Free Rock Angel (Rock Angel Series Book 1) by Jeanne Bogino Page A

with you. He told me so himself.”
    Shan was still dubious. During their session that night she continued to sing badly, her voice uncertain and lacking her usual self-assurance. When she scooped again during a standard voice exercise, she cringed visibly and stared at Quinn, awaiting a verbal blitzkrieg.
    He sighed, then sat up and patted the futon beside him. “C’mere.”
    She hesitated.
    “Come on,” he said. “I won’t bite you.”
    She perched on the edge of the futon and eyed him with mistrust. Here it comes, she told herself. You’re not going to work out, he’ll say. Sorry, but that’s rock ’n’ roll.
    “I owe you an apology,” he said instead. “I had no right to lambaste you like I did today, especially not in front of the others, and I can see that it’s really upset you. I acted like a dick,” he concluded, not without difficulty, “and I’m sorry.”
    “You mean I’m not fired?”
    “Fired?” His eyes widened. “Why would you think you were fired?”
    She pulled her legs in against her chest. “It seems like you’re not happy with anything about me. I’ve been just waiting for the axe to fall.”
    “Just because I critique you doesn’t mean I’m not happy with you. You’re a superb musician,” he said. “One of the best I’ve come across.”
    She eyed him doubtfully. “Well, why are you so mean, then? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate all the time you spend with me,” she added when he frowned. “I’m learning a lot, but you get so frustrated with me…”
    “The main thing that’s frustrating me is your fucking lack of self-confidence. You’re a great singer, or rather, you could be a great singer, and you’ve got the potential to be an ace guitarist, but you never will be until you start believing in yourself.”
    All of a sudden she’d had enough of him. “I do believe in myself, in my music, but this is intimidating. You’re intimidating,” she clarified, “and I’m sick of you yelling at me all the time. I told you up front that I wasn’t at the same level as the rest of you. I’m trying as hard as I can.”
    “I know you are,” he said, “and it won’t be long before you’re completely up to speed. All you need is training, which is what I’m trying to give you. You already have the talent. Come on,” he urged as her green eyes narrowed. “Haven’t you spent enough time around me to know I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t mean it?”
    “Yes, I guess I have.” She smiled a little. “You’re not big on compliments.”
    “No, I’m not, but I don’t mind giving credit where it’s due. I can’t believe how far you’ve come in just the last few days. You should be excited about it. I am.”
    A warmth started building in her chest that tingled as it spread all the way down to her toes. “I can’t tell you how much it means to hear you say that, Quinn, because I respect your opinion more than anyone else I know. About music, at least,” she added with a little laugh.
    “Well, I’ll take that as a compliment. And I’m glad to hear that you believe in your music, because sometimes you act as if you’re just figuring out that you have talent. People pay to listen to you every time you gig, though. What did you think they were paying for?”
    “I know that a lot of people like my stuff,” she said, “and it’s a good thing, because it’s all I really know how to do. It really was a revelation when I realized I could use it as a way of supporting myself.”
    “How did it come about?” he asked curiously.
    She cast her eyes down at the futon. “I used to play in the subway stations,” she said, after a moment. “At first it was just a warm place to work on my tunes, but then people started dropping money into my guitar case.”
    “Sounds rough, if the subway was the only place you had to get out of the cold.”
    Shan looked up and examined his face for derision. There wasn’t a trace of it. “It was, I guess, but it turned out to