Free Mended Hearts (New Beginnings Series) by Mandie Tepe

gonna break my heart anyway . . . so just leave the pieces when you go,” even as her heart skipped a beat. What was that about?
    About halfway into the set, Gracie noticed two beautiful women enter the pavilion together—one, tiny and graceful with long auburn hair caught up in a tail down her back—and the other, taller and energetic with elfin -short blonde hair. They both moved through the crowd—you couldn’t even say they walked, because they were so graceful—followed by a couple of young men who moved in the same way. Gracie suddenly recognized the smaller woman as Sonny’s friend, Meg, from her wedding photo on his refrigerator.
    They crowded around the table with Sonny’s group, and the cute blonde made herself comfortable on Luca’s good knee as he laughed. She spoke into his ear, and his reply caused her to kiss his cheek. Gracie had to look away. She was surprised it bothered her a little. Why should it? He was just her friend, right? She forced herself to concentrate as she began the next song—Taylor Swift’s Teardrops on My Guitar .
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    Sonny was disappointed he hadn’t arrived at the park before the band started. He would’ve liked to talk to Gracie before the show started. He hadn’t seen or talked to her in days and was surprised at how much he missed her. What was that about? But, he’d wanted to give her space so she wouldn’t be so spooked the next time he saw her. He didn’t factor in the huge turnout and parking problems. On top of that, he wasn’t moving as quickly on his crutches as he’d like to. By the time he found a parking spot and wove in and out through the crowds to the pavilion at the back of the park, the band was well into their set.
    He was a little surprised to see all the girls there. He figured they’d come to the fair, but didn’t expect to see them at one of the band concerts. He hadn’t told anyone Gracie’s band was appearing, or even that she was in one. He soon realized they’d stumbled on her and stayed to watch. The kids were getting a little fidgety, though, so he didn’t know if they’d make it through the whole two hours.
    He’d sat back to watch Gracie, and was impressed all over again. She really was a wonderful performer. The whole band had good chemistry. They joked with one another and the crowd between songs, and made even the downtimes fun. Gracie took lead vocals for most of the songs, but Colby took over on a few. She melted away to back up status on those songs and was just as impressive in a support capacity as when she took the lead. They did a couple of great duets, as well. They both had a talent for harmonies, and their voices melded well together.
    She looked bohemian and exotic in a flowy white, yet softly form-fitting ankle-length skirt, a plain coral-colored camisole, with a beaded belt slung low on her hips, which matched her beaded sandals. Her dark hair was loose and feathered around her face in that way that made her brown eyes look huge.
    Pretty soon, Sonny’s prediction came true and the two momm ies packed up their restless kids and left. He had a feeling they would have liked to stay to watch him interact with Gracie, but he was relieved his audience had just gotten smaller. He trusted that Kelli and Meg would be discreet and not spook Gracie too much. You never knew what was going to come out of Tobi’s mouth, but that was part of her charm. You certainly could never stay mad at her. Anthony and Kai—Meg and Tobi’s friends and colleagues at the SDDI—were probably not even aware of the drama at the table, being guys and all. After Val and Jenna left with the kids, there was much more room, so Tobi slid off his lap.
    Sugar Creek finished up their set at seven o’clock on the dot. Most of the crowd slowly drifted away to other parts of the park, but Sonny and his friends stayed put. He, of course, was waiting for Gracie to join him. He hoped she