I touched my chest and felt my heart racing and my body vibrating as I sang the last note. I shut my eyes and stepped away from the microphone to let the note fade away.
Then I stopped singing.
And nobody did a thing.
It was so quiet in the club you could hear the sound of a bottle cap hitting the bottom of the trash can behind the bar.
Liam let out a cheer and the rest of the club exploded into cheers and applause.
I covered my face with my right hand and hurried off the stage.
I was smiling, almost ready to cry.
The second I got off the stage and saw Liam, something came over me and I lunged at him. He caught me mid-air and spun me around as he hugged me.
“Em, that was fucking amazing,” he said. “That was just like old times. You are so fucking talented, babe.”
I laughed and threw my head back.
Everyone was still clapping for me.
When Liam put me back on my feet, his hands touched my sides.
And he held me. He squeezed just enough to tell me he wasn’t going to let go.
As we stood there in front of nothing but strangers, Liam never felt more like the opposite of a stranger in my entire life.
He looked like he had something to say to me.
I knew I had something to say to him.
Before we could speak our minds - and heart - someone called my name.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Liam
I wasn’t sure what the hell was about to happen.
Emily’s attention moved from me to somewhere else.
That somewhere else turned out to be someone else… times three.
It was the three women who sang on stage before her.
Even though my attention had been on Emily all night, my memory offered me three names. Carla. Faye. Robin.
I took one step away from Emily and smiled.
She was living the moment up. Which she should have rightfully been doing. For once in her life she was doing something for herself. It didn’t come down to money, business or success. Not to mention this was her hidden gift to the world. Now if only someone had given her a guitar to go along with the singing…
“Emily, right?”
The three women faced off with Emily.
“Yeah,” Emily said.
“I’m Carla. This is Faye. And this horrible person over here is a traitor. But you can call her Robin.”
“And this is why I’m leaving the group,” Robin said.
She had curly red hair that bounced when she spoke.
“Don’t listen to them,” Faye said. She had a big smile, big eyes and black hair pulled back into a bun that was messy and off centered. “We wanted to introduce ourselves. Forgive us for interrupting your date here.”
Faye looked at me and smiled.
“Liam,” I called out. “I’m her manager. Any questions go through me.”
“Manager?” Carla asked. Her blonde hair and blue eyes threatened to light up the entire place.
“He’s joking,” Emily said. “Liam’s not a manager. He’s my… he’s…”
Emily looked at me.
I quickly threw a smile on my face. “Can I buy you all a drink?”
“Oh, that sounds good, but the traitor has to go,” Carla said.
“Stop calling me that,” Robin said.
“It’s a joke, Robin,” Carla said. “Chill.”
“Uh, you three are really good,” Emily said to diffuse the awkward tension. “Your voices together are just…”
“We need yours,” Faye said.
“What?” Emily asked.
I smiled bigger.
Inside my head, I was clapping for Emily.
“Before I get accused of anything again,” Robin said. She touched her stomach. “I’m pregnant.”
“Oh, wow, congrats,” Emily said. “How far along?”
“Far enough,” Robin said. “My husband and I had been trying for a long time. That’s a whole other story I shouldn’t just start telling a stranger.”
“You do that a lot, Robin,” Faye said. “You chase people away.”
“Why do you think Kyle likes being tied up?” Carla asked.
I laughed. “What?”
“Nothing,” Robin said. She looked at me with a stare that was as fiery as her hair. “Got it?”
“Got it,” I said. “I know nothing.”
Robin looked at Emily again. “Because of our situation at home, I’m not going to be able to sing with the ladies anymore.”
“Hence her being a traitor,” Carla said.
“She wants to be a mom,” Emily said. “I respect that.”
“Don’t take her side,” Carla said.
“She already did,” Robin said.
“Wow, we are off topic,” Faye said. She reached for Emily’s hands. “Listen to me. Emily. We sing all over the city. Mostly for fun. We have a handful of paying gigs too. We’ve done weddings and private parties. We avoid the costumes.”
“Costumes?” Emily asked.
“There are rich pervs who will pay big money to have you dress up like their favorite celebrity,” Carla said. “Then they get drunk and get all handsy. No way.”
“Oh,” Emily said. “Right.”
My mind flashed images of some Wall Street asshole sitting in a chair, calling Emily close to him, his hands touching the back of her legs…
I took a breath.
Calm down, Liam.
“What we’re getting at is this,” Carla said. “We’ve seen a lot of shows. Especially here.” She leaned closer to Emily and I. “Faye is banging the bouncer.”
Faye slapped Carla’s arm. “Don’t say it like that.”
“Well, you are,” Carla said.
“It’s true,” Robin said.
Faye looked at Robin. “Maybe you are a traitor.”
“Hey,” Robin said. “You told us you like roleplaying with Dozer.”
“Shut up,” Faye said.
She touched her cheeks.
Emily looked at me again.
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Okay, now she thinks we’re crazy,” Carla said.
“I do not,” Emily said.
“Yeah, you do,” Carla said. “You just gave your hunky boyfriend the eyes. So now you want him to make an excuse to leave.”
I laughed. “Hunky?”
“What?” Carla asked. She looked right at me. Blue eyes and all. “I call it as I see it. Robin is willing to give up singing to have a baby. I’m going to miss her. But I can’t wait to hold that baby. Faye likes having Dozer carry her around… preferably to the bedroom. And you… you’re hot enough to set off the sprinkler system, Liam. If
