Free Unexpected Admirer by Bernadette Marie

among the covered furniture and watched as William drove away in his car. Her heart ached for him. What had he been thinking? Why did his opinion bother her so badly?
    Her cell phone rang in her pocket. She pulled it out and answered it sharply, “Hello.”
    “Hello, beautiful.” Jesse’s voice was soft on the other end. “I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time. I was heading out to the bus and thought I’d try to catch you before you were sitting down to dinner.”
    Melissa let the tension in her shoulders roll away. “I was just checking on my grandpa’s house before I headed home.”
    “The house on the hill?”
    She smiled at the memory of the night she told him that. “Yes.”
    “You know, I was watching TV last night after I hung up with you, and an old Lilly Rose movie was on. I was thinking about her house by your grandpa’s.”
    “She was a real beauty.”
    He laughed softly. “Are you sure you’re not related to her? I think you look a lot alike. You have that natural glamour beauty to you too.”
    She couldn’t help but let words like that affect her. He delivered them so flawlessly. But what if William was right? What if Jesse Charles just wanted something from her?
    “Melissa, are you still there?”
    “Yes,” she said, realizing she’d been standing in the quiet house dwelling on things that weren’t real. “And thank you. I guess it’s been a long time since someone has complimented me like that. I forgot how to react.” She moved about the lower portion of the house making sure everything was in order.
    “Listen, I have to go, but the reason I called was I’ll be flying into Grand Junction much earlier than I’d first planned. I know we discussed dinner on Sunday, but you wouldn’t be up for breakfast and lunch too, would you?”
    She laughed as she started her climb of the stairs, which creaked under her feet. “I have to be in church Sunday morning. But you’re welcome to come.”
    “Church? Wow, it’s been a long time since…”
    “If you’re uncomfortable…”
    “What I was going to say was it’s just been a long time since I’ve been in a church. I think some praise is in order. What time?”
    She had to clear her head as she opened the door to her grandparents’ bedroom and gazed over the old furniture her grandfather had built and her grandmother had stained. “Ten.”
    “I’ll be there in plenty of time.”
    There was a peace in making plans with him even though she was sure that Sunday would be the last day she’d ever see him. “I’ll see you then.”
    “Can I call you tomorrow?”
    Oh, he was cute. “Yes, I think I’d like that.”
    “I know I would.”
    They said their goodbyes, and Melissa tucked her phone back into her pocket as she closed the door to the bedroom. For a moment she stood there thinking about Jesse and how his voice and words had soothed her nerves after William had stirred her up.
    This was what happened to women and famous musicians. They were good with words and the delivery was part of the charm. Was she falling for Jesse Charles’s flattery? Or was there really some merit to how he felt about her?
    She looked down at her finger where her wedding ring still remained on her finger.
    No matter what happened, there were two men who seemed to be interested in her, for whatever reason. The only thing that was clear—it was time to move on.
    Melissa walked back through the house and out the front door, missing the rotting board by the door.
    She drove down the road to the entrance, got out of her car, and secured the gate. As she began her decent back toward town, the static on the radio gave way to the music.
    Any other time she’d have turned off the radio, but this time it was Jesse’s voice she heard and he was singing Admirer —only this time it was as if he were singing to her.
    As she rounded the base of the mountain, she noticed that the palms of her hands were hot and her heart beat was quickened.
    Dear Lord, this was