Hey kittens! The writers of Meant to Be Press (including one of my best beloved writer girls, Emmy Z. Madrigal) have done another anthology of music-inspired romances. And I say ooooo . . . .
**Read Free Excerpt Below**
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything. ― Plato
Take a journey through five melody-infused worlds where music inspires love to bloom.
“Tempo of Temptation” by Lela Bay / Regency
Perhaps it is best that Mr. Leon doesn’t recall Petra’s mortifying declaration of love. Could their intense attraction during an impromptu midnight concert inspire her to risk her heart again?
“Contact High” by Emmy Z. Madrigal / New Adult
Raul’s addiction is just another symptom of the hard life he’s been dealt but when Victoria sings, his troubles fade into the background. Can her music inspire him to get clean?
“Her Immortal Beloved” by M.M. Genet / Historical
Beethoven’s plan is to write the ultimate love song that transcends all time for his beloved. Will the woman of his heart let his music inspire her?
“Rick Prince and the Manhattan Muse” by Naching T. Kassa / Steamy
Heart-broken musician, Rick Prince, is inspired by the beautiful single-mother, Zella. He has no idea she holds a secret from his past which may tear them apart.
“Love Comes to Kenneth’s Valley” by Kate Nox / Inspirational
Grayson Greer motivates his congregation through music, but after the death of his wife, the pastime is shrouded in pain. Can Rachel’s love inspire him to move on?
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**Read Free Excerpt Below**
“Contact High”
by Emmy Z. Madrigal
Raul waited for daybreak and then snuck out before anyone was awake. He lit up and walked toward school. He didn’t want to go, but figured he could go to Park Lake and sleep on a bench. The fog was thicker than usual that morning. He thrashed through it, crossing the track so he didn’t have to walk as far. The fog closed him in, making him feel like he was the only one on Earth. Cars honked far off, but after a while even those sounds were locked away in some far-off land of the living.
A voice startled him and he froze, thinking someone was talking to him.
“It seems we stood and talked like this before…”
Raul spun around, looking for who belonged to the voice. He couldn’t see anyone. Okay, sure, he’d taken a few puffs that morning, but not enough to cause hallucinations. He threw down the joint and smashed it out with the toe of his worn Doc Martens boot. What was in that shit?
“We looked at each other the same way then…” the girl’s voice sang on.
Raul closed his eyes and tried to focus on which direction the voice came from. He ran ahead a little, following her tune.
“But I can’t remember where or when.”
A shape formed in front of him, unmistakably Victoria’s. She bounced a little when she walked, her blonde wavy hair swinging behind her, releasing the scent of strawberry shampoo his way.
Her voice captivated him. It curled around him like the fog and touched him in a way he couldn’t describe. He walked along behind her. Not too close to be creepy, but close enough to hear her finish her song. A strange feeling filled him—an overwhelming wish to know her better. But what was he thinking? He stopped in his tracks, allowing her to disappear in front of him into the fog. What good would it be for him to know her better? He could never possess her song. He wasn’t the romantic type who sat around reading poetry and asking girls to sing to him. Fuck that.
Yet, with every fiber in his being, he wanted to speak to her.
Maybe talking to her would dispel the magic? Maybe talking to her, he’d find she was just as worthless as the other girls he fooled around with. Maybe, if he fooled around with her, the spell would be broken.
“Vic,” he called, running after her.
“Hello?” she called back, into the fog.
Once her form became clear in the fog again, he second-guessed his motive. She stood, gripping her backpack strap with one hand, looking so innocent, her eyes questioning if it was safe. She wasn’t his prey. She never would be. He went after the fast girls, the girls who didn’t challenge him, the ones who just wanted to be with him to say they had conquered Raul LaMond, when in reality he had conquered them.
“Raul?” She blinked innocently, her cheeks rosy from the fog or walk, whichever.
“Yeah.” He shrugged. Now what?
“Um, hi.” She smiled and his heart beat fast. Why? Who was she? Just some little innocent brat who sang. So what? But something in him urged him to talk to her.
“Hey.”
“You’re up early.”
“Yeah.”
“You got an A1 class?”
“Nah, just…” Change the subject, chump. “You got A1?”
“Yeah. Choir.”
He nodded and stepped in line beside her, heading to the choir room.
She walked next to him, smelling of cherry chap stick and making him want to taste it. What was he thinking? Kiss Victoria Knox? Really? Victoria was vanilla and pure and, well, Victoria. Raul was a mix of trailer trash and vato. His mother had given him up. He still didn’t know why. Besides, Victoria didn’t exude sex appeal, not to him anyway. Although, she did have a nice body. A cute, short one, with a nice rear that stuck out just enough and breasts that peeked out of shirts slightly, enticingly, not like the girls he fooled around with who showed off the whole enchilada.
“We’re here.” She smiled, nervously biting her bottom lip. See? Even she doesn’t understand why you’re here. Get out.
“Yeah, well, see ya.” He turned to go and she gave a little wave, hopping up the steps to the choir portable.
“Bye.”
Something in him didn’t want to see her go in that door. If she went in that door, he’d never have the guts later to—
“Vic?”
She turned, her blonde hair swinging around and her green eyes sparkling with friendly cheer.
“Yeah?”
“Uh, lunch. Wanna eat by the park?”
“Um…” she considered, obviously wondering why he was asking her to the park alone, without Greg, or their regular lunch crew.
“I need to talk, but if you’ve got plans…” he said.
“No, it’s alright. I could come. Meet you by the lockers?”
“Yeah.” He turned and walked away before she changed her mind and before he messed it up.
Once around the corner from her class, he paused, leaning against the wall, taking a deep breath. What the Hell was he thinking? He hated feeling like someone held his heart in their hands. It wasn’t safe to trust. It wasn’t safe to care. Everyone he’d ever cared about had left him. His anger grew and he turned, slamming his fist into a locker. It made a loud bang in the quiet quad.
“Hey! Who’s over there? What are you doing?” a teacher called.
Raul turned heel and ran. It was foggy, so there was no way he’d been seen. He’d be gone before he could be ID’d. He swung around the end of the school, off school grounds and across the street.
***
Read more in Meant to Be…INSPIRED.
Lucy Blue Writes 
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