“It’s a powerful feeling.”
It was, and she hurriedly scribbled down the next song she wanted to do, and waited impatiently for her turn, barely hearing the singers and bands who got up before her. She couldn’t contain her excitement when her name was called. It was so much easier to get up there the second time, and she soaked in the applause when she stood on the stage. This time, she did an upbeat contemporary pop song, delighted when people got up to dance while she sang. She was so comfortable onstage. A live band to work with would be better—she was used to that—but she’d take what she could get. At the end, everyone applauded and whistled for her.
She couldn’t have been any giddier than if she were drunk, which she wasn’t. She went back to her seat and downed an entire glass of water.
“I’d say you’re a hit tonight.”
She grinned. “A lot of the acts tonight are hits.”
“I think you had the loudest applause.”
“You’re my date. You have to say that.”
He took a swallow of soda, then studied her. “No, I don’t.”
Okay, so he didn’t. He could have been polite and non-encouraging. He hadn’t pushed her, but he had told her she was a good singer.
“Thanks. I appreciate your belief in me.”
“Hey, I’m no music mogul, but I know a special voice when I hear it. So what are you going to do with it?”
She snorted. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Yeah. I mean, what else would I do?”
“I don’t know. Do something with your talent.”
“Like what? Go on one of those reality show singing contests? That’s not my thing.”
“Not what I meant. But there’s a lot you can do with a voice like yours. You could have a career as a singer.”
“I already have a career.”
“You have a job. It’s not the same thing.”
She shrugged. “I’m doing fine. I got up and sang in public for the first time in years. That was monumental. It was enough.”
“You’re settling, and it isn’t the same thing at all. Haven’t you ever thought about doing something you loved?”
She’d thought about it a lot. She’d had this dream since she was a child. A dream that had been shoved aside again and again. She refused to let herself wonder about things that were never going to happen.
Until tonight, when she’d finally released her crushed dreams from the locked box she’d held them prisoner in for so many years. Now that she had, her mind whirled with possibilities.
Time to lock up her dreams again, because it wasn’t going to happen.
“You could—”
“No, I couldn’t. I don’t want to talk about this. It’s getting late, I’m tired, and I want to go home.”
She stood and headed for the door, not knowing if Ty followed her or not.
When she walked outside, he was there at her side, grasping her hand despite her initial refusal to hold his as they crossed the street.
She was being petty, pouting despite the great night she’d had. Her mood had soured and she had no idea why. There was no reason to blame Ty. None of this was his fault.
God, it was freezing out, the icy chill biting right through her clothes. Her ears stung and she wished she’d thought to bring her hat.
They walked to his car and he held the door for her, then climbed in and started the engine. She wrapped her coat tighter around her to ward off the cold. Heat filled the vehicle after a couple minutes and she finally stopped shivering.
As Tyler drove, she focused on the road ahead, though she chanced glances at Ty.
He should be mad at her. She acted like a child in the club, running out of there because she hadn’t wanted to hear what he had to say.
“I’m sorry,” she finally said.
“About what?”
“I was abrupt in the club and I hightailed it out of there without even asking you what you wanted. You might have wanted to hang out there longer.”
“I was fine with leaving.”
Which didn’t tell her anything about how he felt about her behavior. She laid her head against the headrest. “This whole singing thing gets to me.”
“Obviously. But why?”
“It’s been nothing more than a hobby for so long. Just a fantasy to me. No one knows about it except you. And then tonight…”
“It became real.”
She studied the silver ring on her thumb. “Something like that.”
“Did you have fun?”
She turned her head and looked at him. “I did.”
“Then that’s good enough for tonight, isn’t it?”
“You’re right. It is.”
But it wasn’t good enough, because now she felt unsettled, as if she’d stood on the edge of a cliff tonight and had a glimpse of heaven, and all she had to do to get there was fly. She had been poised on the edge of that cliff, ready to take a leap of faith. The problem was, there was a good chance she could also drop like a rock straight to the bottom. She wasn’t confident about her wings. Hell, she didn’t know if she even had wings.