Page 1 of Movers and Shakers

Prologue

Lila

When making a fake identity, I didn’t realize how hard it would be to remember my own damn name.

I’m not Rose. I’m Lila. Lila Wilde.

The reminder bounced around my head, but I had a feeling I would struggle to remember what name I answered to.

My eyes searched the crowd for the man I was there for—Rick Thorne, the agent who could change my life. When Dad told me he would be here, I knew this could have been the moment that made my music career take off.

Most people wouldn’t have bought a custom-made wig before coming to an open mic event at an LA café, but Mom’s wide-eyed, nervous expression followed me around from the moment I told her.

“What if everyone knows your name? Don’t you see how stars are treated? You’d have no privacy.I’dhave no privacy.”Mom’s voice had shaken when Dad gave us the news, and for a while, I thought about forgoing my dream of singing.

But then I had a harebrained, wild idea.

Mom couldn’t handle people knowingRose’sname. But what about a different one?

What about Lila Wilde?

I took a shaky breath. This plan would work.It had to.I wanted my music to have a home, but I also wanted Mom to have peace. If I became Lila, everyone would be happy; that was all I wanted.

Slow, quiet applause brought me out of my thoughts as the performer before me exited the stage. I hadn’t listened too closely, but I had caught him struggling to manage both playing his guitar and singing.

The poor guy wasn’t made for multitasking.

I watched his twisted frown as he breezed past me. Despite his sullen mood, my eyes drifted to his toned jawline and dark hair.

He wascute.

I wondered if he liked what he saw when I was Lila. Gone was my red hair, covered by a black wig. This wasn’t my best look, but my skin tone looked decent enough once I paired it with darker lashes and red lips. After I did my makeup like Mom andI had discussed, I barely recognized myself, which must have meant my disguise was good.

I looked at Dad, who gave me a thumbs-up. This was the first time I’d seen him in a while. A few years ago, he left to travel after Mom and his divorce was final. Mom told me he was never the kind of man to stay in one place very long and that I should make peace with the fact that he’d been gone.

When he’d called me and told me about this opportunity, I’d been shocked. I’d mentioned my writing and singing the few times we talked on the phone, but I didn’t know he’d remembered.

His planning all of this for me meant more than I could say.

Of course, here, he wasn’tDad. He was just a guy who came to see the show. Lila Wilde didn’t have any connections to the people who birthed me. On the off chance I did get famous, people would try to find everything they could, or at least that’s what Mom was worried about.

I grabbed my guitar and darted up there, wishing she had joined. Most of my songs had been sung to her first, even if she wasn’t all that into music. Luckily, Dad offered to record my performance, which meant she got to be safe and comfortable back in Canada.

And if she was happy, I was happy.

“Hi,” I said to the crowd, cursing the shakiness in my voice. “I’m Lila. Lila Wilde.” The name sounded odd on my lips. “I wrote this myself. I hope you like it.”

I strummed the first chord, pretending I was at home rather than in front of people. It was the only way I could ignore my nerves. All of my fears fell away as I sang. I’d practiced for this. I knew every note to hit, every move to make, and how to get the crowd to melt in my hands. I didn’t focus on them, though. I focused on the words I’d written alone in my room.

When it was over, I was surprised by the loud applause. My eyes slid to the agent, whose lips formed a smile.

I stepped off the stage with shaky hands, taking in all the applause. Rick walked up to me the moment I did.

“You wrote that yourself?” he asked.

“I did,” I replied. “Was it good?”

“More than good.” He handed me a business card. “You know, you remind me of my daughter. She’s your age and has the same drive you do. Maybe you could be friends.”

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