Page 41 of Second to None

“Slip in a couple of covers that people connect with?” I suggested. “Or have them sing easy stuff, like a few words that repeat.”

Levi’s gaze flicked my way, fleeting but warm. “The classic ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’?”

“Eh.” Jace stretched out on his back, one arm over his face. “Personally, I hate it when I’m at some concert and they’re trying to make me sing every other minute. Maybe I just want to wallow in the music.”

“I’d sing,” Levi said. “Always. It’s hard enough when you’re new, so unless someone’s total rubbish, I’d sing.”

“That’s because you’re a good person,” Jace said, sounding entirely at ease with himself.

Levi snorted. “I try. Unlikesome.”

“I donate to charity,” Jace said, then paused. “When it’s a tax write-off.”

Man, this truly felt like old times. Aimless banter, good-humored ribbing, no one else who quite got it the way we did. I blinked at the lazy shadows of palm trees that swayed above us. “Hey, Levi?” I asked. “For when I play Leeds.”

He tilted his head back, his posture easy and relaxed, thighs nicely muscled. “Yeah?”

“You could bring one or two of your acts along.” Too much of a leap? We’d already talked about how he’d drop by for my concert, hang around the backstage area for a bit to solidify the rumors. But what was in it for him? He’d rejected an opening slot on my tour for his young artists, but surely there were other ways I could help. “I could show them around backstage, tell them what it’s like. Not that you couldn’t. Obviously, you know what it’s like. But they’d see it firsthand.”

“Please don’t trip over your own tongue,” Mason said. “We still need you to sing later.”

I flipped him off. “Ass.”

Levi’s laugh curled low and rich. Then he sat forward slightly, attention fixed on me, one knee drawn up to his chest and his sunglasses shoved up into his hair so it stuck up in odd ways. “I’d love that, Cass. But not if it’s done out of guilt or some such.”

“It’s not.” Mostly. I held his gaze. “The five of us—we got lucky. If I can help someone else out, even just a little? I’m happy to do it. And you believe in them, so I know they must be good.”

“They are.” He sounded confident, and in a way, that was Levi in a nutshell—not always sure of himself but always ready to prop up others.

God, I’d missed him. No matter how this all played out, I didn’t want to go another eternity without contact. We had no plans beyond Leeds, but I intended to stay in the UK for a few days after my show, catch up with a couple of songwriters I’d been working with.

I could visit him, maybe. No cameras—just us.

If he let me.

* * *

“I want to do the introduction.”Levi’s announcement held a defensive note, like he expected the rest of us to fight him on it.

We all turned to look at him—his hair gelled into a messy tumble, dressed in a loud, floral shirt just like the rest of us. The music room had dipped into sudden stillness, the crew hired to film us clearly aware that this was an important moment. Their equipment took up half the space, cables snaking across the floor and a lighting rig angled to make us shine.

They’d filmed us getting ready in one of the guest bedrooms earlier, chaos and a pile of wildly patterned shirts on the bed adding an element of comedy, combined with a few topless shots of Ellis, Mason, and me. More clicks meant more donations.

“Of course, man,” Ellis said softly.

“If you’re sure?” Mason asked, while Jace and I stayed quiet. It wasn’t my place to comment, even though I’d do anything to clear away the shadows in Levi’s eyes.

“I’m sure,” he said firmly. “Let’s do the music first, though.”

Was this why he’d agreed?

It hadn’t occurred to me before—Jessica’s death and this, now, being about supporting cancer research. If not for that, would he have refused to see me? The idea lodged itself like a splinter in my skin, something I’d find hard to shake.

I dropped my attention to the floor as we all stepped into place. We formed a loose semicircle with Levi right next to me, sharing a mic stand, shoulders brushing every so often. Our shirts were colored to match—mine a deep green with bold hibiscus flowers in a soft pink and gold, while his was the reverse. Another puzzle piece in this game we played.

The first take was a little stiff, with Jace and Levi clearly distracted by the cameras, no longer used to it when years ago, that had been our norm. Backstage or in public, interviews, rehearsals—there’d been so many people swirling around us all the time, trying to capture snippets to feed an insatiable marketing machine.

The second take was better, harmonies sliding into place and Mason’s guitar steady beneath us. The song was wistful, lines about growing up and driving home, grateful for the road that lay behind. Levi’s voice soared on the bridge, winding around mine like a thread of warmth I could feel all the way down to my toes.

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