Free Out Of Place (Face the Music Book 2) by Shona Husk

that had influenced them, and not their own work. It was also a mark of recognition.
    He glanced up as a blonde woman crossed the street and walked towards him.
    Olivia.
    Large sunglasses hid most of her face. Her hair was in one long braid over her shoulder and she was wearing one of those shapeless ground-length dresses that seemed to have been in fashion for years. But when the breeze gave a half-hearted attempt to cool things down, the blue fabric pressed against all the right places.
    As she drew closer he dragged his gaze up to her face—glad she couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses. His gaze stopped on the pink scars that covered her shoulder and traced part of the way down her arm. They weren’t the kind of scars that just happened; they were the remains of a major injury.
    “Hi,” she smiled, but there was an edge that he hadn’t seen before.
    “Hey. Shall we find somewhere inside before everyone rushes to get lunch?”
    “Sure.”
    Her responses were too casual. He’d expected her to mention who he was, or something along that line. Didn’t she like his music? That would be awkward.
    They walked down South Terrace until they found a pizza place with AC and inside tables. It wasn’t flash, but it did great pizza.
    “Is there anything you don’t eat?” For all he knew she was vegan or something. He probably should’ve started with do you want to share or do you want to get one each and let her lead into any dietary requirements. That was never a consideration when it was only drinking that was being done.
    “No.” She shook her head, her gaze fixed on the menu. “If we get two we can eat from both?”
    He nodded and his gaze flicked from the menu, and the selection of regular and gourmet pizzas, to the scars. Were there more? Was he really being that superficial? She didn’t have to tell even if he asked, and he didn’t need to know. He liked her, she was interesting and he’d never forget the way she’d smiled when he got her car going. It was not the way she’d smiled at him today. There was definitely something going on.
    He might be out of practice, but getting the chill on a first date was never a good sign. They ordered and then there was that silence. Dating was a whole lot harder than he remembered. Might as well rip the dressing off and see what the damage was.
    “So…what exactly did you learn about me?” Not everything online was flattering.
    Her lips curved, but it couldn’t be called a smile. “Enough. You’ve had a busy year.”
    “It’s nice to be home.” Despite the fact he’d rather not be living at home. “What about you? I know you bookkeep but that’s all.”
    “I think I’m about to lose that job when the new owners take over.”
    “That’s a bit rough.” He poured water from the bottle the waiter had placed on the table, glad to have something to do.
    She nodded. “I’ve been there too long and it’s time to go.” She shrugged and glanced away. “I’d love to go to uni and get my accounting degree.”
    “So why don’t you?” Gemma was going to resume study part-time next year. Because she was younger she hadn’t finished uni before things had started happening for the band. It meant she had nothing to fall back on. That she felt the need for it was a bitter pill, but he knew that nothing was guaranteed.
    Olivia took a drink of water. Her hand shook as she placed the glass down. Then she looked at him and he knew bad news was coming. “You’re a rock star.”
    He laughed. “Rock glow in the dark ceiling star—possibly.” Not that what he did had anything to do with why she didn’t go to uni and follow her dream.
    She frowned at him, not appreciating his attempt at humour. Did she not like what he did? What exactly had she read about him? He hadn’t done anything that bad.
    “I’m twenty two. I was in a car accident three years ago. I lost my fiancé and nearly my baby and my life because he’d been drinking. Now I have a