Seduced The Unexpected Virgin - By Emily McKay Page 0,66
if he’d never really let her into his heart? So what if the lion’s share of his affection was permanently locked away in his grief? What did any of that matter if she got to be with him?
And then she felt a curious little tug in her heart and she knew that it did matter. She was already in love with him. Time would only make it worse. Her decision may have been cowardly, but it was the only one she could make.
She forced her attention back to the stage, forced herself to listen to what he was saying. He’d already welcomed the crowd and made a laughing promise that he would play a new song—after he said a few words about Hannah’s Hope.
“By now you all know that Hannah’s Hope is about providing basic adult education for the people who need it most.” His voice resonated through the crowd. He was a powerful speaker, giving the impression that his attention was focused on each and every member of the audience. “While Cameron Enterprises is fully committed to funding Hannah’s Hope financially, this is not a problem money alone can solve. Funding can only do so much. We’ve got the money and the resources. Now we need your help.”
He went on for several more minutes, delivering a rousing speech about the need for volunteers to mentor people and, more important, the need for clients to step forward and use the resources that Hannah’s Hope could provide.
Despite that concern still nipping at the back of her mind, it was hard not to catch the excitement coursing through the crowd. She could tell from the expressions on the faces around her. Ward wasn’t just drumming up interest in Hannah’s Hope, he was inspiring commitment. He was convincing people of what she’d known all along. For Hannah’s Hope to work, the entire community had to step up, together, to invest in their own future. Today was the start of that. And together they would all make a difference.
“Hannah’s Hope,” he was saying, “is really about hope.” His gaze seemed to search her out, meeting hers despite the distance and the hundreds of people around. “The hope that we can have a future together. If only we’re willing to work for it.”
Her heart tightened in her chest and she found herself blinking against the sting of tears.
“There’s one person I met here in Vista del Mar that helped me learn that lesson in a very personal way. I’d like that person to join me up on stage for a minute.”
Her breath caught in her throat while she waited for him to say her name. But it wasn’t her name he called out.
“Ricky Cruz. Ricky, can you come on up?”
In a flash, Ricky dashed up the steps. He was dressed more nicely that she’d ever seen him, having abandoned his baggy faux gangster clothes for chinos and a dress shirt.
Ana cocked an eyebrow. Obviously, this had been staged.
“I’ve been mentoring Ricky here for the past couple of weeks. Not only has he made a commitment to me to stay in school, but he’s personally taught me a lot. He even helped me work out a few kinks in this song I’m about to play.” The crowd gave a laugh, clearly charmed by the way Ward was humoring Ricky. “So I can personally attest to the benefits of being a mentor.”
Ward continued talking, explaining that the song he was going to play could be downloaded from iTunes and that all the proceeds from the sale of the song would go to Hannah’s Hope. As Ward talked, Ricky pulled a stool forward from the corner of the stage. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, he pulled out a guitar and handed it to Ward.
Ward settled onto the stool, his left foot still on the ground, his right foot on the lowest rung of the stool. He slung the guitar strap over his shoulder, resting the guitar on his right knee.
She felt as though her heart had stopped beating.
It was the Alvarez.
She would have recognized its worn golden cedar anywhere.
She squeezed her eyes closed, emotion suddenly choking her.
A hush fell over the crowd. She wasn’t the only one who recognized the famous Alvarez, but she may have been the only one to fully understand how difficult this was for him. Then she noticed Chase giving Emma’s shoulder a squeeze, so maybe she wasn’t the only one.
He reached up and adjusted the microphone so it was right next to