Page 117 of Movers and Shakers

He held up his hand. “Don’t apologize. I’m just happy I could help.”

I thanked him, still in a state of disbelief over the man Tom had become, before going to my apartment to shower and wait for Liam and Audrey to come into work.

When six rolled around, I was nervous, thinking of all the things I could do if they said no.

“Hey, boss.” Audrey gave me a wave. “Ready for a long night?”

“Actually, I have something to ask you,” I said to the two of them. “Can you manage the bar for a few days?”

Liam’s jaw dropped. Audrey’s eyes widened. “You want us to watch the bar?” she asked. “By ourselves?”

“Yes. But only for a few days. I know it’s a lot of responsibility, so I won’t ask for more than that.”

“When?”

“I have to get a flight and everything, so maybe tomorrow?”

“Yeah, of course we can,” she said with a smile. “Where are you going?”

“Across the country to . . . see a friend.”

“Rose?”

“Y-yeah. Rose. She’s out of town and needs me. If it’s too much—‍”

“No, it’s not. We have it all taken care of.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very. Now go get ready to get your woman.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Lila

When I finished, I felt the words through my soul. I didn’t know if any of it translated, and the audience clapped, but I knew they had to.

I wondered what my fans would say about this. For the first time in weeks, I was hit with the urge to see their reactions to all of this.

I loved singing with emotion. I loved putting my heart out there and processing my life through music. I also loved coming up with surprises. The show’s producers had nearly passed out when I told them my plan and they rushed to make sure the hosts knew.

Despite my misery, I was still excited. And that excitement carried over until everyone was clapping and I was exiting stage right.

Malia was waiting for me, applauding as well with a huge smile on her face.

“That wasfantastic,”she said. “Really.”

“Do you think everyone will like it?”

“I do,” she replied. “But we need to get you to the studio. I called Sasha and she’ll meet you there.”

I nodded and we left the building. My work would keep me busy, but it was rooted in what had happened with Barry. It was going to drain me and I could only hope that I was going to come out of it feeling better.

On the plane ride back, I fine-tuned the song, making notes on exactly what I wanted it to sound like. Having all of this prepared meant that Sasha and I would have an easier time getting it recorded.

“You’ve been busy again,” Sasha said the second I walked into the studio.

“Yeah.”

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