Page 69 of Love Me Steadfast
If Morgan was a match, those words just lit her ablaze. “What kind of music?” she asks, rocking on her toes.
Halsey smiles. He’s the tall one with the buzz cut. “All kinds. I work for the marketing arm of Now Live Entertainment.”
“Concerts and music festivals,” Dad adds. “Like the Sasquatch Fest at The Gorge.”
“That’s right,” Halsey says with a nod.
Morgan gives me a quickare-you-fucking-kidding-me?glance before Steve adds, “I’m a producer at Valhalla Records, in LA. Fun fact, I played my very first gig at The Limelight fifteen years ago.”
“Wow, that’s so cool!” Morgan says, practically vibrating next to me. “Do you still play?”
Steve’s stoic face cracks with the hint of a smile. “Not nearly as much, but yeah, for fun sometimes.”
In my peripheral vision, a guest passes behind me. The moment I realize it’s Garett, his knuckles brush across my ass.
I freeze, my heart thudding in my ears. I’m afraid to move. Afraid to look. Because did that just happen?
“Your dad told us about your show last month,” Halsey says, breaking through my skittering thoughts. He smiles at me. “You guys have more shows planned?”
My surprise mixed with the lingering unease makes my tongue feel too big for my mouth. “Uh, we?—”
“We might play at Creekside this summer,” Morgan says.
Dad frowns. “We haven’t decided yet.”
“Creekside, huh?” Halsey says, eyebrows raised. “That’s quite the venue.”
“Nic said he’d put in a word,” Morgan adds, avoiding Dad’s scowl.
Steve levels a calculating stare at the two of us. “Nic Salazar?”
“Yep. After our show together, he’s really taken an interest in us.”
This is a major stretch. Since that night, Nic’s all but ghosted us, which suits me just fine. And even if his casual promise were to actually go somewhere, Boxcar Doves is by no means ready to play for an audience of that size. Not with seven songs to our name and not with the way Crosby and Mo constantly bicker about everything. Plus, between school, finishing my driving hours, and summer youth symphony, I won’t have much time for Boxcar Doves.
I knock the side of my shoe against Morgan’s, but she ignores the warning.
“You guys gonna play for us tonight?” Halsey says before sipping from his beer.
Before I can protest, Morgan loops her arm around mine. “Would you like us to?”
“Hell yeah,” Steve says, cracking a grin.
“We can’t crash the Christmas party like that,” I protest. A part of my awareness is still on high alert. Where did Garett go? Is he watching us?
“These are music people, right?” Halsey says, giving the room an appreciative glance. “I bet they’d love it.”
Dad arches an eyebrow. “We did talk about it.”
And I said no.
“Come on, Char, pleeeease,” Morgan begs.
“One song,” I say.
“What? At least three.”
“Your ‘A Carol of the Bells’ is impressive,” Dad says, his eyes lighting up. “Why don’t you play that?”
