Nashville by Heart: A Novel

by Tina Ann Forkner

  “Then onward and upward. Be glad he noticed you at all.”

  Happy-go-lucky Tasha always knew how to put things in perspective. In the time Gillian had known her, she’d made a lot of the big worries seem small. They’d been roommates since Gillian answered an ad in the newspaper: ASPIRING FEMALE MUSIC ARTIST SEEKING LIKE-MINDED FEMALE ROOMMATE.

  She wasn’t sure how like-minded they were, besides both being aspiring singers, but Tasha’s no-holds-barred city girl personality hadn’t clashed with Gillian’s small-town girl sensibilities as much as one might expect. She couldn’t have asked for a better roommate. Plus, Tasha had gotten Gillian a job at The Sweetest Tea Café. She owed her the world for that alone.

  Tasha plucked a pen from the checkout counter.

  “So, then what?”

  “So, then he asked me to meet him for sushi and to talk about music—and I said maybe.”

  “Who eats sushi?” Tasha shuddered in her slightly too-snug waitress uniform, making her curly brown ponytail swish. Apparently dislike of sushi was on their short list of like-minded ideas, which was a good thing. Neither one of them could afford sushi anyway.

  “Wait a minute.” Tasha arched her 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 Robert. She’d been homesick and had no friends, so she’d let Tasha drag her out to the honky-tonks. The men she met had all been as dumb as fence posts and didn’t even hide what they were after. When she wouldn’t sleep with them, they said things like, “But I took you to dinner!” or “I bought you a beer!” And Gillian’s favorite, “But I know the head of a record label. I can get you in. Just slide on over here, sweetheart.” Ugh.

  Patting her apron pockets, Gillian checked for the order pad and pen, even though she rarely used them, so accustomed was she to taking orders by heart. And it was her heart, as well as her goal of getting a record deal, that she needed to protect. She’d almost forgotten to keep her guard up. No matter how adorable Will Adams was, she’d do well to remember her plan. She’d learned while growing up in Gold Creek Gap that men tied you down to home, stole your dreams and then left. She vividly remembered how she’d begged her songwriter dad to take her along on his monthly drives to Nashville. Then one time, he’d hugged her a little bit longer than normal, and never came back.

  “Maybe Will Adams wasn’t serious about meeting at all,” she said, wondering if she’d misunderstood again. “He is a man. He’ll probably stand me up.”

  “He might,” Tasha said. “But then again, what if he doesn’t? May be your big break.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Gillian said. “Onward and hopefully upward, right?”

  She moved toward her assigned table section to pour coffee while Tasha headed for the VIP room. Gillian would usually kill to serve all the important locals, but today she wanted to be around regular people.

  The café’s owner, June, paused beside her. “Hey, honey. I heard about the meeting.”

  “Already? No secrets in this place.”

  “No, there aren’t, but if Will wants to talk to you again, that’s huge.” She smiled her trademark red lipstick grin. That was how to wear red lipstick, Gillian noted. Not the way she’d worn it earlier that day.

  “I think he felt sorry for me,” she said.

  June dismissed the comment with a flick of her wrist. “Men like Will Adams don’t have time for meetings because they feel sorry for you. You’ve got to believe in yourself.”

  “I’m trying,” Gillian said.

  “Well, keep trying,” June said. “I’ve seen a lot of girls go home, and I’ve seen some make it too. I think you’ve got what it takes, sugar.”

  “Thanks.” Gillian ducked to hide the blush of her cheeks, truly touched that June believed in her. June was probably on the younger side of thirty, looked like a star herself and knew everything about Nashville, particularly the music industry. Everyone who was anyone came to her restaurant, and she treated them like royalty. She even gave the true country music royals their own room to dine in. She treated regular people the exact same way.

  “Oh, while I’m thinking about it,” June said. “We’re g
onna have a lot of leftovers tonight. You girls don’t forget to dish up a bunch and take ’em home. I don’t like throwing away food.”

  “That’d be great. Thank you.” And Gillian meant it. After the money she’d spent on the bus fare and the new outfit she’d bought for her failed meeting with Will Adams, she didn’t know if she had enough change left to stock her half of the fridge. Grateful, she hastened to get coffee for the customers.

  She was so busy that the next half hour passed quickly. When the bell above the door jingled, she glanced up to see if anyone was available to help the waiting customers.

  “Oh, shoot.” There in the doorway was Will Adams and his next big thing, Audrey. Audrey was looking gorgeous, all curly blond hair, denim and boots. Gillian wanted to duck, but that would be silly, so she stood holding her coffee pot in one hand, frozen. Luckily, Will Adams’ gaze passed right over her. She must not have been recognizable with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and wearing a blue fifties-style waitress dress.

  When another waitress greeted the pair, Gillian breathed a sigh of relief. The morning had been crazy enough with the high heels and lipstick. The last thing she wanted for the next time he saw her was to be dressed like the 1950s. Next time she wanted to look like herself, but as she made a move to pour coffee for someone, she realized it was too late. She overfilled the coffee cup, causing a commotion of clattering dishes, spoons and apologies. She pulled a cloth from her apron and mopped up the mess, and when she glanced up, Will’s eyes were resting on hers. He smiled.

  Without thinking, she smiled back and ridiculously held the coffee pot up in a kind of salute. His smile widened, and for a second he looked like he might be about to head her way, but Audrey popped back through the curtain, laced her arm through his, and they were gone, the curtain swinging closed behind them.

  “I’m so sorry,” Gillian told the man whose coffee she spilled. “I’ll give you more coffee.”

  Trying to forget that Will was seated in the very next room, Gillian paid special attention to her customers, even scrubbing a few of the tabletops for the overwhelmed busboys.

  “Don’t take the Formica off,” Tasha said a few minutes later. “I need you to trade me places.”

  “Why?” But Gillian knew why.

  “You need to be waiting on Will Adams,” she hissed. “I heard him talking about you.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you, Sherlock.” Tasha rattled off Will’s order. “Now go and tell him about tonight at The Blue Fiddle.”

  “Oh my gosh!” Gillian slapped the side of her head with the rag.

  “Gross,” Tasha said, snatching the rag away. “You know what that rag has wiped up?”

  Gillian laughed, grabbing a clean towel and wiping at the side of her face.

  “This day is so wild. I don’t even know what I’m doing. My mind is racing.”

  “Well, I don’t think Marv would like you forgetting about The Blue Fiddle,” Tasha said. “You’d better readjust your brain. And go in the VIP room and get your man.”

  “My agent,” Gillian corrected.

  “Whatever. Just go get him.”

  Gillian smiled, still nervous, but empowered. She’d almost forgotten about her performance that night at The Blue Fiddle, where she waitressed nights with Tasha. She felt so blessed to be a regular opening act for her boss, Marv. Why hadn’t she told Will Adams about it?

  “What should I say?”

  Tasha smiled. “I took his order, so go back to the kitchen, get it and say with a smile, here’s your chicken fried steak.”

  “Like it’ll be that easy. I’ll probably spill his coffee like I did to that poor man earlier.”

  “It will be easy. Trust me.”

  Gillian headed toward the kitchen, rehearsing what she’d say under her breath.

  “Hi. Here’s your chicken fried steak. And would you like to watch me sing tonight?”

  “I’d love to,” a pimple-faced young man sitting at a table of men called out.

  She paused and laughed at herself. She obviously hadn’t been as quiet as she thought. The boy, who was a regular customer, grinned.

  “Where are you singing, sweetheart?” He tried to look taller.

  She adopted a motherly voice. “You have to be twenty-one to go, sweetheart.”

  His shoulders sagged, but he still smiled as his older friends guffawed and slapped his back.

  “Well, good luck!” he called, blushing. “You’ll be great.”

  “Why, thank you, honey.” She walked back and filled his coffee cup a little bit more, hoping that he was right.

  Chapter Four

  Seeing Gillian Heart at The Sweetest Tea Café froze Will in his tracks. She looked a lot different than when he’d met her that morning in the lobby of his office.

  “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  The waitress outfit was cute, but heck, he would’ve felt the same jolt of attraction no matter what she had on. And that voice he’d heard on the CD. It was a lot bigger than one would expect from someone like her, and it excited him as much as her looks. He was already picturing her as a fresh-faced, small town girl with a guitar—more denim and pearls than leather and lace, he thought.

  “Who’s she?” Audrey wanted to know.

  Will tore his eyes away. “That’s Gillian Heart.”

  He gave Audrey the short version of their cancelled meeting as they slid into their booth.

  “It’s not like you to see amateurs,” she said, clicking her pink manicured nails on the Formica tabletop.

  He studied Audrey. It wasn’t like her to be threatened by a potential client.

  “I felt bad about cancelling her meeting at the last minute.”

  “There must be something about her you liked. I can’t imagine you wasting your time otherwise.” Audrey smiled at the waitress who took their order. “Can I get some cream, sweetie?”

  The waitress disappeared.

  “I was intrigued,” he said, speaking a little louder over the rattle of dishes and customer chatter.

  “I bet that’s what you were,” Audrey said. “Intrigued.”

  “Like when I first heard you sing.” He was ready to change the subject. “Speaking of which, we have lots to talk about.”

  She gave him her already famous smile, and it filled him with hope. He took a lot of satisfaction in the fact that he’d discovered Audrey, and even though she could be demanding, she was on her way up the charts, and fast. His percentage from her music earnings could get the agency back on track in a short time, if he kept her happy and did his job right.

  Still smiling, Audrey leaned heavily on the table. “Can I finish at least one cup of coffee before we talk shop? I’m exhausted from the show last night.”

  “And you were amazing,” he said, and meant it. The event had been sold out, and the audience had loved her. It was all good for Audrey and for Adams Music. The business had been struggling ever since he lost his biggest band over a falling-out about money. It always happened that way. Music artists were happy to give their agent a percentage of profits when they were starting out, but when they made it huge, some of them started resenting the agent’s cut. Will’s policy to that end was to cut those kinds of clients loose, even if it hit his bottom line hard for a while. The problem was, it was still hitting the bottom line hard.

  “I used to work here,” Audrey said, casting her eyes around the room.

  “You never told me that.”

  She shrugged. “It was just a job. A good job though. June’s a peach. Your girl’s lucky to have it.”

  “She’s not my girl,” he corrected, wishing she were. “And she’s not my client, yet.” But secretly, Will hoped she’d turn out to be as great as the picture he’d formed in his mind. Gillian had potential as a client. As far as the rest, well, it didn’t matter since his clients were off-limits.

  Their waitress returned with a small white pitcher.

  He looked at Audrey. She was pouting now, and his patience was worn
thin. Still, he smiled like a professional.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  He decided to approach the topic with a bit of teasing. “You aren’t jealous of Gillian Heart, are you?”

  She looked surprised. “Of course not. Why’d I be jealous of a little waitress?” She tipped the pitcher of cream into her coffee.

  “Good, because I thought I might introduce you to her sometime.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Was her demo really that good?”

  “The recording is amateurish, but her voice is amazing.”

  Audrey set her coffee cup down. “Amazing? Well, can I hear it?”

  “Sure, but you’re gonna need a CD player.”

  She looked incredulous. “Old school, huh?”

  “So it seems.”

  “Well you’re always saying how you’re old school deep down, right? I want to hear her for myself then.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that. And if you like her, maybe you could take her under your wing.”

  “If you sign her.”

  “Right.”

  “I’m awfully busy,” she said. “But I guess I could do that—for you.”

  Will looked around for a waitress, ready to eat his late breakfast. He was starving.

  “Well now,” Audrey said in a sing-song voice. “Isn’t this the little songbird waitress you were telling me about, Will?”

  Taken aback, he glanced up to see a different waitress: Gillian Heart, holding a coffee pot, her green eyes sparkling and a small smile on her face. Shoot, she was gorgeous.

  “Refill?”

  “Hello, Ms. Heart. And please.” Will leaned back to let her lean in to pour coffee. He noticed she was smaller without high heels, but still on the tall side. He liked that.

  “Audrey,” he said. “I want you to meet Gillian Heart.”

  Will was glad to see Audrey offer Gillian a warm smile. “Nice to meet you, Gillian. You been here long, honey? I haven’t seen you before.”

  “Three years,” Gillian answered.

  “Well, surely you’ve sang somewhere, besides on that CD Will just told me about.”

  Will felt a bit sorry for Gillian when her cheeks flushed.