Free Dancing on a Moonbeam (Bedford Falls Book 1) by Kate Perry Page B

again—just for a brief second before he got a grip—and with a muttered curse he yanked the plant out.
    It dangled between them.
    "You can let go now," she said.
    He jumped back, dusting his hands on his jeans. To cover up his desire, he frowned at her. "These aren't weeds, you know."
    "Of course I know." She looked at him askance. "How do you know? You're a movie person from Los Angeles."
    "I'm not a movie person, I compose movie scores. And what does it matter that I'm from LA?"
    She tossed the plant aside. "LA people don't know anything about nature."
    "My mom and dad have a bit of land and like to garden. They say nature is the ultimate symphony." He nodded at the pile of discarded plants. "Why are you pulling them out?"
    "I want to make a walkway from the front to my studio." She pointed at the structure that was the bone of contention between the two of them. "So when people park in the front they don't trample my flowers to get to the back. I'm going to line it in stone."
    "Yourself?"  
    "No, with elves." She made a face at him. "Of course, myself. Why? Are you volunteering to help?"
    "No." He shook his head and stepped back. The idea of physical work was actually appealing, but the thought of working alongside Eleanor knowing that her braless breasts were within reach would kill him. Or she'd kill him, when he couldn't keep his hands to himself.
    "Just make sure you keep it quiet," he said, taking another step back. Not that he cared about the noise—he just needed a distraction so he wouldn't touch her.
    Her eyes narrowed. "I'll do my best. I wouldn't want you to call the cops."
    "Good." He turned and walked back to his house.
    As he entered, music blasted from next door. It didn't take more than two notes for him to recognize Falco's "Rock Me, Amadeus".  
    It was so tempting to go back and take her up on that challenge. But he forced himself to go back inside. A cold shower, and then back to work.

    *   *   *  

    Going back to work was futile. Every time he tried to focus on his sheet music, he saw Eleanor in various stages of undress, wrapped only in his melody. By late afternoon, Max gave up. Putting a small notepad and pencil in his pocket, he went for a walk.
    His walk turned into a trek to town. He debated going farther, to the dive bar on the outskirt of the town limits.
    But then he saw the bench and felt drawn there.
    Sitting down, he settled into the spot and closed his eyes to hear Bedford Falls.  
    There was the hum of cars zipping by, an occasional engine revved. In the quiet moments between—which still amazed him after the constant drone of Los Angeles traffic—he tuned in to the passing conversations, both between people and birds settling in the trees around him.
    He heard the hint of a song, different from his score. Sitting back, he relaxed into it, letting it come to him, wondering where it was going to lead him.
    He should have known that it'd lead directly to Eleanor.
    It was exactly like she was: soft yet strong, graceful and lyrical, passionate and steady. He heard her delicate curves in the twists and turns of the music, and his heart sped up as he felt her grace in the notes that flowed to him.
    Without opening his eyes, not wanting the music to stop, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the notepad.  
    "What are you doing?" a sullen teenage voice asked.
    "Shh." He held up his hand.  
    He felt the opposite end of the bench creak and Lily's curious gaze on him. Ignoring it, he let the end of the song play out in his mind before he opened his eyes and took his pencil out to write down some notes.
    "What are you writing?" the girl asked, leaning over to look at his notepad.
    "A song." He didn't tell her her mom inspired it—he could imagine the reaction that'd incite.  
    "Like, words?"  
    He shook his head, focused on the notes. "No, just the music. I don't write lyrics."
    "Why not? The words are the most important part."
    Pausing, he lifted his head to stare at her. "Of