Stunning, impulsive, emotional, undisciplined…those were a few of the adjectives people used to describe me. But when an emergency call came in that a cellist was needed to perform the ‘Impossible Duet’, I wasn’t sure if the dream violinist I would perform with was enough to help me overcome my past.

Oliver Cranston was the violinist in need of a duet partner with only two days to spare. I’d been in love with his talent since I was a little girl. Despite his reputation for being controlling and stubborn, my admiration for his abilities was only the tip of my attraction to him.

But after being told I was hired and showing up at the concert hall, the last thing I expected him to say was that he’d rather cancel the show than perform with me.

Oliver—
Musicians often insured their arms and hands because if anything happened, they could no longer perform. That solved one problem, but when my duet partner broke his arm two days before our performance, the fact that he had insurance did little to comfort me. I couldn’t perform a duet alone.

The symphony’s personnel manager told me not to worry and had a replacement on the way.

Then Fiona Renault walked in the door. No wonder our manager had told me not to worry about who she’d found. Curve-hugging leggings, a tank top that wasn’t thick enough to hide the pinkness of her bra, and a sticker-laden bright pink cello case. Why so much pink? I forced myself to breathe… and look away. None of that would be on stage.

Surely she brought proper concert attire. Preferably something that offered less perspective of her ample breasts, and at least two sizes bigger than her form-fitting leggings. Surely.

Pulling a pencil from her messy bun, her long dark hair tumbled over her shoulders… a painfully bright pink stripe ran the length of her locks.

Absolutely not. She was anything but professional. And yet, something inside me stirred. For the entirely wrong reasons.

I’d rather cancel the concert than perform with an amateur. But I couldn’t turn her away.

I wasn’t sure that would ever be possible.