Playing the Maestro by Aubrie Dionne

aunt had told her the biggest lie ever. “No one eats bugs. Not even turtles.”
    There was no talking sense into a five-year-old. Melody had given up when Laini found them and dumped a pile of deli bags into the cart. “Any luck?”
    Melody gave Laini an apologetic smile. “I tried, but she won’t give them up.”
    Laini’s shoulders slumped. “Let her have them. She’ll loose interest eventually.”
    “Eventually” came a second later. Violet’s eyes widened as she looked over their shoulders. “Look! It’s Mozart!”
    Melody froze, heart thumping. Goose bumps broke out all over her body, and they weren’t even in the freezer aisle. Naw. It can’t be. Lots of people wore powdered wigs in the grocery store, right?
    Laini’s mouth dropped open. “Either I’m hallucinating, or a total hottie just walked off one of those soap-opera magazine covers.”
    Melody’s heart seized and she felt like she’d melt into a puddle on the floor. It was him. She hadn’t talked to Wolf since the date, and she wasn’t ready. Especially not in the grocery store with a five-year-old on the verge of a tantrum. Not now.
    Laini looked her up and down. “You’re not telling me that’s him, are you? Because if you are, I might just have to pull a Freaky Friday on you and swap bodies.”
    Melody glanced over her shoulder. Wolf was perusing the bins of watermelons wearing an oh-so-fitting button-down navy shirt tucked into loose khakis. She whirled around, hiding behind a shelf of French loaves. “It’s him.”
    Laini hit her. “You didn’t tell me he could pose for GQ .”
    “I didn’t think it mattered.”
    “Well, it does!”
    Melody pulled Laini’s arm. “Come on, I don’t want to talk to him right now.”
    Laini didn’t budge. “Why not? It’s the perfect time to introduce us.”
    The way the date had ended left a thorn in Melody’s heart. It had been two days and he hadn’t called. He didn’t need detective skills to find her number from the orchestra personnel list. “I don’t know if he wants to see me after…”
    Her sister leaned in, intensity in her eyes. “After what? What happened on the date?”
    “Mozart!” Violet waved and all the deli papers flew everywhere like confetti. “Mozart, over here.”
    When Wolf turned and saw them, Melody thought she’d die of mortification and collapse on the floor with all the sour grapes. But she wasn’t that lucky. Her heart still beat long enough to see his face turn from surprise into a tight-lipped frown that stole every ounce of her confidence. Something was sour in this supermarket, and it wasn’t just the grapes.
    She hated being right. Nope. He doesn’t want to see me. It’s over.
    Wolf’s gaze turned to Violet, and his lips broke into a small smile. He had to come over now, whether he wanted to talk to her or not. No one could ignore Violet’s puppy-dog eyes.
    “Mozart, what happened to your hair?” Violet asked as Wolf approached them.
    Wolf nodded at Melody. “Hi, Mel.” His eyes moved quickly away from hers to Laini. He extended his hand. “Wolf Braun. A.k.a. Mozart.”
    “Laini Thomas. Melody’s sister.”
    “Nice to meet you. You have a very talented little girl.”
    Laini rolled her eyes. “You’re telling me. She played the deli counter like no tomorrow.”
    Wolf scanned all the little slips on the floor. “I’ll say.” He turned to Violet. “My wig is at the cleaners. Even Mozart has to do laundry sometimes.”
    Violet giggled like it was the greatest joke in the world. But after her laughter subsided, awkward silence reigned.
    “Well, I’ve got to get back to shopping.” Laini turned the cart around. “See you at the concert.”
    “Nice meeting you again.” Wolf waved to Laini as she rolled away. Melody turned to join her sister, but Wolf grabbed her arm.
    “About the other night…”
    Melody’s stomach squeezed until her abs resembled the woman from her home workout video. Maybe that’s the trick to having a