The Stars That Tremble by Kate McMurray Page A

Olcott’s Young Musicians Program are coming up,” he said. “There are not many slots open, but I think all seven of you have the potential to earn one of those spots, if you’re interested. I wanted to keep you all behind today to discuss what the audition process is like and help you pick out a piece to sing.”
    And so he spent an extra hour and a half with the kids, dismissing each as they decided on their audition piece. He deliberately finished with Emma McPhee.
    It was hard not to look at her in a new light given his relationship with her father. Maybe it was a quick thing, a summer fling, this situation he had going with Mike. They’d only slept together that one time, and Lord knew if they would again any time soon. But then Gio thought of that night, how magic it had been, and it was impossible to deny there really was something between them. Even just the few times they’d had lunch had shown there was definitely something between them. Gio had never dated a man with a child before, and he found himself in the odd position of not knowing how to act around Emma. He adored this girl, found her intelligent and insightful, and that voice was the very thing he had gone into teaching to find. But he also barely knew who she was outside of the class.
    Because class was letting out much later than usual, Mike was unable to pick up Emma that afternoon, so Gio had agreed to escort her home. “You don’t have to do that,” Mike had said. “She’s fourteen and capable of taking the crosstown bus by herself.” But his relief had been a palpable element in his voice when Gio had pushed the point. Mike then shocked the hell out of Gio by inviting him to dinner.
    It wasn’t the first time he’d had dinner with a student’s family, although the unspoken agreement there was that a nice family dinner was their kid’s ticket into one of the special programs Gio was affiliated with. That didn’t always work out for the families; Gio had become somewhat famous in the department for not being swayable by fancy meals or gifts of money. But this was hardly unprecedented. It certainly didn’t stop the Tracy Quinlans of the world from trying.
    And still Gio kept Emma last in class that day because he felt the need to sneak around. Mike had no interest in bribery. So maybe this was unprecedented in a way.
    Gio walked with Emma one block south to the bus stop, and they chatted about her audition piece. She still hadn’t settled on anything definitively, but he liked the song she was leaning toward and told her so. He knew the song was a favorite of Dacia’s, though he did not tell Emma that. He was trying to keep the situation as ethical as possible, he supposed. He wanted to help Emma and thought she deserved it, but he felt like he couldn’t help her too much.
    “I’m sure you’ll do splendidly at the audition,” Gio said. “Do you play piano at all?”
    “Only a little.”
    “Tell your father that, while it’s not a requirement, most students in the YMP voice track are encouraged to take piano lessons. It’s an added expense, but you can usually find a college student to teach you for not too much money. They advertise on the bulletin board on the fifth floor.”
    The bus pulled up and they boarded. Gio was not a fan of city buses and would have taken a cab if Mike hadn’t specifically said they should take the crosstown bus. He’d said something about sticking with Emma’s usual routine, which sounded like good advice at the time. The other patrons on the bus all stared at him as if he were an alien, however. Or maybe that was his imagination; Emma seemed totally unfazed. She directed him to a pair of seats toward the back.
    “Thanks for the tip,” she said as they sat, “but you’re talking like I’ll definitely get in.”
    “You’ll get in,” Gio said. He didn’t add that half the department was already buzzing about her. Partly that was because Gio had been talking her up since her audition for