Page 48 of The Fangirl and the Crooner

Me: *heart emoji* I love you both!

Setting my phone aside, I stare at nothing while my mind goes over the conversation again. Part of me knows they’re right. Bram and I are in a relationship. We’re living together. We’re both adults, and the grown up thing to do would be to discuss my fears so we can work out a plan.

But the mere thought of initiating that particular conversation leaves my stomach tied in knots. Though I’ve worked really hard at taming my people-pleasing instincts, I’m still me. And there’s no one in the world I want to please more than I do Bram.

Not even myself.

How can I express doubts about the amazing future that’s falling into his lap? How could I possibly put a damper on his excitement? His joy?

I don’t think I can do it.

I’ve been Bram’s biggest cheerleader from the moment I first heard him play and sing. My own actions put us on this path. I’m the one who wanted the world to hear him. I’m the one who helped get him on the label’s radar. And I’m the one he depends on for support, no matter his choices.

And I will continue to be that cheerleader, that source of unconditional support…even if it breaks my heart in the process.

Chapter

Thirty

Bram

“Mr. Baker, thank you so much for taking my call.”

“It’s my pleasure, Mr. Jakowski. Thank you for reaching out.”

“Please, call me Shane.”

“Only if you call me Bram.”

My nervousness over the call fades a bit as we get through the pleasantries. Shane Jakowski may be a high-ranking record label exec, but he’s also just a man, and I’ve never had trouble talking to people before. It’s a big part of my job, and I channel the bartender in me for the rest of the conversation.

“We’ve been watching Miss Glade’s videos of your performances, and we’ve been impressed from the beginning. You’ve got talent, Bram. And Starfall Records can open a lot of doors for you. We have the highest-tech recording studios, and once we have a finishedproduct, our marketing team can get you played on radio stations all over the world and get your music on every streaming service out there.”

“That all sounds…great. What kind of timeline are we looking at? Would I have to spend a lot of time in L.A.?”

“Well, we’d start with a single track. We have some musicians on contract who can help you work out an arrangement that includes percussion, a bass, and some backup singers, at the very least. Your guitar playing is superb, but the rest will make the sound richer and more professional. That process can take a week or so, at least, then we’d record,” he says, and as he speaks my chest tightens.

It’s a lot. I don’t know what I thought. That I’d just show up with my guitar, sing the song, and then we’d be done?

“After we mix and master it, we’d release the track to the streaming services. If it does half as well as I expect it will, we’ll move forward with a whole album. If you don’t have enough songs to fill an album, we have writers on staff that can help you flesh it out.”

“And how long would that take?”

“It depends, but it could take anywhere from six months to a year.”

Holy shit.“And I would have to live in Los Angeles the whole time?”

“That would be ideal,” Shane says, his words slow and measured. “But if you prefer to travel home on the weekends, we can work it out.”

This is as terrifying as it is exciting. I have no desire to leave Evening Shade. I love it here, and I always have. Butat the same time, my music could touch people the way it did that woman I met at the tavern.Millionsof people.

I could also be a huge flop, and this whole thing would be over after the first single.

I don’t know which outcome is worse.

We go over a few more things on the call, including the financial side of things. The label would cover the costs of production, then take a larger portion of the royalties until they recoup the money. My head spins as Shane talks about composition rights and music ownership, and he must sense it, because he tells me it will all be in the contract.

I’m going to have to hire a lawyer to read it over and explain it to me in words I can understand.

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