the city where I went to college. She’s the most gorgeous redhead I’ve ever laid eyes on. And she has a magnificent voice.”
    Jimmy nodded. “It was the perfect combination for Kirk: style, beauty and musical talent. Kirk seems to fall for women with talent. Before Marie Algretto, he was involved with a lady concert violinist, though not as desperately as he was with Marie.”
    “Sounds like he’s quite a lady’s man.” Then she teased, “It must run in the family. I seem to remember a certain young trumpet player back home riding up and down Main Street with a convertible full of cheer leaders.”
    Jimmy chuckled. “There’s a difference. I’m just out to have a good time. Kirk is very intense.”
    Lilly searched Jimmy’s eyes for a deeper understanding of his words. Was he warning her when he said, “I’m just out to have a good time”? Or would there be a difference now that he was older and she was a grown woman? Whatever chance she might be taking, she intended to play the game, win or lose, even if it meant heartbreak for her, too. She had carried her dream of Jimmy LaCross in her heart for too many years to turn coward now.
    * * * * * * *
    The next night, she arrived at the club early. She had shopped that afternoon, investing a sizable portion of her limited funds on a black cocktail dress. It was form-fitting enough to underscore her femininity, but not too revealing. Jimmy whistled with approval. She warmed all over at his gaze. “You sure have filled out in all the right places from the skinny kid I remember back in school,” he grinned.
    She remembered the time he had stared at her bare legs when they went wading in the brook and felt again the same undercurrent of sensual excitement.
    As the other members of the band assembled for the evening, Jimmy introduced them to Lilly. The drummer was Cemetery Wilson, a good-natured, ruddy faced individual. The banjo was played by Skinny Lang, a tall, emaciated fellow with a chronic, hacking cough. The front line, besides Jimmy, included the clarinet player, Charlie Neal, a slender, intense individual who kept a bottle of Maalox on the band stand to comfort his ulcer. The third member of the front line was the trombonist, a happy,